Winter sun, emerald shallows and winds ideal for watersports – the call of the Canaries beckons from its shorelines, and Lanzarote’s balmy blonde beaches lead the way for a seafront holiday. Black, ...

It is not the most elegant of arrivals. Having climbed a 7ft gate I believe locked, I land with a thump in the grounds of our villa – only to discover the gate has, in fact, been unlatched all along.