Diana's Peak

For all it's mountainous and lumpy outlook, the highest point of St. Helena is not actually all that high: Indeed it is lower than those on Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Diana's Peak stands at 818m and in it's own national park, home to a large number of endemic plants, fauna and insects. Helpfully, it also stands right in the middle of the island, and is easily accessibly car, and even by foot. From the car parking area at the bottom, it is but a fairly simply walk along well laid out paths: sure when wet it can be a bit muddy and slippery, and it does involve some uphill walking, but by Islands standards, it's a doddle, and in the SHCG ranking (as mentioned previously), it is a measly 3.

Diana's peak is the middle of 3 peaks, the outer 2 of which – Mt Actaeon and Cuckold Point – are slightly shorter, but each have a Norfolk Pine on their summit instead. I have been up Diana's peak several times. It is a nice relaxing walk, and the views are apparently absolutely glorious. The problem is that every time I have gone up, regardless of the weather down below, I have gone around a corner at the bottom of the peaks to discover a blanket of mist and cloud blocking my way, enabling me to see only small glimpses of the island. Seeing the view in all it's glory from the top of Diana's peak, has rapidly become my overriding goal for the last few weeks of my stay.

But in case I don't actually get to see it on a good day, here are a couple of not entirely clear pics of it:

If it transpires that I don't get to see it on a clear day before I depart, i will beg, steal or borrow some pics of the view to put up.