Shark Hole Beach

Shark Hole is a small bay cut into the coral cliffs near the old Sam Lord's Castle in St. Philip. A spoon-shaped patch of white sand, around 40 feet across, is almost completely enclosed by rock, and the sea comes in through a narrow gap. A reef just offshore can make it as still as a pool. Despite the name, there are no sharks. It is hard to find, at the end of a residential road, and there are no facilities and no lifeguard.

Timing is everything: go at low tide on a calm day, when the water is clear and still. At high tide or in a swell, the Atlantic surges in and it is no place to swim. Locals advise never swimming out to the right. Wear water shoes for the rock, and don't go alone. Locals fill it on weekends, while weekday mornings are often empty.