Being a tour guide is all about experience and a passion for what you are sharing with your guests.

And that is exactly what Clair Spencer brings when she shows visitors around St. Peter’s Church in St. George’s.

There isn’t much she doesn’t know about the church, which sits on a site dating back to the time of Bermuda’s first settlers and has a claim to be the oldest church in continous use in the western hemisphere.

Clearly she loves to share her massive knowledge of the church with tourists and locals alike — it was that dedication that won her the title of tour guide of the year in Bermuda’s annual Visitor Industry Partnership awards.

According to her admirers, time spent with Clair leaves a lasting impression...”anyone coming to look around St. Peter’s goes away with a warm feeling and a great deal of knowledge. Clair knows everything there is about the church and area. She answers questions with pleasure and is always ready to tell a story”.

There has been a church on the site since 1612 and parts of the current building are said to date back to 1712. If that wasn’t ancient enough, the font is said to belong to the 14th century and was brought to the Island by the first settlers.

As well as interesting artefacts inside, there is also a reminder of a turbulent period in Bermuda’s past in the graveyard.

Buried there is a Governor of Bermuda and his Aide de Camp, both of whom were shot dead in 1973.

In addition, the graveyard has many links with the Island’s black history and features in the new Diaspora heritage trail.