It was only a matter of time
for the highest peaks of this Caribbean island to fall.
They rise to - I guess
- an incredible 1000 feet at least, and probably some less. There is no snow,
no glaciers but maybe fierce winds. And some cactus underfoot. Seen
from a Yannis catamaran anchored at Mayreaux, 
Big
Hill is the one right under the flag and Tibri the highest to its right.
I hiked from Clifton to Ashton, some 3-4 km, and then started asking some locals - suitably young and energetic looking - about possible access routes through the steep and prickly brush. Nobody knew and I was left to my own ingenuity. While contemplating my strategy, a young lady passed me on the empty street (everyone else recovering from the Easter celebrations the night before) trying to hide hysterical laughter behind her hand while turning her face: I believe she laughed because I was wearing those Canadian outdoors sunglasses which caused another mainland Vincentian lady to comment the other day that I looked like a murderer. But I remained undeterred - my mind solidly fixed on the imminent ascent.
Towards the end of the village I gained access to some open terrain, following some grassy slopes leading into the bush above. To my pleasant surprise I thus gained access to a foot trail, well trodden, that angled up the mountain side in the right direction - aiming for a saddle between Mount Tibri the highest point and Big Hill, the imposing mountain structure above the village of Ashton. I gained confidence and expected the expedition might turn out to be successful.
As usual for Union Island,
it was hot, but with a good supply of water and the right pace, anything is
possible. Soon enough I gained the saddle between the two peaks, noting that
there were some other trails joining mine, and when the trail disappeared it
was obvious to keep climbing up over patches of grazed meadow. My instincts
led me to find less well used trails through the brush and over and past some
patches of cactus (kick them and the long spines will go right through your
shoe, 
as I found outsoon enough).
The pictures shows Tibri
as seen from Big Hill. Past some rock outcrops, under some
more
trees, along some trails obviously used by goats, and eventually I could round
the summit rock structure and reach the top: Splendid view in all directions,
unfortunately blocked some by the Sahara sands in the atmosphere blown towards
the Caribbean all the way from Africa by the fierce trade winds.
South towards
the Grenadian islands
of Carriacou
beyond some UI's reefs and Petit Martinique, in front of which the
dream island of Mopion (those who know French should wonder about who in earth
gave it this name), no larger than a quarter of a football field, somewhere in
the middle of the picture to the left. North and
East towards the St. Vincent 
Grenadine Islands beyond Clifton Harbor and the
northern beach front of Union, St. Vincent main land not visible due to the
haze. And west a view down to the isolated Chatham
Bay, reachable only by some
other hiking trails I used before.
On the way down I decided to detour from the saddle to the top of Big Hill: here a well used trail leads right up to the summit within 5-10 minutes, offering the same view as from Mt. Tibri as well as onto the village of Ashton at its foot.
On the way back I again decided to follow instincts and choose another trail that seemed to angle more towards the village of Ashton - and in one straight sweep led me right into the middle of the village. On the way up I had noticed a clean and neat "rum shop" in the village - that's where I replenished my liquid reserves.
Now, if those young Ashton guys who did not know how to reach these hills happen to read this - this is what you should say to the tourist wishing to scale these heights:
From the Jehova’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall in Ashton, follow the road right across from the hall, ending up in some steps leading to the next cross road, step up the next set of steps on the other side of the cross road onto a patch of grazed land, between houses, and at the bush line a trail can easily be seen which now will continue at a gentle angle, with only a few rocky obstacles all the way around the side of Big Hill to the saddle between the two peaks. It may take not much more than half an hour to reach the saddle, and from there it would a good 10 min to either of the peaks.
Enjoy!