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FAR FLUNG BEACHES
Martha’s Vineyard
Norfolk: Come rain or shine
Martha's Vineyard, by Kate Goodhart
My first visit to Martha’s Vineyard was on honeymoon eight years ago. It was March – beautiful, crisp, clear days and empty beaches for long romantic strolls. But being out of season on a holiday island had a few drawbacks – there were hardly any restaurants or cafés open. Looking for a sandwich one lunchtime, a helpful passer-by suggested we try the gas station at Menemsha. I got into a grump about it, but my husband, who had been before, said it would be lovely. And it was. Fresh lobster rolls bought from the petrol station that in fact couldn’t have looked less like a petrol station, sitting on the dock of a beautiful harbour watching the boats come in.
It’s quite a long way to travel to Martha’s Vineyard and each time we embark on the journey (a transatlantic flight to Boston, followed by either a car journey and a ferry crossing, or a fairly hairy flight in an 8-seater plane), I wonder if we are mad. But the journey passes soon enough and, after all, in my experience, it takes most of a day to get anywhere.
The Vineyard is an island of two halves – Up Island and Down Island. There is a picket fence, quaint quality about the eastern side (Down Island), which includes the very smart enclave of Edgartown. We’re talking boutiques, manicured lawns and expensive (small) hotels and restaurants. Think Boston Brahmin. We only need to visit Down Island to stock up on booze. The Up Island, in the western part of the island, is dry. But, despite the absence of bars (or maybe because of it) Up Island is classic liberal chic – laid-back and relaxed. Think Clintons, Kennedys and New York Times’ columnists.
Our days follow a familiar pattern. Breakfast on the deck at home: fruit Loops and hot, buttered Thomas’ English Muffins to keep the children (and husband) happy. Then we pile into our huge (and incredibly expensive) rental car and head off for a morning outing. However, this is a small island, so the choices aren’t endless, but they’re all fun, relaxed and child-friendly. It might be a visit to one of the fabulous supermarkets or the farmers’ market; Menemsha to look at the fishing boats (and buy swordfish, bluefish or lobster) or the flea market at Chilmark; or perhaps one of many art galleries and gardens open to the public or the glass-blowing centre. All this strenuous activity is followed by a stop for coffee and muffins. Humphrey’s (which has been there forever and is actually called something else now, but no one calls it by its new name) wins most days for its delicious sugar doughnuts.
Some mornings start earlier than others with one of us taking the kids for the usual tour and the other heading off either deep-sea fishing or to a yoga class in the fresh air among the sculptures at the Field Gallery. (No prizes for guessing who goes where.) Occasionally, we both manage a game of tennis, last year achieved by paying our friends’ children a dollar each to keep our kids amused on the adjoining court. After that, it’s home for a sleep or straight into lunch – either back on the deck or down at the Galley in Menemsha, for delicious hot dogs and crab rolls.
The afternoons are spent at the beach unless the weather is really awful. Even then, the beaches are worth a trip just to see the waves come crashing in. There are public beaches on the island, but these tend to become crowded. Different towns give residents (permanent or holiday) access to restricted beaches. If you rent a place in Chilmark, you have access to Lucy Vincent’s beach, a beautiful, long, relatively quiet stretch of sand on the south side. Some house rentals have access to even more secluded beaches, which are quieter and lovelier still, though tend to be more of an effort to get to (with the rental cost also climbing from the severe to the astronomical). Wading across crab-filled ponds with lots of kit and children isn’t always worthwhile. On Vincent’s there are always other children to play with (and the odd star to spot – Bruce Willis last summer) and the afternoon passes easily, building sandcastles, wave-jumping and discovering calm ponds behind the dunes for splashing and crab-catching.
We usually meet up with friends in the evening for barbeques at each other’s houses. At least once each trip, we’ll all head down to Menemsha to join the crowd and catch what can be one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. The Vineyard is a peaceful, calm place and the mix of sun, sea and beach means that the children flake out early. We follow them not long after.
