castle

Friday 30th October 2026 – continuing our journey north up the east coast via Trani….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

Slightly cloudy but still reasonably warm as we juggle our way out of Bari through road closures and very confusing road junctions but once clear we make good time and are soon parked up oln the outskirts of Trani. As it turns out we are parked a short distance from the local refuse centre and there is a continuous stream of vehicles arriving to dump there household waste – proof that there is an alternative to dumping it in laybys! It wasn’t the most fragrant place to park but as we have no intention of spending anytime in the van it seems as safe a place as any to park.

We quickly pass by the tip and make our way through the by now usual myriad of grubby back streets until we turn a corner and are confronted with this beautifully preserved Castello di Trani on the sea front….

Across a building site as it appears that much work is going on to create a promenade along the sea front lies the again immaculate Cattedrale di Trani – these buildings are such a contrast to the neighbourhood we have just walked through….

The fort across the harbour appears also to have had a recent face lift with works ongoing at Sant Antonio Church….

Unlike many of the other towns we have wandered around the main hub of Trani seems to be around the busy fishing harbour with fishermen selling their ware literally off the boats….

Now I am not a fishy person so most of what they were selling is beyond me but there were several buckets of octopus which certainly didn’t make me want to try it!

Only a small town we did wander back through the back streets around the harbour which were certainly a lot more appealing than they way we had walked in….

We collected the van and did a little top up of groceries before leaving Trani, as the site we are headed for is a distance from any form of civilisation.

From Margherita di Savoia we drove along the thin strip of land, separating the sea from the salt basins and wetlands, where I was delighted to spot a flock of mulitcoloured flamingos grazing along the wetlands. Unfortunately there was nowhere safe to pullover and stop to watch them for a while.

Another 20 miles or so up the road we arrived at our campsite for the next few days as we are hoping to hide from the worst of the weather that seems to be stuck over the middle section of Italy at the moment – you could say that Autumn has arrived!….

The electrical system here looks a little sketchy….

But the beach at Lido Salpi just 50m from our pitch more than makes up for that….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 72
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 1
  • Fuel – £85.70
  • Groceries – £18.48
  • O/N – £14.00

Thursday 29th October 2026 (Part 2) – and on to Bari….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

A full day for us today as we press on a bit further north to the city of Bari where we have found probably the least glamorous park up of the journey so far – a car wash! It is an authorised gated stopover and the welcome although in sign language was warm enough and we were parked with maybe a dozen other motorhomes side by side (very definitely less than a metre a part!), the yard was part car wash, part residential carpark, part vehicle recovery centre and part camper stopover but most importantly it felt safe to leave the van and sleep in it.

As the day is cracking on and I did not want to leave exploring until tomorrow, we headed straight back out and maybe a mile or so through the residential part of town until we reached the sea front.

On reaching the long wide promenade, we initially headed south a bit to where I could see a beach in the distance (can’t miss a beach) – Spiaggia di Bari – not the nicest but on a sunny day I’m sure it would do….

We then set our sites in the opposite direction heading for the main Old Town – greeted initially on the edge of the harbour by this rather grand (but not so old) waterfront Theatre….

Continuing along the harbour front and entering the walled part of town at one of the corner forts….

We were then treated to typical narrow paved streets lined with shops and bars, open plazas and beautiful buildings….

Also on our meanderings we passed the Cattedralle and Castello Mormanno-Svevo….

Before leaving we needed to hunt down Strada delle Orecchiette, where they famously make the typical Orecchiette pasta ‘ears’ in the street and of course sell it in every shade of colour by the kilo….

Interesting to watch but it really didn’t look overly hygienic and much as I love pasta, I wasn’t tempted.

On our return walk along the promenade the evening sunset gave us a lovely rosy glow on the east coast over the calm Adriatic sea….

A full but fruitful day – we are now ready to eat and veg for the rest of the evening.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 47
  • Miles walked – 11
  • Beaches – 5
  • O/N – £20.88

Thursday 22nd October 2026 – moving across to the east coast and Otranto….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

After a grey day yesterday with occasional showers, which incidentally was much better than forecast with far less rain, where we didn’t really do a lot, today has dawned bright and sunny. Time to move on, though I should say that if there was a decent beach within walking distance, we possibly would have stayed a few more days. Anyway we settled our account and headed across country to the east coast and the small historic town of Otranto.

By midday we were settled onto our Aire for the night (just a car park really but gated and close to the centre) and headed straight out into the glorious sunshine to explore what is Otranto – the Castle was an impressive sight and sits on the corner of the fortified wall which encloses the old town of Otranto….

Typically the old town is a series of narrow streets and alleyways surrounding the Cattedrale di Otranto….

Walking down through the streets takes you out onto the seafront…

A wide pedestrianised boulevard with busy bars and restaurants offering alfresco dining to suit all and views back over the walled old town….

The beaches are as you leave the old town and sheltered by stone groins in the bay. The main beach is Spiaggia degli Scanloni, followed by (heading north) Spiaggia della Riviera, a tiny little bay and finally outside the harbour walls one that I could take Tilly onto for a run, Spiaggia di Porto Craulo….

The sea looked very enticing but unfortunately there wasn’t really the option to leave Tilly safely so I had to make do with a paddle before we sat in the shade of the rocks for a break and to cool down as it is pretty warm today.

Revived we made our way back and around to the other side of the port to look back over the walled town….

Before making our way back to the van for something to eat and drink. Later we did venture back into town just as it was getting dark and as expected the town was well lit and preparing for the evening trade….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 30
  • Miles walked – 7
  • Beaches – 3
  • O/N – £10.06
  • O/N – £21.70 (last night)

Sunday 4th October 2026 – a lovely afternoon stroll along the lake….

/ freedombird / Leave a comment

Another beautiful day and in the morning we followed the footpath along the lakeside, away from Bolsena, only to discover it didn’t really lead anywhere, just a few private cabins and a large (closed) campsite.

After lunch we headed out towards Bolsena and instead of going into the town we continued along the promenade as far as it went. Passing the busy central hub where many were enjoying walking, eating, drinking or just passing a sunny Sunday afternoon in a very European way….

Passed a few more art installations….

Got a great view of the Old Town….

And then enjoying a gelato by the lake before heading back to site….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 5
  • Gelato – £2.50
  • O/N – £14.14

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