Upstate New York

One of the best things about Manhattan is how easy it is to escape when you’re ready for some R and R. Long Island (especially Montauk) is just across the river and down the road and if you head due north, up the Hudson Valley, there are hundreds of amazing spots just an hour or two off the island.

One of my favourites and a regular getaway is Stissing Lake near the town of Pine Plains. Friends of mine have a 100-year-old hunting lodge right on the water and we’ve had many weekend breaks in this little haven.

It’s an all-American experience, that’s for sure, a Ralph Lauren lifestyle but 100% honest rather than art directed. Every home has an American flag flying and a dock and kayak out front, squirrels run about in the trees and every American holiday or tradition is celebrated with gusto - clam bakes, Memorial Day, Halloween, peek foliage weekend are all major events.

We were there early this fall. The lake was still warm and swimming out to the middle of it we’d look up at the hills surrounding us, the foliage giving just the faintest hint of yellow - a tiny suggestion of the incredible show of gold to come in just a month or so.

Being a visitor to the States I’m always enchanted by the differences between it and home and in the countryside this is particularly obvious in the wild life. Sitting on the porch in my rocking chair and wearing a large straw hat I can’t get enough of watching the squirrels running about in the oak, pine and silver birch trees all around me - carrying acorns to their hiding places in preparation for the long winter. Occasionally packs of wolves and coyotes can be heard howling in the mountains above and if you tramp up the mountains and stop for a spot of sunbathing at the peak, it’s inevitable that you’ll open your eyes to see 8 or 9 turkey vultures circling above you eyeing you up for dinner. Most unnerving. The lake’s home to many swan and geese and if you kayak to one end you’ll be able to pay a visit to the beavers’ damn.

For those not lucky enough to have friends with the perfect weekend getaway standing by there’s a gorgeous spot on the lake with self-contained accommodation.

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