Spanish Town

Spanish Town, also called The Valley, is the only real settlement on Virgin Gorda: a low strip of shops, houses and government offices along the western shore around a yacht harbour, with the ferry dock at one end and the airstrip behind. It is where everything on the island is arranged from, and the road south from it leads to The Baths and north to the North Sound. The town is quiet and functional rather than picturesque.

History

Spanish Town was the capital of the territory from 1680 until 1741, when the government moved its offices to Road Town. Nearby, the chimney, boiler house, cistern and shafts of the copper mine worked by Cornish miners survive in the Copper Mine National Park (Wikipedia, Spanish Town, British Virgin Islands).

What's there

• The yacht harbour - the marina the town is built around.
• The ferry dock - the link to Tortola and the other islands.
• The shops and offices - the island's only concentration of services.
• The road junction - the point the routes to The Baths and North Sound divide.

When to go

December to May is the season. Ferry schedules are reduced outside it. Hurricane season runs June to November.

Things to know

The town is functional rather than attractive and there is little to see in it. Ferry timetables change and should be checked. Prices on the island are high.

Nearby

The Baths are south, and Gorda Peak is north.

Key facts