Walks in Northwest Corfu (book and map)

Seventeen walks exploring the lush hills and beautiful green countryside around the beach resorts of Arillas, Agios Stefanos and Agios Georgios North (Agios Georgios Pagon), on the northwest coast of Corfu island.

North of the headland with the village of Afionas perched on the top, is the scattered resort of Arillas, which has a long, though narrow, sandy beach ending at the shale, clay and conglomerate cliffs of Akrotiri Kefali. The name may derive from the Greek argillos, "clay".

The large sandy beach of Agios Georgios (Saint George, the patron saint of Greece) is set in a large, horseshoe-shaped bay. The southern side of the bay has an escarpment of high cliffs, scaled by an old, paved donkey-road leading to the villages behind. The lowest/first of the villages beyond the beach is Pagi, the 'home town' of the southern end of Agios Georgios resort which is therefore known in full as Agios Georgios Pagon. This name is sometimes used to distinguish the whole resort from the resort of Agios Georgios Argyradon (the St. George of some holiday brochures) in the south of the island. Unofficially, it is also referred to as Agios Georgios North or "San Giorgio".

The resort of Agios Stefanos (Agios Stefanos Avlioton, Agios Stefanos Gyrou) developed from the 1960s onwards, having previously been a small fishing hamlet, harbour and agricultural area for the village of Avliotes, with the local clay being used for pottery. The area has been linked with the shipwreck of Odysseus and his rescue by Nausica, the daughter of King of the Phaeacians, leading archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld to excavate local sites in 1912-13 – which turned out to be Neolithic. The original church, dedicated to Agios Stefanos, was of the late Byzantine or early Venetian period, but was rebuilt in the 1930s. The small original harbour has been replaced by a much larger one, further along the headland, from where boats go to the Diapontia islands.

Agios Stefanos has a large beach, although the sand has a tendency to be muddier after rain than at the other two resorts, with a gradually shelving seabed. The beach dwindles away to nothing at the northern end, where a series of high and near-vertical clay cliffs marks the coastline towards Akrotiri Drastis. Apart from the church and harbour, most of the layout of the area is entirely tourism-based.

Routes include the inland villages of Armenades, Kavadades, Magoulades, set between hills covered in olive groves; from Magoulades northeast across the island to Sidari; to Afionas perched high on the ridge between Arillas and Agios Georgios and with fabulous sea-views; to the pretty twin bays at Porto Timoni; exploring the line of villages at the southern end of Agios Georgios bay - Pagi, Prinylas, Vistonas, Makrades, Krini; ascending the spectacular ruins of the Norman castle of Angelokastro; and the descent from Lakones to Paleokastritsa.

The coastal scenery is of long beaches, spectacular sea-cliffs, and views to small, distant islands. Inland the views are usually of fertile valleys between green, gently undulating hills, carpeted with olive groves and dotted with colonies of upright cypress trees and scattered houses. To the southwest the land rises more dramatically, with further cliffs and some wonderful panoramic viewpoints. To the east, across the sea, the Albanian mountains rise out of the haze.

The routes are mostly fairly easy, with a variety of distances from short to medium-long. The walk between Lakones and Paleokastritsa is steeper than the others, but in general ascents and descents are comfortable. There is almost always shade on the walks, from the ever-present olive groves, though the humidity can be a little high. Some en route villages have café facilities. The coastal routes will usually have plenty of other walkers, the inland routes far fewer.

This Agios Georgios should not be confused with Agios Georgios Argyradon (Agios Georgios South), near Lake Korission.

Large-scale sketch maps of the villages Afionas, Agios Stefanos, Arillas, Armenades, Kavadades, Krini, Makrades, Pagi, Prinylas, and Vistonas are included within the text.

The 40-page book is A5 size, with a card cover. It is accompanied by an A3 double-sided colour walkers' map of the Agios Stefanos-Arillas-Agios Georgios-Angelokastro area, at a scale of 5cm:1km. Book and map are supplied in a tough A5 plastic sleeve.

Book first published (in this form) 2004, extensively updated 2008; map published 1996, updated 2008.

ISBN 978-1-900802-88-8

"I bought the Corfu Walk book and Map from you in August 2005. Without it we would have had a lovely holiday in Arillas in September 2005. With it we had an absolutely brilliant holiday, we did all of the walks in the book except one and really really enjoyed them! On one occasion we even met other walkers on a remote hill in the middle of olive trees following the same route from your book! We may go to Turkey later this year and if we do I will be buying your Olu Deniz walk book and map. In the meantime, thank you very very much." C. McD.

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Lance Chilton and Marengo 2010

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