The golden sand
Long and wide.
Erik Cleves Kristensen — CC BY 2.0 · Ghassan Mroue — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ghassan Mroue — CC BY-SA 3.0
Lumley Beach is the longest and best-known beach in Freetown, the capital, running along the city's western edge between Aberdeen and Lumley. A coastal road lined with restaurants, hotels and cafés runs beside it. Residents come to walk, swim and play football, above all at weekends and at sunset. Freetown sits on a green, hilly peninsula facing the Atlantic. It was founded in the late 18th century as a settlement for Africans freed from slavery, which gave the city its name. The beach looks out over the wide mouth of the Sierra Leone River, with the peninsula's hills behind it. You see a long, broad stretch of golden sand and white waves, with green forested hills sloping down to the sea behind. At the Aberdeen end, houses with red roofs look over the water. At sunset the sky colours over the ocean and the roadside cafés fill up. It is about 5.5 km from central Freetown in a straight line. Swim near other people and lifeguards, as currents can be strong. Watch your belongings, and avoid empty stretches after dark.
Long and wide.
Behind the beach.
Over the ocean.
Lumley Beach Road, west Freetown, Sierra Leone
Near other people and lifeguards, as currents can be strong.
At sunset or at weekends.