Montserrat · MS

Woodlands Beach

Woodlands Beach is the dark-sand showpiece on Montserrat's west coast, about halfway down the island's Leeward side near St Peter's and the administrative hub at Brades. A quarter-mile strip of ebony volcanic sand lies cupped in a bay with the open Caribbean in front and the green slopes of the Centre Hills behind, bookended at either end by soaring black cliffs. Because it faces due west, it has earned a reputation as one of the best sunset spots on the "Emerald Isle of the Caribbean." The beach is well serviced but undeveloped, kept easy and uncluttered by the Montserrat National Trust, which manages it. A shaded clifftop pavilion with benches, running water and toilets sits above the sand, with steps leading down to the shore — the standard local picnic spot by day and a place to gather as the light goes.