Comfortless Cove

Comfortless Cove is a small bay of pale sand between black lava north of Georgetown, and the name is not decorative: in the nineteenth century ships with yellow fever aboard were sent here to be quarantined, and the crews who died were buried in the lava behind the beach, where the graves and headstones remain. The water in the cove is exceptionally clear and it is now the island's main swimming and snorkelling spot.

What you actually see

• The cove - pale sand between black lava with very clear water.
• The quarantine graves - the burials of yellow fever victims in the lava behind.
• The snorkelling - the reef fish in the clear water of the bay.
• The lava coast - the black rock running away on both sides.

When to go

Year round; the water is warm in all seasons. Swell can make the cove rough. The sun at sea level on Ascension is severe.

Honest expectations

There is no shade whatsoever and the sun here is punishing. Facilities are none. Currents outside the cove are strong.

Nearby

Georgetown is south, and Boatswain Bird Island is on the eastern coast.