Most people experience the Falkland Islands as part of a cruise itinerary, a day or two at the most. However if you can cope with the crackpot immigration system, a more immersive visit is worth the effort, especially if the 1982 War is of interest. Add a few penguins on the side and our 3 weeks of exploring East Falkland flew by.
Not Welcome in the Falklands!
Within 10 minutes of arriving on the Falklands Islands, I was thinking that we should have let Argentina have them!
We had left Punta Arenas on a gloriously sunny day; 1 ½ hours later we landed at the Falklands under a thick layer of cloud which was surprisingly resistant to the howling gale.
It was so strong that as we were unloading people were urged to get up to the front of the plane quickly as it was in danger of tipping up! I was then told to take my hat off before exiting the plane to avoid losing it.
Things had not improved at immigration. I had booked the first two nights accommodation but had not planned beyond that. Subsequently, as we couldn’t produce proof of accommodation for the entire stay, we were dealt with quite rudely and only stamped in for a week rather than the 3 we wanted – we would have to return to the immigration office when we had sorted something out!
“I bet they didn’t ask 45 Commando if they had their accommodation booked!” Simon fumed.
A bus from Falkland Islands Tours drove us into Stanley very slowly (the speed limit is 40 mph) for $30 each and dropped us at Shortys Motel which I suspect was at the quieter end of town but was one of the more sensibly priced options at £95 a night with continental breakfast.
A bijoux little motel with only 6 ensuite rooms, it sits just above H. Jones Road and has a distant inlet view from the large windows in its adjacent functional diner.
We headed to the nearby Kelper’s Store to grab some lunch. It was strange to see all the English products again although £14 for a tub of Quality Street seemed a bit excessive! Everything is shipped in from England and payment is in pounds, either Sterling or the local more colourful version.
I decided we had better get something sorted re. digs. There aren’t many guide books to the place and the Bradt 2021 edition is probably the most recent, but it did mention a couple of camping possibilities. This was just as well: there is only one plane a week yet the tourist office closed early on the day of its arrival – we were rapidly learning that the Falklands are geared up to cruise passengers and day tours, not ‘come as you are’ tourists like us!
To add insult to injury, there is virtually no free WiFi anywhere other than at the Tourist Office on the jetty which hands out complementary 30 minute Sure cards which only work there.
However we struck lucky with Mrs Kay McCallum. She said she had given up her B&B but that we were welcome to camp in her garden.
“But the man is coming to mow the lawn tomorrow!”
I was able to reassure her that we had two nights at Shortys so would not interfere with the mowing, so she was happy to have us for £5 a night which sounded extremely reasonable. She even offered to ring immigration for us to assure them that we were not going to be homeless!
Ross Road Sightseeing
With that sorted we were able to explore a little of the sea front along Ross Road. Stanley dates back to the 1840s, a site chosen for its sheltered harbour, fresh water and access to peat – there were no trees to be found in the islands so peat was the fuel of choice. The population is about 4000 people.
The obvious focal point is the world’s most southerly Anglican cathedral with its giant crossed blue whale jaw bones which were erected in 1933 to celebrate a century of British rule. They echo those found in Whitby (England) which is twinned with Stanley.
Dating back to 1892, it is a simple brick building with a wooden roof, giving the interior a warm feeling. Regimental flags are displayed and an Order of the Garter which once belonged to the son of Sir Ernest Shackleton. There is also a cute collection of hassocks with local themes.
Heading westwards, the Liberation Monument has a flamboyant Britannia on top and marks 14th June 1982 when the Argentinians surrendered, marking the end of the Falklands War – a flanking wall has memorials to those who died. The regiments and ships involved are engraved on the monument: far more than one ever realises.
Just behind on Thatcher Drive is a Margaret Thatcher bust in bronze – I can’t imagine that there are actually many of these in the world as I don’t think she would last 5 minutes in England, but here she is rightly eulogized, being UK Prime Minister during the Falklands War.
Locally made, it was unveiled on 10th January 2015, a date designated Thatcher Day in the Falklands and her famous words are displayed beneath the bust.
“They are few in number but they have the right to live in peace, to choose their own way of life and to determine their own allegiance.” (April 3rd 1982, the day after the Argentinian invasion).
After a monument to the Royal Marines, we came to Government House, a low slung green and white affair dating back to 1845 with an orangery rather bizarrely tacked on the front although I suspect it is so that the occupant can enjoy the sea views out of the wind. Apparently it also has a very southerly grape vine!
It was here, on 2nd April 1982, that 70 Royal Marines held out against the invasion, causing one Argentinian death, until the Governor Rex Hunt ordered them to surrender at 09.25.
Just beyond is the 1914 Battle Memorial – although it is the fighting of 1982 that springs to mind when one mentions the Falklands, there was also a major sea battle in WW1 when a German squadron was destroyed by Vice Admiral Sturdee on 8th December: 4 ships were sunk and 2,200 sailors died. The date is marked by a national holiday and fly-past.
