Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands

I wrote about a visit on the Falkland Islands to Bluff Cove – a well-run penguin sanctuary with both King and Gentoo penguins, and so this article completes the tour of the islands with my walk around Stanley. This small city (it recently was given city status in the late Queen’s civic honours) has a population of around 2460 although when two cruise ships are in the harbor that perhaps almost doubles. But I have to say that on my walk around the streets, it never felt crowded and as I got further afield, I was the only person in sight. The location is now quintessentially British after a recent referendum that showed that 99% of the population wanted to remain as a British Overseas Territory. The entire islands cover some 4700 square miles, most of which only ever sees sheep, and my walk covered a tiny fraction of that.

From the Viking cruise – Chilean Fjords and South America – we were tendered into the town. The hardy passengers on a Silversea cruise ship docked close by had a much more adventurous ride to the port.

The first thing that you see on landing is the welcome sign with Christchurch cathedral behind:

I noticed this map of the islands by the maritime museum which gives a good overview of where Stanley is in relation to the rest of the island. From what I understand, there were few roads on the island before the Argentine invasion in 1982 – most of the ones visible on the map have been built since. In the old days, you just drove over the land in your Land Rover, calling in on farmers as you went.

So what do you see in Stanley. You are met with a very typical row of British homes that now house the Falkland Conservation Native Plants garden:

Just a short walk along the main street is the Anglican cathedral with its memorial made of whale bones, a nod to the long history of the islands and the whale trade.

Stanley has its local police force and prison, housing some locals serving an 8 year sentence in the building on the left of this photo:

And opposite you find the Post Office with very traditional red telephone boxes and a pillar box for the mail, which is flown back to the UK for distribution around the world. We did post four postcards from here so it will be interesting to see when they arrive back in the USA.

I’m old enough to remember the Falklands War but here, the memories are very fresh and memorials of all types are prominent:

Immediately you then see the main memorial to soldiers lost in the battles. There is a cemetery for Argentinian soldiers and sailors, on East Falkland Island.

Government House further along this main street occupies a spot within a large garden and is the home and office of the British Governor of the islands. The British are responsible for overseas affairs, with the islands being self-governing via an assembly.

Walking still further (and definitely on my own now), I found the monument commemorating the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 when the British navy defeated the Germans for control of the islands.

And still further, I found this scale sculpture of the solar system, with the Sun being the large sphere.

Walking back, I found yet another monument – this commemorating all the people who have lost their lives in Antarctic exploration and research:

And there was more – walking the other way away from the port, I came across this monument and cemetery for people who died in the First World War:

There is a monument of a different type on one of the back streets of town. This one to all the gnomes and penguins that have made their way here over the years:

It was important enough to appear on the street map of the town!

But perhaps the most important thing is to have a pint of bitter (brewed on the island) in the Globe Tavern pub before heading back to the ship:

One final shot – a view of the landscape as we were sailing away from the islands – lovely sandy beaches. It is a pity the wind would blow any sand castles down before they have a chance to be completed.

I know that very few people will ever visit these islands – I hope this has given you a feel for what life is like so far south in the Atlantic Ocean. The next article in this series stays with Penguins – this time from Punta Tombo.