IMDb Link: “Who Pays the Ferryman?” Return to Yesterday (TV Episode 1977) – IMDb
Synopsis: Alan Haldane, an Englishman, returns to Crete, where he fought with the Greek Andartes (partisans) in World War II, to reunite with a girl he met there, called Melina. He meets Annika and is instantly attracted to her. He meets his old friend from the war, Babis, who tells him that Melina had passed away and that he had a child with her, called Elena. Haldane moves out to Crete to be near her (whilst not telling her that they’re related), as he has nothing back home in England.
The episode starts with an Olympic Airways Boeing 737-200 “ΑΙΑΣ” (“AIAS” – hero of the Trojan War), registration SX-BCD, landing at Crete’s Heraklion International Airport, runway 27.
Location: Heraklion International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The aircraft approaches from the east over the water as seen in the opening clip.
A short clip of the interior of this particular aircraft can be seen here – the newspaper being read is from 28th June 1977:
The next (panning) shot shows the old style airport terminal.
Haldane alights from the airstairs. Notice the control tower and the two red and white poles – these are floodlights for the apron.
The two (leftmost) poles are visible in the departure photo below in front of the control tower, but the terminal building has been extended and re-clad. The pole on the right is the one behind the person marshalling the aircraft to its’ parking spot on the apron, screenshot above.
In the below Bing Maps screenshot, I have outlined where the aircraft would’ve been parked, the three floodlight pylons, and the control tower.
This is what the airport looks like airside nowadays.
The following is a short video I took whilst airside at Heraklion.
Haldane goes inside and collects his luggage. It’s not possible to get a view of the interior of the airport from back in ’77 unfortunately.
The two men are sat at a cafe off Eleftherias Square in Heraklion, with the Cine Astoria (now called the Astoria Cinema) behind. To the right of the cinema (off-screen) is the hotel Haldane ends up at.
Location: Eleftherias (Freedom) Square, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
In the screenshot below, this view is looking up Idomeneos Street from Eleftherias Square.
The central square is behind the man on the right (where the phone box is located in the screenshot above). So they are sat at the cafe’s on the perimeter. In the screenshot below of the second time he looks onto the square, the seating area is visible. In the below Street View, the Astoria Cinema has the orange frontage.
Haldane gets a cab from the airport to a hotel in Heraklion town. The taxi ends up at the Astoria Hotel, now called the Capsis Astoria Heraklion. This website has some nice historic photos of the hotel and cinema next door.
Location: Capsis Astoria Heraklion Hotel, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The kiosk outside the hotel is visible in the Google Street View from 2014, unfortunately in the more recent 2022 view it is no longer there, and has been moved next door to the hotel. Where the lady is sat smoking and drinking coffee is next door to the hotel, which currently looks disused. The building in the background with the glass panes (the Heraklion Archaeological Museum) is still there.
The following is a short video I took of the Astoria Cinema and Hotel, visible in the sequence above:
Haldane goes up to his room…
…goes to the balcony and looks across Eleftherias (Freedom) Square.
Here’s a similar view from the same website above. This was probably taken around the same timeframe as the serial, as Eleftherias Square looks the same and hasn’t been remodelled yet.
He is looking across the square towards the statue of Eleftherios Venizelos (circled in the screen grab above). The statue is on St. George Gate, which forms part of the old Venetian wall of Heraklion.
The above shot of Haldane looking towards the statue is the first of two shots from the balcony. In the image below, this shot is denoted by the arrow to the bottom right towards the statue. The second shot is towards the area where the 2 men were sat at a café with the Astoria Cinema in the background.
This is the second shot of him looking out of his hotel window onto Eleftherias Square. This is looking to his right from his viewpoint on his hotel room balcony position above.
The above cafes and buildings have been built upon, but this location is instantly recognisable, predominantly because of the small corner building on the bend which still looks largely the same today.
Incidentally, the big sign displaying the word ‘δομη’ is an advertisement for Domi Encyclopaedias, and the white building to the left of it is the Café ΝΤΟΡΕ (NTORE), which is now an upmarket restaurant.
This part of Eleftherias Square is featured in the video below, from a home video recording from 1975, 12 seconds in.
