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Saturday 22 November 2008

Having your cake and eating it

Belinda Archer finds Madeira is not just for the blue-rinse brigade

I had certain misgivings. I mean, it’s not quite rock ’n’ roll, Madeira, is it? It’s known more for blue-rinsed ladies in bath chairs, and producing a tipple not dissimilar to sherry, than for anything wild or mad. I may be getting older, but holidaying in a pensioner’s paradise seemed a little premature.

Having spent a long weekend there, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve become a fan, in fact, of this much-maligned Portuguese outpost. And I’m the right side of 50.

First, it is in the same time zone as the UK, and only a weekend-friendly three-hour flight away. It also has pretty impressive scenery — lush, dramatic hills inland and steep sea cliffs lining its shores. It’s got a nice, not-too-sweaty-in-summer, warm-in-winter sub-tropical climate, too (the main draw for the oldies, basically). But best of all, there is the food and wine.

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