Little Swallows

High in the profusely green hills of the Pelion peninsula, a restored village mansion with 9 rooms

The mountainous peninsula of Pelion is blessedly off the tourist track. Dense with deciduous woodland, lush with apple orchard, olive grove and low shrub maquis, the area is a walker's dream. It is also home to 24 well-preserved villages, some of which are listed and undergoing gentrification. Pinakates, once truly remote, still unspoiled, is our favourite.

Minutes from the cobbled market square is Ta Helidonakia: 'Little Swallows'. In 2002 it was a crumbling ruin; now, after a sympathetic restoration using traditional materials and methods, the imposing 19th-century mansion has opened its arms to guests. Each of the bedrooms is named after a Greek god and, we are told, has its own essentially Greek decoration. Flemish antique beds, imported by the Belgian owners, add character. In summer, breakfast is served on a terrace with a view - all the way to the enclosed seas of the Pagasitic Gulf. The hotel has two good seating areas, one with a wood-burner; the village has a clutch of tavernas.

Highs

• Beautiful conservation village with imposing Ottoman-style stone mansions and cobbled lanes
• Each bedroom has a fabulous antique bed
• The owners provide walking maps for paths through sun-dappled woods
• Paths lead down to sheltered beaches in 2 hours (you can bus back up)
• A picturesque narrow-gauge railway runs below (weekends only)
• Here at 600m altitude it's refreshingly cool in summer, and often cloaked in snow in winter

Lows

• No restaurant, but simple tavernas in the village
• Mountainous terrain unsuitable for the unfit or infirm
• Two buses reach the village a day: you really need a car
• The area is rainier than the rest of Greece
• The wilder beaches and bluer seas are on the other side of the peninsula
• Volos airport is open May-Sept only and Athens is a 5-hour drive