Cont'd from p29 Batting for Antigua!


People return year after year. We were here a decade ago and are impressed by the changes, not least the new Cove restaurant where the tables at the front are so close to the sea wall it's a wonder a passing mahimahi doesn't land on your plate.


Antigua has some of the best beaches and the colour of the water is so inviting that on more than one occasion near Darkwood Beach in the south west, we park the car on the verge and run into the sea like a couple of eight-year-olds. Anyone new to the island has to do English Harbour, the only remaining Georgian naval dockyard in the world. It's changed a bit from when Nelson was here in 1784. He was only 26 and not popular with the locals as one of his jobs was to prohibit trade with ex-colonial Americans, which hit the economy. From English Harbour, there's no excuse for not pushing on until you reach Half Moon Bay, one of the most beautiful unspoilt beaches in the world - for the moment. After a long legal battle it's to be developed, including a Rosewood


hotel, due to open in 2023. A mile-long crescent of white sand protected by a coral reef, it's wide enough so that on certain days you can surf in the middle and swim in the calmest of waters on the two flanks.


When we arrive on a Sunday afternoon, a game of beach cricket is nearing its conclusion. Locals and tourists are taking part; a cardboard beer box is the wicket. I go all sentimental and position myself at square leg in case a catch should come my way - and defy anyone not to 'get' the Caribbean when confronted by such a scene.


View offers to Antigua >


MAIN: Veronica's bar at Blue Waters is the perfect spot to watch the sunset over the Caribbean Sea


BELOW L-R: Cove Restaurant at Blue Waters


Cricket is a way of life in the Caribbean and everyone is welcome


Kick off your shoes and head for the beach


30 DIALAFLIGHT WORLD January 2021


Originally published in the Daily Mail


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