I'm Back!

I've just returned from my summer holiday - home to England, where else? Fed up with the heat, the invasion of Italians, and encouraged by the fact that high season in Corfu is generally low season in our line of business, I took a fortnight off to "go home".

This is the first time I have been back to England in the summer for more than five years, generally choosing to go in the autumn or the spring, but the opportunity came up and I thought '''Why not?" I had been told by everyone that this wasn't the best summer on record in the UK, but I still naively turned up without a winter coat and boots. I was FROZEN!!

Feeling like an OAP because I am scared to cross the road and get confused about the coins in my purse, I had a lovely break, spending time in the West Country (my roots) and having a lovely break in East Sussex, the (present) home of loved-one. We did all my favourite things - shopping, shopping, eating, shopping, with lovely interludes of green leafy trees and luscious lawns.

Despite all this luxury and indulgence, I was so glad to come back to my real home, Corfu. That wonderful smell at the airport, and the drive home hearing cars hooting to each other to say hello, it hasn't taken me long to settle back in to my usual life.

It is a bit hot here though, isn't it?
Sarah

How Easy Is It To Find Beach Property In Corfu?

Well normally we would say it is very difficult - beachfront properties tend to be rare and at a premium price, so imagine my surprise on Saturday morning when I found two properties with beach access.

OK, it was a bit 'from the sublime to the ridiculous' with one a tiny ruin in an olive grove and the other a lovely pair of villas just above a stunning sandy beach where I used to walk the dog in the winter about 15 years ago. (I had totally forgotten its existence!)

I had a contact several days before who told me about his houses on the beach and I decided to go and see them on Saturday morning. In the meantime one of my 'ladies who know everyone' told me she had arranged to go and see a little old house which was also near the beach. (Often these turn out to be near the beach if you are a long distance walker, but in this case she was absoluterly correct.)

We drove to the area of Skala, on the little road that winds around the mountain behind Ag. Mattheos, and we suddenly stopped in an olive grove. (Pointer, bring a can of spray paint to identify which particular olive grove!) Tucked away, hidden by trees, was a tiny cottage, which the owner proudly told me had housed five generations of his family. (If you look at it on the website you will see that it is all of about 32 square metres in size, so it was obviously a snug fit.)

We walked through the trees and the path led down through a jungle (to be cleared when the property is sold) and down to the beach. The land doesn't actually reach the beach, but at that price who really cares. Less than 100 metres from the beach, your own olive grove, and a private footpath down to your morning swim.

After that we moved on to the two villas - one complete, one nearly there. Gated and walled for privacy, and with steps leading from the side of the villa onto a track leading onto the beach. Wonderful houses, terraces and garden looking out towards the sunset, who could ask for more?

Now it has started me thinking, we always think it is hard to find property within easy walking distance of the beach (which for me was one of the reasons to come to live in Corfu) and yet we actually have quite a few. But that's a topic for another day!
Diana