A few minutes' walk from the centre of Oak Bluffs, the Methodist campground of Wesleyan Grove is one of the loveliest pieces of nineteenth-century townscape in America. Around 300 small wooden cottages in pastel colours — pink, mint, butter yellow, lavender — surround a central iron and wood Tabernacle built in 1879.
The cottages are private homes still owned by Methodist families, many for generations, but the streets are public and walkers are welcome. The Illumination in mid-August, when the cottages are lit with paper lanterns and the residents open their porches to the public, is a Vineyard institution.