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The La Toc Road leads west from downtown Castries along the south side of the harbour. Toward the western outskirts of town, as the road begins to climb, is the sizeable Victoria Hospital , the island's largest; a mile or so beyond, still on La Toc Road, is La Toc Battery (Dec-April daily 9am-3pm; May-Nov by appointment only; EC$6; tel 758/451-6300), one of the island's best-preserved examples of British military bastions. The 2.5-acre, nineteenth-century cement fortification features mounted cannons and dim underground bunkers, tunnels and cartridge storage rooms; one of the bunkers holds a large exhibit of antique bottles. Also in the grounds is a small botanical garden , where guides will answer questions and conduct tours at no extra cost. In order to pass from Castries to the south of the island, winding through the loosely demarcated suburb of Morne Fortune is inevitable. Comprising a series of hills that flank the capital to the south, the area's high elevation provides striking views of the city and the north coast - on a clear day you can see the island of Martinique - and to the south, glimpses of the conical Pitons at Soufriere. The area is reachable via Manoel Street in downtown Castries, which becomes Government House Road as it begins its snakelike ascent towards Government House (open by appointment only Tues & Thurs 10am-noon & 2-4pm; tel 758/452-2481, ), an imposing, white Victorian two-storey structure dating from 1895. The building houses the small Le Pavillon Royal Museum ( ), where you can see a collection of artefacts and documents relating to the history of the house as well as modern St Lucian pieces of significance, A few winds and turns beyond Government House, Morne Road takes you into the heart of the neighbourhood to the top of the 260-metre Morne Fortune itself, named "Good Luck Hill" by the French. The hills were first fortified by the French in 1768, then recaptured (and renamed Fort Charlotte ) by the British in 1803. Several of the existing military encampments, cemeteries, barracks and batteries are slated to be restored and opened to the public; however, the process is incomplete and many are still in a state of disrepair. The best-preserved remnants are now part of a multipurpose government complex as well as the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College , named for St Lucian Nobel Prize-winner who is buried in the grounds. The college itself comprises several larger, nineteenth-century yellow-brick structures with gleaming white columns, all of military origin. You're free to amble about and visit the buildings and Inniskilling monument , honouring British soldiers who battled the French here in 1796, which is on the south side of the college complex behind the Combermere Barracks.
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