Julia Buckley

Deserted beaches, child-friendly museums, foodie treats: New England ticks all the boxes for Lucy Tobin

IT’S dark apart from orange flames darting around a firepit, and I’m standing listening to the sea roar on the US East Coast, stick in hand, two blackening marshmallows at its tip, fulfilling a childhood dream.

Behind me is a tub of Graham crackers and a barrel of Hershey’s chocolate, and when the marshmallows start oozing I clamp them between the crackers and chocolate to make a s’more.

I read about this dessert as a child. Now, a few decades on, I’m finally doing it, on the seafront at a posh hotel in Maine. The Americans at the Inn by the Sea are just as excited — they actually got to eat these as kids.

A lot about our two glorious weeks in Maine felt like going back to the old days. Strolling along Ogunquit’s white sandy beach and seeing only frolicking kids and dogs — no shops or fast-food joints. Hiking the 100-year-old Acadia National Park with no phone signal.

We’d started at a more frenetic pace on arrival in Boston. So we explored the city: staying at the 190-room Nine Zero, a short stroll from most of the city’s highlights, including shopping in Back Bay, eating in Beacon Hill and walking through Boston Common and Public Gardens. Plus, there was an inroom goldfish and 6pm wine and canapés in the lobby too.

Our toddler saw us explore kidfriendly Boston for the first time (the Children’s Museum and Aquarium is fantastic) and pause for lots of meals: a stand-out brunch was “eggs in purgatory” (shakshuka with a twist) and cinnamon toast at Eastern Standard, a local favourite in the shadow of Fenway Park stadium, which gets roaringly loud during Red Sox matches.

When it was time to escape the city,