From the west and south coasts of Antigua you can generally see Montserrat, and certainly we’d spent a fair amount of time gazing out at it; however, we’d never been there. Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted between 1995 and 2010, destroying the main town of Plymouth and filling in the only real protected harbour. Since then, the island, with the help of the British Government (since it’s a British protectorate), has developed a small port in the north of the island. Work didn’t start until 2022 so it is still fairly rudimentary, and it doesn’t offer much protection in typical trade wind conditions so it’s hard to visit. Seeing a possible weather window we decided to head over.

Montserrat is known as “The Other Emerald Isle”. Many Irish settlers moved there in the early colonial days and it still celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. It’s also very green and lush, since its many hills produce a lot of rain. We sailed over on a somewhat squally morning and anchored in Little Bay, which is the only port of entry. Jeremy had filled out the necessary forms on line beforehand and we got through Customs and Immigration rather more quickly than everyone else who was there! A row of pretty waterfront restaurants and bars inevitably drew us, and we settled in for an Arrival Beer, with a lovely view of Redonda and Nevis.

The next morning we were woken around 5 by a freighter arriving at the main dock, and then around 6:30 a cruise ship arrived, which we weren’t expecting! There really is only one dock, so everyone uses it. A lady from the Port Authority tried to tell us we couldn’t tie our dinghy to the dinghy dock because it was being used by launches from the cruise ship (it wasn’t). Her suggestion was to pick up the dinghy and drag it onto a cement ramp with a 2 foot lip and strong surge kicking in. Fortunately, we were able to persuade her that we weren’t in the way. Montserrat could try to be a little more friendly to yachties, but I guess they have bigger problems to solve!

Off we went with Cecil. We were amazed how verdant the island is, with stunning forests and valleys. There is apparently good hiking, but we didn’t do any on this trip. However, we stopped to drink at the Runaway Ghaut, a fresh spring about which it is said that if you drink from the spring you will return to Montserrat – so I guess there will be another visit when we can sample the hiking!

We visited Montserrat Volcano Observatory. This was built after the first eruption in 1995, and provides a clear view of the volcano from what is hopefully a safe distance. They assign a risk rating to the Hazard zones: when we visited it was fortunately level 1, meaning we were able to go into the Buried City of Plymouth. The view was spectacular, if a little obscured by clouds. We could see plumes of steam coming from the crater although it was a little hard to distinguish them from the clouds.

We drove to Plymouth, the Buried City, which was completely abandoned in 1995. Some buildings are buried in ash up to their second or third floors, while some suffered more from the blast. We stood on what was once the Main Street of Plymouth and saw huge boulders, a narrow track, and sagging buildings. Looking into them you could see old-fashioned looking equipment and offices. Astonishing that what was once an attractive, thriving city has been entirely lost.

Our tour ended back in Little Bay. We said good bye to Cecil, and enjoyed lunch at Summer Breeze restaurant. The night was squally and rather rolly, so we left around 9 and headed towards Guadeloupe. This truly is a beautiful island and we’d love to visit again and explore more of the interior.