I've just returned from Madeira, a beautiful island in mid-Atlantic where Spring has come early, as always. With daily direct flights from Gatwick on TAP (Air Portugal), an airline that still understands what service means, and with a smile, you are just over three hours from the UK, just time for a meal, The Times crossword and a quick nap after a glass or two of very good Portuguese wine. Madeira is in the middle of the Atlantic 500 miles west of Casablanca. The island, or more correctly group of islands – for the popular Porto Santo with its long, golden beaches and now one golf course, is just a 15-minute plane hop away, and the uninhabited Desertas islands cluster off-shore — were formed 35 million years ago when a huge volcanic eruption on the Atlantic sea-bed threw millions of tonnes of molten lava high into the air. When it settled the islands had been formed, mountainous, jagged and very fertile. Dense forests and lush vegetation soon took hold, eventually giving its name to the island - Ilha da Madeira (The Wooded Isle).

Forest still covers much of the island, and bananas, grapes, passsion fruit and many other crops are grown. Flowers abound, both in the wild and in the specially created gardens, including the Botanical Gardens in Funchal, the Monte-Palace Tropical Garden, the Boa Vista Garden and the Palheiro Gardens. If you don't have time for that you can always get a good taste of the local produce by visiting the Market in the centre of Funchal where vivid displays of fruit, vegetables, flowers both fresh and dried, are on sale and, in a vast indoor fish market, thousands of fish of varieties you might never have seen before are brought in from the boats each morning. I can imagine hordes of health inspectors from Brussels holding their heads in disbelief as fresh fish - some still moving - are dispensed to waiting housewives who will ensure that they are on the meal table at home within a few hours of having been caught. No packing, freezing, chemical spraying or other rubbish to preserve them in freezers for months - this is fresh food as it should be.

Funchal itself is a beautiful town full of little squares and tiny back-streets lined with fashionable shops, but without designer prices. There are many coffee-shops where you can sit in the afternoon sun and just watch the world stroll by. A beautiful Cathedral dominates the main square, sumptuously decorated and brimming with flowers, light and fresh, totally unlike the more austere Gothic frugality we are accustomed to in northern Europe. The whole town is clean and fresh, with no threatening gangs of youths hanging around on street corners. Plenty of good quality hotels can be found in and around Funchal, especially around the Lido area where I stayed in the Pestana Palms overlooking he ocean. One afternoon I took a trip out on a replica of the Santa Maria, the boat in which Columbus sailed across the Atlantic. With its sails billowing in the wind through a choppy sea it was incredibly peaceful and is a trip I would highly recommend. Well worth the €26.

The Palheiro course is 15 minutes up the hill from the town, set in part of the beautiful gardens, first laid out in 1801 and planted with trees from all over the world, but primarily from Brazil. Sit on the terrace of the clubhouse with a coffee before you play and enjoy the stunning view over Funchal Bay, 600 metres below you. You will certainly need all the help you can if you are to successfully tackle this monster of a course. It might only say 6002 metres on the score-card but it plays much longer than that. It is tough to begin with, the first rising steeply uphill though after that it levels off considerably though still has some sloping lies and narrow driving areas. A hugely enjoyable course but you might consider taking a buggy, even though I hate them. The run-in is tricky, perhaps the two hardest holes back-to-back being the 16th and 17th, both par-4s of just over 400 metres. And finally a relaxing par-5 to finish, with a lovely view of the Bay as you approach the green. A huge cypress guards the front of the green so you need to be in the right spot to attack the green. You can probably smell lunch cooking in the clubhouse at this point too, and it was very welcome.

Madeira has only one other course at Santo da Serra, the venue of the Madeira Open. This is another tough course. There are actually 27 holes here, with the yellow loop of nine being rather gentle and, whilst not exactly flat, less taxing than the rest. The signature hole on the yellow "Serras" course is the 160-metre par-3 fifth, playing across a lake to a small green. The pros play the red (Machico) and blue (Desertas) course, designed by the late Robert Trent Jones, whose pupil and assistant Cabell Robinson was responsible for Palheiro. Jones has here, as always, done a wonderful job, using the natural terrain without moving millions of tons of earth and putting in row after row of mounds like some designers. There are plenty of tough holes, quite a bit of water and a few blind shots but it is magnificent an you'll be glad you came. Thank goodness the clubhouse has good food, hot showers and, joy of joys, a steam room in which to relax after the golf. A truly stunning course but again you would need to be very fit to walk it. I came back two kilos lighter! I probably need to go again.

Seve Ballesteros has designed a golf course on Porto Santo, the island 12 minutes away by plane or a couple of leisurely hours by boat in the summer. The course is still new but is playable and has some interesting holes. I liked the front nine enormously with plenty of good driving holes but you need accuracy as well. The back nine is different and there were a couple of holes where I stood on the tee and wondered what exactly had gone through Seve's head when he was designing it. I'd happily go back and play it again to get to know it better but at first glance I had a couple of doubts. But the views on the back nine are spectacular and a couple of holes play across the clifftops so if you like exciting golf you'll enjoy it. Porto Santo is very quiet with a huge beach and ideal if you want to get away from it all for a while, but if you prefer a little more life then Funchal will be the best place to stay. Madeira is a lovely island, a joy to visit. Go soon. In fact, I'm thinking of putting a trip together for late October so if you are interested get in touch now and we'll work some details out.