Once, Upon an Island...

I'd like to introduce you to one of my favourite places in the world. The tiny island outpost of Harbour Island, in the Bahamas.

I discovered this divine little island when I travelled there a few years ago to do a photo shoot on a famous little hotel called The Landing, which is owned by a lovely Bahamian and an Australian expat, and features interiors by India Hicks. Unfortunately, a hurricane hit the area the night I flew into the capital, Nassau, and I had to hole up in the Atlantis Hotel for a week until it passed. By the time I arrived on this far-flung island, I was ready for a cocktail, a swim in a serene sea and a couple of nights of calm, Hurricane-free sleep. The Landing happily obliged.

The hotel and island are two of the most idyllic destinations you can imagine. Think of the charm and clapboard prettiness of New England's architecture crossed with the pastel colours of the Caribbean, then throw in an extraordinarily beautiful pink beach, a charming bustling harbour, a lot of eccentric but marvellous (and astonishingly good-looking) locals, and a culture that's part colonial British and part Bahamian, and then wrap it up in an island that's only a few miles long, and you have Harbour Island. The place is enchanting

I'll post a story on The Landing and hopefully also India Hicks, when I get an interview with her, early next year, as we hope to travel there again to get married. But in the meantime, here are some vignettes of its gorgeous island charm.