RHODE ISLAND (USA)

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Once reserved as the resort for the rich, Rhode Island, smallest of the US states, is today a favourite east coast getaway, particularly for Bostonians and New Yorkers, being only 60 miles (97km) and 180 miles (290km) respectively from those major cities.

The extravagant 19th-century mansions of America's wealthy families that grace Newport, Rhode Island's southern city on the Atlantic Ocean, are now relics of a golden age that serve as tourist attractions to be marvelled at by visitors. It is easy to understand why Rhode Island became a popular Mecca for the idle rich in days gone by when one considers the state has more than 400 miles (644km) of convoluted shoreline jutting into the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay, allowing for more than 100 beaches. This little State offers more than just water, however. more than 60 percent of it's total area is covered in woodland, carefully preserved in 53 state parks and management areas, making it a perfect place to indulge in camping, hiking and cycling.

The state capital is the city of Providence, lying at the northern point of narrow Narragansett Bay about 30 miles (48km) from the open ocean. Both Providence and the southerly city of Newport have a fascinating colonial history well worth investigating via the local attractions, while the little resort island of Block, about an hour by ferry from the southern town of Point Judith, is an unspoilt and well-preserved paradise for beachcombing and bird watching.

Rhode Island is not strictly an island as such, being rather a portion of coastline that has been jaggedly cleaved in two, bisected by Narragansett Bay, leaving an irregular coastline. The name is a legacy of the early Puritan settlers who thought their new homeland resembled the island of Rhodes in the Aegean. During the colonial period Newport prospered as an important port with ships trading in slaves, molasses and rum filling the harbour. After the Civil War the trading post began to turn into a resort as new-made millionaires discovered the beautiful beaches and gentle climate around the city and began to build their summer palaces.

Despite its size, Rhode Island has over four hundred miles of coastline, hacked out of the Narragansett Bay; it is, in fact, made up of over thirty tiny islands, including Hope and Despair. The " Ocean State " therefore developed through sea trade, whaling and smuggling. Partly due to this commercial interest, Rhode Islanders, resenting the stringent economic pressures placed on them from England, were in the front rank of the Revolutionary groundswell. However, no Revolutionary battles were fought on Rhode Island soil, and unwilling at first to abandon its new-found freedom, it turned out to be the last state to ratify the Constitution. Between the Revolution and the Civil War, Rhode Island shifted from a maritime economy to lead the Industrial Revolution with Samuel Slater's creation of the nation's first water-powered textile mill in Pawtucket, just outside Providence.

Today, although still heavily industrialized, the state's principal destinations are its two original ports: well-heeled Newport , yachting capital of the world, with good beaches and outrageously extravagant mansions, and the colonial college town of Providence. Block Island , about thirty miles south of Newport, has a popular state beach, while the rest of Rhode Island is largely made up of sleepy small towns and fishing ports.

Rhode Island is tiny enough to make getting around ridiculously easy. I-95, the major interstate, runs through Providence on its way from Massachusetts to Connecticut. The more scenic US-1 follows the coast of Narragansett Bay into Connecticut. Newport is accessible from Hwy-138, which connects the small islands in Narragansett Bay to the mainland. Public transportation is good: local buses connect Providence and Newport, and Amtrak stops regularly in Providence. Ferries link Block Island and Newport.