Castle Hill and the East Passage

We have decided to call our blog East Passages, inspired by the channel that flows
by us to the West, and connects the Atlantic Ocean to Newport Harbor and the upper
reaches of the Narragansett Bay. The port of Providence, twenty-five miles to the
North, would not be viable without the deep waters of the East Passage. The width,
over a mile, also affords the simultaneous boat traffic that is so enchanting from your
perch on an Adirondack chair on our lawn, or on our terrace having lunch, or in our
Sunset Room, or perched high above in our premiere Turret Suite. Tankers, luxury
cruise ships, mega yachts, and innumerous sailboats cruise the East Passage before
our eyes every day, with the beautiful backdrop of the Dumplings section of
Jamestown – so named for the billowing rocks of its shore. (And you won’t be able
to miss Horsehead/Marbella across the waters, the most prominent residence visible
from the Castle Hill Lawn, built in 1883 for Joseph Wharton, an American
industrialist from Philadelphia. Newport’s wealthy 19th century summer colony was
dominated by New Yorkers, while Jamestown’s was dominated by Philadelphians.)

 


By Doc Searls from Santa Barbara, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There are others views at Castle Hill which are equally enchanted. The Newport
Bridge provides the backdrop from the Overlook, where ceremonies are held for onsite
weddings. And you can’t miss Clingstone – an architectural wonder – built as a
summer home in 1905, out in the bay, on one of those dumplings that looks like it
escaped from the pot.

 


By Brianwwu (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

To the east of the Overlook is Castle Hill Marina, a small inlet that encloses the
property into a peninsula. As you look at it from the South, Clingstone is framed
perfectly between the sloping bank on the left and the Coast Guard Station on the
right. I often catch it in the morning swirled in fog.

A little further south is Castle Hill Beach, a fine sand beach, the only private beach
of any hotel in Newport. During the great hurricane of 1938, the beach made a
disappearing act, when the rising ocean met the water of the marina, and turned the
peninsula temporarily into an island.

The view from Castle Hill Beach encompasses Brenton Point Park to the East, home
of fluttering kites, the open ocean to the South, and Jamestown and Narragansett to
the West – from Beavertail to Point Judith.

If you descry a ship emerging in the distance, it is guaranteed to approach and slide
right into the East Passage.

Shea C Nelson