The Golden Step

A Walk through the Heart of Crete
By Christopher Somerville

The famous walking-correspondent undertakes a gruelling hike from the East to the West of Crete, relying entirely on a rather dodgy map, a compass and a walking stick. And, of course, on the famed hospitality of the Cretans.

For Christopher Somerville this was a kind of pilgrimage, a journey unlike any he had undertaken in 20 years of travel-writing.  It was an expedition where he traded the usual comforts and certainties for a real physical and mental challenge, with no mobile phone or any other technological aids. The only plan for his journey was to begin in the East at Easter and finish at Whitsun in the extreme West, at the Monastery of the Golden Step - whose gold step, legend says, can only be seen by those who have purged themselves into purity.

    During his 300-mile walk, he tackeled four mountain ranges, high slopes and the numerous gorges of the West. Speaking only basic Greek and trying to follow a poorly way-marked path he had to rely on his own instincts when climbing mountain passes and crossing high plateaux, farming and shepherding country, where villages are scarce and each night's accommodation was uncertain. He saw a Crete not many tourists encounter.

‘Somerville adores Crete . . . The Golden Step is the culmination of that love affair. We cross the magnificent Cretan mountains at Somerville’s side, meet the “real Cretans” and revel in village celebrations and impromptu taverna music sessions. Somerville’s evocative poems are seeded throughout a text that’s as readable and pacy as a novel.’

Nicola Iseard, The Daily Express

'A finely written memoir... A more absorbing book about Crete - and indeed middle-age - is unlikely to come along for a while.'

Daily Telegraph

'By way of criticism, I have non... The Golden Step is a book which should be read by everybody who loves great travel literature'

Stelios Jackson, The Hellenic Bookservice

Christopher Somerville  is a writer, journalist, presenter and the author of many books. He has been Walking Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, featuring 15 years of 'Walk of the Month'. He has devised and presented over 100 'Somerville's Walks' for Anglia Television and 'Coast' for the BBC.