Penny Meyrick Explores the Corfu of Durrell and Byron

It's not easy for old Corfu hands. On the one hand they simply adore the place and return year after year. On the other, they loathe the taint of association with package tourism that comes from the island’s enduring popularity with keen-to-party Brits.

In the main, choosing to stay away from the bars and beaches of the south, they keep "their Corfu" to themselves and enjoy the place they have come to love - so much, in fact, that some 12,000 of them live there more or less permanently. Local hospitality being what it is, they have been made more than welcome, as has been the recent introduction of Corfu's first scheduled flights with GB Airways (a British Airways franchise)*.

The old hands appreciate getting out of the charter flight market, welcoming not only full-service onboard at reasonable ticket prices but also the option of Club Class - the Corfu-end lounge may not be the Ritz but it is far from the maddening crowds and, on board, service is absolutely what you would expect. The services have also given the island’s tourism chiefs hope of greater numbers of more discerning, naturally higher-spending clientele, keener on Durrell and Byron than dacquiris and beach bars, historic connections they are keen to exploit in the future. There are plenty of them, too.

The British association with Corfu goes back centuries - a matter of which one is unavoidably reminded in descent from the air, the cricket pitch at the heart of Corfu Town by the old garrison clearly visible as you come down to land. The island has 11 of the country's 14 clubs, a legacy of its 19th century British military days, and Corfu practically supplies the Greek national team. It's just one of the myriad links between this green island in the Ionian sea and our own cooler shores in the north. Not only sporting, the bonds stretch back into long-held mutual appreciation and respect for the finer points of one another's culture.

Take the Liston, the perfect place to shop and stroll in the beautiful and elegant surroundings of Corfu old town before heading for an early evening drink in Corfiot style, people-watching at pavement tables by the cricket pitch or under the graceful mellow lamp-hung arches. It was long the centre of fashionable society - hence the name, because strollers were "on the list" - and its architecture was inspired by the Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

The town itself is distinctly Italianate, a legacy from its 400 years of Venetian rule, and even in the rural areas the houses are distinctly southern European in style, compared with the "typical" Greek vernacular of whitewash and blue on islands outside the Ionian group. Nonetheless, the hospitality is unmistakably Greek - when Corfiotes say they hope you enjoy your stay, it rings true, a warm and heartfelt greeting.

In 2004, the Daily Telegraph property supplement article confirmed Corfu as "one of the most desirable addresses in the world" with property prices equal to the French Riviera and the Caribbean, and the affectionate nickname of "Kensington on Sea".

Yet Greece in general was slow, compared with, say Spain and France, in trying to attract second-homers. Taking on the "mañana", stereotype of the Spanish, the Greeks didn‘t seem bothered, while buyers may have been deterred by the bureaucracy involved. Nothing much has changed, but those who make their way though it all find the love of a lifetime. Most, in Corfu, go to the north-east of the island, where a boat is as much part of the expatriate household as the bicycle in rural France. Taking it for a trip down the coast for a spot of lunch is just part of the fun in being there. The taverna on the Bay of Agni for example is tricky by road but arrive by boat and a jetty awaits you, your appetite whetted by the sea air.

There is also a relatively new service on the island, enabling visitors to "see the island as the Gods did", according to its literature. There’s no inflight Ambrosia, but sightseeing jet-set style on an 18-seater Twin Otter seaplane is nonetheless pretty exciting. The AirSea Lines' island base is at Gouvia and half an hour in the air will give you a positively Olympian overview of the fascinating, highly varied coastline and old Corfu (air traffic control permitting). Expect to pay approximately €100 for this trip but see www.airsealines.com for prices and details of other trips and services - the company also runs scheduled flights to, among others, Mykonos, Ios, Santorino and Paros that could interest time-conscious island hoppers.

For other outings, the Musee Achillion is well worth a visit. This beautiful palace built in 1890 at Gastorini for the Austrian Empress Elizabeth, known to all as Sissy, is spectacular. The rooms of this summer retreat retain a lovely air but the garden and statuary are even more splendid, offering delightful views - and all is beautifully kept. Only the most ardent British royalist would bother with the Villa Mon Repos, however. The former Corfu home of the Greek royal family, birthplace of Prince Philip, has been refurbished in a sterile, garish fashion and there is in any case very little to see - even the former botanic gardens are neglected.

If you are not lucky enough to own a home here, renting is a good option for visitors, but for those not into self-catering, the Corfu Imperial hotel* set on a private peninsular on the east coast, about half an hour's drive from the airport, is luxury, Greek style.

The Imperial is a mix of old-fashioned, conventional hotel main building - all rooms with stunning sea views from their balconies - surrounded by individual suites in attractive bungalows, villas and palazzos, many with their own pool. The flexibility (although the drawback is a fiendishly complicated set of booking and price categories) gives guests a choice of total privacy yet with the useful addition of all the hotel services - much appreciated by certain of the Imperial's regular summer visitors, many of whom are as well-known as they are well-heeled - or a more gregarious approach, as preferred.

The Imperial prides itself on its "green credentials", too. Much of the produce used in the kitchens is from the family-run Grecotel group's own organic farm in Crete and environmentally friendly initiatives for waste management, and water and energy-saving are actively pursued. As a result, the big hotel nonetheless gives the impression of intimate scale, no mean feat, and couples and later their families return year after year to enjoy its cove-like gently shelving fine sandy beaches, limpid seas and watersports facilities and relax within a secure, gated garden complex. A gentle swim followed by lunch at the gorgeous terrace restaurant looking over the sea and sky shaded in myriad tones of blue is something nearing perfection.

There aren’t that many places outside France where the French are enticed to holiday, but this is one of them.

* BA franchise partner GB Airways operates four flights a week to Corfu from London Gatwick, one-way from £55 including taxes. For more details visit www.gbairways.com or call 0870 850 9850.

* Grecotel Corfu Imperial has double rooms with a sea view from 162 Euros to 565 Euros per night with buffet breakfast. Palazzo villas cost an average 5,000 Euros a night including buffet breakfast. For reservations, call +30 210 72 80 417 or see www.grecotel.com.

Penny Meyrick is a freelance journalist who shares her time between London, Somerset and Spain, where she has enjoyed many months of the past 20 years. She currently contributes to the Daily Telegraph, and the Daily and Sunday Express. Her interests include books, travel, food and wine, the arts, gardening, country walks, cosy homes - and attempting to become fluent in Castillian.