St Kitts: back to my island roots In vibrant if slightly ramshackle Basseterre, the capital of St Kitts, I met up with a knowledgable local genealogist, Hazel Brookes, with whom I would spend the next few days tracing my links to the islands. First, we wandered around the town, which revealed both its French past (by its name and some of the buildings) and its English one (Georgian and Victorian architecture and street intersections such as the Circus, named after Piccadilly Circus). It was here that my great grandfather started trading as S L Horsford & Co, a shipping and sugar export company. I was amazed to see how the firm, which my family sold in 1929 and is now a public company, remains a big name in Basseterre, diversifying into insurance, a supermarket, car showroom, building merchant and furniture shop. There was even a Horsford Road. After lunch in the buzzing Ballyhoo restaurant overlooking the Circus, Hazel and our engaging driver, St Clair Maynard, took me on a tour of the island, filling me in on its history en route. We passed through seven of the island's nine parishes before arriving at the mighty Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, built by the British after 1690 and taking its name from the whiff of surrounding sulphur: it was once dubbed the "Gibraltar of the Caribbean." In one lookout, I found graffiti etched on a wall by a soldier in the Buffs regiment dated 1798. As in other Caribbean islands, religion is important in St Kitts and we passed dozens of churches that catered for everyone from Protestant, Catholic and Methodist to Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Greek Orthodox and Moravian. We saw black volcanic sand; a statue of Robert Bradshaw (who became the island's first premier in 1967); plantation houses such as Fairview (dating from the 1700s), now home to picturesque Nirvana restaurant; and the former Wingfield Manor Estate, where we studied ancient petroglyphs. Wherever we went there were ruins of chimney stacks and windmills, reminders of the old sugar business. The industry fizzled out in 2005 when the EU stopped preferential price agreements between Britain and St Kitts. It seems strange that no sugar is produced at all now - even for locals use. The only people making money from it today are a few Rastafarians who sell handfuls of cane on street corners. As the go-ahead minister of tourism, Ricky Skerritt, the former manager of the West Indies cricket team, pointed out, what makes money for St Kitts these days is tourism. Cruise ships are a big money-spinner, as is educational tourism; the island also has much to offer the more adventurous traveller as I soon discovered. I spent one morning fishing with the entertaining Sam Lake. We headed into the Caribbean, four lines out, Bob Marley on the sound system - and hooked a barracuda. That afternoon I met another knowledgable islander, Greg Pereira, who organises plantation and rainforest tours. We visited an old plantation windmill, learned about the work of the abolitionist James Ramsay, and wandered through a Rastafarian hill farm to the lush rainforest at the base of the Central Mountain Range. But I hadn't forgotten my main reason for being here. After my sightseeing interlude I caught up with Hazel again. Back in Basseterre's records office, she and I leafed through dusty records to find the unnerving statistics connected with the slave trade. The heavy tomes list the names of slaves, their ages, where they originated (no records were kept until 1817) and their owners; at one point there were 12 slaves on the island to every white settler. Other records detailed how much a plantation owner would be compensated for each slave after the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833: it was an uncomfortable moment for me to see that the man claiming £523 9s/6d for 71 slaves was my ancestor, John Horsford. Hazel produced records showing Isaac Horsford's son, George, married into the Sawcolt family, plantation owners on Antigua, in 1740. She also uncovered something that astounded me: George's son, John Horsford, also a plantation owner, was interred in Bath Abbey, in 1795. Until I moved to Bath, no one knew of any family connection with the area. Then it turned out that John's son Paul, who became chief justice of Antigua, was married in Bath, while his daughter and the two children of his son, Robert Marsh Horsford, chief justice on the island in the 1840s, are also buried there. It was my very own Who do You Think You Are? moment. And there was more. In 1929 the Horsford family business in St Kitts was taken over by a local family, the Marshalls. In Basseterre we visited the home of Pam Wall, a descendant of the Marshalls, and I noticed she had an oil