Getting there:
Fly transatlantic direct from Heathrow to Boston
British Airways 0845 773 3377
Virgin 01293 747747
American Airlines
0845 7789789
Fly on to Martha’s Vineyard with Cape Air,
001 800 352 0714
Or book a ferry from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven with the Steamship Authority.
Where to stay:
Rent a house in Chilmark through Tea Lane Associates, PO Box 30, Chilmark,
MA 02535.
Call 001 508 696 9999
Getting around:
Hire a car in Boston or on
the Vineyard
Avis 0870 6060100
Budget 0800 181181
Norfolk: Come rain or shine, by Kate McCullagh
English holidays are great: more affordable, no delay at the airport, no lost passport, no child being sick on the ferry. We first went to Norfolk a couple of years ago and now we are hooked on the place. You really do feel you are away from it all; even in the height of summer it doesn’t feel crowded like Cornwall and Devon can. Last summer we rented a cottage just near Blakeney in north Norfolk. It rained for five days out of the seven yet we still had a good time – that is surely a good test for any holiday.
Our daily routine was simple: decide on a location, pack a picnic and go. We spent several days at Holkham Beach. Getting there is quite an expedition in itself with a 20-minute walk through pine trees and sand. You need to take the day’s provisions with you as there are no shops nearby and certainly no ice cream stands. But its inaccessibility is part of the appeal – it feels like you have the place to yourself with plenty of room for playing ball games, digging sandcastles and building dams.
Another great seaside destination is to Stiffkey Marshes. You couldn’t get a greater contrast to the beach. Here you can go on some exhilarating walks and we tried our hand at shrimping – although in our case it was more catching mud and seaweed!
If you want to get out onto the vast expanse of sea, I’d thoroughly recommend a trip out to see the seals off Morston. There are several companies that run boat trips about three times a day. My children loved it as you really do get the chance to get up close to the seals.
Apart from the beach there are several other trips you can do. Our most successful was to a adventure dinosaur park. The park itself is very big and good value for money – and you don’t have to be totally obsessed with dinosaurs to love it. Apart from dinosaur trails and sights it also has crazy golf, trampolines, slides, adventure playground and maze. You can easily spend a whole day there and take children home tired and exhausted knowing they’ll sleep well – hooray!
On a rainy day you can go to Langham Glass and watch glass being blown or turn your hand at a potters’ wheel. There, there is an incredible maize maze, about six foot tall, which my children loved running around and getting lost in. In the
immediate area, there are more even more ways to amuse the family with a steam train outing, visiting the army museum, Holkham Hall and the indoor play centre at Wells.
We had some great evenings too. On nights in, you can stock up at the Cley-next-to-the-Sea delicatessen or smoke house. In Blakeney, you can get fantastic fish and all the basics for picnics from the local Spa. If you can get a babysitter (we booked one through our cottage), many of the local pubs serve food and, for a real treat, try The Victoria or Morston Hall (both need booking ahead).
One of the highlights of our holiday was going to the Blakeney regatta, which is held every year during the first week of August. There are lots of different races, including tug of war, swimming up the estuary and the famous greasy poll, a well-greased poll that spans out over the estuary. Each person has to see how far they can run, walk or fall off it. It was hilarious and some of the falls looked very painful but it did not put off a lot of children and adults trying!
We were very sad to leave at the end of our week and almost immediately booked two weeks for the following summer. Our experience is only of a small area of Norfolk and there are lots of other beautiful places to discover, like Burnham Overy Staithe, a little further along ... but we have got many more family holidays to explore Norfolk’s beautiful coastline.
Where to stay:
Countryside Cottages 01263 741777
Norfolk Country Cottages 01603 871872
The Victoria in Holkham 01328 711008
Morston Hall in Morston 01263 741041
First published in angels and urchins, Summer 2002