DIRECTIONS: Well, you’d think it would be easy to get to Clarence Town. Indeed it is. But to get to the beaches, it’s a bit more complicated than just taking the QH to Clarence Town. And truth be told, these beaches are being included only for completeness, not that they might make the top ten of Long Island’s must see beaches. There are two beaches in Clarence Town, the ocean side beach that one could consider to be a continuation of Lowes. The other is the harbour beach that runs between the Government Pier, Majors Petroleum and Harbour Point. Now the harbour beach is definitely not a swimming beach and one might argue that it is not even a beach you would want to come to to enjoy an evening sunset. So why come here: well there is Majors Petroleum, but also there is a government ‘packing’ house where the islanders will bring their fruits and vegetables for sale. This is sort of the south island’s answer to the farmers’ market in Salt Pond. However, there are fewer items and they tend more to bulk quantities. If you need 20 lbs of onions, this is the place to go, even though they will gladly sell you one pound if that’s all you need.
I digress. Back to directions. For the ocean side beach, if you’re heading south, make a left at the road just past the community center. At the famous St. Paul’s Anglican Church built by Father Jerome, take the road to the left, and follow it all the way to the end. This will put you at the northern end of the ocean side Clarence Town beach. The path to the southern end of Lowes also starts here. Note, you may want to stop and visit this beautiful church. It was extensively destroyed by both Hurricanes Sandy and Joaquin. Renovations appeared to be almost complete during our visit in February 2016. If you’re heading north, where the QH makes a hard 90o bend to the left, turn right on the one way road (yes, there are one way roads in Clarence Town!). Now follow these precise instructions: make some turns and work your way down to the harbor. Take the harbor beach road to the hard road that services the marina. Turn left. And when you get to St. Paul’s, turn right. If you’re heading south on the QH and want to get to the harbor beach, turn left at the hard 90o bend and proceed as above.
Well, what can I say about the beaches: not much. The harbour side beach is just that. Not much to recommend it. And in my 2017 exploration to check out the southern entrance to Lowes from Clarencetown, I never took the time to both walk the beach and to snap a couple photos. Well, something to be done next visit.