On a roadmap of Britain, Burgh Island is barely a speck off the south Devon coast. Rugged-looking and far from metropolitan, it nevertheless has an air of art-deco cool and Roaring Twenties pizazz due to the island's hotel - a whitewashed concrete-and-glass affair that dates back to the pre-war years; a time when gals sported long beads and neat bobs, and a gentleman never sat at table without a tux.
In its heyday, the hotel attracted the likes of Agatha Christie (she wrote here, making the island the setting for Evil Under The Sun) and a rather louche set (among them Noël Coward and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor), earning itself a reputation as a place where a flapper could flap and resting high rollers - dry martinis in hand - could while away the hours on a wicker sofa.
On closer inspection - in our case via a bumpy sea-tractor ride from the mainland - life at Burgh Island really does seem to have stopped around the time of the royal abdication. The reception desk is black and chrome, with mirrors resembling a Busby Berkeley backdrop, while standing in the hallway you almost expect Ginger Rogers to float down the staircase.
In the circumstances, this is a perfectly understandable vision since we are here for the hotel's first "dance break": nothing to do with a sweaty Soul Weekender in Butlin's, but two days of foot-tapping in a classic English seaside setting.
The idea came to co-owner Deborah Clark following the success of her D-Day party last June - the guests dressed up in a variety of service uniforms, jiving to 1940s swing. Would a 1920s or 30s theme night persuade guests to transform themselves into silky sophisticates?
Fortunately, we have remembered to bring the required evening wear, finding the all-important black bow tie and a set of peacock feathers in a vintage clothes shop in Totnes. We are shown to our suite, the Amy Johnson, then unpack and change into our finery.
In less than an hour, we are downstairs in the Palm Court sipping on cocktails, our feet tapping to some up-tempo, Prohibition-era jazz before a three-course dinner. Instructors Graeme Puckett and Ann Peskett, aka Hoppin' Mad, lead the way with a spirited display of the Charleston.
At first sight, the dance seems to involve a lot of kicking and gurning, but an elderly gent on the next table practically chokes on his dry martini as Ann hops forward, back somersaults, then lands perfectly in front of the hotel's mirrored deco bar.
Breakfast the next morning is a more sedate affair. The sombre sound of Billie Holiday and some scrambled eggs ease us into the day. From the Ganges Room, you can gaze out at Bigbury-On-Sea with its miles of unspoilt coastline. With the acres of twinkling sea surrounding us, it is tempting to start thinking that we have boarded a luxury cruise liner. Only the sight of a couple strolling in the garden reminds us that we are still on dry land.
The first dance class is upon us almost as soon as the breakfast plates have been cleared. Graeme and Ann teach us some basic swing steps which can be applied to anything from Count Basie to Duke Ellington. To get us in the mood, they put on the classic Stompin' At The Savoy by Benny Goodman. Graeme and Ann say we should be able to adapt the routine to a number of tempos. Speeded up, it is practically 1950s rock 'n' roll, whereas slowed down, you are back with your sweetheart in the Café de Paris circa 1942.
Getting the steps right is important when doing the Big Apple, another variation of the Charleston. Graeme describes it as the American Hokey Cokey and, as we attempt this bouncy, kick-action routine, its comic potential is immediately apparent. In fact, it's the kind of move that would be impossible to do with anything other than an idiotic grin. Before we know it, we are in a circle perfecting the Stomp Off, the Shorty George and the Spank The Baby - all of which our tutors expect us to show off at tonight's dinner dance.
A stay at Burgh Island needn't all be antiquated dance routines and colourful drinks in unusual glasses, though. I escape the hotel briefly for some sea air and a stomp around the island followed by a fruitless search for cigarettes in a 700-year-old pub, the Pilchard Inn. After a well-deserved soak in a hot bath in the room, it is soon time for early-evening cocktails.
In tune with its surroundings, dinner is a classy affair - oysters and grilled sea bass. There's a singer standing in front of the white grand piano in the corner, his face only half-visible behind a pre-war radio microphone - it looks like a scene from Dennis Potter's Pennies From Heaven.
They play a couple of tangos and our favourite, Stompin' At the Savoy. This is the cue, and leading our partners to a well-waxed dance floor, we are all in a circle again doing the Stomp Off, the Shorty George and The Spank The Baby. The only thing missing is an appearance by Fred and Ginger.
Way to go
Getting there:
By train: Regular services from London, Paddington and the north to Plymouth or Totnes, then taxi (National rail enquiries: 0845 7484950).
By car: From London or the Midlands - M5 to Exeter, M5/A38 direction Plymouth. 15 miles out of Plymouth, note Woodpecker Inn on your left. Within quarter of a mile, exit at Wrangton Cross, sign-posted to Modbury (A379). Through Modbury, follow signs to Bigbury and Bigbury-on-Sea.
Further information: The next dance breaks at Burgh Island are Easter weekend, April 18-20 (Tango) and the Mid-Summer Prohibition Ball, June 21. Suites at Burgh Island cost from £115. For details, tel: 01548 810 514, burghisland.com. Supplement of £45 per resident - classes and dinner are also open to non-residents.