This is where Haldane has a flashback to the conversation with his brother before leaving for Crete. This conversation is in a house in the Heybridge Basin, at Lock Hill, Maldon, Essex.
Location: 1 Lock Hill, Heybridge Basin, Maldon, Essex, UK
Status: Confirmed
The following is a photo from local estate agents Zoe Napier. The property, called ‘Miranda Cottage’ was on the market in 2020 for £320,000. More information from the estate agents can be found in this blog post.
Here’s a short video I took of this property.
He goes to see his “brother” from the war, Babis, who has an office in Heraklion.
Location: 25th August Street at intersection with Epimenidou Street, facing southbound, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This is located on 25th August Street, walking southbound. In the shot above, Babis’ office is where the Doric columns are just after the Budget rent-a-car. Where Budget was, is now a branch of Chania Bank.
He finds Babis’ office.
Location: 19-21 25th August Street, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
Babis is away, so Haldane goes to rent a car to drive up to the mountains to the olive groves where he fought, and to the Kera monastery. The rent a car company he ends up at (Kafetzakis rent-a-car) was established the same year as the serial was made (1977) and was a less than a minute’s walk from Babis’ office. Note the old building that fills the background in the below screenshot.
Location: Antoniou Patros Street, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This old building behind is still standing, hidden by the new one that was built on the same plot of land as the rent-a-car stood.
Location: Epimenidou Street, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The walk from Babis’ office to the rent-a-car office is a 1 minute walk.
I emailed Kafetzakis Rent-a-Car and the son of the original owner at the time of filming now ran the company. When I showed him the below photo he was able to tell me exactly where the lot was, but couldn’t tell me whether that Opel Kadett, registration ZA-1736, was one of theirs. The company has since moved further down Epimenidou Street to the east, and as you will see, a new building has been built in its’ place.
This view is down Antoniou Patros Street at the junction with Epimenidou Street. The church dome in the distance is Ayios Titos. Unfortunately a shopping centre has since been erected that gets in the way of the dome, but this shot shows just how much camera lenses foreshorten the distance of background objects. We’ll see this a lot in the series.
In the Google map image above, I’ve marked Haldane’s entrance to the rent a car with a left-hand arrow top left. The camera view is the long line pointing down Antoniou Patros Street. The church dome is circled bottom, but looks closer than it actually is in the programme.
Here’s a video I took of Babis’ office and the rent-a-car locations:
Once he rents the car, he drives up 25th August Street (which nowadays is pedestrianised)…
Location: 25th August Street, Heraklion, Crete
Status: Confirmed
…and at the roundabout turns right.
This is a short video of the location above.
He follows Motorway 90 east. The first shot of him driving on the motorway is in Selinari Canyon.
Location: Motorway 90, Selinari Canyon travelling north-west, Crete
Status: Confirmed
If you look at the map below, the scene matches if you go north-westbound. The concrete armco barrier is there, as well as the sliproad opposite. This joins the old E75 motorway and also leads to St. Nicholas church.
The concrete wall from the screen grab is visible in the Google Street View image below.
The shot matches if you zoom in from the below Street View up in the mountains. You really need maximum zoom as this is from quite far away.
This is a short video of the above location, as shot from the mountain roads above the motorway.
The second shot of him driving is through Vrachasi Tunnel to the west of Neapolis on the same road (west to east).
Location: Vrachasi Tunnel, Motorway 90, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This Street View is from the mouth of the tunnel.
From the elevated camera position in the screenshot above, the pin shows where the camera would’ve been placed – the path that runs across the top of the entrance to the tunnel.
This is a short video of me driving through the tunnel in the same direction.
The car exits the tunnel. Again, this scene was from a path that goes over the mouth of the tunnel – it’s the only way to get such height on the shot.
The location in the following screen grabs was very difficult to find. In this scene, there is an awful lot of flat land so Haldane looks to be driving near the coast, and the surrounding area is very underdeveloped.
The three screen grabs are taken from a very short sequence which only lasts a few seconds. However, after finding the location of the hotel in the third screen grab, we can drive back down the same street in Google Street View and find the building below.
In the following shot, we see this building. If you look closely, you will notice that the concrete overhangs don’t go all the way to the edge of the building. Also, above the upper floor windows, you can just make out small arches. This looks very much like the building behind what is now the Oasis Pool Bar, called Oasis Studios.
