What to See and Do in Sandy Ground, Anguilla

Sandy Ground Village and Beach, located on bustling Road Bay on the beautiful island of Anguilla, offers visitors a myriad of opportunities to dine, drink, enjoy live music and enjoy the beautiful beach.

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Although Road Bay is Anguilla’s main port for ships, don’t let that scare you off. Sandy Ground Village and Beach, fringed by Road Bay, contains a long expanse of sugar soft sand and turquoise water and some of the best nightlife on the island.

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The last time we spent the day in Sandy Ground, we started at one end and walked to the other, enjoying many of the sights and sounds along the way. I’m sure there are a lot of other places to discover in this pretty area, but this should give you an idea of a few things you might want to explore.

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We began our day at Elvis’ Beach Bar at the north end of Sandy Ground Beach.

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We’d sampled some of Elvis’ stellar rum punch in a previous visit and looked forward to ordering more, but unfortunately they were not open yet, so instead we took the opportunity to lounge on the chairs in front of the bar, checking out the boats and the incredibly blue water. Read more about our visit to Elvis’ here.

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From there, we wandered south down the beach and took a quick jog to the left, across the road to check out The Pumphouse. The Pumphouse gets pumping after dark and is a great place for live music, food  and fun nightlife.

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We headed back to the beach and ended up at Johnno’s. Johnno’s is known for it’s great live jazz and in a previous visit, we spent a great afternoon with our toes in the sand, drinking rum and coke and listening to jazz. Perfect afternoon..

copyright Rum Therapy Moving on down the beach we pass the Visitor’s Pier. There are some large ships that anchor in the the deep water at the edge of the bay, boat visitors in and drop them off at the pier. This area hasn’t been all that busy when we were there, but I’m sure it can be.

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Shortly past the Visitors Pier sits the Sandbar. The Sandbar has a beautiful setting right on the beach and after 5:00p.m serves up excellent appetizers and drinks.

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Onward to Roy’s Bayside Grill. The last stop before the commercial pier, we decided to order a beverage and enjoy the sugar soft sand of the beautiful beach.

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We had gotten pretty warm walking in the beautiful sunshine and thought we’d order a Bushwacker.  It was delicious and we enjoyed it while sitting under a thatched umbrella on the beach in front of Roy’s.

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We fought the temptation to order another, knowing we had a lot more beach to explore and continued south from Roy’s. Now, it looks as if the beach ends at the commercial pier, but, at the time of this writing, we were able to go under the pier and continue on to a very quiet and beautiful stretch of beach past the pier.

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Just past the pier is a large boat that has been beached. The color contrast of the boat against the water was stunning…

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A little further and we came across some adorable Anguillan children playing in their “backyard”. Lucky kids…

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From there it was beach time.

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The end of the beach was marked by a large ship that found itself on the rocks during a hurricane in 1995.

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Thirsty, we headed back for a refreshing cocktail and some live music.

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Are you ready to spend a day in Sandy Ground, Anguilla?

For up to date information on all things Anguilla, be sure to check out our friend Nori’s website who lives on island. Can’t say we’re not just a little jealous….

To see more posts on Anguilla and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC
All information is correct to our knowledge at the time of writing, but be sure to verify current information before your visit. 

Blanchards Beach Shack, Anguilla

Located on idyllic Meads Bay, Anguilla, a colorful establishment called Blanchards Beach Shack doles out scrumptious food and drinks for those enjoying some time in the beautiful sand and turquoise water.

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Blanchards Beach Shack is located next door to Blanchards Restaurant, undoubtedly one of the finest restaurants on Anguilla. Both are owned by Bob and Melinda Blanchard who are originally from Vermont and New York. They are entrepreneurs who have successfully started a number of businesses, and one day decided to sell everything, move to Anguilla and open a restaurant. They’ve written a book about their adventure entitled A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean, which from all accounts, is an entertaining and enlightening account of the joys and challenges of selling it all and moving to a tropical island.

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Blanchards Beach Shack opened in 2011,  and in Bob and Melinda’s words, “On an island known for its expensive restaurants, we offer a delicious alternative in a casual, picture-postcard setting.”

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We ordered a couple of drinks, an M.B.L.T and a Cheeseburger (see the menu here) and enjoyed to beautiful Caribbean colors before us.

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After enjoying our meal, we grabbed our beverages and headed for the beach.

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Beach chairs and umbrellas are available for rent, or…

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…you can just plop in the sugar soft sand, like we did.

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Stunningly beautiful beach and great food and drinks – what’s not to like about Blanchard’s Beach Shack. Hope to be back soon…

 

Visit their website for more information:
Blanchards Beach Shack


Find Blanchards Beach Shack on our Anguilla Map


To see more posts on Anguilla and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

 

Copyright©Rum Therapy Beaches, Bars & More, Tropical Travel Guide, 2013
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC