Martha's Vineyard

The island has six towns of quite different character. Oak Bluffs holds the Camp Meeting Association grounds: about three hundred small wooden cottages, densely packed with jigsawn trim and painted in strong colours, which grew from a Methodist tent revival campground in the 1860s - the tents became cottages and the layout stayed. Aquinnah at the western end has clay cliffs in bands of red, grey and white, on Wampanoag tribal land. From the 1700s until the early twentieth century the island had a hereditary deafness rate far above the mainland, and Martha's Vineyard Sign Language was used by hearing and deaf islanders alike, which linguists study as a case of a community where deafness was not a disability.

What you actually see

• About three hundred gingerbread cottages - grown from a tent campground.
• The Aquinnah clay cliffs - banded, on Wampanoag land.
• Six towns of different character - from working port to summer colony.
• A distinct sign language history - once used by the whole community.

When to go

June to September. A full day, better with several.

Honest expectations

It is expensive in season and accommodation books months ahead. Car ferries require reservations well in advance and a car is often unnecessary. Several beaches are restricted to residents. Off season much of it closes.

Nearby

Nantucket is east; Cape Cod is north across the sound.