Author: Cecilia Jenkins

The Walnut Tree is a spacious villa in a rural setting with panoramic views of the countryside, the hillsides and mountains of Kefalonia and glimpses of the Ionian Sea and the island of Ithaca.

Day Trip to Ithaca

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Day Trip to Ithaca

WHILE AT THE WALNUT TREE ……….. TAKE A DAY TRIP TO ITHACA At the top of my list of suggestions for places to visit while at The Walnut Tree villa – it’s a day trip to Ithaca.  Not only is this a very beautiful island – VERY beautiful – it has that extra quality about it that makes you want to return – again and again. ON TO THE FERRY FROM NEARBY SAMI PORT Then getting there: you have to go by the daily ferry service from our nearby port of Sami  – so that’s easy.  You probably do need Read more »

Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil – it’s a first for The Walnut Tree!

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Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil – it’s a first for The Walnut Tree!

HARVESTING THE OIL OLIVES We have been harvesting our oil olives at The Walnut Tree villa for the last eleven years.  We’ve had some good years and some hopeless!  What we have always wanted is the best quality olive oil achievable. Up until last year (2018) we knew of no way to determine the acidity of the oil – the yardstick of whether olive oil is premium, extra virgin or of a lesser quality. In the autumn of 2018 we heard about Taste of Kefalonia (www.tastekefalonia.com), a family run business with a recently installed press near Spartia in the south Read more »

2019 – First reviews of The Walnut Tree villa

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2019 – First reviews of The Walnut Tree villa

First reviews of 2019 Mid May 2019 and our first guests arrived.   The photograph below shows what awaited them. For colour and scent, spring and autumn in Kefalonia (Kephalonia) are hard to beat.  During our planning of the garden at The Walnut Tree, top of the list was obviously colour and scent and even more important, bee friendly. We sometimes feel a bit guilty that our summer guests do not see our garden (and the island) in these ‘out of season’ times.  Not this year.  In fact, the garden is now maturing nicely being over thirteen years old.  The planning, Read more »

Butterfly Time at The Walnut Tree villa

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Butterfly Time at The Walnut Tree villa

  In 2005, when we first started to think about planting the garden at The Walnut Tree villa, being insect friendly was high on the list.  We wanted to attract all insects, particularly BUTTERFLIES, moths and of course bees.  I am bound to say I have been pretty surprised by how many different insects there are.  Over the years the flyers, the ‘creepies’ and the ‘crawlies’ that emerge out of the sky or out of the undergrowth constantly amaze us.  When I stop saying ‘Well! I’ve never seen that before’ it will be a sad day.  ‘Insect Heaven’ would be Read more »

Walnut Tree villa rentals set for 2020

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Walnut Tree villa rentals set for 2020

The pool at The Walnut Tree RENTAL  RATE  INCREASE FOR 2020 Reluctantly we have decided to increase the 2020 Walnut Tree villa rental rates by around 10%.  Our extra guest charge (over the optimum occupancy of 10) will continue at a daily rate of £15 per day per person.  Rental rates have not increased since 2014. Running costs are the main reason for this increase in the Walnut Tree rental rate.   Having to absorb a new Greek Income Tax levied on turnover which varies from 15% to 35% made the decision even more necessary.  Whoops! NEW  AIRPORT  BUILDINGS  OPEN GOOD Read more »

Eating out – eating in at The Walnut Tree

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Eating out – eating in at The Walnut Tree

WARNING! I think it only fair to warn our guests that you probably won’t lose weight at The Walnut Tree villa whether you eat in or out. Boot camp it is not! DECISIONS, DECISIONS! Below is an example of a healthy breakfast. And it is very healthy. And the fruit is mostly picked from The Walnut Tree garden. Then add some locally made Kefalonian Greek yoghurt, seeds, nuts .. what could be better! It’s more about what happens next….. Picture the scene. You are sent on the morning/breakfast run to the bakery (Spathis Bakeries in both Karavomilos and Sami – Read more »

New management team at The Walnut Tree

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New management team at The Walnut Tree

New Management at The Walnut Tree We are delighted to announce that Ace Properties (Adrian and Caroline Hill) have agreed to manage The Walnut Tree villa during the letting season.  Ace Properties are also looking after the villa while we are in the UK during the winter. Meeting and Greeting our Guests Adrian will be meeting and greeting our guests on their arrival in Kefalonia.  Any information or special requirements that our guests may need for their holiday to be just as perfect as can be – this will be over to Adrian. Villa Management Caroline will oversee guest changeovers Read more »

What DO we do at The Walnut Tree villa?

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What DO we do at The Walnut Tree villa?

RETURN TO THE WALNUT TREE Just before Rees and I return to The Walnut Tree villa and garden  ……. what’s the most-asked question?  It’s got to be: ‘What do you do when you are in Greece?’  And of course we always hear: ‘Have a lovely holiday!’  Hmmmmmmm!  Don’t get me wrong!  Our time in Greece is one long holiday … but it is a working holiday!  But we do sometimes jokingly call our time there: ‘The Boot Camp’. What we do at the villa is dependent on the time of year. SPRING Springtime is principally concerned with preparation for the Read more »

Olive Oil Harvest at The Walnut Tree villa

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Olive Oil Harvest at The Walnut Tree villa

Our time at The Walnut Tree villa has been a succession of journeys and adventures.  Some of these adventures and journeys have started using The Walnut Tree as a jumping off point. Others have been ‘at’ The Walnut Tree.  Over the last ten years the harvesting of our olive trees, pressing and collection of olive oil has been both a journey and an adventure. When we left The Walnut Tree villa in June we had high hopes of returning to a good crop of olives.  Unfortunately, subsequent adverse conditions affected Kefalonia’s olive oil production. When we returned to The Walnut Tree Read more »

The Walnut Tree villa is on Google Maps!

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The Walnut Tree villa is on Google Maps!

The Walnut Tree is on Google Maps.   https://goo.gl/maps/To7DJb5oKB6i9dse9 Good news for The Walnut Tree villa which is now clearly accessible on Google Maps.  If you put ‘The Walnut Tree, Sami’ into Google Maps, it’s no problem!  There it is – with the journey and directions from the airport easy to access. Thank you very much Google! This is a very good addition to our guest arrival information pack.  This map and link will be included in every Information Pack sent to our future guests. .