Two Boats, also known as Two Boats Village, is a village at the foot of
Green Mountain on
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...
. Founded in the early 19th century, it was a originally a resting point for sailors who sought to ascend the mountain. Before the village's establishment, two boats had been stuck in the area, perpendicular to the ground to provide shade for passersby, giving the new settlement the inspiration for its name. It has the island's only school,
Two Boats School
Two Boats School is in Two Boats Village on Ascension Island. It is part of the Ascension Island Government (AIG) and provides education to all children living on the island from Foundation Stage to Year 11. There are currently 100 children and ...
.
Geography
Two Boats is located at the foot of
Green Mountain, the highest point of Ascension Island.
It is one of five settlements on the island.
There exists a
modern legend about a lizard-shaped rock on top of a pile of rocks on the road between Two Boats and Georgetown. Local superstition dictates that visitors to Ascension Island must paint the lizard-shaped rock before they leave the island if they do not intend to return. Those who return to Ascension Island after painting the rock are said to be fated to die. While most visitors merely pour paint over the rock, in the early days of the legend observers would carefully and earnestly paint the rock.
History
Two Boats was built years after the construction of the island's first village and capital,
Georgetown, in 1815. The area was originally a resting point and water stop for sailors attempting to hike up Green Mountain. Two twenty-foot
longboats were stuck to the ground by their ends, with seats perpendicular to the boats and parallel to the ground to provide shade and a place to sit and rest. The village was thus named Two Boats, with the name Two Boats Village being occasionally used to avoid confusion.
Education
Two Boats School
Two Boats School is in Two Boats Village on Ascension Island. It is part of the Ascension Island Government (AIG) and provides education to all children living on the island from Foundation Stage to Year 11. There are currently 100 children and ...
is the only school on Ascension Island. In 2022, it had 60 pupils aged 4 to 17 years old. It is twinned with St Margaret's Primary Academy in
Lowestoft
Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
, England, some 7,000 kilometres away.
See also
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RAF Travellers Hill
RAF Travellers Hill, originally known as Travellers Hill Camp, is a small military village of the British Armed Forces, located near Two Boats, Ascension Island, Two Boats on Ascension Island, a British Overseas Territory. It was built followin ...
References
External links
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{{Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Populated places in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Ascension Island
Geography of Ascension Island