painting of Majorca, done in the Twenties by my great aunt. My parents have a painting of the exact same scene in their house in London. The final twist came when Hazel informed me that I have claims to the kingship of Redonda, a tiny, uninhabited island between Nevis and Montserrat. Its first "king" was a Matthew Dowdy Shiell, whose father married a freed slave. Shiell claimed the island in 1865 and my great grandfather married his daughter. Apparently, the title holder has to be a writer. As I headed to the airport, I reflected on my newly explored heritage. Not only was there a Kittitian addition to my London roots, but my family's connection with St Kitts mirrors a strong and complicated link between Britain and this easy-going and beguiling Caribbean island. And just think, I might even have a claim to being the king of a Caribbean island. British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) flies from Gatwick to St Kitts on Tuesdays and Saturdays; the flight includes an hour-long stop in Antigua each way (you do not have to leave the plane). Package British Airways Holidays (0844 493 0787; ba.com/stkitts) offers seven nights" room only at the St Kitts Marriott from £799 between June 4 and July 2, or seven nights" room only at Ottley's Plantation from £899 in May. Book by January 22. Getting around Taxis are the best way to travel around independently. Fares are fixed rather than metered. Avis, Thrifty and Hertz all have outlets on St Kitts. The ferry from Basseterre to Charlestown in Nevis (see below) costs £5. Nevis, the beautiful sister island of St Kitts is only a short ferry trip from Basseterre. Wander around well-preserved Charlestown, go to the botanical gardens (botanicalgardennevis.com); visit the now deconsecrated Cottle Church (the first Anglican church on the island to welcome people of any race to worship in 1824) and pop into the modest Horatio Nelson Museum (he was married on Nevis). The St Kitts Scenic Railway (001 869 465 7263; stkittsscenicrailway.com; £55) is a good way to tour the island. A narrow-gauge line built between 1912 and 1926 to transport sugar cane across St Kitts, the "last railway in the West Indies" is now run by an enterprising Alaskan, Steve Hites. Double-decker observation carriages offer fine views as the train runs through villages along the northern coast. Informative rainforest and plantation tours can be organised through Greg's Safaris (465 4121; gregsafaris.com), which also leads a volcanic crater hike from £40 per person. Go to Sam Lake (465 8225) for a half or a full day's fishing. You can catch kingfish and barracuda year-round, but marlin is only caught in the sum mer and tuna between October and April; £280 for a half-day. Genealogist Hazel Brookes (668 9577; habrookes@gmail.com) can help trace any links to St Kitts (stkittstourism.kn and nevisisland.com). Timothy Beach Resort £ Central three-star hotel next to a lively beach and a run of restaurants known as "The Strip" (001 869 465 8597; timothybeach.com doubles from £92). St Kitts Marriott Resort ££ Vast and very American. Good for families but some might find it overwhelming, with its numerous restaurant options and huge outdoor pool area, and casino. Friendly atmosphere, good-size rooms and convenient for the championship golf course (869 466 1200; marriott.co.uk; doubles from £101). Ottley's Plantation Inn £££ A perfect retreat in wonderfully kept grounds bursting with exotic flora: queen palms, glorious lilies, gumbo limbo trees, red ginseng and poinciana; ask co-owner Art Keusch to show you around the estate. Gorgeous rooms (particularly the "Supreme" rooms and royal suite cottages), a swimming pool and an excellent restaurant - try the banana pancakes for breakfast (465 7234; ottleys.com; doubles from £170). Reggae Beach Bar & Grill £ On the south-east peninsula, and great fun, with good barbecue food; Friday night is the time to visit (762 5050; reggaebeachbar.com). Coal Pot £ A traditional Nevisian restaurant in the Peak Heaven heritage village on Nevis. It's run by Edward Herbert, who returned to the island to establish the site after 31 years in the UK. Wonderful views and excellent dishessuch as fungi (cornmeal) and salt fish (665 6926; peakheavennevis.com). Ballahoo £ This long-established restaurant overlooks the Circus in Basseterre. Goat water (stew) and conch fritters are the dishes to go for (465 4197; ballahoo.com). Nirvana ££ Have lunch, dinner or even West Indian afternoon tea in this delightful restaurant adjacent to the 300-year-old Fairview Great House (465 3141; nirvanafairview.com). Spice Mill ££ Head out to the less-developed (at the moment) Nevis peninsula for this beautifully appointed restaurant by a beach (662 6706; spicemillrestaurant.com).