Bermuda offers much beyond the cruise highlights and beaches

A pair of stout, bald men dressed in knee-length navy blue Bermuda shorts, long black socks and black custodian helmets are surveying the scene as we enter the arrivals terminal, having just arrived on a flight from London.

I assume we’ve stumbled across a bachelor party – before realising they are real policemen, albeit adorned in the type of headwear rarely seen on the streets of Britain any longer.

Travelling along the three main roads on the 24-mile-long archipelago of main islands is a time-warp experience. Rows of immaculately clean houses, all with the same columned colonial architecture smile at a turquoise, sparkling sea. Each property has a brightly coloured facade delicately topped with a ridged white roof, designed to collect rain, the only source of fresh water across the islands.

There are no advertising billboards, loose rubbish or graffitied walls, and pet dogs must always be kept on a lead. Car ownership is tightly regulated, with only one permitted per household. Fortunately, buses are regular and reliable. Simply wait by a pink post on the side of the road to travel towards the capital city, Hamilton, or a blue post to travel away from it.

Tourists are allowed to hire only electric two-seater vehicles and driving around in a Twizy is an unexpected hoot, especially when you realise Bermudians toot their horns in greeting, rather than anger. The driver sits up front, in what is essentially a golf buggy with a Renault engine, while the passenger is squeezed into the cramped space at the back, bags piled awkwardly on their lap.

Fortunately, even in a Twizy, it never takes more than an hour to get anywhere, despite a blanket speed limit of 35km/h.