Like the Durrells, I fell head over heels for Corfu
Sparkling white-pebble beaches, lush olive groves and Venetian villas the colour of kumquats scattered across the hills, it's easy to see why the Durrells fell in love with Corfu almost a century ago.
My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell’s funny, colourful memoir about his family moving to Corfu in the 1930s, was one of my favourite books growing up and reading it instilled a longing to live out my days surrounded by cats in the Greek islands.
DISCOVER CORFU WITH LEE DURRELL
And Corfu –with its heavenly beaches, wildflower-strewn mountains and shimmering gin-clear seas– is definitely in the running. Located seven miles off the western coast of Greece, the leafy Ionian island has long been a favourite haunt of the rich and famous. Along with the Durrell family, Aristotle Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, the Rothschilds, Paul McCartney have all fallen for Corfu's endless charms and bought properties on the island.
This year marks the 100th birthday of Gerald Durrell, when the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust will celebrate with a series of events. It makes 2025 a perfect year to visit Corfu and discover the island where the naturalist grew up.
I'm staying in Avlaki Beach, which lies a mile or so from Kassiopi on Corfu's quiet northeastern coast. Scalloped with beautiful beaches and fishing harbours bobbing with colourful wooden boats, the coast of Albania glowering in the distance, it's a far cry from the wet 'n' wild foam parties and booze-fuelled nightlife of Kavos in the south.
After a slow morning soaking up the sun on the beach, I venture out in my hire car and explore the locations Gerald described so beautifully in his evocative book. My first stop is Kontokali, a small and quiet beach enclave just six miles north of Corfu Town, where he and his family first stayed. Now popular with the sailing crowd, with its bougainvillea-strewn villas and sandy shallows, if I squint I can still picture a young Gerry chasing his beloved squirrels across the beach.
From Kontokali, I head south to Pontikonisi Beach and Mouse Island, which is little more than a whitewashed chapel surrounded by a clutch of ancient cypress trees. From here I head further south to the tiny village of Gastouri, where the Durrells moved into the Daffodil Yellow Villa. Wandering around Gastouri, with its narrow cobbled paths and soft light filtering through the olive branches, like the Durrells I was becoming more and more enamoured with the island.
One blisteringly hot afternoon, I drove west of Kassiopi and into the cooler hills to Old Perithia, Corfu's oldest village. Once used as a hideout from marauding pirates, this 14th-century hill village on the northern flanks of Mount Pantokrator is reached by narrow switchback road. All but abandoned in the Sixties, when everyone flocked to the coast for work, Old Perithia has since had a new lease of life and now has a handful of traditional tavernas in the tiny shaded village square.
One of my last stops on my Durrell pilgrimage is Kalami Bay, a beautiful horseshoe shaped cove where Gerald's author brother Lawrence and his wife Nancy lived in the White House. Perched like a sugar cube overlooking the water, it's said that Henry Miller was a regular visitor and liked sunbathing naked on the terrace. It's now a taverna and a guesthouse and I sit (fully clothed) with a coffee and imagine these great authors chatting over wine as they watch the sunset.
Of course, I can't come to Corfu to follow in the footsteps of one of the world's most famous naturalists and not enjoy a gentle hike. On my final day, I wake early to avoid the heat and follow one of the shaded trails up Mount Pantokrator. Strolling through groves of gnarled olive trees and fragrant wildflowers, glimpsing the turquoise waters of the Ionian sea around every corner, I could see how Corfu inspired a lifelong love of nature and wildlife in all of the Durrells. And now me too.
You can retrace the steps of the Durrells, like Tracey, on Good Housekeeping's exclusive tour of Corfu in May. You'll be joined by Lee Durrell, who will talk about her late husband Gerald's role in wildlife conversation and share stories about the family's life in Corfu.
Browse more extraordinary journeys in the latest Good Housekeeping Holidays brochure.
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