The Maine attraction
we picked up a hire car and drove the easy two hours to s’more-land, aka Inn by the Sea, in Cape Elizabeth, 20 minutes south of Maine’s foodie capital, Portland. We relaxed quickly: cinnamon bun waffles for breakfast, Maine blueberries liberally sprinkled on most dishes and a huge beach that was often ours alone. Just sand, sweetsmelling air and boats bobbing on the horizon.
Sometimes,
it has to be said, there were more (very well manicured) dogs than people: Maine seems to be where posh canines holiday. At the Inn you could dial for a dog masseuse; at breakfast, owners earnestly discussed the best bone-marinating technique. Dogs are even allowed in the outdoor pool in October, when it’s too cold for people.
We drove to Portland, where food highlights included duck confit panini at hipster joint Duckfat and a trip to Fiasco Gelato, where you can try as many of the flavours (think caramel brownie bites and “Maine blueberry bits”) as you like.
On a Maine Foodie Tour, also in Portland, we guzzled Shipyard’s flights of ale (a bargain at $5 for five), huge whoopie pies and a head-sized slab of Micucci Sicilian pizza. Nearby, Maine Children’s Museum — with its tiny supermarket, farm, garage and even a teddy bear X-ray area in a mock hospi- tal — was ideal for tots. And an evening at the Lobster Shack — a few wooden tables on the edge of a cliff with local families flocking for sea-fresh lobster and salty fries — was as delicious as it was low-key.
But there’s more to Maine than Portland. Next stop was Bar Harbour, four hours north-east on the edge of Acadia National Park — with a stop at Coastal Maine botanic gardens in Boothbay. It’s almost as big as Kew Gardens, dotted with beautiful sculptures — a flock of bronze birds glinting in the sun, rosepainted pumpkins — imaginative planting and calm water areas.
Acadia has incredible terrain for cyclists: 45 miles of roads once devoted to horses are now devoted to twowheelers. It’s beautiful in fall, when the trees sport red, yellow and orange, but it is, obviously, packed with visitors.
Out of season, the landscape was equally majestic, the trees still wearing their green coats. Though it’s not as wild as all that; a free bus shuttles visitors to places such as Cadillac mountain, Sand Beach (Acadia’s sole sandy beach) and Jordan’s Pond, where it’s pretty much obligatory to stop for popovers — cakes like sweet Yorkshire puddings that disappear so quickly you have to re-order.
We abandoned the call of the wild before flying home with a stay in Ogunquit, a relaxed touristy town with a hotel newly renovated to the tune of $40 million, the Cliff House, where we enjoyed incredible sea views through floor-to-ceiling windows. Ogunquit itself has a beautiful beach that we never reached the end of on a two-hour walk. Quaint, small-town and sprinkled with one-off restaurants — the perfect end to a good old-fashioned New England summer break.
Details: New England
Norwegian (norwegian.com) flies from Gatwick to Boston from £280 return. Nine Zero (ninezero.com) has doubles from £282, room only. Inn by the Sea (innbythesea.com) has doubles from £227, room only. Bluenose Inn (barharborhotel.com) has doubles from £94, room only. Cliff House (destinationhotels.com) has doubles from £258, room only.