After some very strange rain, literally 2 seconds of heavy rain about 5 times in the space of about half and hour, during the night we awoke to brilliant sunshine and what turned out to be a very warm day.
Continuing our journey along the coastal road a mere 5 miles to the next resort, we found our Sosta way up the hillside, sandwiched between the two carriageways of the motorway, though oddly surrounded by vegetation we are only aware of seemingly distant traffic noise and it is a freebie so what is not to like?
We got on with some stuff in the van until early afternoon before making our way a veritical half a mile or so down to the sea front. From here we had distant views of the colourful Old Town of Celle Ligure and it’s beach….
But opted instead to continue eastwards passing the pretty Spiaggia Celle Ligure….
Following an interesting tunnel through the headland, lined with an art installation of ceramics….
At the other side of the tunnel, rejoining the footpath, overlooking Spiaggia ‘Ex Colony Milansi’, named after the huge derelict (though there are signs of refurbishment or remodelling ongoing) Colony Milansi which was built to accommodate children holidaying from the cities to enjoy the fresh coastal air during difficult times of the 20th Centuary….
A little further on was our first look at Varazze and it’s huge Marina and the somewhat abandoned beach of Ponente Nuovo Porto…
We did find a dog friendly section on Spiaggia dei Varazzini but the sand was way too hot and so we opted to take a break in the shade of the palm lined promenade….
Before wandering back to Celle Ligure via the shady and quiet cobbled streets of the town….
Pretty reluctant to move on today as the Aire has emptied a lot and the location is so ideal, literally being across the road from the beach and a short walk into town – but we have more of this beautiful coastline to explore, not before a last look though….
We joined the coastal road and drove alongside the huge industrial port of Vado and through the busy streets of the semi industrial towns of Vado Ligure and Savona (neither place offering anywhere sensible and safe to park) and were soon parked up in our Aire for the night in Albisola Marina, about half a mile from the sea front and after a brief chill that is exactly where we headed.
Arriving at the sea front fairly centrally we opted to walk back the way we had driven along the brightly coloured mosaic promenade (which in the bright sunlight was a little dazzling) of Albisola Marina to the far end of the beach….
A sort of sand / gravel mix with plenty of space for everyone but with a mix of manicured private sections and only a little patch of dog friendly beach at this far end. After a little off lead time, we continued to walk towards Savona to catch the little Spiaggia delle Madonetta, with the rocky outcrop housing the Madonna Shrine and Albisola as a backdrop in one direction and the Port in the other….
At this point we headed back the way we came, crossing the river that divides the two villages and crossing into Albisola Superiore to enjoy a stroll along the thankfully paved promenade, passing the main beach Spaiggia Albisola Superiore and down onto the l’ultimo Spiaggia Abisola to find a little bit of shade for Tilly behind some rocks….
Before wandering back to the Aire in the shade through the narrow alleyways and streets of Albisola Superiore….
Thoughts of the day:
Even though roadside outside of the villages the footpath is consistant alongside the coastal road and feels quite safe as it is protected either by barrier or wall, unlike in France where it was often just a gravelly or grassy verge and often just disappeared altogether.
This Aire or Sosta is just below the motorway so is a little on the noisy side but really nicely laid out with a bit of shade and level concrete grid to park up on.
Still some cloud around keeping it a little cooler we enjoyed a more leisurely stroll today, wandering west around the headland passing Lido delle Sirene and Grotti de Bergeggi….
Getting a lovely view across Bergeggi a small hillside village with a lovely mostly course sandy beach….
A much smaller and less touristy place than either Spotorno or Noli of yesterday but all the more welcome with quieter beaches and for a change mostly public beaches with seemingly no dog ban! Spiaggia de Luna and Spiaggia di Bergeggi…
Such a welcome treat to be able to sit on the beach and let Tilly play whilst I relaxed – just as a sunday should be.
Thoughts of the day:
We decided to stay put as the roads at the weekends appear to be particularly chaotic with the huge numbers of groups of bikers and cyclists enjoying the coastal road (totally get it as this road is pretty spectacular) and we are quite content to have a lazier day.
I have been somewhat distracted today, as my son was running in the London Marathon and I wanted to keep an eye on his progress – very proud of his achievement of completing the challenge and raising money for Make a Wish an amazing charity.
