St Helena is situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, 5°43’ west and 15°56’ south, 1.200 miles (1.950 km) from the south-west coast of Africa and 1.800 miles (2.900 km) from the coast of South America. The nearest land is Ascension Island, which lies 703 miles (1.125 km) in the north-west.

The island is 47 square miles (122 square km), ten and a half miles (17 km) long and six and a half miles (10 km) wide, consisting of steep, rocky terrain. Rising dramatically from the South Atlantic, the island has sheer barren cliffs intersected with deep valleys (locally known as guts) which slope steeply from the central ridges. There is little flat land and the island has no sandy beaches.

The highest point on St Helena is Diana’s Peak (2.685ft, 818m.) On the higher central ground bush and semi-tropical vegetation is abundant. This changes to grassland and pastures before the terrain becomes drier and almost barren below an altitude of 1.600ft (500m). The only inland waters are small mountain streams, which occasionally dry up in the summer months.

The South Atlantic high pressure cell and the equatorial trough control the climate of St Helena. Despite the island’s locality within the tropics, its climate is kept mild and equable by the south-east trade winds. The trade winds blow almost continuously making our weather very changeable: a dull rainy morning can often lead onto a bright sunny afternoon.

There are noticeable contrasts in climate between Jamestown, the capital on the north leeward shore, and the inland areas. Jamestown can be sunny and lightly humid whilst areas like Longwood experience chilly mists and a higher rainfall. Temperatures in Jamestown range between 20°C - 32⁰C in the summer and 15⁰C - 26⁰C in the winter. The temperatures in the central areas are, on average, 5°C - 6⁰C lower.