Why Is Northern Corfu Called Kensington-on-Sea?

The northeastern coast of Corfu is sometimes called Kensington-on-Sea by the British press. For the reason that Nineteen Seventies, it’s been a beloved vacation spot for prosperous Britons, and it gained even broader fame due to Gerald Durrell’s My Household and Different Animals, which impressed the favored TV collection The Durrells. The luxurious nature, crystal-clear turquoise sea, dreamy villas with infinity swimming pools, and trendy tavernas serving completely cooked Greek meals create a novel vacation spot nonetheless largely unknown to the lots.

Dense olive groves descend to pebbled seashores and outdated fishing harbors equivalent to Kalami, Kouloura and Kassiopi, forming the 26-km shoreline stretching from Barbati to the sandy seaside of Aghios Spyridon. Rich Brits – just like the Barkley household of The Telegraph, artwork sellers, designers and Home of Lords members – nonetheless flock right here, as do Austrians, the Dutch and, not too long ago, Russians. These are individuals who additionally frequent the south of France, Ibiza and the Amalfi Coast. For them, northeast Corfu “stays pleasantly unpretentious,” as a Each day Telegraph journalist as soon as wrote. They cherish the “comforting serenity of the panorama,” the seclusion of their infinity swimming pools shaded by olive timber, the liberty of cruising round in boats, sea swims and lengthy lunches at seaside tavernas.

“Corfu doesn’t must attempt to be cool – it merely is,” says British architect Dominic Skinner, whose firm Ionian Estates affords villas with infinity swimming pools, many designed by Skinner himself. One among his standout initiatives is the award-winning Rou Property: a 200-year-old village on the slopes of Mt Pantokrator, reworked into 16 modern stone villas amid olive terraces and plush greenery – all with out dropping the magic that was right here.

Discovering the area

One afternoon, weary and thirsty, we arrived at Toula’s Taverna on Agni Seaside. We ordered chilled white wine, selfmade marinated anchovies, silky taramosalata with a fragile smoky taste, and completely fried Symi shrimp. The children devoured their bolognese and darted off to dive from the jetty. In the meantime, juicy clams in lemon juice and olive oil arrived, their aroma lingering within the air. That was just the start. Subsequent got here tender octopus carpaccio drizzled with olive oil, contemporary spring onions, oregano, and pink peppercorns. The meals here’s a cultural treasure!

A one-and-a-half-hour hike from Kaminaki to Kerassia – simply 5 kilometers – on a well-marked part of the Corfu Path (sure, there’s an app) supplied a shocking journey outdoors the height summer season warmth. We handed castle-like villas and chic summer season properties subsequent to emerald coves, rocky shores, and plush vegetation on our approach to Nissaki, Agni with its tavernas, and tranquil Gialiskari. In Kalami, virtually hidden in greenery, we glimpsed the pink Rothschild villa within the olive grove, as soon as the summer season setting for painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas and his spouse Barbara – beforehand married to a Rothschild inheritor – together with Joan and Patrick Leigh Fermor and their buddy John Craxton. The trail additionally handed the enduring White Home, the place the Durrell household lived within the Thirties. At this time, it’s a contemporary café and restaurant with glorious meals.

At sundown, we reached picturesque Kouloura Bay. Utilizing the Moovit app, we discovered the bus cease and departure time from Kassiopi and, very quickly, we had been again in Kaminaki, the place we’d left the automobile.

The following morning, we accomplished the half-hour stroll from Kouloura to Kerassia. A riot of colourful flowers unfurled within the morning gentle. The ocean, crystal-clear and mirror-like, stuffed the coves with each shade of aquamarine. The youngsters in our group stayed on the first tiny seaside, lured by the turquoise waters. Later, we loved a fast picnic beneath eucalyptus timber on Kerassia seaside, with a country Corfiot pie referred to as zorka – crustless and made with wild greens – made out of a recipe one of many fathers had present in Gastronomos journal.

