Antigua, also known as Wadadli, is in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, and is the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la Antigua—St. Mary of the Old Cathedral. The name Wadadli comes from the original Amerindian inhabitants and means approximately "our own”. Its population was 80,161 (at the 2011 Census)
The island was originally discovered by Columbus in 1493 but it was not until 1632 that Antigua was colonised by a party of refugee English planters from St Kitts.
In 1666 Antigua was raided by the French but was recaptured by the English the following year. During the 18th and 19th centuries Antigua was the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Island Station and the principal British naval basw in the Eastern Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars
The most famous attraction in Antigua is Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbour and we spent over 2 hours here.
This historic dockyard dates from 1745. It was abandoned in 1899 and in the 1950s its restoration began. Today the buildings have been converted into inns, shops, restaurants and a museum
The Dockyard was in regular use by British men-of-war ships. By the time Horatio Nelson was appointed to the Station in 1784 it was equipped with a capstan house, mast house, blacksmith shop, and much more.
Today the dock is also the mooring place for a number of splendid yachts and other cruise boats
No visit to Antigua could be complete without a visit to the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium
England will be playing West Indies here in One Day Internationals in February 2014
For more photos of our time on Antigua click Antigua
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