Hideaways

Even the most visited holiday destinations can surprise those of us in search of a quiet oasis of calm. Visit the hill villages of Majorca like Fornalutx or Deia and discover surprising neighbourly welcomes, local markets, remote walks, tiny artist’s studios and extraordinary food.

The Petit Hotel in Fornalutx is a converted convent – a mix of cool austerity and family warmth. You can walk over the hills for morning coffee and a vibrant buzz of humanity in Soller in about 40 minutes.

Down the way in Deia you will find La Residencia and all the charms of a rambling country house. Superb food is served in its several restaurants but elsewhere in the village you will also find the superb cuisine of es Raco d’es Teix and the imaginative menu at Sebastian offered in a friendly atmosphere that is quietly elegant and relaxed.

Above the town sits the churchyard where the poet Robert Graves is modestly laid to rest. You can visit his house too. It is an extraordinarily spiritual place, very much as he left it. Full of memories and mementoes. There are letters and honours and first editions and his old printing press. There are photographs of visits by the stars of former decades who traversed oceans just to meet and pay homage to this gifted writer, yet very much a local man.

Wander off afterwards along the hilly trails and textured terraces to Cala Deia – not so much a beach as a test of character.