Firefly

Noël Coward built Firefly in 1956 on a hilltop above Port Maria, three hundred metres up with a view along the north coast that on a clear day reaches Cuba, and he lived and worked here until his death in 1973. The house is small and plain, deliberately: a studio with his piano and unfinished paintings, a bedroom, and a dining room set for the lunch he gave Queen Elizabeth II in 1965. It has been left substantially as it was. He is buried on the lawn under a plain white slab. The site was earlier occupied by a stone building associated with the privateer Henry Morgan, which survives at the foot of the garden.

What you actually see

• The house - studio, piano and rooms left as Coward had them.
• The view - along the north coast, reaching Cuba on the clearest days.
• The grave - a plain slab on the lawn where he chose to be buried.
• The Morgan building - the older stone structure below the garden.

When to go

December to April is drier and clearest for the view. Mornings are best before haze builds. It keeps limited hours and has closed for periods, so check before driving. It takes about an hour.

Honest expectations

It is modest and small, and visitors who do not know who Coward was will find little to hold them beyond the view, which is admittedly superb. The house has suffered from underfunding and periods of closure. The road up from the coast is steep and narrow. Guides expect a tip.

Nearby

Port Maria is below; Ocho Rios is half an hour west.