Porto Katsiki

Porto Katsiki is the picture that sells Lefkada: a chalk-white promontory cut off by a sheer face, a crescent of pale pebble sand at its foot, and water that turns three shades of blue in the space of thirty metres. The car park sits on the clifftop with the whole thing spread out below, so the wide frame costs no effort at all — walk from the car, and it is there.

The beach itself is a stepped path down, several minutes and a real climb back, which is the decision to make before a session: the view from above needs no stairs, the frames on the sand do. Afternoon is the time either way. The coast faces west, so through the morning the cliff throws its own shadow over the beach, and the colour only comes up as the sun swings round; the last two hours are the reason to be here.

In July and August the clifftop car park fills by mid-morning and the beach is umbrellas end to end, which is another argument for late in the day, when the boats and most of the day-trippers have gone. There is no shade at the top and the edge is unfenced in places — stay in from the lip, and bring water.