‘Strange Phenom’ Going On At Spittal Pond

March 7, 2016

[Updated + Written by Shari-Lynn Pringle]

There’s a strange phenom going on at Spittal Pond that I just have to share. I’ve seen a few posts in Facebook but after scanning the local media using the words “Spittal Pond”, I’ve found no reports of great significance so I thought I’d take to the keyboard and report on it myself.

I’m hoping that many of you are so intrigued that you don your walking shoes and head west [or east] from wherever you hang your hat and come see it for yourself.

Spittal Pond has been my playground since I was young. I often go there, alone, for the solitude and peace it brings to my life. I have commented that I am home when I am there. That’s just how I feel as I sit off at Coastal View, seeing nothing but water and hearing nothing but waves crashing on the rocks below.

As the season progresses, the Longtails will return and the wind will be punctuated by their playful chirps. Those that know me well know that this is where I want my ashes to blow when my number is pulled.

Spittal Pond Bermuda March 6 2016 1

But I digress.

As you enter Spittal Pond from the western entrance and walk along the trail that leads down into the nature reserve you see it. Little rock formations. Our very own Stonehenge of sorts. You notice it but think nothing of it until you begin to see these little towers of rocks everywhere.

People have taken the time to build these formations throughout the nature reserve and you find yourself looking for them as you take in the natural beauty of this space. You may add a rock or two to one that exists. And then you straighten up one that has fallen down. And then… you build one, no two, no three of your own! And suddenly you are addicted!

I’m not lying, I can’t wait to go back to see how many more have been crafted since I passed through last weekend. I’m hoping that the 3 I constructed from scratch are still standing. I’m excited that whomever started this has created something that’s quite contagious and addictive.

Spittal Pond Bermuda March 6 2016 2

As you near the eastern exit [or entrance] you see what must be the original formation. Complete with a mast from which a tattered white sheet flies. I pay homage by adding a little rock to the formation. As I exit, I spot a rock that would make an excellent base and I build my 3rd stone formation.

I left Spittal Pond and continue my walk east along South Shore and am tempted on several occasions to build more stone monuments. The temptation was overwhelming but I resisted. It did make me aware of just how many crumbling walls we have and I can’t promise that when I next travel that route, I won’t give into the temptation to build more.

So I’m sending out a big thank you to whomever brought so much fun to my most favorite place in Bermuda – Spittal Pond. If you haven’t visited this gem of Smith’s Parish, try to get down there. Portuguese Rock is no longer the only attraction worth seeing there.

Spittal Pond Bermuda March 6 2016 3

Shari-Lynn Pringle is a fearless and avid walker who loves to rediscover Bermuda one step at a time. She loves her parish and is a member of the Smiths Parish Council. She is available to take humans on walks whether for fitness or discovery in Smith’s or any part of the island. Contact girlgonewalking@gmail.com

Update 1.29pm: Click to enlarge photos:

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Category: All, Environment, News

Comments (35)

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  1. lucky 7 says:

    It’s probably the “scientist’s” nightly ritual before he goes to sleep, something relaxing for him. I’ve seem him sleeping there on a few mornings!

    • Shari-Lynn Pringle says:

      Haha Lucky 7, during my many jaunts through Spittal Pond I have yet to encounter Scientist. Although I am well aware that there are eyes in the trees, I’m happy not to come face to face with them!

  2. Eliza says:

    Landscape art. Nice but did they get permission to do it in a nature reserve?

    • BobtheBuilder says:

      You can’t be serious…Then again you can be. Soon we will be told where to breath. Calm down please. Let free people live free. :)

    • Daesmith says:

      Did anybody give you permission to write idiotic comments or did you manage it on your own?

  3. Osiris says:

    It’s the elves I tell you

    • Micro says:

      The same ones that steal my socks from the dryer?

  4. scott says:

    They look like a variation of a northern innuckshuck. The inuit make them as trail markers to help guide them back home on the frozen tudra. And some make them to show that someone has been there before

    • scott says:

      Forgot to mention that usually the middle stone is longer to make it look like 2 arms

    • JohnBoy says:

      Did you know that there was once a Superfriend who would say “innuckshuck” and grow to 50ft?

    • Teacher says:

      Maybe one of my students! We have been studying Inusuks and creating them out of blocks, stones, sticks. This is great!

  5. Christine says:

    I’ve seen this in other countries. Walkers do it so that other walkers don’t get lost from the main walking path.

  6. Boston Baked Bean says:

    Eliza, you’re part of what’s wrong with Bermuda today. Find the negative in everything. Can’t you just appreciate it for what it is?