A nearby sculpture of the sun marks an intriguing art work, whereby the other planets are scattered around in relation to it – you have to ascend Tumbledown to find Neptune! It looked rather splendid too, against a backdrop of bright yellow gorse bushes and the low, stoney land across the inlet.
We decided to toast our arrival in The Victory, the sort of down to earth everyday boozer that has become extinct in England – it probably looked dated in 1982. Its fellow pub, The Globe, is presently under restoration.
“You can tell we are not in England!” Simon nodded at two handbags left alone on a table, their owners elsewhere.
He had a pint of the local Rockhopper Ale whilst I had a cider; the bill was about £5 which was not very English-like either these days.
We decided to try our diner for dinner and had a very ordinary burger before retiring to bed to find that the television was on English time, so 3 hours ahead of us. It also had a Gurkha channel and British Forces radio, no doubt catering to those stationed at the Mount Pleasant base.
Rachel from Accounts didn’t look any better from the other side of the world – we rapidly turned it off.
Gypsy Cove
After a leisurely breakfast, we decided to explore the Gypsy Cove peninsula which has some of the more accessible penguin beaches of the islands.
Although it looked fairly close on the map we ended up doing a 17 km walk, albeit it a very worthwhile one – at least it was largely flat!
We initially dropped down through the 1982 Memorial Wood where each tree commemorates a fallen soldier, plus the 3 civilian women who unfortunately got in the way of artillery fire near the end of the war.
A friendly cat followed us onto the sea front where we followed paths giving views of the floating container port to reach Boxer Bridge. Old wooden fishing trawlers rotted in quiet corners but the most famous wreck is found a little further around the bay on Whalebone Cove.
The Lady Elizabeth was built in Sutherland in 1879, being 68 m long and 1,096 tonnes. She was one of the last generation of deep sea sailing cargo ships and strongly built of steel.
After weathering a storm at Cape Horn, she arrived at the Falklands in March 1913; further damage was caused by hitting a rock on the way into the sound. Deemed uneconomical to repair she was used for storage until breaking her moorings in 1936, when she was blown into the cove where she still looks in surprisingly good shape given her age. Her 3 tall masts still stand proudly although she recently lost her bowsprit.
We continued on around the peninsula, passing two more minor wrecks, the Plymouth and then the Samson, where night herons had found a handy roost.
Crossing the rocky Engineer Point, we had fine views over Stanley and Hadassah Bay where Magellanic penguins nested in the tussocks behind the pebble beach.
Eventually our meanderings around the coastline, past old gun positions, led us to the wild rocks at Ordnance Point, another one time manned defence site in WW2 whose footings and a gun still remain.
Across the bay is Sparrow Cove where the famous SS Great Britain (designed by Brunel) was scuttled in 1937. Built in 1843, she was rescued in 1970 and returned to her home dock in Bristol where she has been beautifully restored. Her original mast is actually on display in a mini park on the Stanley waterfront.
We found a rock shag colony busily nesting on one outcrop and just opposite a gang of black crowned night herons on their nests, their topknots waving in the wind.
The Falklands flightless steamer ducks were also sitting – they are found in pairs and defend a territory. The male is the one with the bright orange bill, the female has a yellow/green one.
Just around the corner on the beautiful white sand of Gypsy Cove there was another Magellanic penguin colony. These penguins are sometimes known as Jackass penguins as they make a braying noise. There were clusters on the beach and others waddling surprisingly quickly up the hills to their nests, which are found in burrows.
The yellow gorse made a wonderful contrast to the blue waters as we crossed over to Yorke Bay, where the Argentinians actually landed in 1982. It was once heavily mined but the island is supposed to be fully cleared now. Sadly the penguin colony at Yorke Point has been wiped out by bird flu.
It was quite a long walk home so we were glad to reach the Narrows Bar where we scoffed fish and chips in rather utilitarian surroundings before the final stretch of what had turned into a 17 km walk!
Cape Pembroke
This is at the other end of the Peninsula to Gypsy Cove, and is equally scenic with more white sand beaches – if you walk from town and cover the whole peninsula it will be another long 17 km day – the route is covered in the ‘Cape Pembroke Peninsula’ self-guided walks leaflet.
There are a few things to see scattered around the place, starting with the huge Totem Pole beside the road on the way out to the cape. It was started by the soldiers in 1982: a multitude of milage signs are tacked to an electricity pylon making it one of the tallest of its type. It is surmounted by a black panther – God only knows how it got up there!
Most of the towns are English with the odd exotic addition. The sign with a penguin posed between the English and Falkland flags was also popular for photos.
Surf Bay near the start of the Cape is a gorgeous white sand beach fringed by emerald waters and rocky headlands where tussac grass grows undisturbed. To its southern side there is a memorial to HMS Glamorgan who provided back up in the battle for the Two Sisters but was hit by an Exocet the next morning, 12th June, 1982. It was fired from where the memorial is today and 14 people died in the attack.
A pleasant meander along the rugged coastline eventually ends at the Pembroke Lighthouse, a picturesque black and white traditional model from 1907 – it was unfortunately under wraps for restoration on our visit. These days a small solar powered light is all that is necessary – it can be seen just behind the lighthouse.