Location: Oasis Studios, Dimokratias Street, Malia, Crete
Status: Unconfirmed
This is just after the hotel in the previous screen grab, and is completely unrecognisable now.
In the distance is what looks like a hotel under construction. Hotels of this size and design aren’t usually inland.
Location: Sirens Beach Hotel, view from Dimokratias Street, Malia, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This is the Sirens Beach Hotel in Malia. I found the following photo online which is from the same general angle, albeit higher up, so Haldane is driving north on Dimokratias Street in Malia. The features of the hotel are very similar (number of floors, windows, concrete posts at the middle angles, detail on the roof etc). It would also explain the lack of built-up area, as the Sirens Beach is in the newer tourist area right next to the sea, and is well north of the old town. In 1977 this would have largely been empty space.
Then Haldane drives up into the mountains.
Location: Outside the village of Ano Amigdaloi, Neapoli to Hersonissos Road, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This location looks to be just outside the village of Ano Amigdali, near to the Meligala location from Episode 6. In the screenshots above, Ano Amigdali is the village in the background at the start of the panning shot, with the lone building above the others being Agios Nektarios church.
In the Google Street View below, I have had to show the view from further round the bend in order to make the village and ridge of mountains in the distance more visible, due to the undergrowth now at the edge of the road.
Here’s a short video of this location.
He stops for a flock of sheep to be herded cross the road, then continues his journey.
Location: Old Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos Road near Selinari Canyon, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The ‘smooth’ section of rock behind Haldane is clearly visible in the Street View below. This is just north of Annika’s house, parallel to the motorway, far from where the previous scene was shot.
That ‘path’ coming down the side of the mountain looks like it’s made of concrete if you zoom into it.
He parks just north of a house and climbs the bank near the trees and meets Annika for the first time.
Location: Old Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos Road outside Vrachasi, Crete
Status: Confirmed
It looks like there’s a path or steps of some sort hidden in the hillside.
He speaks to Annika for the first time in what is the back garden of her house, and she invites him in for a drink.
After their conversation inside the house, where Haldane is also introduced to Matheos, he is seen out by Annika through the front gate, whilst she goes to see him off from the veranda above the garage.
The attraction is evident between them both.
On his way back to the car, this long shot shows that the car is parked in the lay-by just north of the house, between the “leaving Vrachasi” sign and the 40kph speed limit sign further ahead.
When he leaves, he drives to the Monastery Panagia Kera Kardiotissa in Kera.
Location: Old Neapolis to Hersonissos Road, south of Kera
Status: Confirmed
The road and large rock formation to the left are just visible through the foliage by the roadside. You’ll need to go back to a previous year’s Street View as the foliage from the 2025 view has largely obstructed the view now.
This is actually the other side of the Monastery to Annika’s house.
He continues his drive to Kera Monastery.
Location: Old Neapolis to Hersonissos Road, north of Kera
Status: Confirmed
He finally reaches the Monastery.
Location: Panagia Kera Kardiotissa Monastery, Kera, Crete
Status: Confirmed
This is a short video I took of the monastery.
The next shot seems to suggest that this is the next day…
This is Agioi Pantes, which is a pair of islands off the north-eastern tip of Agios Nikolaos. This same shot is used in episode 2.
When he leaves the Monastery, he is just to the north of it, driving south towards it.
Location: Old Neapolis to Hersonissos Road, north of Kera
Status: Confirmed
Roza Gorge is the rocky formation on the left, the cream coloured rocks above the road and mountain are visible in the Google Street View below.
He eats at a restaurant on the way back down to the coast.
Location: Vrachasi Cafe Mezedopolio, Vrachasi, Crete
Status: Confirmed
Note the staircase behind Haldane, to the side of the building.
This is the Vrachasi Cafe Mezedopolio in Vrachasi, actually just down the road from Annika’s house.
Where the gentlemen sit is actually across the street from where Haldane is seated, directly outside the restaurant. There are tables on the other side of the road that belong to the taverna (and possibly to the restaurant directly beside it, called Kivernitis). The mountains behind the seated customers match.
Nowadays, this is a covered area.
This is the view that Haldane would’ve had from his table. The gentlemen were seated across the road.
