The Berkshires, USA

The Berkshires, USA highlights

Williamstown
North Adams
Stockbridge

Why visit The Berkshires?

For relaxation in pretty New England countryside and interesting art galleries.

Getting there and getting around

After our stay in Boston we hired a car from Hertz (£170 a day including two car seats, additional driver, a full tank of fuel and one way drop-off fee) and drove for 3 hours from Boston, to the Berkshires, in the north west of Massachusetts. We used our hire car to get around as nothing was really within easy walking distance of anything else.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Maple Terrace Motel in Williamstown for 4 nights (£130 per night). The Motel was well located, close to the centres of both Williamstown and North Adams. We chose to stay in Williamstown as it’s a pretty college town but more affordable than other towns in the Berkshires. After our high cost hotels so far we needed somewhere under budget! We stayed in a room with two double beds. It was a bit dated but very clean and had everything we needed.

This was a very well run motel. A small breakfast selection (cereals, bagels and yogurts) and free wi-fi was included in the reasonable room rate. The best thing about it was the swimming pool set in beautiful gardens (pool towels were provided).

Our star rating: 4

Our cost rating: 5

Maple Terrace Motel

Williamstown

Williamstown is a small town in the top north west corner of Massachusetts with a population of about 7,500 people centred on Williams College.

It’s a pleasant and quiet town with bookshops, toy shop, board game shop, cafes and ice cream parlours. It also has the Clark Institute which is a gallery with an impressive collection of impressionist art including Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh. The Appalachian Trail as featured in Bill Bryson’s a walk in the woods passes through the town.

North Adams

North Adams is a former industrial town just 10 minutes drive from Williamstown. When the Sprague Electronic Company factory closed in 1975 the town fell into economic decline. The town is in the process of revitalisation but still has some way to go. When we visited on a Monday it was very quiet and somewhat run down but it’s probably more vibrant on weekends.

In 1999 the the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA for short) opened in the old factory building. MASS MoCA is a great art gallery with lots of sculptures and conceptual art in the old factory buildings. There are also cafes and some arty shops. Walking around it reminded us of Saltaire (Yorkshire) or Snape Maltings (Suffolk). We enjoyed the Kids Space where the children made pottery inspired by Shaun Leonardo and Bruno Miguel’s defining moments exhibition.

The buildings themselves were interesting. We liked how the art was set within and responded to the spaces. For example all those vanished engines - an eerie sound installation set among the old factory’s boiler room with machinery from the 1950s.

Stockbridge

Final Thoughts

We wanted to see some of the famous New England countryside and have some relaxation time in between busy trips to Boston and New York.

The arts offering was impressive considering the rural nature of the area. The towns were perhaps a little too sleepy for our taste but we loved seeing the traditional country-style painted houses. It was a peaceful place for us to catch our breaths before heading to New York.