Photographs of Antigua

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Antigua is the largest of the British Leeward Islands and is about 14 miles long and 11 miles wide. It has a complex coastline of safe harbours, and a protective, nearly unbroken wall of coral reef. It would make a perfect place to hide a fleet. And so in 1784 the legendary Admiral Nelson sailed to Antigua and established Great Britain's most important Caribbean base. Antigua remained under British control until 1981, when Antigua and Barbuda gained independence.
There are 365 beaches on Antigua, one for each day of the year. The great majority rest inside the calm, protected waters of the island's Caribbean side. Antigua used to be a quiet island but has been found by the resort trade in the last few years and now suffers almost as much as some of the other islands.