BEACH LIFE ANGUILLA

Life on Anguilla is centred around its beaches, be they glamourously lined with newly restored low-rise resorts or humming with rustic restaurants and sports shacks

Where are the best beaches in the

Caribbean? Anguilla is a strong contender, not least because this orderly British Overseas Territory has 33 of them to enjoy. Arid and low-lying, the slender isle is just 16 miles long and home to a mere 15,000 residents, meaning its brochure-perfect sands never get crowded. What’s more, these classic runways of spotless white powder are bordered by warm, clear waters, where show-off fish dally and passing turtles give snorkellers a friendly wave.

All the resorts in Anguilla are low-rise and most are high-end, having been rebuilt and improved after Hurricane Irma in 2017. Top of the bill are the glamorous Malliouhana, which rests on the cliffs at Meads Bay, and isolated Cap Juluca, set beside the crescent of Maundays Bay. A more affordable option is Carimar Beach Club, also on Meads Bay, which offers one- and two-bedroom selfcatering villa suites.

Alongside this superlative accommodation comes a thriving culinary scene that majors on the local catch and extends from trucks dishing up delicious fish chowder for a few bucks to the delicate casserole Thailandaise de crayfish, served at Caribbean-Asian restaurant Hibernia.

What can you do beside lotus-eating?

First stop has to be the absorbing Heritage Collection Museum in East End, where local historian Colville Petty has amassed a well-presented treasury of finds, donations and ephemera about his homeland. Exhibits range from rudimentary spearguns and school punishment books to portraits of the island’s many centenarians. There’s also information on the farcical ‘Bay of Piglets’ revolution of 1969, which British paratroopers and police officers were sent to quell. Today, links between the territory and the UK remain strong — there’s a sizeable Anguillan community in Slough and the Queen’s Birthday is a public holiday in Anguilla.

For the full island experience, get out on the water. “We always put up the sails,” says Laurie Gumbs, owner of Tradition, a 40-yearold handcrafted sloop that offers breezy day trips to Prickly Pear Cay. At night, Liquid Glow offers silent paddling under the stars in transparent kayaks fitted with LED lights. Back on land, local rock star Bankie Banx pumps up the volume at his rustic Dune Preserve in Rendezvous Bay. And if the rum flows and you need to sleep things off the next morning, a dream beach is never far away.

HOW TO DO IT: Tropic Breeze offers a sevennight trip from £1,880 per person (based on two sharing), including flights, transfers and accommodation at Carimar Beach Club, room only. tropicbreeze.co.uk

MORE INFO: hiberniarestaurant.com facebook.com/heritagecollectionmuseum mysandyisland.com tradition-sailing.com anguillakayak.com bankiebanx.net ivisitanguilla.com

The sign on the wall denouncing spiced rum is unequivocal: ‘ pas de rhum épicé à la Martinique!’ It’s a clear message to all visitors to the Neisson Distillery in Le Carbet that the vogue for adding flavours like vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon isn’t appreciated here, however popular they are on supermarket shelves and cocktail menus.

That suits me fine, because a chief reason for visiting this mountainous French overseas territory is that it produces some of the most intriguing rums in the world. Martinique is smaller than Surrey yet has 13 distilleries, most of which are open to visitors. I’ve chosen to visit Neisson, founded in 1932, because it’s family-run, organic and the smallest. It’s also refreshingly free of the slick people-processing you get on many drinks-based tours. Here I just wander in, raising an eyebrow at the brick chimney belching black smoke and avoiding the unruly heaps of bagasse, the debris that’s left after sugar cane is crushed.

Information panels on a self-guided route explain what the fuss is about. While the majority of rums are derived from molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, Martinique’s celebrated rhum agricole is made with the fermented juice of sugar cane. Other Caribbean islands such as Guadeloupe and Grenada also produce this, but here the Martinicans up the ante by protecting theirs with AOC ( appellation d’origine contrôlée), which means it’s subject to complex, quality-preserving rules such as having to use a column still and only labelling it ‘ vieux’ (‘old’) when it’s aged for at least three years. Neisson’s copper still has been going since 1952 and its assiduously crafted rhums include one that uses five varieties of sugar cane and another that’s a heady 70% ABV.

The result, as I discover at the complimentary tasting that follows, is a fiery spirit that at first taste feels raw, earthy and close to its surrounding terroir. Drive inland from the hectic island capital, Fortde-France, and there’s field after field thick with stands of sugar cane 10ft tall. While most visitors to Martinique are French couples and families heading straight for its golden sand beaches, for the locals the place to escape the crowds is Presqu’île de la Caravelle, a finger of land out on the east coast. Here there’s a stylish boutique hotel, French Coco, bracing walks to a lighthouse that dates from 1861 and the evocative Château Dubuc, which was built on a headland in 1735. Its well-documented ruins are a reminder that rum was born in the dark days of sugar and slavery, and as I wander its breezy grounds with the remnants of the great house, coffee mill, boiling cauldrons and distillery, I discover a window into those harrowing days that’s far more poignant and engaging than any museum.

At the opposite end of the distillery parade, Habitation Clément is a large, wellorganised heritage attraction in Le François complete with audio guides and gift shop.

I’d been told to allow at least two hours for a visit, but that’s barely enough time to enjoy its historic factory, art gallery and landscaped gardens dotted with striking contemporary sculptures. Rhum agricole has been produced here since 1917 and more than 400,000 gallons of the spirit are stored in a huge mountain of oak barrels — there’s even a sign warning visitors about the powerfully intoxicating fumes that emanate from them.

After an informative tasting, I pass on the most-prized bottle for sale — a mere €1,500 (£1,263) — and go for a €17 (£14) 3.5-pint box of rhum blanc, which is a favoured tipple for many Martinicans. This suits me fine because I’m going to make some ti’ punch, just like the locals do. Simply put a wedge of lime in a small glass, squash it, then add some rum and sugar — no ice please. The result is a powerful and reviving hit, but more importantly, it’s the true taste of a warm and engaging island that adores its traditions. Fancy another?

HOW TO DO IT: Neisson Distillery can be found in Le Carbert, on Martinique’s northwest coast. Air France flies to Martinique via Paris from £679 return. Hotel French Coco in Tartane offers doubles from €281 (£236), room only. neisson.fr airfrance.co.uk hotelfrenchcoco.com

MORE INFO: pnr-martinique.com habitation-clement.fr martinique.org