Bathsheba

Bathsheba sits on the Atlantic east coast of Barbados where the open ocean produces a constant heavy swell, creating a landscape utterly different from the sheltered Caribbean beaches of the island's west coast: the shoreline is defined by huge boulders of coral limestone that have been sculpted by the Atlantic into shapes that resemble torn cloth, giant's teeth and melting wax, all exposed to the full force of the weather that sweeps in from the North Atlantic.

The most famous feature is the Bathsheba Soup Bowl, a surf break formed where the Atlantic swell wraps around the coastal rock formations and creates powerful left-hand waves that have drawn experienced surfers since the 1960s; the break is not suitable for beginners but the view from the clifftop of surfers navigating the heavy water is one of the most dramatic spectacles on the island.

The rock formations themselves are the result of millions of years of wave erosion on Barbados's coral limestone, which is softer than the volcanic rock found on many Caribbean islands; the resulting shapes are genuinely unusual — enormous rounded masses balanced on narrow stems, deep caves and natural bridges — and they change slowly but perceptibly over years as the sea continues its work.

The surrounding area is covered in scrub and low forest, an Atlantic-facing landscape that receives more rainfall than the west coast and supports a different vegetation community including the cabbage palms and ferns that grow in the valleys between the rock outcrops; this green interior makes the grey and white of the ocean rocks more dramatic by contrast.

The village itself is small and has a quiet, slightly isolated character: a few small guesthouses, a rum shop or two and theAtlantique restaurant occupy the main road, and the pace of life is noticeably slower than in Bridgetown or on the south coast resort strip, partly because the Atlantic coast is not suitable for casual swimming and the beach is primarily a destination for people who come specifically for the surf or the scenery.

Bathsheba is also the site of a historic church whose Moravian missionary congregation was established in the 18th century and whose present building dates from 1836; the congregation played an important role in education and social welfare in rural Barbados during and after slavery, and the churchyard contains the graves of many generations of villagers.

The road from the central plateau down to Bathsheba descends through a landscape that changes colour and texture dramatically: the red earth of the cane fields at the top gives way to darker soil as the road drops into the coastal hills, and the vegetation shifts from open grassland to a denser, greener landscape that feels more ancient than the managed plantation landscape above.

The most dramatic Atlantic coastal landscape in Barbados, with unique rock formations and a powerful surf break.

The Soup Bowl surf break attracts experienced surfers from around the Caribbean and beyond.

The landscape is unlike the calm Caribbean west coast and gives a different impression of what Barbados is like.