Martha's Vineyard

The island has six towns of quite different character. Oak Bluffs holds the Camp Meeting Association grounds: small wooden cottages, densely packed with jigsawn trim and painted in strong colours, which grew from the Methodist camp meetings at Wesleyan Grove - tents on the ground gave way to tents on platforms and then to cottages. 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.

Highlights

• 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.

Things to know

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.

Key facts