Explore Anguilla

2007-11-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

Anguilla

Explore Anguilla

•	East of The Valley
•	The Valley
•	West of The Valley

Shoal Bay

One of the region's greatest beaches, big enough that you'll find your own quiet spot away from the crowds, and dotted with several good restaurants.

Wherever you're staying on Anguilla, it's worth making the journey out to Shoal Bay East on the island's northeastern coast, where you'll find one of the finest beaches in the Eastern Caribbean, backed by coconut palms and sea grape. The pristine white sand shelves gently down to the turquoise waters and, though it's often busy, you can always find your own patch of beach and water. Snorkelling gear, lounge chairs and towels can be rented from outlets around the Shoal Bay Villas resort where you'll also find a series of laid-back bars and cafés.

Scilly Cay

On the eastern side of Anguilla, you find Island Harbour which is home to much of Anguilla's fishing fleet, along with a touch of tourist development. While it's not especially pretty, it's one of the most engaging parts of the island with its brightly painted boats and fishermen laying out their catch for sale. It's also worth making the trip to the harbour to catch the ferry out to tiny Scilly Cay , where you can have an excellent lunch at the restaurant and swim and snorkel in the clear waters.
A snack of tasty fresh lobster is grilled for you right by the beach.

details

Scilly Cay, Anguilla
Timothy O'Keefe
18 x 24 inches

Photographic Print

(6 other sizes available)
$39.99

The Valley

A couple of minutes' drive from the airport and pretty much in the dead center of the island, THE VALLEY is Anguilla's only town but not a place where you'll want to spend a great deal of time. It's a functional rather than inspiring place, home to government, banks and the main shops, and with little of historic or architectural interest.

The main sight of note is Wallblake House (Tues-Fri 10am-noon; US$5), built in 1787 by a local sugar planter and one of the oldest buildings on Anguilla. The house and its outbuildings of stables and kitchens are not on the scale of plantation houses to be found elsewhere in the Caribbean - a sign that planters here were less successful - but the combination of thick-cut stone and intricately carved timber is undeniably attractive. Donated to the Catholic Church in 1959, the house proved too small for holding services and the adjoining St Gerard's Catholic Church with its peculiar cobbled stone frontage was therefore built in 1966.

details

Little Bay, Anguilla
40 x 30 inches

Photographic Print

$69.99

Anguilla: Truly Stunning Beaches

2007-11-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Increasing streams of visitors beat their way Anguilla for it's glorious turquoise waters and truly stunning beaches. Some of these, particularly Rendezvous Bay in the southwest and Shoal Bay in the northeast, are among the finest in the Caribbean.

Anguilla is barely 35 square miles in size, and rising to a highest point of just over two hundred feet. The interior is dry, with very little vegetation. However, this has not hindered visitors.

details

Meads Bay, Anguilla
James Red
38 x 13 inches

Fine Art Print
$16.99

Long ignored by tourists, tiny Anguilla has benefited from careful study of the planning mistakes that have badly damaged neighbours like St Martin/St Maarten , where runaway development has led to rising crime and serious social problems. By contrast, Anguilla has eschewed large-scale tourist complexes, successfully aiming for top-quality, high-end development with relatively limited impact on the island's scarce resources. As a result, the island feels very safe, welcoming and relaxed. If you're happy with beach wandering, watersports and plenty of good restaurants, Anguilla is hard to beat.

Like other Caribbean islands Anguilla is a year-round destination; however, the best time to visit is between mid-December and mid-April when rainfall is low and the heat is tempered by cooling trade winds

The island
Anguilla is centered around its modest capital, The Valley, from which roads head both east and west to the island's fine beaches and natural attractions, chief among them are shimmering Shoal Bay East and Rendezvous Bay ....
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Anguilla