Again in Kouloura’s taverna, a fish provider arrived carrying a crate of pink mullet, scorpionfish, groupers with agency flesh and gleaming pores and skin, and vigorous lobsters twitching their antennae. “Caught this morning,” he stated – not that their freshness wanted affirmation! The taverna, which has been working in the identical spot for the reason that early twentieth century, began out as a café and changed into a full eatery within the Nineteen Seventies beneath the stewardship of Matina and Elena Ginaryrou’s dad and mom. At this time, it’s a beloved Corfiot seafood spot, well-known for its scorpionfish bourdetto, lobster pasta, and tsigarelli – a neighborhood dish of untamed greens, delightfully bitter, spicy and completely oiled. Divine!

We moved from ouzo meze to Mama Barbara’s pan-fried pink mullet; at a close-by desk, a big group of Brits loved white wine with fats shrimp and grilled greens. By three within the afternoon, the place was buzzing joyfully, the ocean breeze mixing with the scent of fish on the grill.

After lunch, we set sail on a buddy’s yacht, stopping first at Aghios Arsenios with its namesake chapel – an ideal spot for swimming in emerald waters. We found a small cave, and noticed birds of prey hovering within the cloudless sky in addition to yellow crocuses blooming between jagged limestone rocks. Subsequent cease: the untouched ecosystem of Erimitis, stretching from Aghios Stefanos to Avlaki Seaside, a hiker’s paradise, with a number of the clearest, most unique waters and wealthy marine life – only a breath away from Albania’s Butrint Nationwide Park. At shady Limnopoula Seaside, folks dived off boats. Then got here Akoli, with its white sand and polished pebbles. Solely in August does it get crowded; the remainder of the yr, it’s peaceable and even nudist-friendly. You too can attain it on foot by way of a 20-minute shaded path from Avlaki.

The one draw back of the area? Slim roads that will not have been repaved for many years. Most villa company arrive by sea, whereas others should endure tough drives. “A minimum of there’s no site visitors but,” says Nicholas Cookson, whose household was among the many first to purchase a villa right here – the beautiful Yeraki. In 1972, the Cooksons based CV Journey (Corfu Villas), the island’s first villa rental company, serving aristocrats, docs and legal professionals. The corporate was bought in 2000, however locals nonetheless reward the household’s contribution. “We owe the world’s recognition to Patricia Cookson,” says Spyros Flambouriaris, London resident and proprietor of Resort Cavalieri in Corfu City.

“It’s a small world. Our shoppers are all someway linked – via their kids, their pals, or their wider social circles,” says Cookson, who launched Villa Collective in 2016. A seasoned skilled, he speaks passionately concerning the September charity swim throughout the three-kilometer channel between Greece and Albania – with British, Corfiot, Albanian and different contributors. Final yr, the occasion raised consciousness for marine conservation within the Ionian Sea; one other yr, it supported the Smile of the Youngster basis.

The place to eat

Just about in all places! The tavernas alongside these small seashores provide a degree of high quality hardly ever discovered on different islands. Personally, I may stay off the contemporary, juicy calamari at Eucalyptus in Aghios Stefanos, though Yiannis’ taverna in Krouzeri provides them stiff competitors. I’d eat the velvety taramosalata from Galini day by day and stroll barefoot to Kerasia’s taverna for the perfect briam (baked greens) on the island. For drinks, try Damianos in Aghios Stefanos, and Limani, Harbour Bar and Illusions on the port of Kassiopi.

Villa and boat leases

To really get pleasure from your time on this nook of the island, it’s finest to hire a villa with pals or household – choices exist for each price range. Go to: villacollective.com/corfu, and ionianestates.com/destination/corfu

For boat leases – from 30 to 300 hp – contact Filippos Salvanos, who’s been within the enterprise for the reason that Nineteen Eighties, at the Kassiopi harbor: filipposboats.com