Chris & Helen Ward’s
Cycling and midlife retreat
THE PELOPONNESE, GREECE
JOIN US TO CYCLE, OR TO VISIT OUR AUTHENTIC RETREAT IN THE VERY HEART OF ANCIENT GREECE
Book your favourite activity
Join us in The Peloponnese, just 1.30 hours from Athens, over the Corinth Canal to an outdoor paradise, the size of Wales, in the heart of ancient Greece. Accounting for only 2% of Greek tourism, it is like the Greek island of your youth.
We are open in the Spring and Autumn seasons for guests to enjoy the very best cycling week or our retreat, which enables guests to breakaway from the stresses of everyday modern life, to relax and undertake any of our numerous activities.
Our villa overlooks the Saronic Gulf in Epidavros. People have been coming here to the 12,000-seat amphitheatre and world’s first health sanctuary for nearly three thousand years. It is beautiful, quiet and a place where simply life itself feels rich - rich with amazing scenery for your activities, ancient history, hospitality, culture and the taste and smells of local cuisine.
Everyone leaves us refreshed and invigorated, and many return - many times - for a hit of that ‘Epidavros feeling’.
CYCLE THE BEST OF GREECE
The Peloponnese is the Mallorca of Greece - a peninsula from the mainland, with amazing beaches, behind which lay simply the best coastal roads, and hillside climbs - with the bonus of cycling to famous Greek islands, huge amphitheatres, over the oldest standing bridge in the world, to the first capital of Greece and the best bakeries, coffee shops, beaches and tavernas that Greece has to offer.
You can cycle the tough climbs the pros ride and beautiful coastal roads with your own bike or by hiring anything from top-end road bikes to e-bikes. I have cycled around much of the world and will guide or plot your route, so whether you are here to train hard or just enjoy great riding, you will return home feeling challenged, refreshed, and inspired.
We can personalise trips for anyone from regular weekly cyclists to professional teams. Each rider can enjoy tough-as-you-want, beautiful and rewarding cycling. Check out our sample routes. Our very best daily rides start from about 80km and 900m of climbing upwards, although we can do shorter half days and longer with more climbing - whatever you are looking for.
Come ride the Peloponnese yourself - but be quick before the whole cycling world discovers Greece. Cycling magazines and TV shows have been to visit us and we will only ever provide for small groups - that works best for guests and locals - so we fill our limited spaces quite quickly. (more)
OUR MIDLIFE RETREAT
There is something for every outdoor lover in the Peloponnese - bays to swim in, volcanos to hike, forest running and walking routes, hot natural spring baths to soak in and all water sports to avoid getting soaked in. Visits to ancient sites, beautiful villages and beachfront cafes and restaurants. Tastings with local food producers and at wineries. We have bikes, e-bikes and motorbikes for hire, places to write, relax or create, places to shop, to explore and even a disco to dance the night away.
Come with your (cyclist) partner or friends or come alone, but however you enjoy your me-time, this is the place to do it. (more)
CHRIS AND HELEN ARE YOUR HOSTS
Being from a Greek family, and with a lifetime of living it, Helen is in charge of all your hospitality!
Chris is in charge of cycling and our retreat. “I have been fortunate to have cycled around the world, via the Great Wall of China, Mount Everest, North Korea and Australia, and to have bike-packed across India, Bangladesh, Taiwan and Central and South America. I’ve also represented GB in the amateur world championships and became the oldest Briton to cycle up Mount Ventoux six times in a day - but it was when I cycled along the Peloponnese coast from Poros island to here in Epidavros, I knew I’d found an outdoor paradise, that I wanted to call home”
Chris also writes books and consults with individuals and organisations to advise and inspire midlifers to live their best life.
FINISH YOUR BREAK FEELING FITTER, REFRESHED AND INSPIRED
When you leave us in the outdoor paradise of the Peloponnese, you should feel physically refreshed, and mentally inspired by a break, where just life itself feels rich.
Penny Brown - Review
Chris and Helen have cultivated the perfect retreat in one of the most beautiful, historic, and unspoilt parts of the world. Watching the sunrise over the sea from my balcony each morning, followed by a relaxed breakfast in a true home-away-from-home, set the tone for each day. The cycling was challenging but stunning, and the smooth road surface, friendly drivers, local coffee shops and authentic tavernas, not to mention the stop-offs at sites steeped in history and the promise of a dip in the sea and a kilo of wine at the end of the day, made every ride exceptionally rewarding.
Chris and Helen have immersed themselves so well into the community that I rarely felt like a tourist. We were greeted by locals at every turn, and I was even handed a freshly picked orange by a motorcyclist to encourage me while climbing one of the steeper inclines on a hot afternoon. Evenings were spent in local tavernas, enjoying live music and hearing tales of Epidavros that matched the historic legends of the area.
Other highlights include snorkelling the sunken city, walking through orange groves, shopping in Nafplio, and taking a break from cycling at Methana volcano by sitting in a natural jacuzzi overlooking the Aegean sea.
This is a retreat to rival the nearby ancient Sanctuary of Asklepios - the world’s first health sanctuary - stunning scenery, nourishing food, great entertainment and company, crystal waters, and unbelievably challenging yet rewarding cycling.
The reality is even better than described! I will certainly be making more pilgrimages here in the years to come! ”
Penny Brown
GALLERY
THE PELOPONNESE - AN OUTDOOR PARADISE, JUST 1.30HR FROM ATHENS.
Our Gravel rides are in association with ALPKIT SONDER bikes.
