Step back in time this New Year's Day on a walk through Spittal Pond to the site of the Island's first visitors.

The group Imagine Bermuda is to mark the Island's 400th anniversary on a stroll through both history and the natural beauty of the environment.

The walk, from 1 p.m. to 3.30 p.m., includes a stop at Spanish Rock, where stranded sailors the Island's first recorded visitors left their markings in 1543.

The walk starts at the eastern parking lot. Parking is also available at Harrington Hundreds Grocery and St. Marks' Church, with a free minibus service from A1 Supermart at Collectors Hill and John Smith's Bay.

Walkers will be accompanied by local experts Ruth Thomas, Lance Furbert and David Wingate. There will also be a presentation by astrologer Eddie McGonagle on the '400th Anniversary of the Telescope' and one by Andrew Dobson of the Audubon Society on birdwatching.

A spokesman for Imagine Bermuda said: "There could not be a better way to start our celebrations for 2009, than with something that promotes personal health, a better understanding of our history and environment, as well as bringing us together as a people.

"On January 1 we will mark the beginning of the observance of the 400th Anniversary of Bermuda, as well as the 400th anniversary of the invention of the telescope by Galileo.

"While the Sea Venture was being shipwrecked by a violent storm in 1609, Galileo was perfecting an invention that provided the first clear understanding of the Solar System – a paradigm shift. The footprints left by Somers directly impacted generations in Bermuda; those left by Galileo enabled world civilisations to understand the true nature of the Universe."