Yes, it really is a paradise, but somehow when you live in British Columbia, you tend to not even think about that tiny island — all 21 miles of it — lying out there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Known well to east-coasters as a 'honeymoon island', it still retains its "veddy" British atmosphere and attitudes, but with just enough Caribbean flavour to make life really interesting.

Having had a Bermudian grandfather helps, as he would extol the virtues of this precious jewel to my brother and me many, many moons ago, saying that the bougainvillea was in bloom all the time. We, of course, would wink at each other and think, 'Oh yeah, sure, he must be joking, nothing is blooming in the winter', as we sat shivering in the snowy bowels of New England. But it is true! Not only is the bougainvillea blooming, but also hibiscus and many other flowery plants flourish in Bermuda during the winter.

While not exactly beach weather for the locals, many tourists enjoy the invigorating temperatures of the cooler months at the myriad emerald and turquoise bays and coves. And, definitely, the sand is pink — thanks to a tiny micro-organism which turns to coral and is then ground up into sand from the ever-crashing waves.

This exquisite piece of volcanic rock and coral owes its sub-tropical climate to its location just 300 miles southeast of the Gulf Stream, and it is this which turns the Island into a tropical paradise for about ten months of the year. Only January and February can bring cold winds and rough seas, the one exception being an occasional autumn hurricane which passes near or over the Island.

I dispel immediately the usual erroneous propaganda that Bermuda is "much too pricey" for the ordinary person, because we managed to stay for ten days in a superb old Bermuda home called 'Tranquility House' for a very normal B&B price. Our hostess was delightful, and we had almost the run of the large house majestically located on Harbour Road. With a ferry stop five minutes away by foot, the ferry crossing to Hamilton takes about ten minutes.

Our wing of this packed-to-the-gills-with-English-treasures house included a large bed-sitting room with a bath and kitchenette. Therefore, we bought local groceries and made our breakfast every morning — unless we wanted to take the ferry over to Hamilton (the capital) and breakfast in one of the newest and best restaurants we found: Monty's on Pitts Bay Road. Reasonably priced and with great food, the service was superb, fast, and obviously run by a competent and savvy group of local Bermudians.

We first bravely (maybe crazily) rented two scooters after a trial run around a parking lot and getting a thumbs-up from the owners. You cannot rent a car in Bermuda, and you really wouldn't want to as traffic has increased tremendously, and there appear to be more cars on the road than ever, despite the fact that the government still only allows one car per family. Luckily, we managed to stay upright, but at around 35 kph you do not have time to check out the scenery. It does, however, get you from A to B.

On day two we headed for Flatts Village to take in the Aquarium which has been expanded into a fascinating zoo and museum with gorgeous flamingoes and golden Tamarin monkeys, among other exotic creatures such as a sleeping tree kangaroo! Loaded with information about the Island — the sea, the fish, and the reefs — it is an absolute 'must' on one's itinerary.

That evening we took the ferry over to Hamilton to enjoy the Lobster Pot restaurant, which has morphed from a fine-dining-for-lobster in the 1960s into a trendy sports bar still run by the original owner's children. While the service was lacklustre, the half spiny lobster was to sigh for — pure sea water spurting into one's mouth with every juicy bite.

We also chose the spiny lobster on our last night when the trendy meeting place, The Pickled Onion, offered a 'Special' — three courses for $35. Trendy, bustling, and with young folks crowding the bar, the manager, Chris Morley, has a top formula for making guests feel at home: friendly servers totally 'up' on the kitchen, and superb food coming out of it.

This was a major treat out of all the restaurants we tried.

The Hog Penny Pub and Restaurant, which fed us the night we arrived, is also right up there, as it always has been, with reasonable prices, friendly service, great pub food, and comfortable tables where you can hoist your Guinness or London ale in relative peace and quiet.

Our third day, under blue, sunny skies, saw us travelling on the large ferry to Dockyard, which is the extreme western end of the Island. It is a lovely ride, cutting through the turquoise waters past the beautiful, pink Fairmont Princess Hotel — looking much the same as she did in the 1960s when I worked briefly for the manager — past grand houses practically built on top of the water, and other boats and ferries coming and going.