There are two more memorials on the headland: to the 21 SAS men killed on 19th May 1982 when a Sea King helicopter crashed during a cross decking operation after hitting an albatross and a large propeller to the Atlantic Conveyor which was sunk on 25th May 1982 – a ro-ro ferry which ended up in a war zone.
The return leg leads past a couple of WW1 guns on the ridge just behind Stanley’s original airport which is now used for local flights around the islands with FIGAS. We checked out the possibility of going to Pebble Island with them but it was £150 one way so £600 return for 2 people – some things are just too stupidly expensive! And I hate flying in small aircraft! However, if you do want to visit any of the outer islands, they are your only option unless you are on a cruise.
The Historic Dockyard Museum
This little museum is quite charming and very comprehensively covers a lot of things pertinent to the islands, starting with the early history, the many shipwrecks which occurred in its waters (including the SS Great Britain story) and pioneer life – we were alarmed to see that some of the exhibits still had a place in our kitchen!
They did not go into a huge amount of detail on the 1982 War, preferring to approach it from the angle of what the locals went through, although there was a moving Wall of Remembrance with pictures of all those who had lost their lives (sadly no pictures of the Chinese crewmen available).
Outside, there is a very well stocked blacksmiths workshop and saddle room, various bits and pieces from boats and a little cafe. We spent a couple of hours there and could easily have spent more. Entrance is £5.
Mount William & Tumbledown
A bright sunny day and the mountains beckoned. We caught a taxi (£10) to Moody Brook, 5 km away at the western head of the harbour, where the Marines had been based before the Falklands War. The barracks were subsequently destroyed and only the foundations remain on the far side of the bridge. The military is now based at Mount Pleasant airport.
A car park to one side (past a derelict Argentinian Land Rover) is the starting point for Mount William. We followed grassy vehicle tracks over desolate moorland for about an hour to reach this rough, rocky mountain, picking our way up faint paths and steep gullies to finally find a perch on the 242 m summit. Overlooked by a variegated hawk, we picnicked with glorious views in all directions.
Mount William had been occupied during the Falklands War but the enemy fled before the Gurkhas even attempted to recapture it on the night of 13/14th June. Subsequently there was no need for a memorial cross so the summit is unmarked.
A kilometre across the open moorland, Tumbledown had been a very different proposition. 8 Scots Guards died taking its crenellated heights which are interspersed with grassy spaces.
We decided to walk westwards from Mount William, passing some stone strong points en route and then cross the valley to approach Tumbledown from its western end as the soldiers had done.
We had our first experience of the stone runs, vast rivers of sharp rocks which are precarious to cross, and then reached the saddle before Tumbledown.
Westwards another small hill gave us superb views over Mount Longdon, but we backtracked and climbed the steep grassy slope towards the top of Tumbledown with its jumbled rocks and sheer slabbed sides of spiky rock.
We threaded our way along the top, finding old stone enemy positions and foxholes, some still with the metal rails which had been used for roofing. It broadened out into a wider, more open area and at its eastern end we came to the memorial cross, soaring above a view of distant Stanley.
The steel cross reflected the surrounding countryside in its polished surfaces. Around the bottom were scattered wooden remembrance day poppies and crosses, mementos and personal plaques – it was all desperately sad.
We descended on a precarious ladder, finding a couple of stunted Scots pines and, lower still, a ruined Argentine field kitchen, carefully positioned under a rocky overhang. The return track led us past dark pools in old artillery craters and eventually decanted us at Moody Brook.
Mount Longdon & Wireless Ridge
On another fine sunny day, we decided to visit the other battle site easily accessible from Moody Brook: Mount Longdon, taken by 3 Para on 11/12th June 1982.
This time we got the taxi to drop us off above Moody Brook where the road crosses Wireless Ridge. From there it is an easy 4 km walk across the moorland to Mount Longdon, following a combination of vehicle and sheep tracks. Shell holes are easily identified by their round symmetry and are now mostly water filled, creating attractive ponds
Approaching from the east, the mountain has a long, grassy, fairly innocuous incline. The Tumbledown ridge is prominent to the south.
As we gently ascended we began to find the remnants of war: part of an old field kitchen and an area of debris where bullets littered the ground alongside gun mounts and other unidentifiable metal.
Near the top we came upon the first memorials to two medics killed in action then a solid stone to all the men of 3 Para who fought on the mountain – this had unusual black poppies decorating it. On the grey crags above was the memorial cross, this one with many personal mementos as 23 soldiers died on the mountain. Sadly some of those deaths occurred after the battle due to enemy shelling.
It is easy to see why so many died when one looks down the long, steep slope on the western side where the remains of the stone shelters that hid the guns can still be seen. That anyone could advance and take such impregnable positions is hard to believe.
We swung around to the northern side where sheer walls of rock soared into the sky, leaving only a single gap. The scattered crosses speak of the desperate endeavours of that night, a trail of lost lives ascending the hillside, many only teenagers.
Here too we found the memorial to Sergeant Ian McKay who died attacking an enemy strong point and earned a posthumous V.C. for his actions. If anyone doubts the bravery of these soldiers, it is only necessary to walk in their footsteps and see the terrain they were fighting over.
We headed back to Wireless Ridge, passing more guns en route. Crossing the road, further along the ridge, one finds the memorial to 3 soldiers of 2 Para who died in the battle there on the night of 13/14th June. They had a lot of artillery support, including tanks with night vision which proved very effective at eliminating the Argentine positions along the top of the ridge. About 100 Argentinians were killed and 17 taken prisoner.
It is a scenic viewpoint with great views of Stanley. We continued a little further, following the haphazard trail of planets which radiate out from the sun near the Liberation Memorial. We found Uranus and Saturn before dropping down to the water’s edge where a short detour took us to Jupiter.
Finally we had a long if pleasant walk back along the bay to Moody Brook where we called a taxi – it had been another long day. We went to the Rose Bar for dinner: it was fairly ordinary but had the advantage of being next to our digs. It is supposed to be the oldest pub in town and at least the beer was cheap and the food adequate!
Darwin
To extend our exploration of the Falklands we decided to hire a car. It was nice to be independent again as we headed west to Goose Green and Darwin, two settlements within a mile of each other and names synonymous with the first land battle of the Falkland War.
There were large numbers of Argentinians stationed there who were engaged by the Second Parachute Regiment in May 1982. They had marched over the Sussex Mountains from San Carlos but faced larger numbers of Argentinian soldiers and a tougher fight than they expected.
Fighting started in the early hours of 28th May and continued until lunchtime. One high profile casualty occurred early on when Lieutenant Colonel ‘H’ Jones, the commanding officer of 2 Para, was killed charging a machine gun post, an impetuous action which nevertheless earned him a posthumous Victoria Cross.
Darwin was finally captured at the cost of 20 British lives but Goose Green still remained in enemy hands. By this stage the army had had enough and basically told the Argentinians to surrender or everything would be flattened. Sensibly they agreed, surprising everyone when over 1000 soldiers emerged.
We decided to walk around the area, starting at the popular Darwin Lodge which offers accommodation and food. It is warm and comfortable if slightly workmanlike in appearance – so much in the Falklands is functional rather than stylish!
The path led past an early stone stable from 1894 and a walled corral from 1874, dating back to the time when gauchos were employed to herd wild cattle. Charles Darwin actually used them as guides when he visited in 1833 – he spent more time in the Falklands than he did in the Galapagos Islands.
Both stable and corral were damaged by shellfire in 1982 but have since been restored. We continued uphill; a deep gully to our left was used to hold the wounded during the fighting and at the top of the hill a monument to 2nd Para group who led the fighting here, with ‘H’ Jones top of the list.
Swinging along the road, we came to a monument embellished with a Fairburn Sykes fighting knife in memory of three engineers who lost their lives in the area. Just beyond, we dropped into a gully on the side of whose hill could be seen the monument to ‘H’ Jones. Faint fox holes still scarred the slopes above.
To the back of the hill, another 4 scattered crosses showed the last actions of Captains Dent and Wood and Corporals Hardman and Prior.
Dropping back to the lodge, we were just in time for afternoon tea – £9 each with sandwiches or we just paid £15 for coffee and cakes for two.
We drove out past the historical cemetery which has an interesting collection of old headstones and a sad assortment of child sized graves without them. A couple of trees clung on grimly at crazy angles.
Camilla Creek was our last stop of the day; it runs into one side of a two pronged inlet and is better known for Camilla Creek House which the army used as a jumping off point for Goose Green. The house is actually set further north towards the Sussex Mountains.
We followed a grass track to Camilla Creek Shanty which was a picturesque old tin stable and ended up camping just west of it above the inlet with glorious mountain views to the north.
For once the evening sun shone beautifully on both mountains and hut. The creek was a pleasant 2 km walk further on and looked as if it might be a good fishing spot.
Goose Green
Our Goose Green visit started with lunch at their cafe where we dined on very good mutton burgers – of course! The kitchen also cooks for the farm so is open 7 days a week serving homemade food which is surprisingly good value.
We got the key for the Community Hall from the cafe: this was once a church hence the rather steeple-like roof but was already a community hall in 1982 when the Argentinians invaded and imprisoned 114 residents from the settlement inside it. They remained there until 29th May 1982 when thankfully the Argentinians chose to surrender rather than fight on after the battle of Goose Green.
The events of those days are covered in a little museum next door which has some concise explanations and diagrams on the course of the war, as well as various guns and other memorabilia.
The settlement too is worth a wander, particularly the old jetty area which has an active shag colony and the adjacent brick house from 1899 – note the FIC logo within a diamond (Falkland Islands Company) to one end – the company once controlled much of the land on the islands.
From Goose Green it is nearly 5 km south to the Bodie Creek Suspension Bridge, 3 km of it on a rough grassy track. Nevertheless it is an interesting anomaly and we enjoyed our visit.
It was shipped from London in kit form and erected in 1925 by hand with only a cement mixer and a stone breaker to help. Designed to make it easier to get the sheep to the shearing sheds by avoiding a long detour around the inlet, it was sadly closed in 1997.
Now the support stays are falling into the water and it has a definite lean to it. The structure to each end is dangerously rusty yet for the moment it still spans the river with a certain lonely grandeur – that it should exist at all in this remote spot is quite amazing.
Lafonia
This name dates back to 1846 when Samuel Fisher Lafone, a Montevideoan merchant, bought the area south of Darwin with its population of wild cattle.
These had largely gone by the time the Falkland Islands Company bought him out 5 years later and moved the headquarters to Darwin and, later, Goose Green. Two other farms are still found to the south, North Arm from the 1860s and Walker Creek from 1870.
We initially had a night at the latter, driving through unending low plains and hills enlivened only by the odd creek and hundreds of newly shorn sheep. There was no-one obvious when we arrived so we followed a track on MapsMe which luckily led to a pleasant cove where we set up camp.
The following morning we explored the small peninsula beyond us, finding an old shearing shed and a jetty which had become a nesting spot for rock and imperial shags. Other birds included the dapper black and white Magellanic oystercatchers, blackish oystercatchers, black-crowned night-herons and a striated caracara, known locally as Johnny Rook – it is a bit of a scavenger and will feed on carrion, eggs or chicks.
Walker Creek was a cluster of green and white buildings with only two men in residence. They were just loading wool sacks onto a truck: it is strange to think that all of the meat and wool is shipped to the UK and nothing goes to South America.
The local meat is actually one of the few things on the islands that is cheap. A leg of lamb in the supermarket is about £3 – I cannot ever remember seeing lamb that price in the UK! Sheep are so cheap that they are killed to feed the sheepdogs.
We drove on to our next overnight stop, North Arm Farm, beautifully sited on a peninsula in Many Harbour Bay. The vivid red roofs of the settlement shone over white corrugated tin walls, although there were a couple of old stone buildings too; it is thought the place dates back to the 1860s.
We said hello to Emma, the friendly manager, who was rather nonplussed to be asked for recommendations on where to camp, finally suggesting the creek below her house (which wasn’t a bad spot) or on the road to Shag Rookery Point.
I asked about the peninsula below the sheep sheds and she rather shamedly said:
“But that’s our rubbish dump!’
We decided to check it out anyway as I expected a small dump but most of the peninsula was taken over by rubbish. Cars and old fences had been pushed over the cliffs into the sea, the grass was littered with old bottles – there was even a dead whale amongst the whitening bones of a thousand sheep.
Nevertheless we found a lake on the south west side of the peninsula that had a huge variety of birdlife so decided to camp there in an otherwise featureless landscape.
En route we checked out the disused jetty which had a rock and imperial shag colony nesting on it. Little remained of the old rails which once carried the wool to the waiting boats although a couple of flatbed carts survived.
The settlement also has a small museum in what was once the original store. There was an odd assortment of domestic paraphernalia, the figurehead from a wrecked ship and a lifetime collection of the local Penguin magazine – for once, the war wasn’t mentioned.
New Haven
From Lafonia, we caught the ferry from New Haven to Port Howard for a West Falkland interlude. One unexpected bonus at New Haven was a Gentoo penguin colony just 2 minutes walk from the ferry car park.
The main colony was clustered on a hill but there was plenty of action on the beach. We watched amusing penguin antics which included lots of billing and cooing and sporadic waddles into the water where they were suddenly transformed into mini torpedoes, skimming in and out of the water at breakneck speed.
San Carlos
Our next stop on East Falkland was San Carlos where on 21st May, 1982, British forces began disembarking from the Task Force. On the western side of East Falkland, it was a beautiful drive over the Sussex Mountains from Darwin and we detoured 750 m up Mount Sussex (Port Sussex station for permission to visit, Tel +500 41012) for a superb view over the inlet. Lookout shelters can still be seen on the mountain.
San Carlos Water became known as ‘Bomb Alley‘ due to the frequent and quite successful bombing raids by the Argentinian air force from 21st – 25th May, resulting in the sinking of the Ardent, the Antelope and the Coventry. Luckily 13 bombs which struck the boats did not detonate as the fuses did not have time to activate when dropped at low heights.
There are a couple of small adjacent farms at San Carlos where one finds the Blue Beach British Military Cemetery, on the one time site of the headquarters of 3 Commando Brigade. It overlooks some of the landing beaches that were used.
It is located within a stone circle, echoing the traditional corrals found on the islands, and like all war cemeteries, beautifully maintained. English flowers grow amongst the headstones of the 13 British troops whose families chose to leave them on the Islands – 63 were repatriated (and one civilian). The odd one out is John Belt, who died in a helicopter crash a couple of years after the war ended.
Colonel ‘H’ Jones, the commanding officer of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment lies to one end with Captain Dent who was killed in the same action at Goose Green on 28th May, 1982.
Ajax Bay
Across the bay on Wreck Point Farm is the old sheep refrigeration unit at Ajax Bay. Building started in 1949 but the factory only lasted two years before going bust in 1955.
It then lay empty until it was turned into a field hospital during the war. Known as the red and green life machine for its equal treatment of both British and enemy troops, it is said that no one died in it (although not strictly true as some died afterwards on the hospital ship HMMS Uganda).
