Author: freedombird

Saturday 3rd October 2026 – a wander into the old town of Bolsena….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

A very peaceful night last night, not that we have been bothered by the business of the previous two large campsites or indeed the murmur of the waves but it was noticeably quieter here. A beautiful day dawned and a little cooler or fresher here, not sure which but temps around mid twenties so quite doable.

We took the footpath along the lakeside about a mile or so into Bolsena and soon joined the promenade with lake front bars and hotels and a rather random art installations….

A wide tree lined avenue led us to the old town with its narrow cobbled streets and many narrow alleyways adorned with bars, greenery and of course washing!….

The Castle Quarter towering overhead and once we had wandered around the lower town we made our way up the steep but mercifully relatively short distance up to the much quieter and even older part of town….

The castle taking the high point, overlooking the surrounding countryside and Lake Bolsena, the largest Volcanic lake in Europe….

Here too we wandered around the cobbled streets, with just a few bars and restaurants….

Making our way back down with eyes to the ground a necessity as cobbled streets lead to random cobbled steps and back into the main lower old town the street cafes and bars busier now with late lunches and afternoon drinkies…..

Enough for us as we head back along the lakeside to site, a quick change then down to the beach for a refreshing swim in the cool still waters of the lake returning a little later to see the tail of the sunset…..

Not a bad life.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beach – 1
  • O/N – £14.14

Friday 2nd October 2026 – moving inland to Lake Bolsena…

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

An early start for us as we have an appointment in nearby Grosseto to get the windscreen replaced. This was slightly endangered as I needed to wait until 9 to check out (my bad for not checking at reception until about 6.45 last night and the cashiers finish at 6 and don’t start until 9am) but it was only a short journey and we just made it on time.

Leaving the van in the garage we strolled into Grosseto, a busy but mostly light industrial town in search of an old town centre. It wasn’t the nicest place we have visited but we did find the old bit with a rather impressive church and bell tower at the head of a central plaza….

We sat for a while just people watching and killing time before collecting the van and heading on our way. As a by the whole process was quite straight forward after making contact with my insurance company, Autoglass made contact with their Italian counterpart – Carglass 🤣🤣 who made all the arrangements with a garage along my route and Voila it was done. The only casualty being the French Crit Air sticker which was not going to come off in one piece, let alone in any reusable state! According to google I should be fine as long as I can produce the original email confirmation (which I can) until I get back to the UK and order a new one.

Our journey took us down the coast a bit on the SS1 and then inland through some lush countryside and hills until we reached our destination of Bolsena, or more accurately Blu Camping Holiday Garden (ACSI) on the outskirts and lakeside. Here again I opted for shade to keep the van (and us) cool as temps reached 29 today just 50m from the lake…

We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing in the shade before taking an evening stroll along the shores of the lake and watching the sun go down…..

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 102
  • Miles walked – 7
  • O/N – £14.14

Thursday 1st October 2026 – staying local and just being….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

Lovely hot day again, I say lovely as we have no plans and can just alternate between the cool shaded van / outside and wandering along the track to the dog friendly beach for refreshing dips in the sea – what is not to like?

I have also taken some time to do a bit of planning ahead and tried to decide exactly where I want to visit. This coastline has been trickier to access /find places to stay than the Ligurian Coastline from back in May, compounded by the extremely hot temperatures we are having. I have been looking at the Italian Aires (Sostas) to give me a few more options but have found them nearly all to be in unshaded areas which in this heat will be unbearable. As such I have also found that we have had some lengthy drives through not very interesting landscapes – so am feeling more focus is required. A plan always helps.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked –
  • O/N – £18.75

Wednesday 30th September 2026 – a walk to Rochette and Roccamare….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

Today we opt to walk southwards along the cycle / footpath to take a closer look at the prominent Fort on the rocky headland that we can see along the far end of the beach. After about a mile we have to turn off the path and then cover another mile or so along the side of the road which isn’t very pleasant, though fortunately the road is not busy, to return to the coast. There actually isn’t any village here just a string of holiday parks which is a bit disappointing but Spiaggia di Rochette is a welcome sight….

Forte delle Rochette looks pretty impressive as we sit in the shade of some rocks at the waters edge to cool down….

Now that is what you call taking your work with you!!!! Strangely this stretch of coastline has been my first encounter with these beach traders in my travels around Europe. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable and soul destroying it must be just trudging up and down the beach all and everyday carrying your wares which must be heavy and most people don’t want….

Having not particularly enjoyed the walk here we opt to return via the beach which though tough walking and in the full sun is probably about half the distance….

About half way back on Spiaggia de Roccomare there are a number of bamboo roofed shelters (belonging to one of the holiday parks which is closed for the season) along the way for us to stop, sit, cool down and have a drink (as always I am armed with cold water for Tilly and a flask of coffee for me). We are in no rush….

A bit further along we have to leave the beach to cross a stream and that involves wandering through another deserted holiday parks which in the semi shade before rejoining the beach at Spiaggia Pineta di Roccomare….

Wow that was certainly a work out and a bit of recovery is required before taking a latish dip in the sea to complete our recovery before calling it a day.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • O/N – £18.75

Tuesday 29th September 2026 – a walk into the old town of Castiglione della Pescaia….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

As the sun is beating down and the beach is rather narrow with only soft sand to walk on, I opted for us to walk the couple of miles into Castiglione della Pescaia along the cycle / footpath. Not the most pleasant walk as the path is next to a fairly busy road but it was relatively shaded and cool. Once arriving in the town we took the first opportunity to join the wide promenade and walk the rest of the way to the old town along the seafront – a mix of private (paid) and open beach (Spiaggia di Sud Punta Capezzollo)….

As we approached the old town the overlooking Castello Araganse was dominating the skyline….

The promenade ended at the main Spiaggia Castiglione della Pescaia and from there we followed the river with its marina into the old town….

A pleasant town of old shabby chic buildings both residential and a mix of shops, bars and restaurants….

Unfortunately by this point the heat was beating us so we didn’t wander up to the castle, instead we found somewhere to sit in the shade and catch our breath before walking back to site the way we came, with the promise of a dip in the sea and an afternoon in the shade….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £18.75