McCarthy's bar

Over a beer in Speightstown, Hunter Davies gives the Ireland football manager pointers on how to escape the crowds and enjoy the less touristy side of the island
Goodbye jetlag ... British Airways is about to introduce flat beds in business to Barbados.

Barbados has somehow acquired this image of flash gits, new money, lottery winners, Michael Winners. So, it was a bit of a surprise when sitting in a fisherman's bar in Speightstown, full of locals, to hear this broad Barnsley accent behind me.

He was having a beer with a friend, from Dublin by the sound of his voice, going on about what a great place it was, good beer, perhaps they should have had a meal here, when the bar woman came over to them and spoke to the Barnsley voice. She said someone had just told her he used to be a good footballer. "Nay, I was never a good footballer," he replied. "I just knew how to stop good footballers."

I turned round and, blow me, it was Mick McCarthy, manager of the Republic of Ireland football team, on his first visit to Barbados. He had come with his wife and some Irish friends. He was staying in Barbados at Port St Charles, the new and expensive marina development, but had been delighted to find this local bar, away from the tourists. Except for me, of course. I discovered the bar many years ago, so I was able to pass on some of my Bajan expertise, while he gave me some football gossip. I'm not sure if I can pass it on. Well, later, perhaps.

It was in 1986 that we first went to Barbados, staying at Cobblers Cove, on the other side of Speightstown. It's still my favourite hotel in the West Indies: small, intimate, luxurious yet relaxed, no flash frocks or sparkling rocks at dinner. For that, you have to stay at Sandy Lane, which in its new, even grander, more over-the-top incarnation - prices are up to £2,000 a night - does wonders for the Barbados economy, bringing in the high rollers, but somewhat distorting the island's image.

You can stay cheap in Barbados, right in Speightstown, a little seaside town which has hardly changed in the 16 years I've known it. The window displays in the dusty, old-fashioned shops still remind me of 1950s Carlisle.

I'd gone to the Fisherman's Pub, that day I met Mick, as I'd been told the owner also rented out rooms nearby. I wanted to have a look, see how they compared with Cobblers, just in case one day I might not be able to afford their prices. The landlord's wife, Laurel Armstrong, let me inspect her cheapest one-bed unit, only £30 a night, which seemed comfortable enough, but she also rents out a whole chattel house which has two bedrooms, for £50 a night. Chattel houses are the traditional wooden framed Bajan houses, usually propped up on blocks so they can be easily moved. When plantation workers moved, they took their goods and chattels with them, hence the name.

It was occupied, and she didn't want to disturb the guests, but I knocked all the same and the door was opened by an elderly Canadian couple, Rita and Joe, a retired carpenter. They were here for a month, their fourth year running, and had negotiated a special price of $1,000 - under £650. What a bargain, about the price of a good bottle of champagne at Sandy Lane. Their chattel house was self-contained, just two minutes from the beach and a supermarket. They could hear traffic from the main road, but then you can hear that now at Cobblers Cove.

They showed me their kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms - all looked fine - and their TV, only one channel, and the fan, not actually working. But they both enthused about their digs, saying it was well worth it. To save money, they had brought essentials with them from Canada, including coffee, soap and cereal. Rita said she found most local stuff expensive, even bananas. "In Canada, we buy bananas for 20¢ each. Here, where bananas are grown, they work out about 50¢ each."

Laurel, the landlady, immediately came to the defence of Barbados, explaining the restrictions, the unfair subsidies, how Canada's cheap bananas probably come from sweated labour elsewhere, but I didn't stay to listen to all the economic and political problems. I was on the tourism trail.

One of the things I recommended to Mick, as he looked the healthy sort, was to walk the West Coast beach. It's roughly 10 miles long, from Speightstown to Bridgetown, but seems much longer, unravelling in a series of bays, so that you get different views, different vistas on every beach, and all the way it's white sands, palm trees, turquoise seas, the usual stuff. The posh hotels on the west coast try to pretend they own their bit of the beach, but they don't: you can walk all beaches, as long as you stick to the water's edge.

You see a cross-section of Barbados life as you walk, from wiry old fishermen throwing out their nets, to the big bellies on Sandy Lane beach, from simple bars, as in Speightstown, to fashionable and very expensive restau rants such as Lone Star. The best time is when the tide is out, otherwise you have a few rocky bits to get round, but you can always come inland, or cut through one of the five-star hotels, pretending you're a guest.

We always split it into sections, during either early morning or late afternoon, depending on the tide, taking it slowly, stopping for rum punches along the way. The first day, I walk for two hours, then get the bus back. Next day, I take the bus to where I got to last time, walk on, bus back. The road runs parallel to the beach all the way and there are lots of buses. They drive like racing drivers, so a few rum punches does help the nerves, but you feel you are in the real Caribbean because few tourists ever use the bus. The set fare is only 1.50 Barbados dollars, about 50p. Another bargain.

Almost all the best hotels are on that west coast, which is the calm Caribbean side, with the best swimming, but there's a new hotel opened inland, Villa Nova, which would suit those of a discerning artistic nature. It was a stately home when I first visited it, one of Barbados' many historic houses: built in 1834, once owned by Sir Anthony Eden and where he entertained Winston Churchill, the Queen and Prince Phillip, among others. It's now been converted, ever so tastefully, into a country house hotel with 15 acres of secluded tropical gardens. They also have beach facilities, some 10 minutes' drive away, on the east coast, near Bathsheba Bay.

After lunch in the hotel, I took advantage of their shuttle service to their beach house. I'd forgotten just how dramatic and exciting the Atlantic coast is - like the Outer Hebrides with sun. The waves are enormous, and you'd have to be a bit drunk or daft to attempt much of a swim, but there are some sheltered rock pools when the tide is out. You can walk for miles, without seeing anyone, either locals or tourists, flash gits or football fans. So I also recommended it to Mick, as no visitor to Barbados should miss either the west or the east coasts, or be put off by the idea that Barbados is only for the wealthy.

Okay, then, for the fans, here's Mick's footer gossip. At the end of the season, Martin O'Neill leaves Celtic for Manchester Utd. McCarthy takes over at Celtic. Fergie gets the Ireland job.

We'd had a few drinks by the time, so he might have got carried away, or been joking. But feel free to pass it on. Come on. How often do you get football tips in travel articles?

· Hunter Davies's Caribbean guidebook, A Walk Around The West Indies, is now available in paperback, published by Orion at £7.99.

Way to go

Getting there: BWIA West Indies Airways (020-8577 1100, BWIA West Indies Airways) flies Heathrow-Barbados direct from £409 return.

Where to stay: Elegant Resorts (01244 897999) offers a week at Cobblers Cove from £1,295pp including flights. For a chattel house in Speightstown, contact Clement and Laurel Armstrong, Mango Lane, Speightstown, St Peter, Barbados (+ 422 2703).

Further information: Barbados Tourism Authority, 263 Tottenham Court Road London W1T 7LA (020-7636 9448, Barbados Tourism Authority). Country code: 001 246. Flight time: 8 hrs, 35 mins Time difference: GMT -4hrs. £1 = 3.11 Barbados dollars.