Where are we?

Travel and Airports

Airports: Volos 60 mins by car; Thessaloniki 2.5 hrs by car; Athens 4 hrs by car. Skiathos (1.5 hrs by boat). Good bus and train links to Athens and Thessaloniki.

Nearest town: Volos (30 mins) Lots of car hire firms (Hertz, Eurocar, Avis etc) in Volos (15 km). Kala Nera (2km) has a small car hire place which also does mopeds. Boat hire a little further down the coast. There are regular local buses from the village to Volos or down the peninsula.

Access and Parking

Access to the property is on cobbled village paths. Not suitable for people with mobility problems or fashionable footwear.

Plenty of free parking 20 metres from the studio.

Train spotting

Vehicular access involves nipping along a section of the heritage railway line. Although this sounds alarming it is in fact a designated road, maintained by the local council. Train drivers know that at any given moment there may be cats, dogs, goats, walkers or children with bicycles on the track, and drive at a walking pace hooting and whistling as they go. The train frequently grinds to a halt when it meets a herd of goats or finds that someone has parked on the track and has to be asked to move.


You can avoid driving on the railway by parking 150 metres downhill of the studio and walk up the cobbled path but where's the fun in that?

Can we manage without a car?     

You will see more of the area if you hire a car. You will see more of the Greek people if you use public transport. About half of the people in the village have cars: the rest rely on buses or mules.

Is it suitable for children?

We cannot accommodate children at The Old Bakery but they are welcome at Oliver's Cottage, under the same management, available from March 2012. Contact us palaiosfournos@hotmail.com for more details

Prices  (valid until 1 Jan 2013)

We offer a 5% discount on these prices for stays of over a week.

We can also supply home-produced extra virgin olive oil and locally-made charcoal for your barbecue.

Who are we?

Charlotte is a forester by profession and a Chartered Environmentalist. Richard works at the University of Thessaly.

We met at Oxford, where Richard was studying Classics, and Charlotte was studying as little as possible without actually being thrown out. Our love affair with Greece began then and we have now made it our permanent home.

We run a small organic olive grove - the first steps to becoming Olive Oil Barons. Charlotte makes things from olive wood (absolutely environmentally), and, given the chance, Richard will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the history of the region.

Our Environmental Policy.

Everything here is governed by our environmental philosophy – from the paint on the house (traditional lime wash) to the soap (home-made from olive oil). Our out-buildings, including the lock up for mountain bikes, are all made from recycled timber.
The house is dug into the mountain, providing natural insulation, and wherever possible, we use renewable energy sources. We have an average of 300 sunny days a year, so what better way to heat the water than solar power? We supply locally-produced charcoal and olive wood (from regenerative pruning) for use on the barbecue. Even this website is green – it runs on wind power.
We provide our own recycling service for rubbish as the village does not have a recycling collection.

What our visitors say about us

'

Ano Gatzea is a truly unique place and your hospitality and good humour made our two weeks a real pleasure.' Phil and Maria (UK).

'When the taxi driver turns left to drive into the railway tunnel we couldn't believe there would be such a wonderful spot behind. As in a dream, we also - like the others - enjoyed the views, the surrounding, the walks, the neighbour on the mule, the excellent food in the tavern, swimming in the sea, the smiling man at the supermarket, the friendly woman selling bread and sweets, the stories of Richard and Charlotte, the wine, the comfortable bed and refreshing shower.' Henk and Quirine (Holland)

We left Scotland in temperatures below zero and woke to the Greek sunshine, bougainvillea around the window and an orange tree at the door. Wonderful, just wonderful. The pure pleasure of picking olives from the beautiful trees is a memory I shall treasure for ever. Pat (UK)

'Le lieu est délicieux et très reposant, la terrasse fleurie et sa vue sur la mer nous ont ravis.'  Patrice & Marie-George (France)

'The best walking of our lives.' John & Liz (Canada)

Enquiries and Booking:

email palaiosfournos@hotmail.com 

Telephone 0030 6978641924 (Charlotte Dawson)

Check availability.

Deposit of 25% on booking, the balance payable on arrival, please. 

You can also find us on Owners Direct