  7. top mon says:

    my girl PRINGLE

  8. Justin B says:

    I noticed the Rocks at Spittal Pond too. It reminds me of what I once saw in Canada as a kid. The term that people used to explain the rock formation was known as Inukshuk. Might not be related but brought back fond childhood memories.

    Inukshuk (singular), meaning “likeness of a person” in Inuktitut (the Inuit language) is a stone figure made by the Inuit. The plural is inuksuit. The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms and for different purposes: to show directions to travelers, to warn of impending danger, to mark a place of respect, or to act as helpers in the hunting of caribou. Similar stone figures were made all over the world in ancient times, but the Arctic is one of the few places where they still stand. An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit.

  9. funEsidEofthings says:

    I wonder if you need a building permit for this. can someone from planning please answer.

    Love the art of it all………..

  10. Mhm right says:

    Some inuksuks made by some lost Canadians no doubt!

  11. Andrew says:

    Blame the Canadians: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TjGMVu7BP6w

    • DTG says:

      Yup blame us Crazy Canadians… because they are all over Northern Ontario , along the hwy

  12. Happy says:

    I don’t think you are meant to disturb things in a nature reserve though maybe I am wrong in thinking that “you leave nothing and take nothing”

    • Cup Of Tea Anyone? says:

      well, if the rocks were found there, then they didn’t actually take or leave anything. I think its pretty cool.

  13. Triangle Drifter says:

    You see these things all over. Seen them on Makinac Island, along the side of the Alaska Highway, Denali National Park, in various US & Canadian national parks.

    The name of these things escape me at the moment but they usually are not built by one person. They way they usually appear is that one person puts a rock down, then another comes along & adds a rock, then another & so on.

  14. JohnBoy says:

    What’s really going to blow your mind is the fact that those rocks used are from a distant planet.

  15. Charles Ingham says:

    Actually, it is a worldwide conspiracy by park managers to get park users to clear the pathways of loose rocks so that people won’t trip and fall over them.

  16. mike says:

    Witchcraft… Please pray for Spittal Pond.

  17. Topaz says:

    Many years ago whilst trodding through this beautiful area in the guise of “exercising”, I encountered a gentleman out for his daily walk, accompanied by his handsome dog named Peanut. Peanut’s daily excursion included diving for rocks in one of the deep tide pools just there along the rocky coast. His Dad patiently waited until Peanut was satisfied that he had collected enough rocks out of the tide pool, piling them on the side, then happily resuming their walk. The gentleman told me that each time they would come, the rocks had been tossed back into the tide pool, and Peanut would get to diving and pull them back out.

    These rock piles remind me of the sculptures I saw at the various beaches and points of interest in Aruba which were created by the visitors to that Island. I dare say it is probably the same phenomenon.

  18. Shari-Lynn Pringle says:

    Thank you all for your kind and some comical comments. It will be a long time, if ever, that I embark upon a walk and am not tempted to build a rock structure. Special thanks to Bernews for finding my story worth publishing and for those who have emailed and shared here and on Facebook about Inukshuk. Momma says you learn something new every day!

  19. Micro says:

    Neat

  20. Legalgal says:

    Stone cairns. Helpful if they ar used to help hikers with a landmark to follow. Annoying if they damage the landscape.

    Would be lovely to have white rocks or some Natinkq Trust post to mark out a lot of the walks.

  21. Yes – these hand-built structures are also called CAIRNS (which also means “stone” in Scotland). They have been common in at least New England in the U.S. for years ~ and also always are an “authentic” manifestation of people’s ENJOYMENT of NATURE. Actually asking whether or not one has obtained a “Permit” to stack stones – even in a nature preserve like Spittal Pond is surprisingly naïve – and dishearteningly political. Do we really need a “Permit” to stack stones – do we need a “Permit” to draw in the sand on our beaches, as well?! Live and let live – people enjoying nature, and perhaps centering themselves with the meditation of Focusing on those simple yet complex aspects of Nature and art is healthy, often enlightening, and even lifting-of-spirit. This is wonderful human nature interacting with Nature! (Keep “Permits” and similar worldly “politics” out of it! Spittal Pond itself celebrates and fosters innumerable aspects of nature – let people’s minds, bodies, and spirits gain from Spittal Pond – not lock it all down in superficial bogus “Need Permits!” attitudes. KEEP Bermuda’s HEART Beautiful!!!

    • Nick says:

      Fancy that.Bermuda’s equivalent of crop circles.

  22. Oh,I see now says:

    What, are our two political parties joining forces for the good of Bermuda instead of themselves?

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