Our Reflections on the Life of Martin Jeffes
Barry and Margaret Williamson
January 2026
January 2026
Sadly Martin passed away peacefully on Monday 19th of January 2026, after facing a long illness with fortitude and dignity. Here are our reflections on Martin's life as we knew him and below that are links to eight collections of his writing and two collections of photographs.
The Privilege of Knowing Martin Jeffes
On Friday 23rd January 2026 Matt Jeffes wrote to let us know that his father, Martin, had peacefully passed away following a long illness, bravely borne. We felt an immediate and huge sense of loss, having known and admired Martin’s life and accomplishments since we first drove into his newly opened campsite in the far southeastern corner of Bulgaria on Tuesday 29 June 2008. Having just completed an 89-day circumnavigation of Turkey we spent the next 92 days at the campsite, to which we happily returned several times for prolonged stays during our travels in the intervening years.
Links to some of Martin’s writings are given below, writing we were privileged to receive, which gives some insight into the breadth and depth of his interests, reading and achievements. In early retirement, travelling through Bulgaria towards the Turkish border with his wife Shirley, he parked their caravan for a night or two in the tiny hill village of Kolarovo. They went on to settle there for many years, building a house and pool in that village, whilst founding a successful campsite in the nearby village of Biser on the main highway route to both Turkey and Greece.
Many thousands of intrepid travellers to this extreme end of Europe have received a warm and welcome greeting on the Sakar Hills campsite, named by Martin after the nearby area of rural vineyards and wineries, and now managed by Matt in the same spirit. This is where the former 7,000 km (4,300-mile) Iron Curtain ended and where contrasting and ancient civilisations meet: the Bulgarian, the Greek and the Turkish. There are few singular points in the whole of Europe where three countries meet, and they all have histories of conflict among the mix of cultures and language. Kapka Kassabova’s book Border- A Journey to the Edge of Europe is based on her life growing up in this enigmatic region, in the company of ‘border guards and treasure hunters, entrepreneurs and botanists, refugees and smugglers.’
Martin became fluent in Bulgarian, practising on his neighbour Stefka the Mayor in Kolarovo, and he was at the heart of the local expatriate community. He used his beloved Land Rovers to explore the many traces left behind by Thracian (Greek) and Roman civilisations, long before the Bulgars and the Ottomans invaded and occupied, and we were very fortunate to share in many an archaeological excursion. In contrast he sang and played guitar, sometimes forming an impressive duet with his son Matt, performing in public when the opportunity arose. How well we remember them both at the local Strings and Poets festival, dubbed ‘Harmanli’s got Talent’. In addition to a full life in Bulgaria, Martin travelled in Europe and Turkey, even exploring southwest Australia during visits to his son Ben, who had made a new life with the police force in Perth.
Martin displayed enthusiastic gardening skills, growing fruit and vegetables in Kolarovo and then at the house in Hythe where we last met him in June 2024. Typically we benefited from his deep knowledge of his surroundings, taken on a car tour of Romney Marsh and Dungeness, with an excellent lunch at the Ferry Inn at Stone-in-Oxney. He was a man who really belonged wherever he was!
Matt wrote that it was his dad’s wish that we must not be sad at his passing and that we should “raise a glass, put on some Bob Dylan or Joan Baez and reminisce of Merlot, sunshine and the wonderful times we have shared”. We have raised the parting glass, yet there remains a gap, an emptiness in our lives where Martin once existed, though it is filled with memories that still inspire us to live life to the full – while we may.
Read his words, see him in the photographs and grasp something of the man we admired and felt proud to call a friend. A loving family man, entrepreneur and pragmatist to the end.
Here are links to some of Martin's writing and many photographs associated with his life as we knew him.
Martin's Christmas Letter 2024
Martin in Bulgaria and the Balkans
Martin in England
Martin in Australia
Martin in his Land Rovers
Grapevines One and Two
Grapevine Three
Grapevine Four
In 129 Pictures: Building the Sakar Hills Campsite
In 100 Pictures: Martin Living a Full Life
On Friday 23rd January 2026 Matt Jeffes wrote to let us know that his father, Martin, had peacefully passed away following a long illness, bravely borne. We felt an immediate and huge sense of loss, having known and admired Martin’s life and accomplishments since we first drove into his newly opened campsite in the far southeastern corner of Bulgaria on Tuesday 29 June 2008. Having just completed an 89-day circumnavigation of Turkey we spent the next 92 days at the campsite, to which we happily returned several times for prolonged stays during our travels in the intervening years.
Links to some of Martin’s writings are given below, writing we were privileged to receive, which gives some insight into the breadth and depth of his interests, reading and achievements. In early retirement, travelling through Bulgaria towards the Turkish border with his wife Shirley, he parked their caravan for a night or two in the tiny hill village of Kolarovo. They went on to settle there for many years, building a house and pool in that village, whilst founding a successful campsite in the nearby village of Biser on the main highway route to both Turkey and Greece.
Many thousands of intrepid travellers to this extreme end of Europe have received a warm and welcome greeting on the Sakar Hills campsite, named by Martin after the nearby area of rural vineyards and wineries, and now managed by Matt in the same spirit. This is where the former 7,000 km (4,300-mile) Iron Curtain ended and where contrasting and ancient civilisations meet: the Bulgarian, the Greek and the Turkish. There are few singular points in the whole of Europe where three countries meet, and they all have histories of conflict among the mix of cultures and language. Kapka Kassabova’s book Border- A Journey to the Edge of Europe is based on her life growing up in this enigmatic region, in the company of ‘border guards and treasure hunters, entrepreneurs and botanists, refugees and smugglers.’
Martin became fluent in Bulgarian, practising on his neighbour Stefka the Mayor in Kolarovo, and he was at the heart of the local expatriate community. He used his beloved Land Rovers to explore the many traces left behind by Thracian (Greek) and Roman civilisations, long before the Bulgars and the Ottomans invaded and occupied, and we were very fortunate to share in many an archaeological excursion. In contrast he sang and played guitar, sometimes forming an impressive duet with his son Matt, performing in public when the opportunity arose. How well we remember them both at the local Strings and Poets festival, dubbed ‘Harmanli’s got Talent’. In addition to a full life in Bulgaria, Martin travelled in Europe and Turkey, even exploring southwest Australia during visits to his son Ben, who had made a new life with the police force in Perth.
Martin displayed enthusiastic gardening skills, growing fruit and vegetables in Kolarovo and then at the house in Hythe where we last met him in June 2024. Typically we benefited from his deep knowledge of his surroundings, taken on a car tour of Romney Marsh and Dungeness, with an excellent lunch at the Ferry Inn at Stone-in-Oxney. He was a man who really belonged wherever he was!
Matt wrote that it was his dad’s wish that we must not be sad at his passing and that we should “raise a glass, put on some Bob Dylan or Joan Baez and reminisce of Merlot, sunshine and the wonderful times we have shared”. We have raised the parting glass, yet there remains a gap, an emptiness in our lives where Martin once existed, though it is filled with memories that still inspire us to live life to the full – while we may.
Read his words, see him in the photographs and grasp something of the man we admired and felt proud to call a friend. A loving family man, entrepreneur and pragmatist to the end.
Here are links to some of Martin's writing and many photographs associated with his life as we knew him.
Martin's Christmas Letter 2024
Martin in Bulgaria and the Balkans
Martin in England
Martin in Australia
Martin in his Land Rovers
Grapevines One and Two
Grapevine Three
Grapevine Four
In 129 Pictures: Building the Sakar Hills Campsite
In 100 Pictures: Martin Living a Full Life