Skyros

Skyros is the most individual island in Greece. The ferry from Kymi on Euboea shows the island's strange double nature on the approach: the north green and fertile with olive groves, the south bare and golden, strewn with boulders, lapped by a turquoise sea. The chora is a masterpiece of Aegean architecture — a labyrinth of flat-roofed white houses climbing the hill beneath the Byzantine Kastro, with the houses so close that the lanes are tunnels of shadow, and every doorway a little wooden masterpiece of Skyrian carving. The Kastro is worth the climb for the view, and the house of the poet Rupert Brooke, who died on Skyros in 1915 and is buried in an olive grove above the bay of Tris Boukes, draws visitors of its own. A day in the south means driving the dirt tracks past the herds of the famous Skyrian ponies — a small, ancient breed that survives only here. The chora's local delicacies are worth eating, and the island's music has its own mode and melancholy. Skyros is not like anywhere else in Greece — it is its own small world, and it keeps its secrets.

Skyros has been inhabited since the Neolithic age, and it appears in the earliest of Greek myths: it was to Skyros that Achilles was sent, disguised as a girl among the daughters of King Lycomedes, and on Skyros that Theseus met his death and was buried. In the Bronze Age the island was a rich settlement — the site of Palamari, on the north coast, is one of the most important prehistoric settlements of the Aegean, with fortifications and houses of the third millennium BC. In the classical period Skyros was a possession of Athens, and in 476 BC Cimon conquered the island and brought the bones of Theseus back to Athens to be buried in the Theseion. The island's long history of piracy and its isolated position shaped its fiercely individual culture: the Skyrian dialect, the island's music, its distinctive architecture, and the carved furniture for which it is famous are all the product of this long, independent past. In the modern era, Skyros is known for two things above all: the Skyrian pony, an ancient breed found nowhere else in the world, and the extraordinary carnival of Apokries, when the islanders dress in the traditional goat-skin costumes and dance the island's wild dances through the streets.

Skyros has beaches of two very different kinds. In the north, the coast is green and gentle, with the sandy beach of the bay of Linaria and the coves near the port. In the south, the beaches are wild and dramatic, reached by dirt tracks through the bare golden landscape: Atsitsa, a long bay of sand and pebbles; Agalipas, with its famous shipwreck on the sand; and the beautiful coves of the east coast below the boulders. The water is clear and warm, and the contrast between the green north and the bare south gives the swimming of Skyros a variety no other island can match. Bring good shoes for the south, and expect some of the beaches to be completely empty — the southern shore of Skyros is one of the wildest, loneliest coastlines in the Aegean.

Skyros food is the cooking of an island that has had to be self-sufficient, and it is full of character. The island produces excellent honey, cheese, and olive oil, and the local table is famous for its sweets — the almond-based pastries of the island, the 'skyrian' cheese pies, and the spoon sweets served with everything. The tavernas of the chora and Linaria serve the daily catch — grilled fish, octopus, and the little fish of the Aegean — with the classic Greek table and a warm, unpretentious welcome. The island's 'skytha' is a local dish of lamb or goat, and the island's wine and its own raki complete the picture. For a proper Skyros meal, find a taverna in the chora, order the fish and a plate of the local cheese, and finish with the island's almond sweets and a glass of its wine — a meal with the flavour of a place that has always done things its own way.

May, June, and September are the ideal months on Skyros: warm, quiet, and beautiful, with the island at its most relaxed. July and August are the main season, and the chora fills with visitors, but the island's size and its empty south coast mean you can always find solitude. Spring is lovely, with the green north at its best, and the island has its great festival in the weeks before Lent, when the carnival of Apokries takes over the chora. Autumn lingers warm into October. Whenever you come, give Skyros at least a few days — it is an island that rewards those who let it set the pace.

Skyros is reached by air from Athens, into the island's small airport, or by the roughly two-hour ferry from Kymi on Euboea. In summer, further ferries run from Agios Konstantinos, Volos and the other Sporades.

A car or scooter is the best way to explore the island's two very different halves — the south coast especially is only reachable by road or boat. Visit the chora in the early morning or evening, when the lanes are quiet and the light is golden. Walk up to the Kastro, see the house and grave of Rupert Brooke, and try to catch the carnival if you come before Lent. And take a day in the south, following the tracks past the Skyrian ponies to the wild beaches — it is an experience you will find nowhere else in Greece.