Gut River is a river, beach and small hamlet on an isolated stretch of south facing coastline in Manchester

Manchester Parish, Jamaica

The parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the coast or on a major river. The Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley The parish of Manchester is located in...

, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. The name is said by the locals to derive from the German word for good.

River

This is a mostly underground river, which springs forth in a deep clear pool barely 200m from the sea. The naturally fresh water bathing/diving pool can be accessed from the road.

Beach

There is wading access along the river to the beach which is in the middle of Long Bay, Manchester, a mostly deserted 20 mile strip of black sand.

Hamlet

On the east bank of the river there is a commercial beach property (access 100J$ in 2006) with bar facilities, which can be busy at holidays, but is usually very quiet and provides access to both the beach and the mouth of the river without wading. On the west bank is a private property. There appear to be no more than ten properties in the hamlet.

Access

Gut River lies about 5 miles (8 km) east of Alligator Pond

Alligator Pond

Alligator Pond is a fishing village on the southwestern coast of Jamaica in the parish of Saint Elizabeth.Unlike the tourist-oriented coasts in the northern part of the country, Alligator Pond's shoreline is as much about work as play; here fishermen launch their boats to catch some of the island's...

 and 10 miles (16.1 km) west of Alligator Hole River

Alligator Hole River

-References:**OMC Map**Ford, Jos C. and Finlay, A.A.C. .The Handbook of Jamaica. Jamaica Government Printing Office...

 which is near Milk River Bath

Milk River Bath

Milk River Bath is mineral spa in the South West corner of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica.Owned by the Government of Jamaica since its opening in 1794, it now has about 6 public baths and a hotel with about 20 bedrooms. It claims that its warm waters are more radioactive than some other notable...

. A very quiet coastal road joins these three rather isolated spots. Many years ago the road used only to be passable with 4WD vehicles but in 2006 the surface was in good order for ordinary cars.

External links

• Aerial view
• Photos:
  • http://www.panoramio.com/photo/575748
  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/bithead/368681796/
  • http://www.picturesfromjamaica.com/2007/07/31/diving-at-gut-river-part-4/