On the night of 21st May it became the site of Red Beach where 45 Commando Royal Marines landed in the Falklands before they were transferred to Port San Carlos on 27th May.
I rang up Wreck Point farm and asked if we could visit.
“Only if you are a 1982 veteran!” The woman snapped – obviously someone who did not want to deal with the interest of the public if she could help it.
So we contented ourselves with looking at it through binoculars across the bay before checking out the 40 Commando memorial on the hill near Blue Point Farm entrance. The tall stone looked as if it had become a popular cow scratching post and the plaque was missing.
Argentine War Cemetery
Buenos Aires refused any repatriation of the Argentinian soldiers who had fallen in battle during the Falklands War, claiming they were already in their homeland.
In December 1982, Britain commissioned a war cemetery for them, sited on a sheltered hillside just north of Darwin. 237 troops were buried with full military honours with a gleaming white cross overlooking the site.
It differs markedly from the British equivalent with just individual rosary strewn crosses and a horizontal black granite slab with the name or Soldado Argentina solo conocido por Dios (Known only unto God). Strangely some graves included 5 names: one can only think the group were in the same foxhole when they were obliterated.
No other details are given: not rank, regiment or age, although the mementos are the same: faded plastic flowers and red poppies; one even had a football shirt on the cross.
The upkeep of the place was turned over to an Argentinian association who employed a local contractor. Apparently they have been tardy in payment and the place is looking a little ragged around the edges with slipping tiles and crosses and slabs out of line. Nevertheless it is still a moving experience, if a little less personal than the Commonwealth War Graves.
Bertha’s Beach
Heading back eastwards, there are a couple of obvious stops to the south near Mount Pleasant airport, one of the more popular being Bertha’s Beach which is actually named after an historic shipwreck which left a cargo of cedar on the beach – the giant logs can still be seen today.
“It’s like the Caribbean!” Simon exclaimed as we arrived at a beautiful white sand beach with a vivid turquoise sea.
However, there was a colony of Gentoo penguins on the hills above, all stoically guarding their young, so maybe not – try the Falklands on a sunny day!
We had walked down the beach for 3.5 km to find where they were exiting the water and then followed their waddling bodies for 400 metres uphill to where they huddled in a tight group amidst the flattened grass.
I have no idea quite why Gentoo penguins choose to nest so far inland unless it is a shelter thing, but it makes for quite a lot of work as they hasten to and fro. There was lots of hissing and cooing as nests were robbed of materials for another’s nest, or a threatening gull flew overhead.
We backtracked to the carpark and went along Bertha’s Beach in the opposite direction. After about a kilometre there is a memorial to Foxtrot 4, a landing craft from HMS Fearless, which was bombed in the Choiseul Sound on 8th June, 1982, killing 6 men including the Colour Sergeant who’d thought it a good idea to be out in daylight.
The cross is in a dramatic cliff top location in the midst of beautiful white beaches and blue seas. Commerson’s dolphins surfed the waves in happy abandon, one juvenile almost beaching himself in the process. The brave join them for a swim!
The landscape to the rear is fairly dreary but this beach and coastline is stunning and actually one of the most beautiful things we saw in the Falklands. It would be easy to spend two or three days in the area, watching penguins and exploring the indented headlands.
We ended up camping just behind the dunes with great views over Direction Island. An upland goose was grazing nearby- she had hatched an amazing brood of thirteen goslings!
Fitzroy
Fitzroy is the 4th and final Falklands Landholdings Corporation farm that we visited and was another one which unfortunately found itself in the middle of a war zone in 1982.
There is a tidy green and white cluster of old buildings with a memorial in their midst to the first church service performed on land on that spot on 20th June 1982. A rickety bridge runs across the bay: it once carried the railway tracks used to move the wool from the shed to the waiting boat.
On a headland nearby there are some particularly poignant memorials to the Sir Tristram and the Sir Galahad which were also bombed on 8th June. The Sir Galahad held the Welsh Guards, waiting to unload at Bluff Cove in broad daylight, a fatal mistake which has never been fully acknowledged.
40 Welsh Guards died, alongside 18 civilians, and many were horribly wounded by fire. The regiment was withdrawn to San Carlos in shock and most never went on to fight. Luckily the Sir Tristram was largely empty and comparatively few people died although the casualty lists did include 7 more people from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service and 3 from the Medical Corps.
The Welsh Guards have a tall, granite Celtic cross type memorial which stands on a cliff edge near where the tragedy happened. Many bodies were never recovered and the ship was towed out and sunk as a war grave.
Mount Harriet
Heading back towards Stanley we stopped to visit this battlefield. It was a horribly windy day as we ascended this long peak, another notable ’82 battle site, where great needles of rock pointed at the sky.
A simple white wooden cross marks the two fatalities that occurred and further along the ridge at the almost inaccessible summit another small brick memorial has been precariously cemented in place and bears a brass plaque.
This was taken by 42 Commando on the night of 11/12th June (in conjunction with the Two Sisters), treading their way through the peatlands and crossing the road to the start point pretty much where the car park is today.
