Cooper's Island

It's not often that you get to see somewhere in Bermuda that you've never seen before. But last weekend we did just that when we took a stroll over to the recently-opened Cooper's Island, Bermuda's newest nature reserve.

It's not really an island - it's the peninsula at the south-eastern tip of St. David's, just past Clearwater Beach, where the old NASA tracking station used to be. You can't drive down there - you have to leave the car at Turtle Bay and walk the rest of the way. Although the area is still littered with rusting and boarded-up buildings and other detritus left behind by the Americans, and the vegetation is a bit scrappy, it's worth visiting for its beaches.

There's one really nice, long beach on the northern side of the peninsula, a second on the southern side that wraps around a small bay, and two small beaches that have in character what they lack in size. Best of all, because the area has only just opened, and because you have to walk to them, they're still relatively empty. It almost feels like you have your own private beach.

There are plans to give the area a major overhaul, turning the old NASA mission control building into a museum and visitor centre, and offering environmental tours and water sports. I really hope that they don't overdevelop it though. Best visit now, though, just in case.