Karin Wright
Enjoys the beach and the wildlife on a trip to northern Greece
Identify the location of our September monthly mystery travel picture and you could win three superb DK guide books worth up to £19.99 each. For this month it’s a photo of one of the prettiest towns in France. Enter online and name the town at mirror.co.uk/ travel.
Helly Hansen Elements Kyoto jacket. On sale for £175. hellyhansen.com
Alsace, France
A lightweight, packable summer rain jacket in a rather snazzy silver grey.
Waterproof, windproof and breathable, and feels extremely well made – as you’d expect from a leading Scandinavian brand.
Smart enough for city wear as well as on your travels, you could layer up with a fleece for cooler days in late spring and early autumn.
The acid test is, of course, when it rains and, mon dieu, did it rain on a day out in pretty Colmar.
There hadn’t been any rain in Alsace for a couple of months, so the weather gods tried to make up for lost time with a downpour of comedy proportions.
However, not one drop of the deluge got through – genuinely impressive waterpoofing from the Helly Tech membrane and I didn’t feel too hot wearing it on what was a very warm day.
An internal pocket would be useful. The website blurb says it has adjustable cuffs, but I couldn’t see how to adjust them.
Not cheap, of course, but very good and feels made to last. You could probably jump into a lake wearing it and stay dry. The beaches and bars of Miami beckon with a week on room-only at the 4* Mayfair Hotel and Spa in Coconut Grove. From £742pp with flights from Manchester on September 20. Visit traveltrolley.co.uk or call 020 8843 4400.
Aherd of buffalo sweeping majestically across the plains wasn’t what I expected to see on an all-inclusive beach break in Greece, but there they were. Thousands of them. Turns out there are around 4,000 water buffalo in the country – and 3,000 of the Asian beasts can be found grazing along the banks of Lake Kerkini in Thessaloniki.
The milk, yoghurt, cheese and meat produced on the 20 farms in this area are big business. And, unlike their African cousins, these animals are pretty docile, which is how I found myself on a 4x4 trip into their midst.
We got out to stretch our legs, and the herd barely acknowledged our presence as they munched on the grass and sank into the marshy waters around the lake.
Man-made Kerkini is also one of the most important birding sites in Europe.
More than 300 species make this reservoir their home over the course of the year, and we saw dozens of pelicans, herons, cormorants, egrets, storks and ibises as we cruised along on a traditional boat called a plaves.
If you’re lucky, at certain times of the year you can spot flamingos, eagles, falcons and hawks. This area of northern Greece is also home to wild boar, jackals, otters and wolves.
So, I had come to Greece for some autumn sunshine, and ended up on a safari!
Our full-day trip included a delightful lunch of local food (including buffalo meat served with noodles cooked in buffalo milk) under the trees in the Ydrogaia restaurant of a lovely little hotel called Oikoperiigitis, right in Kerkini village.
Satisfied that we could say we did
Dramatic Halkidiki
more than just laze around by the pool on our holiday, we headed back to the TUI Sensimar Blue Lagoon Palace, near Kalives in Halkidiki.
This brand-new adults-only hotel is a luxury treat. It’s right on the beach and has only 92 rooms across just two floors. The upper rooms all have balconies, and the ground-floor suites have terraces with private pools. There is a stunning communal rim-flow pool at the front of the hotel, but there’s nothing better than having a pre-breakfast dip in your own little oasis (or a cheeky midnight paddle with a glass of bubbly).
And because this is a civilised place for grownups, there’s no mad dawn scramble for sunloungers – there are more than enough around the pool and lined up on the beach to cater for all the rooms (I actually counted them!)
Breakfast is a quite magnificent feast of hot and cold buffet and delicious cookto-order stations, with everything from yummy Greek specialities to plan old toast and eggs. There’s also a table heaving with desserts if that’s what you
Karin soaks up the clear blue waters If you do have kids in tow, just is TUI’s Family up th Although Life Blue Lagoon Pri it’s much bigger a low-rise with 286 roo paradise with four pools. The in a range of shapes r choose and sizes to suit from suites a balconies with jacuzzis, swim and terraces or private pools. of play areas and Th towards kids’ clubs, with keeping your pursu creche, children as well entertain as areas especially very small kids. for p There’s even a young teens who dedicate might actually look their screens long Hangout. enough to enjo There are restaurants, b snack bars and tavernas, cateri for even the pickiest of eaters.