Now Olympic swimming host hits pool herself
Helen Skelton manages to relax with her family in Corfu – despite having a small baby to care for
IFIRST visited Corfu a few years ago for a TV travel programme and loved it so much that I vowed to return for a proper holiday. My husband, Richie, had never been before, so we decided it would be the perfect destination for a sunshine break with our four-monthold son Ernie before I set off for the Rio Olympics and my stint presenting the swimming events for the BBC.
The Greek isle is well known among two groups of holidaymakers. The resort of Kavos is popular with youngsters keen on its lively nightlife, while more thoughtful travellers are attracted to the island described so memorably by Gerald Durrell in his book My Family And Other Animals, which was recently adapted for TV.
My first trip to Corfu was largely restricted to Corfu town in addition to a quick visit to one other resort: as is the way with TV travel shows, we were there only a couple of days, looking at a typical packagetour stay and trying out the sorts of things people do on holiday.
It was very much a flying visit that involved a lot of driving. This time I was there for pleasure, enjoying our firstever fly-and-flop trip together as a family.
Before Ernie was born, Richie and I would fly to a destination and, rather than choosing to stay in one place, we’d travel around (in my time on Blue Peter I was something of an action woman). Last year, for example, we flew to Miami, hired a car and drove all around Florida.
Richie is not very good at just sitting on a beach. I’m the same: I want to be doing things, so when we travel, I buy a guidebook and we go see as much as we can.
On this trip, though, with a young baby, we took a different approach. We checked in to our hotel, took off our watches and powered down our mobile phones. It was so lovely to get away from everything.
When we told people we were taking Ernie on a fourhour flight, many of our friends thought we were mad.
Fortunately, he was a dream. Ernie slept for the entire journey, which was a relief to us – and, I suspect, to the other passengers.
We were also slightly worried about how guests at a luxury hotel might feel about having a baby in their midst, but many of the people we met were doting grandparents who couldn’t get enough of him. Several guests came over to us and said: ‘Oh, my daughter has just had a baby the same age as yours.’ It was a nice way to break the ice.
We stayed in the MarBella Corfu Hotel (I’m not entirely sure why a hotel called MarBella – a resort on Spain’s Costa del Sol – is in Corfu!) and it was ideal.
It had a pool where we spent most of our time, taking it in turns to mind the baby while the other cooled down in the water. And down by the beach, there was lots of decking and little cabanas where Ernie could doze out of the sun.
The food at the hotel was amazing. Our holiday was allinclusive, so we knew to expect a classic holiday buffet at some point, but the resort offered so much more. For example, there was a Greek restaurant called Comodo, an Italian, and a beach cafe, so we didn’t have Helen and, above, Corfu Town and the MarBella to go to the buffet every night.
The hotel is situated on the island’s east coast, and our one excursion was a trip north into Corfu town. It was a simple trip – we took the bus there and used a taxi for the journey back to the hotel.
We had a really great day strolling round, visiting the old fort and a few other places. Other than that, we stayed in the hotel – a new holiday experience for us both. I felt really proud of Ernie and how he behaved throughout. It really was the break both Ritchie and I needed after a busy time of visitors .
At last, after the birth, we were finally able to spend some quality time together as a family, which is what holidays should be all about.