Corfu and the Corfu Trail

Family members had visited Corfu previously and reported back favourably, while I had also heard about it often from a work colleague whose wife was from the island. But it was not close to being anywhere near the top of my (long) “to do” list until the summer of 2015 and the Greek financial crisis. Flights suddenly became very inexpensive, research on the web revealed the existence of a long-distance footpath (the Corfu Trail), and the decision was easily made. I hoped that it would be cool enough to walk in late September, I aimed to keep away from the obvious tourist fleshpots, and I planned a route that, although based on the Corfu Trail, deviated significantly from it in places so that I could visit some open water with the aim of seeing wildlife. Of course, it did not work out entirely as planned, mainly because the temperature at the start of the week was unseasonably hot (> 30 °C) and I had to shorten some of my walks by using the local buses.

Costs. Flight £107. Car parking £38. Corfu Town hotel (B&B) €40. Pelekas room €25. Gouvia hotel (B&B) €30. Liapades room (B&B) €40. Afionas room (B&B) €35 each night. Sidari room €25. Corfu Town–Sinarades bus €1.80. Gouvia–Liapades bus €1.80. Agros–Sidari bus €1.80. Sidari–Corfu Town bus €3.70. Corfu Town–Airport bus €1.70. Old Fortress entrance €4.00. Typical evening meal with drinks €10–€21. Travel insurance £8. Total cost of trip £495.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hotel Arion, Corfu Town (Day 1, Read my review); Malibu, Pelakas–Glyfada (Day 2, Read my review); Hotel Orpheus, Gouvia (Day 3, Read my review); Medusa Lux, Liapades (Day 4, Read my review); The 3 Brothers, Afionas (Days 5 and 6, Read my review).

Books. Landscapes of Corfu by Noel Rochford (Sunflower Books, 8th revised edition); Rough Guide to Greece (Rough Guides, 15th edition).

Maps. Corfu, 1:50,000, Freytag & Berndt. The route of the Corfu Trail shown on the map differs in places from the current reality.

Day 1: Travel to Corfu. Left work at 1 pm and drove to Prestwick, entering the terminal at 1.55 pm. My plane took off at 3.30 pm, landing in Corfu at 9 pm (local time). I was waved through passport control and was out of the airport in no time. I walked to my excellent hotel (pre-booked) using the inadequate map on my booking confirmation but – thanks to a mixture of luck and instinct (Corfu Town is really quite small) – stumbled upon it at 9.30 pm. Went out and found some dinner.

Day 2: Bus to Sinarades; walk to Pelekas–Glyfada. I had planned to walk from Corfu Town but it was ridiculously hot. Had breakfast at 7.30 am and left hotel at 8.15 am. Walked into Corfu Town and caught 9.15 am bus to Sinarades, arriving 9.50 am. Walked about 2 h to Pelekas along Corfu Trail. Had a beer in the village and then walked up to the Kaiser's Chair viewpoint and on to my room (pre-booked) for the night, which was at the Pelekas-Glyfada junction, arriving 1.25 pm (so 3 h 35 min walking). My excellent accommodation was run by the lovely Amalia and I was her last guest of the season. After a shower, I walked down to the beach for a beer and then, later, back into Pelekas for dinner.

Day 3: Walk to Gouvia. Left my accommodation at 8.45 am. I walked along a signposted shortcut to the Corfu Trail to Vatos, getting lost for a bit after the village, then rejoined the Trail near the golf course. Picking up Walk 15 (in reverse) from Landscapes of Corfu, I then left the Corfu Trail and walked across the Ropa plain, heading for the Liapades–Pelekas road where I had a soft drink in a bar (it was still > 30 °C). Still following Walk 15, I continued heading north-east along roads and tracks, occasionally getting lost and having to backtrack. Arrived at Skotini Pond at about 12 noon, which was still full of water, and spent 15 min (only - because of the heat!) looking at dragonflies. Walked down into Gouvia and found my very good hotel (pre-booked) at 1.05 pm (so 4 h 20 min walking). Went out for beer and then, later, dinner.

