There are times when you are landing at an airport, or when taking in the place during those first few miles of driving in your hire car that you think "this has a nice feel" - Menorca was one of those places. Flying in it seemed green and lush (and being a small island that should be expected), the roads were well maintained and lined with dry stone walls - if there were some potholes and some rain you could possibly almost have been at home as there is a certain British feel about the place. Maybe this just stems from the time that we owned the island in the 18th Century?

Menorca is definitely a holiday island, it is much smaller than its neighbour, Majorca, seems far less developed and where this has taken place the villas or hotels seem to be on a much smaller, or higher quality scale. This might just be a 'rose tinted spectacles' view but it seems a pleasant place to spend some time and maybe with us being out of the main holiday season this helped as well.

The villa that we rented along with my brother Peter, his wife Sarah and their two kids, James and Emma, was a bargain at around £55 per night for a four bedroomed place with pool and proved to be excellent value. Yes it was a little remote but this tranquility sat overlooking olive groves on a private gated urbanisation was a far cry from the Spanish mainland in that no other properties could be seen from our terrace area. Even being less than 10km from the main airport for the island was not an issue with very little disturbance.

Being on holiday with teenagers has challenges but on the whole both my niece and nephew were good company - well for most of the time anyway! Emma did rustle up a nice pasta dish on one evening that had us going back for a second helping and proved that she was more Pasta Master than Pasta Disaster and James took losing at cards pretty well - it is not the winning that counts . . . . . or at least that is what I told him.

Menorca is well worth a visit, there is plenty to keep you busy for at least a week and with our few days on the island we did tick off all four corners and criss crossed the island. The capital, Mahon (or Mao) was a bit of a disappointment although the Xoriguer Gin Distillery did seem to let you taste as much as you wanted - a shame to be driving so made do with a useable souvenir purchase for use at home. The old capital of Ciutadella had a much better feel about it. Very moorish and had plenty of narrow streets to get lost in and hidden squares with cafes in which to enjoy a coffee or maybe something a little stronger - if back on the island in the future thus would be a nice place to have as a base. The 1970s purpose built resort of Binibeca Vell was also worth a visit - probably a nightmare in the peak summer season - as it was built to resemble an old Spanish fishing village with lots of narrow quirky streets. Many of these streets were so small you could touch each side with less than outstretched arms.

So our European diversion draws to a close as we fly back to the UK and after landing at Manchester we will be headed to Blackpool. This all seemed like a good idea at the time but at least we have been used to getting fish and chips or a full English breakfast during our time in Spain so hopefully all will be fine in the northwest tourist resort.