Travel: North Carolina

THE guest book of the Grove Park Inn is your introduction to the rich history of North Carolina. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, George Gershwin, F Scott Fitzgerald and a dozen US presidents from the past two centuries have all passed through its oversized stone doorways.

British tourists have been slow to discover North Carolina, but Americans love it here: it’s one of their favourite states, up there with New York, California and Florida. Unless you’re a golf fanatic, you may not know much about North Carolina, which finds itself three states below New York on the map. But if you’ve seen movies such as Dirty Dancing, Forrest Gump or Talladega Nights, you’ve already admired the attractions of the Old North State.

Richest of all the sites is the billionaire Biltmore Estate, built on the edge of the state capital Asheville with the Vanderbilt fortune, and a fitting symbol of the state’s character. A remnant of America’s Gilded Age, the family at one point even owned the Blue Ridge Mountains overlooked by the 8,000-acre estate, but they’ve scaled back a little since then.

No expense was spared on the construction of this vast home by George Washington Vanderbilt, who in a moment of understatement described Biltmore as his “little mountain escape”.It was based on not just one, but three 16th-century French chateaux. If you want further proof of its scale, here are the bare stats for its interior – four acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces.

You can easily spend a day there, envying its bowling alley, indoor swimming pool, dairy, two-storey library and what is surely the ultimate “you’ve made it” symbol, its own winery.

From the cushioned comfort of Biltmore, we headed into the state’s hinterland and up into the Smoky Mountains – so-called because of the blue mist that hangs over them – and on to the winding Blue Ridge Parkway. Threading 469 miles from North Carolina into Virginia, it took 50 years to complete the route, which runs from dense hickory woodland along lakesides and by some of the most inspiring mountain peaks on the east coast.

On our way we stopped at the towering Chimney Rock, whipped into its distinctive shape by the elements, and with a modern claim to fame as the backdrop to the Oscar-winning movie Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

It’s an easy climb for even the most reluctant hill walker, with a car park at the foot of it and a lift built into the cliff that will take you all the way to the tourist centre, from where it’s just a short stroll to the top, which teeters 2,280ft over the Hickory Nut Gorge. The surrounding area is just as captivating, with numerous walkways to such intriguingly-named locations as the Devil’s Head, Moonshiner’s Cave and the Opera Box – from where you can see Lake Lure, the setting for Dirty Dancing and home to a September festival devoted to the film.

If you fancy experiencing something a bit more traditional than pressing the button on a lift, book a stay at the Clear Creek Guest Ranch. Owned by Rex and Aileen Frederick, tucked away in a valley surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest, this “dude ranch” is a taste of old Americana. Riding is pretty high up the list of “to dos” here, though there are opportunities to go fishing or, if you’re a bit more adventurous, tubing on the nearby South Toe river. Outward-bound activities aside, one of the real pleasures were the communal meals, and a chance to chat to the ranch workers and kick back in the John Wayne bar, decked-out with Duke memorabilia.

Snaking back eastwards down the highway, we headed to the town of Blowing Rock and the Chetola resort.

A lush, rambling estate built around a lake at the turn of the 20th century, nowadays it’s dominated by individual grey-painted clapboard home-from-homes. Here, we drew breath, sat on our balcony and relaxed – even in early autumn, the weather in North Carolina hovers around the low 20Cs.

Blowing Rock also introduced us to the delights of barbecue. Forget cheap burgers, if you order “barbecue” in North Carolina you will be presented with a dish that is exclusively marinated pork that has been cooked on an open fire. However, the flavour of your meat is hotly debated from county to county: hot, sweet, sour, smokey or ketchupy.

Tracy, our host, took us to the authentic Woodlands Barbecue Restaurant and Pickin’ Parlour for what he insisted was the definitive hog roast and marinade. In the interests of research, we troughed our way through a mountain of pulled pork, baby back ribs, chicken wings and corn on the cob that constituted the Pig-Out Special.

Heading back to big city living, our next stop took us to Winston-Salem, nicknamed Camel City because of its connection to a brand of cigarettes and the tobacco trade in general. Staying at the Brookstown Inn, a converted 19th-century textile mill, we explored the nearby Old Salem historic district’s 18th-century village built by members of the Moravian Church, and immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Today it is a living museum: local craftsmen in historic costumes carry on the trades of their forebears – shoemaking, gun manufacture and baking. The Winkler Bakery’s Moravian sugar cake – a wonderfully rich, moist, cinnamon-flavoured potato bread, topped with butter – should not be missed.

Even without the colourful reenactment, the village is redolent of the US’s founding period, with the nearby Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts fostering a deeper appreciation of the area – particularly its links to European art and design.

And so to our final destination, back to where we started and the bustle of urban NC that is Charlotte. Staying at the funky uptown Aloft hotel – an ideal launch pad for investigating the shopping and sights – as fans of the stockcar racing comedy Talladega Nights we could not miss a trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a monument to the state’s abiding love affair with the sport, full of hands-on exhibits, history and jaw-dropping race footage for every petrolhead.

We had time for one last flying visit to the Mint Museum Uptown where an Andy Warhol-alike informed us with Duchamp authority: “You’ll love our toilets, they’re so very functional”.

But it is time to run the closing credits, raise the lights in the cinema and make our way to the exit – or Charlotte Douglas Airport as it’s better known – even though it’s tempting to buy a ticket for a repeat performance, or maybe even just stay where we are and let the film start playing again …

THE FACTS:

Packages from £1,360 per person include return flights from Glasgow to Charlotte on British Airways and US Airways, two nights at the Grove Park Inn (room only), one night at the Clear Creek Guest Ranch which includes meals and horseriding, two nights at the Chetola Resort, one night at the Brookstown Inn (includes continental breakfast) and two nights at the Aloft Charlotte (room only) and car hire. Price based on two people sharing on a B&B basis. For more information or to book, contact America As You Like It on 0208 742 8299 or visit www.americaasyoulikeit.com