At least they had plenty of rocky cover en route and precisely aimed mortars from HMS Glamorgan helped to break the enemy’s resistance. As we climbed we came across some minor war detritus still left from those times: a broken wooden stretcher, a machine gun base, a foxhole with plastic shoes and sodden green blankets, some radio equipment and trailing wires.
Paths threaded their way around the grey peaks and revealed the remnants of stone sangers where the enemy sheltered. We too took refuge in one for our picnic lunch before finally being driven down the hill again by the fierce wind.
Boot Hill
One curious sight near Mount Harriet and easily visible beside the main road is Boot Hill – a motley collection of boots and shoes nailed to frames or staked in the ground.
No-one knows how it started: one story tells of a war veteran who’d had his leg blown off..! It is said if you leave a shoe that you will return to the islands. In my case it was a worthwhile visit as I found a pair of ratty boots my size but with a pair of good insoles which I badly needed for our upcoming 45 Commando yomp!
The Gurkha Regiment Memorial
Just beyond Boot Hill on the other side of the road is a memorial to the 7th Gurkha Rifles, whose regiment had been the first to land at San Carlos on 1st June.
They had a fortunate war: they were tasked with the taking of Mount William but by the time they arrived, the enemy had already fled.
The monument is designed to resemble a traditional Buddhist Mani Wall, which is usually found in the higher regions of Tibet and Nepal. Prayers are often engraved on the stones and it is customary to walk around it clockwise. It is festooned with Tibetan prayer flags and hiding around the back, there is a Tibetan prayer drum.
Sapper Hill
Our last stop on the way back to Stanley. This relatively small hill became the enemy’s final strong point just above the town. The Welsh Guards and 40 Commando were ordered to take it on 14th June. After a brief firefight, with just two casualties, it was secured at 16.57 Zulu Time. Shortly afterwards word was received that the Argentinians had surrendered and the war was over.
At the top there is a memorial to the 9 soldiers from the Royal Engineers who were killed during the conflict. Despite its lack of size and the various towers, one does actually get a good view over the battlefields to the west and Stanley below – if you follow the walk on the Town Walks leaflets it is only about 6.5 km return. Just before the gate, there is the ‘Welcome to Stanley’ sign where it mentions that it is twinned with Portsmouth and Whitby.
Winding up
There were a couple of quick visits to make before we left: firstly to the post office where there is a bewildering array of stamps to choose from – the cutest have penguins on them!
As well as those issued in the Falkland Islands, it is also possible to buy stamps from South Georgia and British Antarctica – put one on a postcard and send it home as a unique souvenir. Outside there are no less than two red telephone boxes and a postbox, the latter gaily wearing a Nativity scene hat on our visit.
At the Jetty Tourist Office, they have a nice selection of chunky hand-knitted jumpers from the Islands, in suitably Farrow & Ball colours – they will set you back about £140. The Capstan Gift Shop opposite the West Store has otherwise got a pretty comprehensive selection of every type of tourist tat – including the number plate once sported by Jeremy Clarkson in Top Gear which so enraged the Argentinians!
If you need to take cash out (and cards are accepted everywhere) the only ATM is at Stanley Services, at the top of town. There are newly issued notes with King Charles on which are quite fun, although of the modern plastic variety. They also have misprints: the number is missing from one side and it says ‘these’ rather than ‘this’ (note) – they may even be valuable one day! They had to hastily convene to make them legal! English currency is also interchangeable and one bonus is that you won’t have foreign transaction fees!
The 50 pence coins have penguins on – what else!- and sell for about £5 each in the shops. Pay with cash and ask for change in 50 pences – the girl I asked was kind enough to sort out the complete set!
Speaking of penguins, the big excursion is to Volunteer Point to see King penguins. It is a long rough trip in a Land Rover which takes 4 people and costs £200 each. It is a nice money spinner for the locals: at a recent election, they had to open the polls a day early to allow those who would be doing a Volunteer Point trip the following day to vote – it took 3½ hours as it was a 2,600 person cruise ship! Personally I think £200 to look at penguins to be rather steep and would suggest Gypsy Cove or Bertha’s Beach for a nicer experience, albeit with Magellanic/Gentoo penguins.
On our last night we ate at Groovie’s which had been recommended by a couple of people. It was certainly a bit more cheerful and atmospheric with very friendly staff. They actually produced some quite good cocktails and Simon had a last pint of Rockhopper Ale from the Falklands Beer Works which never seemed to be open when we tried to visit. The food was only so-so and we retired to Drury Street for a chatty evening with Mrs McCallum.
She had been working hard to get her gnome garden sorted out: locally famous, every summer the gnomes go out in the garden to delight and entertain – and occasionally be pilfered by a passing soldier out on the raz.
Mrs McCallum had been bought up on West Falkland, starting out as a general maid in the 1970’s when she still had to wear a pinny and deliver hot water to the bedrooms in the morning.
