My girl and I went walking

by the Caribbean sea. So wrote Jimmy Buffett in his track Pre-You. Buffett is multi-talented American singer–songwriter, author, and businessman. His songs often make reference to an “island escapism” lifestyle.  I think that many of us could do with some of that right now. His songs are full of references to various Caribbean islands and the sea itself. 

In fact this week we head off to Antigua as it is on the UK quarantine free travel list.  Only 1 Covid test within 7 days of travel is required to entry the island if you fly in or none is you arrive by cruise ship. One thing that you can certainly do in Antigua, as there are 54 miles of coastline, to walk along. There are in fact 365 beaches along the coast, that’s one for every day of the year.

Of those beaches, amongst the most famous are Galley Bay Beach for surfing, Half Moon Bay for relaxing and Dickenson Bay which is the most popular, with a number of hotels and restaurants.  For example it is here that you can find the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort and the Siboney Beach Club.

Dickenson Bay - Antigua
Dickenson Bay – Antigua

Many of the hotels on the island are built along the beaches so that you can literally step out of your room straight on to the beach.  In fact you could be on the beach within 10 hours of taking off from London with flight times of around 8 and a half hours.

Should you want to tear yourself away from the beach, then head up to Shirley Heights from where you can obtain the best view on the island.  At a height of 490 feet, you get superb views of English and Falmouth Harbours and is best visited at sunset and the early evening.

View from Shirley Heights - Antigua
View from Shirley Heights – Antigua

Today, Nelson’s Dockyard provides many sites and activities for the modern day visitor to enjoy.  It was built back in the early eighteenth century, when the British realised the value of having a dockyard to harbour ships in bad weather and keeping an eye on the French. The dockyard is named after Lord Nelson, who as Captain of the HMS Boreas, was sent to Antigua to enforce British laws in the colonies.

Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua
Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua

Call Maggie today and book your island escape.

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