AT A GLANCE
Why go?
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.
A black-sand bay built for the end of the day
What you notice first is the colour. Like most shores on this volcano-fed island, the sand here is dark ebony rather than pale, but in bright daylight the fine grains catch and reflect the sun so the bay can glow a lighter, almost shimmering grey than the sand really is. The water is strikingly clear against that dark bottom, and the towering onyx cliffs that close off each end of the bay give the whole scene a dramatic, framed quality you won't find on a generic beach.
As afternoon mellows, the west-facing orientation pays off. The cliffs and horizon take on the full colour of the setting sun sinking into the water toward the neighbouring Leeward Islands, and on a clear evening the sky puts on a show. Locals and visitors alike drift up onto the bluff and the picnic pavilion to watch it — for many the sunset here is the real reason to come.