PEACEFUL COUNTRY VILLA, WITH VIEWS TO SEA, ISLANDS & HILLS

About Gillian Cameron Cooper

I am a writer, journalist and editor by profession (www.gillycameroncooper.com). My husband, Robin, and I operated a small, exclusive walking holiday company based in the Cyclades, for 14 years. We have an extensive knowledge of Greek island culture and natural history - you can share this in my recently published guide book to walking on Naxos, Paros, Amorgos & Santorini https/www.cicerone.co.uk/C1009 . We have upgraded the big, single-storey house to British standards of comfort and taste. We care for the island environment and support the local community.

Why Gillian Cameron Cooper chose Naxos and Lesser Cyclades

Wake up every morning to big view of sea, islands, sky and hills. In the evenings, sit on the broad balcony and watch the sun set gloriously behind Paros, a glass of chilled local rosé wine to hand. The island's most beautiful beaches are close by and rarely crowded, yet the house is sufficiently inland to have fertile soil for cultivating, washing that isn't salt-encrusted, and to stroll into hills rich with wildflowers. All that is best about the country is condensed into the wonderfully diverse island of Naxos. It is rich in mythology and ancient history, with temples, stone farm buildings as old as the hills, rare Byzantine frescos and Venetian towers. This is a real, working island rather than a tourist resort, and produces its own high-quality meat, dairy, fruit, vegetables and olive oil.

What makes this Villa unique

• Convenient for exploring the island's best coast for walking, swimming and wildlife; central villages, N & NE mountains • Friendly neighbours, including a family taverna, whose sons manage our vineyard • Completed secluded villa, nestled in an acre of vines and olive trees and surrounded by fields (ie., not in a crowd of holiday villas) • Wide views of sea and islands W and S, and of waves of rocky hills to N and E • Self-contained peace and relaxation in a real home in an acre of land, rather than being in a soul-less holiday villa complex • The house is full of light and space; as one guest put it: "very pretty: Greek, but not too Greek" • Guests share our inside knowledge of the island - at online blog, and with guidebooks, maps and notes in the house