He then reminisces on his past further by driving down to the coast. I’ve located the mountain range behind in the next photo, he’s on the Elounda side of Mirabello Bay looking across it towards Kavousi, most probably from Ayios Nikolaos. I do recall on a past visit to Ayios Nikolaos in the 1980s that there were lots of these rectangular blocks, somehow they largely seem to be gone now.
Location: Akti Papa Nikolaou Pagalou, Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Status: Unconfirmed
The only rectangular blocks like this that I can find nowadays are on the southern edge of Akti Papa Nicolaou Pagalou in Ayios Nikolaos, although much of it looks like it’s been removed to make way for the recently-built headland and sculpture there.
In the next shot, he’s further down the coast. His car is parked south of Ammoudara Beach. Notice the white patch in the mountains across Mirabello Bay to the right of Haldane’s shoulder.
He observes a WWII pillbox, bringing back memories of his time in Crete during the war. From researching these pillboxes, this particular one looks Italian rather than German. The Italians occupied Crete and were based in specific areas in the East of the island, which could help us narrow down the location. Dr. Alexandros Roniotis of cretanbeaches.com kindly asked around for me, and his contacts think it could be near the Almiros Beach area just to the south of Ayios Nikolaos.
This shot could also be from a completely different place, just edited in to make it look like Haldane is looking up at it.
Location: Unknown
Status: N/A
After Haldane looks at the pillbox and photo of Melina, he gets in his car and drives off. Noticeable here is the rock formation in the sea and the white buildings in the distance on the other side of the bay.
Location: Old Agios Nikolaos to Sitia road, near the Karma Minoan resort, Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The car looks to be parked across the road from what is now the Karma Minoan resort. The same white patch in the mountains is visible in the distance, and the rock formation in the sea is exactly the same.
A contact in Crete says this could be the location of the pillbox (but would still require verification obviously):
The following looks similar but has been extensively restored. This is just south of Plaka.
He then drives back to Annika’s house to see her, where an already-envious Matheos notices her excitement at his return. This shot looks to have been taken from the house, and shows the same bend where the Opel was parked on Haldane’s previous visit.
This is, of course, facing away from Annika’s house. The mountains are the key here. The large one in the centre is the same as the one behind the people at the restaurant where he eats earlier.
At dinner that evening, Haldane makes advances toward Annika, but is reminded that if his stay here is temporary then there is nothing to be gained from what they would do.
Haldane returns to Heraklion and meets Babis in his office. Initially, Babis is cold towards him, however after discussing the letters between him and Melina and her pregnancy, Babis realises that Haldane was indeed genuine in his intention to come back and be with her. Haldane is also told of his daughter Elena. He wants to continue the discussion but Babis is interrupted as there is a client waiting to see him.
Matheos visits Katerina Matakis at her home and tells her an Englishman called Alan Haldane visited her daughter’s home, which causes her some distress.
She is supposed to live in Neapolis, although we never actually see the front of the house in the series, just a drive and archway that people walk through. From studying every approach sequence to the house in every episode, I have found that this location is in fact the Monastery of Kremasta near Vryses (where the post-crash sequence happens).
Location: Kremasta Monastery, Neapolis, Crete
Status: Confirmed
Here is a wider shot of the doorway from another episode.
And here is this location today. Apart from the cladding it’s pretty similar to how it was. The archway, telegraph pole and door to the right (in front of the FIAT) are all visible and recognisable from the series. For the other scenes showing steps and other angles, these were taken from the other side of the doorway in the photo below.
In the scenes where Matheos goes through the doorway and up the stairs, this is from the other side of the door, and the building he walks behind is the one on the upper level to the right.
When Haldane meets Babis for dinner and they dance the Pentozali (which is a traditional Cretan dance), they are in a taverna. In the novelisation, this is noted as being in a taverna on the outskirts of Heraklion. However, from speaking to Andrew Morgan, he said that it was in a taverna on the perimeter of Limni Voulismeni, in Ayios Nikolaos. It’s a restaurant the crew ate at whilst there. Note the smooth floor, and what looks like bamboo on the walls behind the crowd, and in the last photo, the patio doors.
