Shirley Heights English Harbour Antigua

John and Susie from Ballyhoo (whom we had last seen at St Anne’s, Martinique) were anchored in Freeman Bay when we arrived. Over an afternoon coffee they explained that English Harbour is one of their favourite places in the Caribbean and passed on some top tips on where to visit. One of these was to climb up to Shirley heights to enjoy the morning views over the island.

Galleon Beach, English Harbour. There are plenty of Admiralty pattern anchors all around English Harbour. This one used to secure one end of an 18^thcentury hurricane chain. Both the chain and the anchor which secured the other end of the chain are still on the bottom of Freeman Bay

A land hermit crab, using an old seed
 casing in lieu of a shell, spotted on
 the way up to Shirley Heights

We agreed that climbing up to Shirley Heights would best be done early(ish) in the morning, before the sun got too hot so, early the next morning (there’s a theme here!) we took the dinghy ashore onto Galleon Beach and secured it beside the old Royal Navy anchor. 100 metres or so inland we found the start of the trail that leads up along the ridgeline to Shirley Heights. A sign at the start of the trail explains that the path is maintained by the RN Tot Club. More about the Tot Club later.

The climb up to the top (490ft) was well worth it for the fabulous views out over the whole of English Harbour and into Falmouth Harbour beyond.

View to the northeast over Willoughby Bay

There were also great views out to the northeast across Willoughby Bay. To the southwest we could see Monserrat 28 miles away and, 40 miles off to the south, Guadeloupe. The significance of this vantage point had not been not lost on the British military and, during the mid-1700s, they built a large lookout and signal station complex here to warn of approaching enemy ships. We saw the ruins of the guard house, officers’ quarters, Royal Artillery battery, and the 30-bed hospital. On a more current theme, we also learned that at sunset there would be a large barbecue on the site with reggae and steel bands playing. It looked like it would be a day of 2 climbs to the top of Shirley Heights!

Freeman Bay (top) Nelson’s Dockyard (bottom) with Falmouth Harbour behind it

Looking down over English Harbour we felt that we really ought to explore Nelson’s Dockyard and walk over to the next inlet, Falmouth Harbour. So, before we lost too much more of the day, we headed back down the trail to the dinghy and a late breakfast on BV.

English Harbour Antigua