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Plymouth

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Montserrat's capital in law, emptied by the volcano in 1997; the police let visitors in with a licensed guide on the days the mountain allows.

Fly to Plymouth All of Montserrat
Arrival
John A. Osborne · MNI, from Antigua
To the town
About 10 km from the airport as the crow flies
Private jets
Land at Antigua (ANU), then a short hop
Best time
February to April

The city

A capital under ash.

Plymouth was a Georgian port built on old lava, with St Anthony's Church dating back to 1636 and some four thousand people in its streets. The volcano emptied it in stages: a first evacuation in 1995, a final one on 3 April 1996, and between 4 and 8 August 1997 eruptions that destroyed about four-fifths of the town.

Plymouth is still the capital on paper, the only ghost town in the world to hold that title, while the government works from Brades and a new capital rises at Little Bay. Since about 2015 trucks have come by day to take out sand and gravel. Visitors need police permission and a certified guide, granted day by day as conditions allow, to walk among broken church walls, the stump of a clock tower and the shells of hotels.

  • The ruined town Guided walks over the volcanic ground, past what is left of churches and hotels.
  • Richmond Hill The northern edge of the old town, visible from the observatory deck and itself a viewpoint.
  • From the sea Boat tours run along the coast past Plymouth; ships may not anchor in the exclusion zone.

Arriving

Two flights to reach a ghost town.

Plymouth's airport was lost to the volcano. The island's present strip at Gerald's, in the north, dates from 2005 and is less than 600 metres long, so Antigua, 57 km away, is the usual gateway.

Business & First Class Getting to Montserrat Islanders of FlyMontserrat, nine seats each, cross from Antigua in some twenty minutes, and BMN Air flies the same route. Winair links Sint Maarten twice a week. When the seasonal ferry from Antigua runs, the crossing takes about ninety minutes. Business & First fares Private Jet By private jet Jets land at V.C. Bird International on Antigua, where Signature runs the private terminal. From there you charter a FlyMontserrat Islander for the last leg. Flying times are given from Antigua. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Barbados 1 h 00
  • Punta Cana 1 h 15
  • Chicago 5 h 10
  • Dallas 5 h 25
  • London 8 h 50 long-range jet

When to go

February to April.

Warm all year, about 27 °C in winter and 30 °C in late summer, with the sea between 26 and 29 °C. The ground is driest from February to April. From May the rain builds, and September is the wettest month.

  1. 27° J 107 27°
  2. 27° F 66 26°
  3. 27° M 71 26°
  4. 28° A 91 27°
  5. 29° M 137 27°
  6. 29° J 132 28°
  7. 30° J 165 28°
  8. 30° A 180 28°
  9. 30° S 203 29°
  10. 29° O 168 29°
  11. 29° N 163 28°
  12. 28° D 119 27°
Best months weather2travel.com, long-term averages

Elsewhere in Montserrat

More reasons to come.

All of Montserrat

Flying to Plymouth?

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Business & First Private Jet