Barry_Garnham

Hi all, looking for advice/recommendations/experience... travelling to Boston from U.K in the beginning oct 2011, been there so moving on to Deerfield (Yankee candle-the wife!!) then going north and want to take in some covered bridges, scenery, Squam lake, shaker village. spending 7 days, split into two stops. then on to Bass harbour staying one week (want to step on Canadian soil, to say we have) then back to Boston via one night at Kennebunk area. any help much appreciated.

Seen Plymouth/Cape Cod/Battleship cove

Want Scenery, History etc max 3 hour drives between lodging

capxxx

Well, I can help with the western mass part...

Take Route 2 from Boston to Deerfield, instead of the Mass Pike (I-90). More scenery and views, especially at the west end -- there are scenic overlook places to pull off the road and just look out at the valley.

The Magic Wings butterfly conservatory is great fun to visit.
Near Deerfield you might enjoy the art museums of Williamstown and North Adams. These would be good towns to find lodging as well. The Deerfield Inn is an obvious choice, but book soon -- in general, hotels in this area fill up quickly in October.

Another great shopping find for the wifey (much better than Yankee Candle IMHO) is the Lamson & Goodnow outlet store, in Shelburne Falls. It is an outlet store for their knives and cutlery, with lots of wonderful cookware and kitchen supplies. And its located on a pretty river with waterfall views. Shelburne falls is a nice little town for poking around in, with several arty shoppes.

Hancock Shaker Village is in Western Mass near Deerfield...Canterbury Shaker Village is in New Hampshire -- are you planning to visit both?

dfrostnh

Check the calendar for Shaker Village in Canterbury NH. They might be open weekends only in October.

From western MA you could head up into VT via Rt 91. Get off at Brattleboro exit (I think it's exit 3) and head to Keene NH then Rt 101 thru NH's quiet SW corner. Keene's a great college town. Pretty scenery along Rt 101. Peterborough NH is very artsy. Then Rt 101 becomes very commercial/industrial as you get close to Milford/Nashua so I would plot a route to Manchester or Concord that avoided Rt 3 and 93. Stop at Shaker Village for the afternoon. Then take Rt 93 (it will actually be scenic) to Lake Winnipesaukee. Maybe stay in Meredith but I don't have specific lodging recommendations. This gives you a good base for exploring Squam Lakes area and NH's White Mountains. I particularly like the drive between Center Sandwich and Tamworth. We have not been to the Remick Museum in Tamworth but you might check their schedule. It's a small farm/country doctor type of museum.

If you get a DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for the state of NH, it gives the location of all the covered bridges and waterfalls.

When you visit Canterbury you can also visit a local apple orchard for The Best apples, freshly picked. Apple Hill has a wonderful variety. Gould Hill in Hopkinton has great varieties as well as a nice view toward the mountains. Check their websites.

If you spend time in Deerfield and that area you will need to spend an overnight. There's too much to do plus see Canterbury Shaker Village. It's also fun to see Vermont Country Store. Perhaps split your week between western MA and NH's Lakes region but keep in mind that the color is going to be better in the north first so you really should go north first. I think I would go to Kennebunk first and up to Bass Harbor, then NH, and lastly the Deerfield MA area.
AND make lodging reservations ASAP even though it's 11 months from then.

Vttraveler

Old Deerfield Village is definitely worth a stop/drive through even if you don't spend overnight at the inn or go to the museum. But since you are interested in history, the museum would be a good stop.
http://www.historic-deerfield.org/
In nearby Sunderland you can drive to the top of Mt. Sugarloaf for a great view of the Connecticut River Valley.

There is a covered bridge in Conway, Mass, about 5 miles from Yankee Candle

Enfield, NH also has a small Shaker museum and is on a pretty lake
http://www.shakermuseum.org/

cw

If your wife likes Yankee Candle, she may want to visit Kringle Candle in Bernardston. It's a new store founded by the original founder of Yankee Candle. There was a write-up about it this past week: http://www.boston.com/business/artic...mily_business/

ggreen

Brattleboro, VT is a nice place to stop for lunch or overnight (range of lodging from B&B's to motels). Good coffee at Mocha Joe's (www.mochajoes.com)! And some cute shops to explore...

madameX

Kennebunkport is nice, although I've not been there in OCtober.

You may also want to consider Ogunquit to the south. It's very walkable; has a few interesting shops and galleries; many good restaurants; has a mile-plus nice coastal walk called the Marginal Way; has a lot of public beachfront walkable from town (although at that time of year the water is frigid, and the weather could be refreshing or nippy.)

The towns just south of there -- York Harbor, York Village, etc. are nice to cruise through, again with some cute shops and restaurants in all the price ranges. If you are after a casual pub-and-more meal, try the York Harbor Inn's pub (the restuarant isn't bad, but there are better.) For finer dining, we like Blue Sky in York Beach.

If you are cruising that area and can spare the time, I recommend taking Scenic 1A from Kennebunkport to the state line unless you want to make some time on the highway. Depending on traffic, it could be a nice drive or a headache.

In any case, if you are into outlet shopping, the mother of them all in that area is Freeport, the home of L.L. BEan (and open 24 hours.) Further south, just before the New HAmpshire border, is Kittery, which has outlet plazas on both sides of Rte. 1.