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Enid Blyton’s Famous Five would love it here and
Jane Harley, who spent a week on Osea with her son,
Dylan, five, agrees it’s the perfect place for children.
“Dylan left his Wii behind and went swimming in
the pool every day. He really enjoyed the archery and
table tennis, and seeing the island’s donkeys, Salt and
Pepper,” she says. Other activities include fishing, use
of a gym, yoga room and painting studio.
As well as the simple, unspoilt pleasures of island
life, the romantic mix of cottages, two beach houses
and a manor house that sleeps 20, offer a comfortable
castaway experience. Shabby-chic tones sit happily
alongside plasma screens; interiors are an eclectic mix
of roll-top baths, wood-burning stoves and huge sofas.
Piles of
National Geographic
magazines and inspiring
books fill many of the rooms. It’s even possible to hire
the entire island (sleeps 100) for special occasions.
Plans are afoot to renovate some of the old farm
buildings into a shop, a café and an indoor pool
and spa, but until then, a stay on Osea needs some
preparation – the nearest supermarket is 4.8km
away and that’s assuming the tide is out. But this is
what makes this place so special. For, despite the fact
that you are cut off from the world, you know that
civilisation is but a wiggly 1.6km distance away – and
what a long and glorious 1.6km it is.
Osea Island is just
80minutes’ drive
fromLondon, but a
millionmiles from
the 21st century
ESCAPE THE
CROWDS
Threemore unusual island
retreats to discover
TEXEL
Awildlife haven 100kmnorth of
Amsterdam, which sees huge numbers of
wintering birds. Its often-photographed
lighthouse is at De Cocksdorp,
above
.
Get there
via train fromAmsterdam to Den
Helder station, which takes 75minutes, then
the No 33 bus to the docks for the 20-minute
Teso ferry crossing (texel.net).
SARK
It may be tiny (only 5.5km
2
), but
the landscape is a walker’s dream: navigate
La Coupée,
above
, a narrow isthmus with a
drop of 100mon either side.
Get there
fromApril to September, via ferry
fromJersey, which takes 50minutes. At other
times, it’s possible to take a ferry to Guernsey
and pick up another to Sark (sark.info).
LA GOMERA
The second smallest of
the Canary Islands is often called“a living
museum” for its rich natural history. Its
Garajonay National Park is covered in laurel
forest, while deep ravines cleave the island.
Get there
via catamaran ferry fromLos
Cristianos harbour in Tenerife to La Gomera,
which takes 40minutes (gomera.info).
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