Sandy Bay

Sandy Bay is a small district and settlement on the southern coast of Saint Helena, the main island of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Its namesake bay is one of the island's most distinctive shorelines, a black volcanic sand beach framed by steep green ridges and the open South Atlantic.

History remains visible along the shore. Fortifications were first built at Sandy Bay in 1708, and the battery at Beach Hill was rebuilt in the late eighteenth century; several old cannons and a lime kiln still lie on the black sand. St Peter's church serves the district, whose main inland settlement is Bamboo Hedge near the Diana's Peak range.

Sandy Bay is best known to walkers and nature lovers. The Lot's Wife's Ponds trail, considered one of the island's best hikes, leads across a river bed to natural tidal pools in volcanic rock, with views of the rock outcrops Lot and Lot's Wife. The district edges Diana's Peak National Park, and the Sandy Bay Barn walk follows the rim of the bay's amphitheatre for sweeping coastal views.

The upper valley is one of the island's greenest farming areas. Much of Saint Helena's rare coffee, among the most expensive in the world, is grown here alongside bananas and other produce, making Sandy Bay part of the island's small agricultural economy.

For travellers, Sandy Bay offers a quiet contrast to Jamestown: a destination for hiking, geology, history and coffee culture rather than a conventional town centre. It suits independent visitors who want coastal walks and a slower pace, with the island reached by air at Saint Helena Airport.