Port Howard

Port Howard sits on the eastern shore of Falkland Sound, the channel that separates East and West Falkland, and its position means that the water in the harbour is considerably calmer than the open Atlantic coasts, giving the settlement a quality of shelter that is unusual in the islands.

The settlement is centred on a sheep farm that has operated continuously since the early years of the 19th century, and the original stone farm buildings have been preserved and adapted to serve as the focal point of the small community, making the place feel more historically rooted than most other settlements in West Falkland.

The population of Port Howard is small — fewer than 100 residents — but the community has maintained a school, a church and a small shop, and the combination of these facilities with the airstrip that connects the settlement to Stanley gives it a functional coherence that makes it the natural administrative centre for the western side of the islands.

From the headland above the harbour there is a clear view across Falkland Sound to East Falkland, and on calm days the crossing between the two main islands is clearly visible below, a reminder of how the Sound has always been the main highway connecting the two halves of the colony.

The surrounding countryside is open moorland crossed by streams and punctuated by the low hills that characterise West Falkland, and it is possible to walk for hours from Port Howard without seeing anyone except the occasional sheep and the birds that inhabit the moorland — upland geese, striated caracaras and, in season, various waders and seabirds.

The community runs a small museum of its own history, with displays on the farming year, the whaling era and the 1982 conflict, providing a West Falkland perspective on events that are more often told from the Stanley point of view.

The sheep farm at Port Howard has been continuously operated by the same family since the early 19th century, and the accumulated history of the settlement — the buildings, the field patterns, the names of the families who have worked the land — gives the place a depth and continuity that is rare in a territory where many settlements were abandoned or reduced after the pastoral downturn of the mid-20th century.

The harbour at Port Howard was historically used by small vessels trading between West and East Falkland, and the remains of old jetties and warehouses can still be seen along the waterfront, providing physical evidence of a commercial life that has now largely shifted to the airstrip and the ferry service that connects the community to the outside world.

Birdlife in the surrounding moorland is varied and accessible, with striated caracaras — locally known as Johnny rooks — frequently seen near the settlement, and the open moorland provides habitat for several species of wader that are present year-round, making Port Howard a productive destination for birdwatchers who are willing to walk beyond the immediate settlement area.

The small local museum at Port Howard holds records of the community during the 1982 conflict, when the settlement was occupied by Argentine forces, and these records include accounts from local residents of the period of occupation and its aftermath, providing a West Falkland perspective on events that are primarily remembered through the experiences of those who were in Stanley.

The surrounding coastline includes several accessible beaches that are often free of the wind that characterises the more exposed Atlantic shores, and these sheltered coves provide safe landing for small boats and a different kind of coastal landscape that is worth exploring as part of a full visit to the Port Howard area.

Port Howard is the largest settlement in West Falkland and provides a gateway to a side of Falkland Islands life — the farming interior and the Atlantic coast — that most Stanley-based visitors never see.

The historical farm complex and the small local museum offer a rare window into the continuous habitation and use of West Falkland since the early 19th century.

The view across Falkland Sound from the headland gives a geographic perspective on the islands as a whole that cannot be obtained from Stanley.