An overcast day today for a change and actually a welcome one as it meant that we could do the longish walk I had planned during the middle of the day, instead of worrying about the heat – it was still warm but ideal.
The village and roads are much busier today but there is promenade all the way into the old village along the sea front with Bergeggi Island looking stunning across the aqua marine sea – the Ligurian Sea…
The long beach running down the resort is mostly sandy with areas of fine shingle, as per, some of it sectioned off into private beaches but much mostly it is accessible beach – Spiaggias – di Spotorno, Pluto, Molo Sirio, Aurora and Libera Serra…
A quick dip into the old town and it’s beautifully decorated interior…
Followed by a stunning walk over to the next village – Noli. The walk between the two villages is probalby only about half a mile and though roadside is quite safe with stunning views up to Castello di Monte Ursino and out to sea….
We continued our walk along the promenade noting that the beaches are slightly more shingly here – Bagni Hilton (private), Spiaggia dei Pescatori – lined with small fishing boats, Bagni Ondino Noli (private). Spiaggia de Noli and at the far end Spiaggia Caponoli…
Noli is an unspoilt medieval fishing village and well worth a visit though we opted out of the long climb up to the castle, opting instead for a mooch around the streets….
What a find – we enjoyed a well earned drink and relax on the beach before walking back to the van…
An absolute corker of a day and a really unbelievable drive as we start the day with a brief walk down to the main beach at San Bartolomeo…
We then continue our journey along the SS1 coastal route heading north stopping for a shortish walk in Andora the next village along – beautiful sands with many private sections of beach and some public areas….
Continuing along the way we are afforded specatular views down onto Laigueglia and it’s sandy foreshore, though we are unable to get down any closer and safely leave the van…
Likewise in the beautiful resort of Alassio there was no way of getting the van down to the seafront due to height restrictors but we did manage a quick pull in…
Our next stop was Ceriale (Albenga was too busy and chaotic!) where we were a little bit cheeky, in so far as we pulled into an out of town supermarket, did some much needed shopping and then left the van for an hour or so to wander down to the coast. We took a quick look at a campsite that we were contemplating for a few days – no chance as the only access was via a railway bridge with a height restriction of 2.3m – a fairly typical issue along this stretch of coast as the SS1 coastal road and the railway vying for pole position next to the sea. Also disappointingly the railway runs right next to the beach and so access and views are restricted for much of this section (glad we didn’t opt to stay here). When we did get into Ceriale and to the beach the views were non existent from their nice new (still under construction) promenade by private bars and changing sheds etc….
What a shame – bearing in mind this would seem to be a developing area with several apartment / hotel complexes under construction – I think they might have missed a trick – still we did manage to get a look at a couple of the beaches – Spiaggia di Pippo and Spiaggia di Ceriale…
The road from here to Spotorno turns out to be the most scenic section I have ever had the pleasure of driving, as it meanders its way hugging the rugged white cliffs just above the sea, unfortunately stopping places were few and far between so the sheer beauty will remain as a private memory, though I did take the odd pic whilst waiting at traffic lights….
And a cheeky snap of Spiaggia di Casteletto, where visitors were parked on a little widened area at the roadside, with a fair few steps down to the beach…
We soon arrived down into the resort of Spotorno where we found space (just) in a very basic Aire at the northern end of the beach….
We soon parked up, the marked spaces are just wide enough to leave about a metre between vans – not ideal but the location less than 50 metres from the fabulous long sandy beach of Spiaggia nel Blu – well stunning….
Rather than walk along the sea front which we shall do tomorrow, we opted to follow the footpath at the side of the SS1 as it continues it’s journey along the coast to get some aerial views of the stunning sea – makes all the difference in the world in bright sunshine and sandy base and also a closer look at Bergeggi Island….
A little further on were two pretty and tricky to get to coves – Lido del Serene and Spiaggia de Punto Prodani…
Just around the bend and we get views down onto the next resort along – Bergeggi and glimpses of it’s beach….
Wow what a day – we can easily cope with a crowded Aire after a day like today…
And our evening stroll was pretty magical too – we do love an Island…
Thoughts of the day:
This is more like the coastline that I was expecting, I can’t help having felt a bit disappointed with the coastline since joining the Riviera in France apart from the odd little pocket here and there.
There must be 50 or so vans parked up here – is it surprising that the only other non Italian plate is an Austrian – so far on this journey there have been a good smattering of French and German plates….
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