Introduction
A devastating series of volcanic eruptions destroyed much of Montserrat in the mid-1990s. Much of the island, a British overseas territory in the Leeward Islands, is still covered in ash and lava spewed out by the Soufriere Hills volcano but there is a sense that things are improving slowly.
The Georgian-era capital Plymouth was destroyed but a new centre is developing around Little Bay and the northern third of the island is moving on.
Much of the southern section of the island is part of an exclusion zone and visits are restricted, yet it is possible to explore parts in order to see the extent of the destruction and get just a glimpse of the tropical countryside that once existed here.
