New England Adventure

A short 45-minute drive from Boston, our first stop was the historical city of Salem which was made famous by the Witch Trials of 1692, when numerous locals were executed for allegedly practising witchcraft. We stopped by the Salem Regional Visitors centre where we watched a short video on the history of the city, and then began the ‘Salem Heritage Trail’. The trail brought us to all the major sights including the Witch Trials Memorial which was particularly poignant. Honestly, we weren’t entirely convinced about making the stop here initially, but it transpired to be well worth the time – a pretty town with friendly people and it was also very interesting! Before continuing our journey, we stopped and had brunch at ‘Red’s Sandwich’ which I would highly recommend – popular with locals, its great food and great value (and with pancakes bigger that your head you better be hungry!)

Moving up the coast we left Massachusetts behind, drove through New Hampshire and on to Maine. Next stop the Kennebunk’s…

Relatively unknown to European travellers the Kennebunk’s stole my heart the moment we entered the first town. The neighbouring towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport are extremely picturesque – the word ‘quaint’ just doesn’t cut it… white picket fences, traditional wooden houses, fishing boats, boutique hotels… this area has a charm that is hard to describe. The pace is relaxed and despite the tourist traffic it just has this wonderfully homely feel. A car is essential to explore this incredible coastline. What is there to do in the area? Just wander, drive, people watch, relax on one of the many beaches, eat one of their infamous lobster rolls and don’t forget your camera!

As luck would have it, we arrived in Kennebunk on 4th July which is of course American Independence Day. If you haven’t experienced a 4th July in the USA before I would really recommend it – we spent a lovely evening down by the beach and enjoyed the fireworks sitting by the sea with locals. If you haven’t already guessed, this area was my favourite and one of my most memorable days was when we drove down to Walkers Point (the summer retreat of the former President Bush) and then along the coast to Cape Porpoise – take a look at the photos attached!

After 4 nights in Maine, we hit the road again, driving south, returning to Massachusetts but this time to Cape Cod…

Famed for sand dunes and miles of beaches, this narrow peninsula is very well known and for good reason. Its home to many ‘picture-postcard’ towns, and with its proximity to the city, it’s a popular spot for Bostonians as well as many other visitors. We stayed in Falmouth which was a great base to explore the area… Our second day here was for one of the highlights of the trip! After a short drive to the town of Barnstable, we boarded our boat for an afternoon whale watching. Well what an experience… Our experienced Captain and Crew covered a vast area to ensure we had the best possible experience. From Barnstable we sailed right to the heart of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

During our journey, our knowledgeable naturalist told us all about the area, the sea life and of course the whales, which not only passed the time but built the excitement until, finally, a humpback whale came into sight. What a surreal experience; there must have been over 300 passengers onboard, but everyone fell silent whilst this amazing creature swam and lunged right in front of us…The staff onboard told us this was ‘Mobil’; an adult male and they can recognise each of them since their tails are all individual – like a thumb print. Mobil might have been the most impressive mammal of the trip, but we were also lucky to see a few Minke whales during the afternoon too. This was my first whale-watching experience… it really was fabulous and something I definitely want to do again.

Whilst the whale-watching was a hard act to follow, we spent 3 more wonderful days in Cape Cod and explored as much of it as possible. My favourite towns were Chatham, Sandwich and last but certainly not least; Provincetown. At the very tip of Cape cod, a visit to Provincetown, or ‘P-town’ as the locals call it is a must. Popular with the LGBT community, it has a really cool vibe. There are some great art galleries, quirky shops, lively bars and one of the best fish restaurants in Cape Cod – the Lobster Pot.

Sadly, our adventure came to an end all too soon, but it was certainly filled with happy memories. Other places we visited included Martha’s Vineyard, Gloucester, ‘Water Country Waterpark’ in New Hampshire, shopping at the Kittery Outlets in Maine and the historical city of Plymouth… There is so much to do in this part of the world, and just not enough time to write about it all!

I would absolutely recommend a visit to New England and since there is still so much more to see I hope to return in the future. If you are planning a visit, please call me on (094) 9376765 and I would be delighted to share more information with you and help organise your trip to New England.