New Hampshire Lake Country

The Village at Winnipesaukee is up the hill from Weirs Beach and out of sight of the lake. Its location makes it easy to travel through southern New Hampshire and it's a quick drive to Laconia and Meredith, both of which have shopping and restaurants. Be sure to drive around the lake to visit Castle in the Clouds and Wolfeboro.

The timeshare units are nicely laid out and a two-bedroom unit is suitable for two couples sharing. The resort is short on amenities, but it does have a small pool and tennis.

Quick Tips:

Shop 'til you drop. There is an outlet mall nearby at Tilton and of course North Conway is an easy drive for the day. Visit the state capital of Concord and don't miss the Shaker Village at Canterbury . . . an extremely interesting visit that will probable eat up somewhere between two and four hours. Check out the website for the Mount Washington cruises for an afternoon or evening on the lake.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need a car. You can walk down to Weir's Beach from the resort if you don't mind the walk back up the hill.

Best Things Nearby:
Outlet shopping at Tilton and North Conway, beaches on the lake, lovely scenery, charming cities and towns: Wolfeboro, Meredith, Concord, Laconia and further away, Dover and Portsmouth. Be sure to visit the Shaker Village at Canterbury and the state capital at Concord.

Best Things About the Resort:
The grounds are lovely and off the road enough to be a quiet environment.

The units are well equipped and laid out as well as comfortable. Two couples could share a unit and have a reasonable amount of privacy.

Resort Experience:
Our unit was probably typical (there are slight variations on the floor plan). Immediately upon entry, you encounter the dining table (seats 4... in a small space). The living room is a fair size, with fireplace and TV, but really, it would only seat four as long as no one wanted to sprawl out. There were patio doors with a small balcony off the living area. The kitchen is open concept, looking into the living room with the two bedrooms, each with its own full bath, on each side of it. That meant that there was an excellent buffer between the two sleeping areas. Other observations... you can't see the beach from here and I wouldn't want a first floor unit... the buildings are on a hillside and there is a loss of privacy in the first floor units with some of the windows at ground-level looking out onto walkways. My most vivid memory of walking in was my immediate opening of the patio doors and windows... the place reeked of cigarette smoke... what a pity.

It is a good place for a family vacation, although activities at the resort appear to be a bit sparse and the pool is on the small side. It is possible to walk down to the beach as long as one is prepared to make the walk back up the hill. Weirs Beach itself provides a mooring spot for cruises on the Mount Washington and has the usual tourist traps filled with machines dispensing cotton candy and arcades. The site provides quick access to all of southern New Hampshire . . . an extraordinarily scenic place.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Fair
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Very Good

This a fascinating 3-4 hour visit. It begins in the Visitor Education Center and the visit is conducted by a series of tours. The first tour, The Shaker Story (one hour), introduces you to the Shakers and an overview of how they lived. It takes you to the Meeting House, laundry and the school, giving you insight into the religion and the technological advances of the sect. Two other tours, the Shaker Home tour (45 minutes) and the Shaker Work Tour (one hour) continue the experience. The site is fairly compact, but it contains approximately 30 buildings, most of which are open to the public. The site also features a museum store with Shaker-inspired products, some of which were made on the site, and a restaurant.

As brief background, the Shakers were formed in England from a combination of influences: the charismatic movement in the Anglican church, French Huguenot and Quakerism. When the original founders passed away, the movement had grown to about 300 members and their adopted daughter became the head of the sect. Having come from an poor background, she decided that part of church doctrine should be celibacy. The immediate effect was the loss of membership.

Regardless, it still attracted adherents and several colonies were established in the United States. Celibacy meant the separation of sexes. On your tour of Canterbury, you will notice that buildings have doors and staircases for each sex. A married couple could join the sect, but would be separated and have to live apart. The name Shaker comes from the vigorous celebration of their faith... dancing in concentric circles . . . a circle of men, a circle of women, a circle of men etc., moving in opposite directions.

The population at Canterbury finally died out, and in fact, we were told that there were only four Shakers left in a small colony in Maine.

High in the mountains with a splendid view of the lakes, Castle in the Clouds was the home of Thomas Plante. The story is extremely poignant . . . a boy started working in shoe factories to become the owner of shoe factories and extraordinarily wealthy. He built is dream house and lived in it for 30 years. The year before he died, it was repossessed by the bank . . . he had lost everything. The "castle" isn't extravagent, but it is well worth the visit.

The visitor arrives at a parking lot . . . the reception/restaurant is in the former stables. Visitors are taken up the hill to the mansion by trolley. Once you receive an introduction to the Plant story, you pass through the house at your own pace. Notable are the bedrooms, one of which was often occupied by Teddy Roosevelt, Plant's friend. (And apparently the guy who advised him to buy Russian bonds just before the revolution). Also remarkable are the showers... each having several heads. Water for the house was brought from further up in the mountains and apparently the water pressure in the house was remarkable. Other features include Mr. Plante's secret reading room which is hidden behind a panel... a small room containing just a chair to allow the house's owner to escape from guests, family and staff. The house strikes one as being very liveable and completely lacking in ostentation.