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TO PARAPHRASE Dr. Johnson: "If you're tired of London, you should try New Hampshire." One could include Maine in that paean of praise. There's nothing to choose between them. For those weary of grid-locked commuting and in desperate need of rejuvenation this is the place to be. The bird song could drive you crazy after a while but generally they say it's so peaceful hereabouts that you can hear a butterfly breathing.
As holiday destinations go either of these mountain states is the ultimate battery charger: serene, restful, welcoming and full of good things to see and do. Add the historical aspect, scenery to impoverish adjectives and it all offers a holiday to remember, one that caters for every proclivity. It's all most affordable, too.
You can pick and choose where to bed down, from quaint country inns to plush resorts, opting for a two centre stay, perhaps, or a longer, more relaxing tour. This is a holiday to be relished.
New Hampshire, with neighbouring Maine one of the six states that form New England, is home to 100-plus golf clubs, among them a cluster of resorts with first rate hotels. They don't come any finer than the Mount Washington Hotel, one of America's most gracious resorts. It's de luxe and then some and it has 18 holes laid out by Donald Ross.
The setting is the White Mountains National Forest in the state's north east corner, the focal point of which is Mount Washington, at 6,200 feet the highest peak in the region. It's a fitting backdrop to a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture built by Italian craftsmen in 1902. It has been legendary ever since.
The six storey hotel, a bastion of luxury, colonnaded, red-roofed and white-walled, overlooks the golf course in a valley with the mountain beyond. Few hotels are blessed with such scenery, which accounts for its 900 foot long verandah, a popular spot for sunset cocktails.
The course shows few signs of the Ross signature. He doubtless had limited options on such terrain in 1915. But it's of sufficient pedigree to be a regular venue for the New Hampshire Open. It's a fun course, with sufficient challenge to keep you on your toes and is in first rate order.
The hotel golf packages allow unlimited golf and if you stay for four nights the fifth will be complimentary. Good value doesn't come any better and if you've a two centre stay in mind this could be an ideal stop-over in combination with our next halt.
As a guide, Mount Washington is two and a half hours by road from Boston Airport. The Balsams, an equally venerable resort, is a further 90 minutes away. That's allowing you can resist the scenic blandishments en route: Best add 30 minutes to both journeys...
The 232 roomed Balsams Hotel is dreamlike: serene in the splendid isolation of its mountain setting but with night life aplenty and with equally unforgettable cuisine and golf. Recognised as one of America's greatest resorts, it has been a favoured retreat for the discerning for almost a century. It shows in every nook and cranny.
Dress rules in the dining room apart, it is refreshingly informal and takes pride in its warmth of welcome, its level of service and variety of facilities. It's way off the beaten track but that's part of the charm: once there you switch off totally and luxuriate in whatever pastime takes your fancy.
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