Kiti beach and the lighthouse (faros)

 Last week we decided not to go so far with our 'day out'. We'd had to do some shopping already, so we didn't set out until nearly 11.30am. We had decided to walk along the path above Kiti beach. This is somewhere we used to go regularly, when it was quite wild and unspoilt.  There were rough steps down to a beach that was usually deserted, and we would sometimes take a picnic. 

But then developers got hold of it - we heard rumours, but hadn't been there for a year or so. I wrote about a visit we made in March 2016, when we were a bit horrified by all the changes; we couldn't access a lot of places, and were worried that it would be depressingly touristy. 

In October 2017 we went there with some other friends, and walked awhile along the paved path which looked really rather bleak. 

Richard took another friend a few years later, but I hadn't been there for nine years.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see that the lighthouse - still small and unimpressive - is now surrounded by greenery.

The gate was locked but there were some signs and pictures outside, showing proposed further developments:

The pathway, too, was looking much more attractive than previously, with quite a bit of foliage:

It's all much safer than it used to be, too. Some of the cliff face was starting to crumble, and climbing down to the sea was fraught with potential danger when we used to come. 

Now there are at least two sets of steps, with railings, looking a lot safer:

We decided not to go down to the beach; it's quite stony and not very pleasant to walk on. But we admired the view.

It was good to see that the beach is still almost deserted. We might have thought that this was due to it being mid-October if we hadn't been to Fig Tree Bay the week before, which was absolutely packed.  Of course Kiti beach is not at all commercial. We didn't see any cafés along our walk, nor any toilets. There's quite an expensive fish restaurant near the lighthouse, but nothing else, as far as we could tell. There was a very faded notice advertising a beach bar at the bottom of another set of stairs, but it appears to be closed.

We walked slowly, admiring the plants and random sculptures:

Then suddenly we reached the end of the paved area. Instead, there was some rough ground at the end of a field. We assume that the owner didn't want to sell, although the end path can't be usable for crops as it's open to the public to walk over.

We walked over it, and a little way further.  By then it was 12.15 although the actual distance we had walked was minimal.  So we headed back, a little more quickly, and then drove to a restaurant in Menou, about ten minutes' drive away, called Jackson Gastro. It looked inviting, and we saw some friends sitting there; they suggested we sit with them, and we had a most enjoyable lunch followed by coffee.

So, in summary, I was pleased that we finally went back to Kiti; it's a good place for a gentle stroll. Recommended, so long as you don't mind the lack of loos. Children could run around, and maybe go down to the beach for a bit of variety. 

It will be interesting to see what happens to the Lighthouse area. 

We'd recommend the restaurant, too. It didn't have a huge menu, but there was more variety than most tavernas. Nothing vegan (other than a shareable fruit platter) and no dairy-free desserts; there wasn't much for vegetarians, either, and a very limited children's menu.  But the prices weren't too bad, and what we ate was delicious. It was a good place to sit and relax.