• Princess Margaret Beach is just down from Port Elizabeth on the leeward side of the island. This beach is a lovely ribbon of golden sand and is so named because Princess Margaret enjoyed a dip there in 1958.
• Lower Bay is nearby, and is a popular, expansive beach. There are a number of very good, and reasonably priced, bars and restaurants, making it a favourite venue both during the day and in the evening.
• Friendship Bay is a short ride from town, and it is a long, wide sweep of beach, with excellent conditions for diving, sailing and snorkeling. The Friendship Bay Hotel is located there (27 rooms), which has a beach bar and restaurant. Also in Friendship, Herby and Spicy is a delightful beach bar with chair-swings, and weekly jump-ups.
• Hope Bay is north of Friendship, and is a remote, picturesque beach. It is difficult to get to, but that makes it all the nicer! There are no hotels or bars nearby, so bring a picnic. It has rather shallow waters and a long line of breakers from the Atlantic Ocean; this makes it ideal for body surfing and windsurfing.
• Spring Bay is a bit further north and it is romantic and very secluded. There are acres of tall palm trees, the working plantation and hotel of Spring.
• Industry Bay is located just above Spring, and is inaptly named! There is no heavy industry anywhere on the island. Industry has a nice beach and is wonderful for snorkeling.
• Park is a short walk around the corner from Industry, and it is another palm-shaded, undeveloped sandy beach. It is also home to the Oldhegg Turtle Sanctuary.

This Right of Way is shown on survey maps as early as 1763 (“London printed for
Rob Sayers. Map&Printseller, No 53, in Fleet Street, as the Act directs…”) and as
recent as the geographical map reprint of 1998 (Director General, Ordinance Survey Romsey Road, Southhampton, England) published by the Govt.of the UK for the Govt.of SVG, 1983.

For centuries people have been using this path. Older Lower Bay folks recall having
walked this road to school in Port Elizabeth. More recent, weekenders from the mainland,
Bequians from the entire island and visiting tourists enjoyed the convenience to get from
the harbor in relatively short time to the two most frequented beaches on Bequia, “Princess Margaret” and Lower Bay. In doing so one is avoiding the much longer and often hot and high traffic main road and at the same time is enjoying one of the most scenic
hikes on Bequia.

Unfortunately, over the past months a new landowner has engaged in gradually closing off
the path while smartly applying some sort of “salami tactics”: First, making the path difficult with all sorts of construction debris, than build a small wall then a house on top of the path while still allowing a certain detour leading around a construction site. The final straw: huge signs saying “further access denied” and to crown the malicious act, the erection of a 10 ft wall across the Right of Way barbed with glass splinters.

Interestingly, over the years, the various owners of the nearby PLantation House Hotel, formerly the “Sunny Caribbee”, the oldest and largest hotel on Bequia, habe never blocked this Right of Way which leads along the hotels vast grounds although they might have claimed reason to protect their guests. On the contrary, they build steps and a planked walkway in order to accommodate the General Public.

Who ever put up signs and walls is demonstrating contempt of the people of SVG and as far as I know, is in contempt of the existing law. We need to uphold this people’s Right of Way so our children and our children’s children may continue to walk to their favorite beaches along this ancient path where their ancestors had walked before.