In the Posh Golf Travel Magazine – Barry Ward featured this eye opening article about Madeira island:

THERE’S something about islands that’s good for the soul. I can’t think of one I don’t recall with affection, and I know many intimately. Island folk, almost without exception, have elevated relaxation to an art form so there’s no hurry. The cuisine is usually eclectic, often wildly inventive; there are oodles of recreational activities, not to mention the beach and the sun, and romance is a natural by-product..

All of which means they’re grand places to take a holiday, particularly if golf is part of the scenario. Add a touch of exclusivity to the above and you’ve painted a word picture of Madeira.

The island, a Portuguese protectorate, is in the Atlantic on a latitude with Northern Morocco and four hours’ flying time from London. It’s a sizeable piece of real estate measuring 50 kilometres by 30, some of it hilly bordering on the mountainous.

Much of it is untouched and will remain so: 70 per cent of the land mass is protected national park, heavily wooded and cascading with flowers. It’s a preview of Heaven for artists and walkers, the latter encouraged by a network of trails. The climate is agreeable – in summer the temperatures hover around 25 to 27C; winters are mild and perfect for golf and walking.

This may sound Utopian but there’s more. The proud locals consider their home the equivalent of Switzerland – “because everything works,” a happy situation that’s attributable to the head of government who has been in situ for three decades.

A politician of unimpeachable integrity, his objective is simply to achieve what is best for the island and its people. His life is an open book and he frequently stops to chat while walking the streets of Funchal, the island’s capital, where he lives in an ordinary family home. Not long ago he resigned his office in protest at a political edict from Lisbon and went to the public via the polls: he was re-elected unopposed and the edict was rejected. You’ll gather he is revered.

Thanks largely to his efforts the island attracts upwards of a million tourists a year and in consequence the population (260,000) enjoys an enviable quality of life.

This is reflected in the ambience and the service enjoyed by those tourists, many of them regular visitors. They are British, in the main, a large percentage of whom are golfers drawn by two outstanding courses (there’s now a third, on a nearby island, of which more anon.

Of specific appeal to those not familiar is the fact that the temperate climate makes Madeira an ideal choice for summer holidays generally and golf in particular. It can be hot, but not oppressively so and, being an island, there’s usually a cooling sea breeze.

There’s also some breathtaking scenery, for golfers and non-golfers alike.Away from the coast and its modern highway narrow roads wriggle into a succession of hair-pin bends as they navigate the wooded hills with views of the ocean in the far distance.

Both golf courses are on elevated sites, one on a plateau overlooking Funchal and its bay, the other in hill country but only 20 minutes or so from the capital.

The first, Palheiro Golf Club, is part of an estate that includes Casa Velha, a former country house that’s become a de luxe hotel set in the grounds of a world famous garden. It had been some years since my previous visit but memory’s script was unchanged, as were the impeccable standards. The result once again was a joyful experience. If only all holidays were like this…

Nice one Barry!