WHEN they came to shoot the film adaptation of the Abba musical, a feelgood Greek island set was essential. The forested island of Skopelos in the northern Aegean Sporades group became the principal set for the film starring Pierce Brosnan, Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Meryl Streep.

The cast can be seen dashing across white beaches to plunge into a sparkling sea or singing the big numbers en masse at epic locations, such as the rocktop monastery of Agios Ioannis.

Skopelos is a half-hour hop by hydrofoil from Skiathos, which is a three-hour charter flight from London. My family has owned a house on the island since 1971, when the closest airport was Athens and ferries stopped once a week. I visit most summers with friends and family. Some come for the walks or medieval monasteries, but we tend to holiday like Greeks: lazy days at the beach and evenings in town.

The house is in the capital, Skopelos town, which climbs back from the port in a picture-book tumble of whitewashed houses and churches, blue doors and bougainvillea. On the waterfront are newer cafés, restaurants and boutiques, favourites with the Athenians who return each year.

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Alongside the recent tourist-geared businesses are old-time local institutions: the banks and town hall, and Demotiki Kafeneon, the no-frills state-subsidised café where old men talk politics and drink coffee.

When I spend time on the island with friends, we usually breakfast on yoghurt and fruit at one of the less austere cafés before taking a late-morning bus to the beach. The buses are cheap and efficient and make car hire unnecessary. They run from the port to Glossa, the island's hill-top second town and cover miles of coastal views - sea, sky, pine and white-grey bedrock - plus all the main beaches.

The first en route, Stafylos, is a ten-minute drive from town. It is also the site of the tomb of a Minoan prince, Stafylos, no trace of which can be seen, however. Despite its 3,000-year history and a wealth of intact architecture, the island has no significant ancient ruins - arguably no bad thing: visitors see the real historic Greece, not a vast museum.

We usually skip this beach, however, in favour of quieter Agnondas - ten minutes farther on, and the base for the Mamma Mia! crew.

Here a small shingle beach nestles in a natural harbour. Yacht crews stop here for the two excellent tavernas and bar that cluster close to a fishing jetty. We often lunch at one of these. The seafood is meant to be best, but, as a vegetarian, I opt for the cheap bean and tomato salads, and crusty bread. Well fed, we sunbathe and read - then swim in the sheltered sea.

One of the Mamma Mia! crew's hang-outs, Limnonari, is a scenic 15- minute walk from Agnondas with no bus access. The white-sand beach, flanked by forested hills, is an excellent place to laze in relative seclusion - but with tavernas near by.

Most of the film's locations are smaller beaches well off the beaten track. My favourite, Perivoli, on the sparsely inhabited north coast, has an almost Cornish feel, with jagged rocks and windswept flora. The beach can be reached by taxi or hire car and combined with a few hours in nearby Glossa. There, lunch on the terrace of Agnanti is a must.

Another excellent restaurant is Ouzeria Anatoli, simple and outdoors, within the low-walled ruins of the Venetian citadel at the highest point of Skopelos town. Rustic food, local wine, wide views and sea air combine to awesome effect with the rembetika of the musician-owner.

Mamma Mia! is on general release next week

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