In her spare time she collected a pair of steamer ducks to send to Peter Scott of Slimbridge fame and even lassoed a leopard seal for him until he cancelled the order! She was a minefield of interesting stories, and was able to tell us which penguins had the best eggs for eating (‘only take the first egg’) and how to cook them – at least the penguins weren’t eaten, but the upland geese and their goslings were fair game!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Kay and were very sorry to leave – the hospitality of the locals we met certainly went a long way towards mitigating the frosty reception from immigration on arrival.
Over and Out
Falkland Islands Tours transferred us to Mount Pleasant airport, giving us a final glimpse of the battlefields and the moorlands en route. The upland geese goslings had visibly grown during our stay, 3 weeks had slipped away and it was time for us to go.
Our time in the Falklands ended as badly as it had started. Our flight was delayed by 4 hours which didn’t matter, but for some obscure reason we had to be at the airport 6 hours before departure so passed a long afternoon in a small seating area with little to do – I feel sorry for the inhabitants who have to put up with such treatment on a regular basis.
There was one small coffee kiosk and shop where they will supply hot water if requested as they are used to dealing with the Argentinians and their maté. There is also a small selection of duty free; I bought a NAAFI gin for £10 and was told to pick it up as we boarded – as Simon pointed out, if they’d given it to us, everyone would have been drunk by the time they got on the plane what with the long wait.
There is also a £32 departure tax per person which seems a bit steep – cards or cash accepted!
Finally we were called to the door with a last warning to remove all headwear before going outside. I certainly wasn’t going to miss the Falklands wind, although we had been lucky and had had very good weather in our first two weeks. The islands were rapidly lost in the clouds once more as the aeroplane turned it’s nose towards Ushuaia – there was a ‘technical’ stop en route to Punta Arenas to drop the Argies off!
NOTES
We stayed at Shortys Motel which is £95 a night for ensuite comfortable rooms with continental breakfast. This is taken in their diner which has a more extensive menu throughout the day.
Another reasonably priced option is the Lookout Lodge which does half board and is located near Stanley Services. The posh tourist options include the Malvina House Hotel and the Waterfront Hotel. There is also Tu Guesthouse, Southernwind and Lafone House. Lots of the farms have self catering options of some sort (including Racepoint, Port Sussex, North Arm, Goose Green, Fitzroy, Volunteer Point) and there is Darwin Lodge at Darwin.
Camping in Stanley may be possible if you ask Mrs Kay McCallum nicely on +500 2107. She is centrally located at 14 Drury Street and has a nice grassy garden for tents with the use of her inside loo, and shower if wanted. Camping is £5 a night for two with tent. The other camping option mentioned in Bradt’s no longer exists – there is definitely a need for a really good backpackers in Stanley!
Contact the Falklands Landholdings Corporation (phone 22698 / flh.tourism@gmail.com ) for access to Bertha’s Beach (£15 each) and Goose Green (£15 each). Camping (£20 a night) is possible at Goose Green, Walker Creek, North Arm and Fitzroy (this includes Bertha’s Beach). The local managers are pretty relaxed and it was pretty much ‘Go where you like’ as long as it doesn’t interfere with sheep movements! We found MapsMe quite useful in that it pointed out possible tracks to creek/seaside camping spots. (Bear in mind hire cars probably aren’t supposed to go off road – or too far off road in our case!)
Goose Green has a nice little cafe which is open 7 days a week. They have the key to the Community Hall and there is also a little museum on site. Goose Green Farm: email goose.green@horizon.co.fk, phone 32270 or 51317
Any farm may allow wild camping – but you will have to contact them in advance to ask. Cape Dolphin also sounded a good option with lots of wildlife but we ran out of time. Once there, I usually just said hello at the manager’s house to be polite.
There are Self Guided Walks leaflets for all these places (and more) which one can pick up at the tourist office in Stanley or download online. Their leaflets are usually designed to be on properties which have accommodation.
For car hire, try Stanley Services Tel +500 22622 or Travel Falklands Tel +500 52739. Hire cars are not allowed off road or into West Falkland. We paid £60 a day and got the inevitable dual cab 4×4 truck. Note that there is no petrol available outside Stanley.
Taxi: +500 51001. Within town £5, Moody Brook £10.
Airport transfers with Falkland Islands Tours: £22 each way.
Flights to/from Punta Arenas, Chile, with Latam, leave/return on Saturdays. For two it cost us approx £450 each way but if you can travel without luggage it is much cheaper.
There is no free WiFi on the islands unless you are staying or buying a meal at select hotels (ie. Malvinas House) or on the inter island ferry! The Tourist Office on the jetty has free Sure WiFi cards which only work there and which are valid for 30 minutes. If you want to make calls, the only option is an expensive Sure contract, the same useless operator who is found on the Isle of Man, albeit luckily with a bit more competition there to keep the prices down! We paid £30 to get a local SIM which included £10 credit which we reserved for calls only (16p a minute). The package was valid for 60 days and just about did us for the 3 weeks we were there.
NOTE THE ‘ACCOMODATION FOR DURATION OF STAY RULE’ and plan accordingly. Even if Stanley is full, there are lots of above mentioned self catering options outside which did not appear busy on our visit and there is always camping!
