New England in the Fall

"Leafspotting" in New Hampshire, particularly the Kancamagus Highway. Driving up Mount Washington (although it's shut for winter now). A sociable breakfast in a wee B&B in VT. Visiting the Burton snowboards factory. Successful whale watching from Boston. Walking down the banks of the Charles river in Cambridge in autumn sunshine.

Quick Tips:

Negotiate for deals in country hotels in low season. We hadn't booked ahead but got some good prices just turning up (as everywhere was quiet) and seeing what they could offer us.

Best Way To Get Around:

In Boston, the "T" is great; cheap, quick and easy to get around. Out of the city we went by car as the only way to cover the distance in the short time available.

Well located, in downtown area. Nice big, clean room, great comfy bed, good service. The staff had some trouble with booking people in as we were arriving, but they were fine with us. Perhaps a little impersonal, we didn't have a lot to do with the staff.

We got a really good rate by booking through the special offers section on the Wyndham website - much cheaper than any other internet offers on similar hotels in Boston at that time.

URL: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/BOSDT/main.wnt

This is a rustic hotel, somewhat off the beaten path. It's a little run down around the edges, but very friendly. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable with a grand view over the autumn brushed hillsides.

The restaurant was fairly good, with a reasonable wine list and generous breakfast.

There are leisure facilities available (indoor hot tub, sauna, table tennis) and good selection of slightly elderly video games!

URL: www.eaglemt.com

Great! We had a real brief stay but it was most enjoyable. We arrived late, unbooked, having stumbled across the place but luckily Scott had a nice room for us and made us most welcome.

The room was nice and warm, and we were amazed when we woke up in the morning and it had snowed.

Breakfast was a real higlight; all the guests got together and had a good old fashioned chat. The rest had been hot air ballooning the previous evening so they had plenty to tell about that. Scott (the guest house host) can organise the ballooning trips.

URL: www.silvermaplelodge.com

Hearty, wholesome, tasty food. Big portions of wings, ribs, soup and salads. And a nice pint!

The service was friendly, too, and the ambience was warm. The place was busy and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves.