THE DETAILS

Claire Irvin

and her children were guests of Sovereign Luxury Travel (01293 839588; sovereign. com) which

offers a seven-night trip to Cyprus for two adults and two children, staying at the Amara in a Junior Suite, from £8,646 departing on May 30 and from £9,173 departing on May 29. The price includes breakfasts, Tui flights from Gatwick and

private transfers. The same trip for two adults only departing on May 22 costs from

£3,284. All Sovereign

holidays include the Book with Confidence promise. This includes a guaranteed

refund if Sovereign has to cancel the

trip, a full refund up to 21 days before departure excluding any nonrefundable costs if the customer has to cancel the

trip due to Covid-19, and up to three amends free

(any extra holiday costs incurred are payable).

• Double rooms at the Amara in Cyprus cost from €382 (£330) per night B&B (amarahotel. com)

THE WEEK

It was Homer what did

it. Halfway through reading the Iliad, I felt the urge to go on an Odyssey of my own to visit sandy Ithaca and the wine-dark sea of which the Ancient

Greek poet wrote. Flying into Athens, we spent two days seeing the ancient sites before taking a flight with Olympic Air across the Aegean. But Aeolus, keeper of the winds, had opened his bag and our flight was

delayed until the following morning.

As pink-fingered dawn spread her hands across the sky, we finally took off for Samos. There we found Ariadne, living in a bungalow on a cliff top. After ouzo and cherries, we went in search of the ancient

gods. Later we followed Jason and his Argonauts on a slow boat to Kos and all the

islands in between, accompanied by a pod of

playful dolphins. Odysseus sailed with Jason on one of his many journeys home to Ithaca. I know, I was

there with him. Peter Harrold, from Lincolnshire, wins an overnight stay for two worth £250 with England’s Coast