Italy

Wednesday 7th October 2026 – an unexpected gem in Sperlonga….

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A few spots of rain during the night but bearing in mind rain was forecast for most of the day yesterday and again through the day today, we carry on being lucky! We are away by 10 and the journey was uneventful, travelling around the ring road of Rome was much better than I expected, less traffic and less mental!

As we head back towards the coast we are surrounded by olive groves and increasingly polytunnels (tomatoes) but as always it is good to get our first sight of the sea and by lunch time we are settled on our site for the night – Camper de Sperlonga on the edge of the coastal hilltop village of Sperlonga.

On site the olive harvest is very much underway and we watch fascinated for a while as they agitate the branches to shake the olives down onto the awaiting nets before heading across the road and onto the beach….

Spiaggia Di Sperlonga, what a beautiful long sweeping sandy beach, the waves are a little frisky and the mountains hold some fairly heavy clouds, but for us the sun is shining and the gentle breeze keeping the temperature just right for walking as we set off along the sand to Sperlonga…..

There are days where photos don’t seem to cut it but today the ‘money shots’ just kept coming as we climbed up to Torre Tuglia, looking back along the beach and up to the Old Town perched above and out to sea….

From Torre Tuglia, originally a 16thC coastal watchtower (though it has been destroyed on various invasions with the current version having been rebuilt in 2009) perched on the limestone headland we wandered up the many steps to the old village, pausing to capture more images (and catch our breath)…..

Looking down on the small marina and Spiaggia Grotta Di Tiberio stretched out to the north of the village….

The village itself – well just enchanting – I’m not sure what else to say….

Pretty murals, brightly hand painted tiles, impossibly narrow archways leading to yet more steps, bars and shops tucked away in little alleyways and incredible views – oh my what a delight….

Reluctantly making our way down we happen upon the little Chapel of San Rocco….

Finally down on the promenade we enjoy this spectacular view of the sea and sky….

I will say whilst I appreciate the wonders and historical value of yesterday’s outing in Rome – this was way more interesting, enjoyable and beautiful – in my opinion of course! Oh yes and no crowds, in fact not many people at all.

I have only planned to spend the one night here as the weather looks pretty shocking for tomorrow but if they keep getting it wrong?

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 86
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Beaches – 2
  • Wow factor – 10/10
  • O/N – £25.93

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

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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….

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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…

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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….

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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