Rou Estate Tour

Rou

Time: 11:00 The tour for this estate is now fully booked.

Rou was a hamlet probably occupied year-round from sometime in the mid 1800s. The people who lived here originally came from the mainland but the community developed because there was good quarrying stone here and Rou is surrounded by old quarries. Rou was abandoned over 50 years ago when the modern conveniences of electricity and running water came to Porta. Rou had neither, relying on cisterns for their water supply so the lure of these luxuries meant everyone left.

Architect Dominic Skinner visited in the early 2000s and was won over by the spectacular views across the Corfu Straits to the mountains of Albania, and pure romance of the place, set among dry stone terraces and wild flower filled rustic glades. He decided to take it on as a restoration project in 2003, and with the help of Greek and Albanian stonemasons he began to restore the houses.

The gardens were designed by Jennifer Gay, they seamlessly blend with the surrounding landscape, celebrating the wild flora that once flourished on the site. Many of the original plants and trees are still thriving at Rou. 

The new plants had to be native or quintessentially Mediterranean; they had to fit the character and colour of the locality both climatically and aesthetically. Plants had to be drought tolerant, but able to withstand winter cold; and a range of flowering plants for as long a season as possible for visitors of all kinds, both guests and pollinators.

The Rou Estate gardens are a sanctuary where nature and design coexist in perfect harmony, offering a space to reconnect with the beauty of the island and experience Corfu in its most authentic form.

Bookings

This tour is available upon booking only. Please email cgfbooking@gmail.com to reserve your place. Max 4 places per booking. Numbers strictly limited.

The tour for this estate is now fully booked.

Directions

We strongly advise not setting your GPS to Rou from the start, as this may direct you along a very rough gravel road. Instead, we recommend driving to Porta first. From there, you can either use your GPS or continue driving through Porta, heading northwest and following the S-bend. Shortly after, you’ll see a small turning on the left signposted for Rou.

Follow this road for approximately 3 kilometres until you reach a fork, then take the turning towards Rou.