Anguilla Beaches...
The Western Tip & Anguillita

 
 

Anguilla is a teeny island covered with thirty-three breathtaking beaches. Each is unique in its own way, yet some are not as well known as others...

You've likely heard of Meads Bay, Barnes and Shoal Bay. But that's just scratching the surface. For those who like to venture off the beaten path, the island is rich with pockets of secret beaches...

And so goes the story of how our family - a.k.a. my dad - found the most Western tip of Anguilla and Anguillita island...

Anguillita Island

It was a hot afternoon back when we just visitors to the island. My dad was driving back to the villa, in the nice air conditioned car... I remember it being so refreshing.

It was so cooling that when our turnoff to the villa came, I told my dad to keep on driving for just a little longer. My mom and sister agreed with me, so my dad kept straight.

And that's when my dad realized that he was headed to one of his "missing Anguilla beaches!"

Sherrick's Bay and Covecastles

What a "coincidence" (haha)! Sherrick's Bay was one of the last Anguilla beaches my dad had yet to visit.

Reclusive and out-of-the-way, Sherrick's Bay is a calm shoal on the south western end of the island.

Sherrick's Bay

We bumped through a maze of sandy back roads, finally coming to the end of the road and Sherrick's Bay, a bay unknown to most Anguillians. It lies behind Shoal Bay West.

My dad parked the car and decided to go out exploring.

He said he was just going to "explore a bit" and take a few pictures of this charming, unknown beach. But once he was out there, that wasn't good enough for dad... oh no!

We stayed back in the and waited...and waited...and waited! After 20 minutes we started to worry... dad still wasn't back yet!

Yuki and I hopped out of the car and went off down the beach to see if we could spot him...

Picture Perfect Sherrick's Bay

Dad was nowhere to be seen! We told mom. She climbed out of the car to come see for herself.

My mom looked around, and saw a ton of cliffs and rocks heading out to the most western tip of Anguilla. She figured he had gotten curious and had followed them to the Western tip of the island (boy, it turns out that she really knows my dad!).

The Beach at Sherrick's Bay

We all agreed that climbing out on the cliffs in sandals would be "so dad," but after another forty-five minutes passed, we started to get worried.

Another ten minutes or so went by and just when we were thinking of calling a search party -- finally we saw a sweaty, red, figure stumbling its way through the bushes. It was dad! We all breathed a sigh of relief.

He collapsed into the car, out of breath, lips cracked, really dehydrated. Naturally, we all asked him where the heck he had been!

Mom was right. He had gotten curious, walked the whole stretch of beach and then went along the rocks, and climbed up the cliffs that led to the most western point of Anguilla.

As Far West As You Can Go on Anguilla

He said that before he even reached his destination he was out of breath and feeling dead. But no, he wouldn't give up. He was almost there. And when he did get to where he wanted to be, he said it was a spectacular view and feeling.

The sight of roaring ocean, and Anguillita island in the distance was more than anyone could ask for.

Even though we didn't get to experience this "beautiful but deadly" journey, my dad brought some memories back. He collected two conch shells and one helmet shell (a rarer shell) in perfect condition (he said there were lots of others, too), and some spectacular snapshots!

Pelicans Roosting

Blow Hole
dad Said It Made A Loud Whistle

"Bolly Ham Bay"
Sandy Beach On The Western Tip

As Far West As You Can Go
Anguillita Island

My dad had hiked all the way to what is "Bolly Ham Bay". A tiny beach on the western most tip of the island, sometimes rough and other times calm.

Bolly Ham with Clear Panoramic Views of St. Maarten

This is where the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. This is the western most tip of the island.

To one side, it has lower sea rocks (the ones my dad walked along), to the other it has dramatic high cliffs. And in its middle sits a perfect white sand beach.

The Daunting West End, Anguillita Cliff Side!

The currents are particularly strong here, but on calm days Bolly Ham Bay is great for experienced snorkelling and kayaking. You can even make it to Anguillita! Check out the video below of Louise and friends kayaking and exploring Anguilla's closest cay...

Getting to Bolly Ham Bay

Luckily today there is no need to hike along the sea rocks to get to this little beach. There is a road that goes right to the far west end of Anguilla.

It can be tricky, however. The maze of roads twist and turn and the seemingly endless cross roads lead you down many dead ends.

To start off, make your way to the western end of the island, follow the central main road and keep west. Once you've passed Picante and Mango's, you're heading in the right direction.

Look out for this intersection and take a right at this sign...

Take your first right here, and continue up the dirt road, straight head

The road gets a little rocky, but keep going straight ahead. The road begins to fork into different smaller dirt roads that all lead to residences. It can get a bit confusing.

At the first Villa Kandara Sign, continue straight, do not turn left

The forks in the road can get confusing, continue driving straight head

Keep going straight until you get to your fourth left turn. There's a sign for the Villa Cliff House and Villa Kandara. Take a left here.

Take a left at this intersection,
keep an eye out for the Cliff House Villa sign as a marker

Head down that road and you'll soon notice the terrain changes from a simple dirt road into a more coastal, sea rock terrain. It should look something like this...

The road should look like this...

Continue along the winding path until you get to a 5-road intersection.

Ahead of you should be a straight road. Take it and keep going straight. Ignore the road to the right, that one leads to the Cliff House Villa. And the one on the left will take you to Sherrick's Bay.

Take the road in the middle (just left of the green fence)

Follow the road down, keeping the green gate of the Cliff House Villa to your right.

Take a left and head down this final, winding fork in the road.

At the end of the fence, take a left

Anguillita will start to peep into view over the rocky terrain.

Anguillita should pop into view any minute now...

There's a small clearing of land that can fit a car or two.

Parking here is only a 1 minute walk to the beach...

Bolly Ham Bay is only a minute's walk away with wide, reaching views of Anguillita and St. Maarten...

Bolly Ham's Only a Minute Away

Bolly Ham Bay is the only place to get a truly stunning view of Anguillita, a cay many people know about but don't know how to get to.

Anguilla from its most Western Point

An afternoon at Bolly Ham is always well worth the journey :-)