Wake up under overcast skies in Menorca and your best option is to head for Monte Toro, at over 1,000 feet, the highest point on the island - indeed the only really high point on the island. From the summit, topped by a statue of Christ and bristling with telecommunication masts, you can see just about every corner of this compact Balearic isle. And such can be the local variability of the weather on Menorca that you are able to spot where the sun is favouring that day, and plan accordingly. It's not uncommon for one coast to be basking in sunshine, while another is stuck under a cloud. I learnt this trick from my brother-in-law, who has been coming to the family apartment here since the 1980s.
Indeed, while I married into Menorca, my wife's family's ties to the island have a more tragic edge. Her paternal grandfather died of a heart attack while helping his wife, who had got into trouble as she swam off Sant Tomas beach, in 1970. And in 2002, my mother-in-law died in the hospital at Mahon after being taken ill on the aeroplane from England. She had been unknowingly suffering from cancer.Yet it is the happy memories that mostly bind us to an island often dismissed as Ibiza and Mallorca's mousy little sister: flat, unglamorous and so dull it's almost invisible. In fact, say you're holidaying in Menorca and people will almost automatically understand "Majorca". Riding boots are not always suitable for walking, so take open-toed walking sandals.
The lodge uses English saddles, so a saddle-pad will make it easier on your behind. If you want to be popular, take two.FURTHER INFORMATIONRomanian National Tourist Office (020-7224 3692; ).. Most people associate Beaune with wine, but with me it's transport. The people have a right to a better lifestyle but tourists can cope After all, they didn't have cappuccinos in Narnia. TRAVELLER'S GUIDEGETTING THEREThe writer travelled with In the Saddle (01299 272997; ), which offers similar trips from £656. This includes transfers, seven nights' accommodation, riding and visits.
