- Twenty-eight commemorative plaques have been installed along Castle Terrace wall in Jamestown
- The installation features Napoleon Bonaparte, King Dinuzulu and Jonathan the tortoise
- Sixty-seven percent of UK long-haul travellers rank historic sites among top experiences
- The Dolphin Stone Garden has been enhanced as part of the project
- St Helena remains accessible via weekly flights from Johannesburg
St Helena has unveiled a new interpretative installation in Jamestown featuring 28 commemorative plaques that document the island’s international visitors over the past five centuries, as research indicates 67% of UK long-haul travellers rank historic sites among their most appealing leisure experiences. The Walk Through History project, funded through the UK Government’s Tourism Development Programme, chronicles the stories of significant figures connected to the South Atlantic territory.
The installation includes plaques commemorating Napoleon Bonaparte, King Dinuzulu and Jonathan the tortoise, who holds the Guinness World Records title as the world’s oldest living land animal at approximately 194 years. The project has also enhanced the nearby Dolphin Stone Garden, which contains a stone inscribed in 1645 by the crew of the British ship Dolphin, where sailors historically left letters for passing vessels to collect and deliver.
Research conducted by GSIQ Tourism Insights among 2,006 UK adults in March 2026 found historic sites and heritage stories ranked as the highest-appealing experience tested, rising to 80% among travellers aged 45 and over. Mastercard research from 2025 similarly identified growing demand for historical experiences, with 75% of Brits expressing interest in heritage-rich travel. St Helena, discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, remains accessible via weekly flights from Johannesburg with seasonal services from Cape Town.
Jonathan Passaportis shared: St Helena is known around the world as the place of Napoleon’s final exile, but that is only one chapter in an extraordinary story stretching back more than 500 years. A Walk Through History gives visitors a new way to uncover some of the people and stories that connect this small island in the South Atlantic with the wider world.
