Hawick honeymooner's repatriation 'relief' after running hours to escape Rhodes' raging wildfires

25.07.23 AILSA GRAHAM Credit: STV
Ailsa Graham of Hawick was forced to cut her honeymoon short as she fled wildfires raging across the Greek island of Rhodes. Credit: STV News

A honeymooner's romantic break of a lifetime took a turn for the worse when raging Rhodes wildfires left her running for hours from village to village in search of safety.

Ailsa Graham, of Hawick, said it was a “relief” to get back home early after her honeymoon came to an abrupt end with temperatures on the Greek island hitting as high as 38.9 degrees Celsius.

Speaking with STV News, Ms Graham said: “It was very worrying. We were at our hotel and we got a notification to say to evacuate. However, the hotel staff were trying to convince us that it was safe.

"So we just took it upon our self to pack our suitcase and just go for it."

  • Honeymooner, Ailsa Graham, spoke with STV News

"We were told to head onto this beach, but we could just see the fire was coming and coming, it wasn’t stopping. So we just took it upon our self to just keep walking, running pretty much most of the way to the next village which was a good two hours of running.

"We found another hotel, they had no rooms for the night but we were safe – for half an hour then we had to flee again."

Holiday companies, including TUI, Jet2 and Thomas Cook have cancelled package holidays due to depart to the Greek island over the coming days. British Airways and EasyJet are among companies who have also cancelled flights.

The Foreign Office’s website informs tourists planning to travel to Rhodes that they should check with their travel operator or hotel before travelling, to make sure that their visit would not be affected by the wildfires.

TUI cancelled package holidays to the Greek island of Rhodes due to the danger caused by the wildfires. Credit: PA

Ms Graham added: “We managed to get lots of help from the locals, including getting dropped off in a pick up truck, then we managed to get this bus by miracle. It took us from the other side of the island, in another two hour journey back to the airport.

“We kept trying different hotels who told us they were full. But yeah, we were really lucky that we found another couple who we bunked with. We shared a triple room between four of us. A complete stranger couple, but it was a godsend that we found them.

“We managed to get flights home today, a day earlier than we planned. So our honeymoon was cut short.

“It’s just such a relief, we just wanted to get home as soon as we could. Saturday feels like a long time ago.”