Madeira was our summer holiday destination and we went with no real expectations, although friends had said it was "nice" and they had "liked" it. It is certainly an island for the middle-aged (which suited us) as there are no real beaches on this piece of volcanic rock which sticks out of the Atlantic a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Africa. It is very lush, owing to over 70 inches of rain a year, and very tall, boasting the second-highest cliff in the world.

The hotel was superb, perched above the southern end of Funchal. It was quiet, well appointed and had the least busy swimming pool we have ever encountered. On top of that the food was, with the exception of one night, delicious and served in an outdoor restaurant in the hotel's extensive gardens.

We did not do a great deal other than sunbathe and swim, but we did manage to drag ourselves up to Monte in the cable car, visit a beautiful garden (the source of most of the pictures) and go on a Levada walk. The walk was very enjoyable (in retrospect) but if you don't like contouring on narrow paths with very steep drops (as I don't) it's probably better to buy the postcards. However, the guide did assure me it wasn't really dangerous as, on average, only 2 people a month died on these walks and, as they'd lost 6 Germans in January, the odds were heavily in our favour!

PHOTO ALBUM