The Royal Naval Dockyard, barren in the 1960s, has been re-born into a most wonderful and busy bevy of shops, cafés, restaurants, businesses, and a craft market, is as beautiful and charming as anything imaginable.

As a direct result of the independence of the British-American colonies in 1783, Bermuda was developed as a strategic mid-Atlantic base and dockyard for Britain's Royal Navy.

The Maritime Museum, located in the fortress Keep of the old Royal Naval Dockyard, features six acres of grounds, eight historic exhibit buildings, and the Commissioner's House. This latter structure, built in the 1820s, was the first cast iron building ever built. Its girders and floor paving stones were sent from England, while British convicts quarried hard limestone for the walls of the Dockyard area. After a 20-year award-winning restoration, the house now features a range of fascinating heritage exhibitions from slavery to the Azores connection.

After covering all of this, we opted for the Frog & Onion Pub for a beer, and sat happily in their colourful outside courtyard complete with umbrellas and calypso music pouring out from inside the pub. All the goods in their fascinating gift shop were on sale, so the Frog & Onion green mugs and red T-shirts were scooped up for various children and grandchildren.

I wanted to refresh my memory of the 'swinging' Elbow Beach Surf Club back in the 1960s, so we booked a table in the Seahorse Grill and chose the two-course dinner after having a good look around at the hotel which, in 1955, was $15 a day including three meals! Almost all of the current "in" foods were on the menu, including foie gras and beef tartare for starters, and entrées of Arctic char with truffled honey, and rockfish (grouper) on a potato patty, with a sweet topping of beet seedlings and shredded radish.

Although the college kids' spring vacation rampages have been over for years, the hotel still has a young, trendy feel to it. Used as a storage building during the Second World War, it wears its years well and has obviously weathered all the hurricanes which have passed over the Island for the last 60-plus years.

The famous rum swizzles are still to yearn for, and are still made with two jolting shots of various island rums.

Touring the south shore is a requisite: one gorgeous turquoise beach and bathing or photo op after another, with good access in all cases. Stone Hole Bay in Warwick, where once we swam and fished, was blown apart by Hurricane Fabian in 2003, but the beach and the fabulous swimming still exist. They will simply have to rename the beach I expect — perhaps something like Shattered Stone Bay! The fishing right there in the surf, with only bread balls for bait, can bring you a full pan of pompano for breakfast if you wish.

We were treated to a dinner at The Reefs in Southampton by local relatives, and this place has only increased in beauty, sitting as it does on rocks and fitted into outcroppings of rocks at various levels. A premier dining spot, we were brought to the first level, outside dining terrace which is just above the surf washing gently on the pink sand. The balmy breezes that evening belied the November date, but this is Bermuda! We all went for the watercress, pear, and candied walnut salad, and umm-ed and ahh-ed at the crunchiness of the delightful melody of flavours. My rack of lamb sat on a bed of plantains with a mango chutney sauce, and Jan's rockfish was laced with a memorable ginger sauce. This lovely restaurant and hotel is especially recommended for those wishing a superlative living/dining or honeymoon experience.

For the UK-lover or anyone else, Bermuda is the perfect getaway, and ten days is sufficient to really take it in. The Island's motto, 'Quo Fata Ferunt' (Whither the Fates Shall Lead Us) is very apt: Let it lead you to the 'Isle of Devils', so called because of the exotic birds which screamed and dived at those first, poor shipwrecked sailors.

If you go: The Bermuda rental site, www.bermudagetaway.com, has a myriad of charming and wonderful accommodation possibilities. Other good sites are: www.bermudarentals.com and www.bermudatourism.com. My favourite place for a 'real' Bermuda experience is the Grape Bay Beach Hotel which offers an off-season rate of $99 per night, and their private beach is one of the Island's little-known secrets.

Frommers' 'Bermuda' is also a wonderful guide. The website is also excellent and can be found at: www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda