Rock ‘n Roll in the Anchorage. Rock n Roll in the Hills

The anchorage at Montserrat is small and sheltered from the wind – but not the swell!


Montserrat’s volcano is still smoking. Clouds of steam and ash are being thrown up around the clock, and scientists at the observatory issue regular updates on the likelihood of another eruption.


The last in 1995 devastated the capital Plymouth, burying it under a pyroclastic river of ash. Only the spires and roofs of the bigger houses show above the flow.

The little “bungalow” with the red roof (bottom left of centre) is actually the top floor of a two story house, and we walked up to, then onto the roof, and looked in. Shoes and other personal effects still lay partially buried in the ash.


The north of the island is still beautiful. Covered in rich woodland, we walked up (extinct) volcanoes, saw the Montserrat Orioles - beautiful birds, unique to the island, humming birds, hawks, butterflies, iguanas, and agoutis (like an overgrown guinea pigs crossed with a rabbit).

We tried the local food, Goat Water, their version of Irish stew, and coconut pasties, then visited he recording studio.Spools of sound recording tape, mainly unused, littered the floor in the derelict Air Studios where Sir George Martin had recorded some of the most famous bands of the sixties and seventies, including the Beatles.