Limnos (aka Lemnos) is not necessarily a walkers island, but it has other great qualities. It is a very beautiful island and it is famous for its wines, both red and white. The indigenous red grape which bears the name of the island (“Limnio”) produces very fruity and delicate red wines. The white wines are equally good using the ancient “Muscat of Alexandria” originating from Egypt. It is said that when Cleopatra drank her Muscat wine she drank the ones from Limnos as it even back then was considered the best!

Another wine specialty of the island is a rosé Retsina no less. See picture above. A fantastic product, and only a bit more than 4000 bottles of this is produced each year.

Selected walks: For walks in the Mirina area you might as well just use Google Maps. I also used the Anavasi Mapp.

•1 MIRINA – PANAGIA KAKAVIOTISSA – THANOS – MIRINA (4:52; 26259 steps; 18.43km; alt. gain 1726m; alt. loss 1749m): Wonderful views over the Limnian landscape. And a really weird roofless chapel.

You can follow a (mostly) dirt road straight out of town. You cross the main road and just continue straight on. However, short after the road crossing: DOG ALERT.

Occasional sign posts for Panagia Kakaviotissa can be seen. The ascent up the mountain is steep, but the stone steps and later a path are all good. But I do recommend proper boots.

Safely back down from the chapel you can just retrace your steps, or you can just continue on the dirt road through a wonderful landscape down to the main road. From there it will be road walking all the way back to Mirina. But do a shortcut through the village of Thanos on a side street.

At least out of high season the road is surprisingly walkable as the amount of traffic is fairly low.

•2 MIRINA CASTLE (1:07; 4844 steps; 3.05km; alt. gain 287m; alt. loss 303m): Wonderful views over Mirina. And you can spot deer and goats.

I started the walk at my hotel and ended it at the harbour. Included in my walk are most of the good paths on this hill. You can do a lot more exploration, but then I would suggest using proper boots even here. Some of the rougher paths can be steep and treacherous. And a good head for heights is certainly a plus.

As far as I remember there are no safety railings anywhere on this hill. It really feels that you are out in the wild even being so close to town. Everyone visiting Mirina will of course visit this hilltop castle. There are many information boards telling you about the various interesting spots.

• Good starting points: • Mirina

• How to get there: • By air • By ferry from some other North-East Aegean islands • By ferry from the mainland

• More info: Sorry, none yet.