Looking for New England

New Hampshire is charming, but nothing like its English namesake, says Victoria Summerley

You won't see a live moose at the Squam Lake Science Center in New Hampshire. Moose don't thrive in captivity, apparently. If a moose was to wear a bumper sticker, it would no doubt be emblazoned with New Hampshire's clarion call: "Live free or die".

Squam Lake lies to the north of the New Hampshire Lakes region, and its big sister, Lake Winnipesaukee. Winnipesaukee has a reputation for being a bit trippery while Squam Lake, which featured in the movie On Golden Pond, is more unspoilt. When we drove up there, in late October, Winnipesaukee seemed a tranquil wilderness, a vast sheet of water framed by russet-fringed mountains, with only the odd car passing us on the road. Late spring is another perfect time to visit, before the summer hordes descend. Driving through Weirs Beach we noticed the deserted funfairs and water parks and it was only too easy to imagine what it might be like in the height of summer.

At Squam, on the other hand, the only thing competing with the tremolo call of the loons on the lake was the chatter of school parties in the science centre, set up to educate the public about the local wildlife and its environmental needs. You can see deer, bobcats, otters, owls, skunks and even black bears in enclosures which are designed to be as indistinguishable as possible from their natural habitat.

We were amused to see a fox, the sort you can see any night in a suburban British street raiding the rubbish bins, lording it in a rather palatial woodland enclosure while a couple of chipmunks (a far more exotic species to our eyes) dodged in and out of the fencing like two striped gatecrashers.

To British ears, "New Hampshire" sounds rather cosy. You imagine a New England version of our Hampshire, a transplantation of the New Forest, along with rolling green hills and picturesque villages. Well, there's a lot of forest, and there are certainly some hills, not to mention some fearsome mountains, and there are picturesque houses and villages. But to make a direct comparison is like comparing a tabby kitten to a mountain lion.

As Bill Bryson says in his funny and informative book, A Walk in the Woods: "Vermont is Volvos and antique shops and inns with cutely-contrived names like Quail Hollow Lodge and Fiddlehead Farm Inn. New Hampshire is guys in hunting caps and pick-up trucks... The landscape, too, differs crucially. Vermont's mountains are comparatively soft and rolling... New Hampshire is primarily, sometimes rather dauntingly, wilderness."

New Hampshire folk share Bryson's view of Vermont. "Huh! Yuppyville," snorted Fred Hofmeister, the host at the Atwood Inn in Franklin, NH, when I told him that the – how shall we say – place that began with V was my next port of call. Fred is a kind of New Hampshire in microcosm: resourceful, at ease with himself, and with a heart as gold as foliage in fall. His wife Sandi is the same. They are also both fantastic cooks.

The Atwood Inn is an 18th-century federal-style house, painted in traditional colours and furnished with antiques and quilts. It has the traditional 12-paned windows (our room had four) which are lit at night with candles. The candles are electric, of course, for safety reasons, but the effect is absolutely charming.

Outside, there are lawns and trees and, far enough from the house for the rooster not to wake the guests, there are chickens and a couple of Nubian goats. We strolled out before breakfast to say hello to the hens and I was able to collect my own egg to contribute to the scramble Sandi was making.

Ah, yes, the breakfast. First, Fred managed to make me a decent pot of tea. Those tea-drinkers among you who have been to the US will appreciate how worthy of note this achievement was. Then we had succulent baked apples stuffed with dates and pecans and topped with maple syrup. This was followed by oatmeal (porridge) topped with more maple syrup and cream. Bacon and scrambled eggs followed, with homemade scones and jam bringing up the rear. Spectacular scones, spectacular breakfast.

It seemed a little odd to leave this lavish feast and head off to the Canterbury Shaker Village about 10 miles away. I'd always thought of the Shakers as being rather austere in their attitude to life and I was a bit puzzled when a fellow guest at the Atwood said to me: "Be sure to have lunch there. The food is superb."

We drove through woods, past the white clapboard village of Canterbury itself, to join the first tour of the morning at the Shaker village, which includes 25 original Shaker buildings, including the Meeting House. We sat on benches in an avenue of maples and listened as the guide, Holly, explained the philosophy behind the Shaker way of life.

Unlike the Amish or the Mennonites, the Shakers embraced innovation, regarding it as a gift from God. They danced and sang. They regarded men and women as equals; in fact they regarded everyone as equals, regardless of race or religion. Their overriding aim was to do everything, whether it was washing clothes, brushing the floor or growing vegetables, in the best way possible. When we followed the tour with a truly delectable lunch in the restaurant, I nearly signed up on the spot.

There was just one snag. The founder of the Shakers, Ann Lee, believed in celibacy: not celibacy outside marriage or celibacy at certain times, but celibacy full stop. Which is why you won't find many Shakers left in the world today. But you will find the recollections of Alberta MacMillan Kirkpatrick set out in a rather moving exhibition in the village. Alberta was adopted by the Shakers at the age of 11. Her mother had died of cancer and her father was unable to provide for his children. You can tell from Alberta's letters that she missed her family but she also describes how her Shaker foster mother hugged her when she arrived. It was the first time anyone had hugged her since her mother's death a couple of years earlier.

Alberta is still alive and returns regularly to the village to talk about her experiences. But I suspect she is also drawn back by the sense of peace and harmony which seems to hang in the air here, high on a hill in the midst of the rugged New Hampshire countryside.

Traveller's guide

Getting there: Victoria Summerley flew to Boston with British Airways (0845 77 333 77, www.ba.com) which currently has special offers for the US and Canada. A return flight to Boston costs from £209 for departures before 15 May.

A week's care hire with Holiday Autos costs from £199 (0870 400 0099, www.holidayautos.co.uk).

Staying there: Atwood Inn, 71 Hill Road, Route 3a, Franklin (001 603 934 3666, www.atwoodinn.com) Doubles from $90 (£57).

Canterbury Shaker Village, 288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, New Hampshire 03224 (001 603 783 9511 or 001 866 783 9511, www.shakers.org ).

More information: www.discovernewengland.org