Day 4: Bus to Liapades; circular walk around Liapades. Had breakfast at 9 am. Another very hot day and so I caught the 10.50 am bus directly to Liapades, near where I was staying for the night, arriving 11.40 am.  I walked south from village and then north again in a loop through mainly olive groves, using part of the Corfu Trail and following Walk 13 (Alternative 2) from Landscapes of Corfu (2 h 40 min walking). Had a couple of beers back in the village square and then walked 15 min to my luxury studio apartment (pre-booked), which was down the hill near the beach. Had a beer in a bar near the beach and then, later, dinner. That evening there was a thunderstorm and, afterwards, the weather was cooler.

Day 5: Walk to Afionas. Breakfast at 8.50 am. and left the apartment at 9.30 am. Walked along the Corfu Trail to the Lakones junction on the Paleokastritsa road, following the start of Walk 13 (in reverse) from Landscapes of Corfu. Then I followed the Corfu Trail uphill to Lakones but, mostly, I failed to find the Trail itself and walked on the winding road, which was unpleasant owing to the amount of traffic. Just beyond Lakones, I diverted from the Corfu Trail and, instead, picked up Walk 11 from Landscapes of Corfu. This took me up a path to Vistonas and then down to Makrades, where Walk 11 rejoins the Corfu Trail. I followed this (getting badly lost at one point in the woods) down into Agios Georgios. Had a beer, walked along the seafront. and then climbed the hill into Afionas to find my taverna room (pre-booked) for the next two nights, arriving 4.15 pm (so 6 h 45 min walking). Later, I went out for dinner. The views from Afionas are stupendous, both to the east and west.

Day 6: Circular walks around Afionas. Had breakfast at 9 am and left the taverna at 9.45 am. I walked south and explored the Arilla headland, finding the little rock-hewn chapel of Agios Stilianos. I was back in Afionas at 11.40 am but then descended the hill to Agios Georgios again, where I spent a couple of largely unsuccessful hours trying to access the river pools and find wildlife to photograph. Eventually, I headed back up the hill to the taverna in Afionas, arriving 3.20 pm (so 5 h 35 min wandering). Later, I went out for beer and dinner.

Day 7: Walk to Agros; bus to Sidari. Left taverna at 10.05 am. Walked down into Agios Georgios, picked up the Corfu Trail and climbed steeply (!) up to, first, Pagi, where I stopped for a beer, and then Agros, arriving 2.05 pm (so 4 h walking). Caught the 2.50 pm bus to Sidari on the north coast of the island and found a room. After a shower, I headed for the nearby Tiflos River to see what wildlife was around. Then I went for dinner.

Day 8: Bus to Corfu Town; explore town; travel home. Before showering, I went back to the Tiflos River but found nothing new. I left my accommodation at 11.15 am, had coffee and trifle, and caught the 12 noon bus to Corfu Town, which to my surprise went via Roda, and only arrived at 1.55 pm. I walked around the New Fortress and then had a late lunch. I then went round the Old Fortress but my visit was interrupted by a severe thunderstorm. Caught the 5.40 pm bus to the airport. My plane was due to take off at 9.20 pm but the incoming flight was diverted to Thessalonika (other spellings available) because of the thunderstorms. This turned out to be the first of several delays in an evening that I would prefer to forget. We eventually landed at Prestwick at 3.20 am (local time – so 5.20 am Corfu time) and I was home at 4.45 am.

Wildlife seen. Balkan Pond Turtle, Dalmatian Algyroides Lizard, Migrant Hawker, Violet Dropwing, Broad Scarlet, Red-veined Darter, Eastern Willow Emerald Damselfly, Silver-washed Fritillary, Southern White Admiral, Southern Comma, Meadow Brown, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood.

Other useful links. “Green” longer-distance buses

Local (“Blue”) buses around Corfu Town

Reflections. Corfu has a green and varied landscape that is pleasing to the eye. Most of my walking was along minor roads or bulldozed tracks and only in a few places would “pretty” be an appropriate description of the path itself. But the Corfu Trail, which is generally well signposted and easy to follow, forms a good basis for a week or two’s pleasant walking. Afionas (especially), Pelekas and Liapades were very nice villages, but Gouvia and Sidari were not, having been spoiled by tourism. The island has far too many cars – where are they all going? The number could easily be reduced by 50% without inconveniencing the locals, especially as the various bus services are excellent and inexpensive. Sadly, there was a lot of litter on the island: I would recommend the local tourist board to clean it up, before the island disappears under a mountain of empty plastic bottles.

© 2015 The Untravelled World