Location: Unknown
Status: N/A
Note the tiles on the wall behind Babis – they are sitting at the bar inside the taverna. Previously when they stopped dancing, they sat next to the dance floor, which I assume was still outside. They look like they’re now inside the premises.
After Haldane finds out the whereabouts of his daughter Elena, he drives to Elounda to see her.
Location: Agios Nicholas to Vrouchas Road heading north, Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Status: Confirmed
Here’s a short video of me driving on this very same stretch of road.
He ends up at the Taverna Vassilakis, now known as the Ferryman Taverna.
Location: Behind what is now Ferryman Taverna, Elounda, Crete
Status: Confirmed
Nowadays, the waterside is a covered seating area.
He parks on the quay behind it, and takes in the sights of the quaint fishing village.
The shot above was taken from the seafront behind the taverna. The small village in the hills surrounded by woodland is Mavrikiano.
A lady washes clothes in the sea water, watched by two children.
The steps in the screenshot above are located outside the Elounda Coastguard Headquarters. They’ve largely been covered by the extended pedestrian walkway but the bottom two steps are still visible.
In this shot, it looks as though another floor is being built on what is now the Ferryman Taverna, or the building next to it (nowadays called The Olondi) is under construction.
He enters the taverna and after speaking to Elena and Nikos, realises that they are quarrelling about something.
I visited the Taverna in August 2024, and took these short videos.
On exiting the taverna, we see the space next to it is empty, and the foundations are there for other buildings along the seafront. The stairs beside the taverna will feature very often in the serial.
Haldane then walks to the seafront to take in the sights, say hello to a couple of fishermen and check out the old abandoned boat. This is also where he bumps into Alexi, whom he realises is his grandson.
Interestingly, we also see Haldanes future apartment in the background, but the building beside it is a mystery.
Babis tells him what the problem is that is causing so much argument between Nikos and Elena, so Haldane calls his brother from his hotel to sell his house – he’s seen enough to make some sort of commitment to his daughter.
Notice the headboard in the following photo. This doesn’t look like the same hotel room as when he landed in Heraklion, even though the walls are again a slight green colour. The cast and crew were staying in Agios Nikolaos whilst production was under way, so this was probably been filmed there. Checking the scenes of the taverna’s upstairs rooms in other episodes, this doesn’t look like one of those either.
Location: Unconfirmed
Status: N/A
He visits Annika to tell her he’s staying, but she’s not home.
So he then returns to the taverna to have a drink, where he runs into her.
She tells him that Elena is her niece, and Haldane is instantly shocked as he realises he has now fallen for Melina’s sister. He tells her that he’ll be staying in Crete indefinitely, which tells her that he’s not on the island for a simple fling, and that he’s implying he is open to starting a relationship.
The episode ends with Katerina Matakis handling the love letters between Melina and Haldane, and slamming her fist on the table.
The credits roll in front of this image.
Location: Elounda Bay, Elounda, Crete
Status: Confirmed
The shot looks to have been taken from around this area – possibly off the pier in the Street View below. The horizon matches. The main mountainous area in the background is Kalydon, with the small tree-lined headland and mountain on the very left being the mainland.
Credits
| Alan Haldane | Jack Hedley |
| Annika Zeferis | Betty Arvaniti |
| Matheos Noukakis | Takis Emmanuel |
| Katerina Matakis | Patience Collier |
| Babis Spiridakis | Neil McCarthy |
| David Haldane | Bernard Brown |
| Elena Vassilakis | Maria Sokali |
| Nikos Vassilakis | Nikos Verlekis |
| Alexis Vassilakis | Alexis Sergis |
| Georgios | Lambros Kotsiris |
| Ariadne | Marina Sirtis |
| Production Assistants | Andrew Morgan |
| Michael McDermott | |
| Production Unit Managers | Colin Dudley |
| Petros Raptis | |
| Costume Designer | Tudor George |
| Make Up Artist | Gwen Arthy |
| Studio Lighting | Barry Hill |
| Studio Sound | Ramon Bailey |
| Film Cameraman | Max Samett |
| Film Recordist | Arthur Chesterman |
| Film Editor | Bill Shapter |
| Composer | Yannis Markopoulos |
| Series Creator | Michael J. Bird |
| Designer | Myles Lang |
| Producer | William Slater |
Who Pays The Ferryman? Locations Page 