Take a chance on Greece
SKOPELOS is the stunning Greek isle where this summer’s blockbuster movie Mamma Mia! was brought to life - by Nick Parker

And my family found there’s no better place to have a great time than the island loved by the film’s stars. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth stayed at the Skopelos ... while making the film version of the hit Abba stage show.

We lapped up the swish hotel’s Hollywood welcome for a surprisingly affordable rate during our May half-term break. On our idyllic week we discovered why the sun-kissed isle is the real star of the big movie, which opened here on Thursday.

Skopelos doubles as the fictional Greek island of "Kalokairi" in the musical about a bride’s quest to find her long-lost dad before she weds. Famed as much for its lush pine forested peaks as its unspoilt beaches, it’s known as the greenest of the Greek islands.

But its real appeal lies with the rustic charm of the locals and the total absence of the tacky brashness of gaudier Greek resorts.

We took a flight from Gatwick to the neighbouring isle of Skiathos then a 40-minute ferry to the port of Skopelos Town....

It’s a mesmerising maze of narrow cobblestone streets leading up from the harbour front, where balconies and stone steps blaze with brilliant red bougainvillea....

We spent lazy days ... pottering into town for traditional mezze meals at tavernas.

Later in the week we hired an open-topped Suzuki 4X4 to check out some of the locations featured in Mamma Mia! Many of the seaside scenes were filmed on Kastani beach, which was cordoned off especially for the shoot and had a temporary wooden jetty built.

It is one of Skopelos’s best beaches, totally unspoilt and fringed by pine forests stretching to the edge of the turquoise sea.

Our favourite beauty spot was the stunning Church of St John of the Small Castle - where the Mamma Mia! wedding scene was filmed. It’s an hour’s drive from Skopelos Town in the north east of the island but well worth the trip, if only for the spectacular views en route.

Driving along the dizzying mountain road from the northern town of Glossa, the church is a jaw-dropping sight when it first appears, perched on top of a 300 feet rock.

We climbed the 197 steps to the top of the outcrop to sample the amazing vista then cooled off in the sea after wandering down to a deserted cove below.