Folly Ruins

Folly was built in 1905 by an American, Alfred Mitchell, a large concrete mansion with sixty rooms and a colonnaded front on a point looking over Port Antonio's east harbour. It began falling apart within a couple of decades and was abandoned by the 1930s. The usual story is that seawater was used in the concrete mix, corroding the steel from inside; whether that is the whole explanation is debated, but the collapse was fast and the roof went long ago.

What you actually see

• The colonnade - rows of concrete columns still standing across the front.
• The shell - the roofless remains of a sixty-room house.
• The point - the site looking over Port Antonio's east harbour.
• The lighthouse - Folly Point lighthouse of 1888 nearby on the headland.

When to go

December to April is the drier season. Morning light on the columns is the best. The site is exposed with no shade at any time.

Honest expectations

The structure is unstable and collapsing further; walking under the remaining slabs is dangerous. There is no supervision, no signage and no facilities. The seawater story is widely repeated but not settled.

Nearby

Port Antonio is west, and San San is east along the coast.