We like to walk. No... we love to walk. We have always been walkers. In the past fifteen to twenty years of travel, walking has been an inseparable part of our travels. I mean, you slow the whole process down to a more intimate scale. You see, hear, smell and even feel what you would otherwise be missing. It is quite simply, a most pleasant state of existence. The outside world is just that... you loose yourself in the moment... and... isn’t that what travel should be all about?
And... it’s good for you! Wow!!
A “Walk” Down Memory Lane
The U.K., England;
There is perhaps no other place that we’ve ever been more designed for walking than the U.K.
They’re really quite “potty” about walking. Why, they’ll start out on a walk on a cold, foggy rainy morning. And, the place is just set-up for it. I mean, paths, everywhere, running from one evocative little stone village , oozing with charm just as you’d expect, to the next. Each with B&B’s, pubs, picturesque squares, and all about 10-12 miles , or a days walk between them. And these path’s aren’t new. They’ve been here for centuries, and... English law guarantees the “right of trespass” across these largely privately owned lands.
How cool is that?
Yorkshire: 1996
After years and years of watching the “All Creatures Great and Small” series on PBS, (chronicling the life of a country vet in 1930's Yorkshire) I just had to go and experience Yorkshire for myself. To walk among James Herriot’s Dales was my dream come true. “Home” was a sheep farm B&B just outside the village of Hawes, right in the heart of “Herriot Country”.
Yorkshire was raw, even a little broody, and I must say it touched a nerve in me. I loved it!
Miles and miles of hand stacked stone walls, misty mornings, walking the rolling Dales. The ubiquitous little gray villages, unchanged since Herriot’s day, with their “spit and sawdust” pubs each with hand pulled pints of Yorkshire’s “finest bitters”.
Warfdale, Wensleydale, they all felt so familiar to me. Don’t ask me to explain why, but, to this day I feel a peculiar sense of kinship with this “little corner” of the U.K.
Check out: “The Herriot Way, by Norman Scholes and, “James Herriot’s Yorkshire” by James Herriot.
The Cotswolds: 1996, 1999, 2003
This is storybook England. Gently rolling green hills, honey coloured limestone villages unchanged for over 300 years. Sheep, sheep everywhere, “watch your step”. Open the gate, close the gate. Walking from village to village, each seemingly more charming than the one before. This is it! Walking as good as it gets! If you don’t walk anywhere else, do it here.
The Cotswold Way, haven’t done it all yet, but I’ve done a lot, several times in fact.
Best stretch for me is from Winchcombe to Chipping Campden by way of Guiting Power, winning my vote for sweetest little village in England. And... the Hollow Bottom, my vote for the sweetest little gastropub in the whole of England. Book your rooms in advance for each village in which you'll be staying, hire a taxi to take your bags ahead and, "Bob's your uncle"! It’s walking made easy.
Oh yeah, I' ll do this again!
Check out: “Footpath Touring, The Cotswolds”, by Ken Ward 1988, or “The Cotswold Way” by
Mark Richards and...... “the Hollow Bottom Public House” @ www.hollowbottom.com.
The Lakes District: 1996
Just sound’s romantic, doesn’t it? This is the “original” Lakes District of Wordsworth, Beatrice Potter and innumerable other literary and artistic greats who sought out the creative paradise of the lakes. Sharing much of the roughness, and some of the broodiness of the Dales ( they’re not that far apart) the lakes possess a unique magic. The wettest place in England, you’ll likely get wet, it is none-the-less another walkers paradise. The medieval town of Keswick offers a great home base from which to explore the lakes. The many walks, one even with boat ferry crossing on Derwentwater, winding among the often dark and foreboding hills, around deep, limpid lakes with names like Windemere and Grasmere. All little changed since the time of the Poets. The 19th century is alive and well here.
Check out: Rick Steves’ “Great Britain” for great suggestions on walks and accommodations in this area as well as for the Cotswolds.
France;
The Dordogne: 1998 & 2006
The Dordogne, in South Central part of the “hexagone”. This is “France profunde” with perhaps the greatest concentration of tres-photogenic “plus beaux villages” in all of France.
We had originally planned a 4-5 day walk from the market town of Brive-la- Gaillarde to “ uber charming” St- Cirq-Lapopie overlooking the Lot River Valley. The walk, a small segment of the old Santiago Compostela Pilgrimage route, would go through Turene, Martel, the Pilgrimage town of Rocamadour and end in up St. Cirq.
Didn’t make it! Big packs, long walks, too much!
Loved the Martel area though. Decided to return in 2006 to see if I’d still feel the same. So, so sweet. The walk, the 12 miles or so from the little market town of Martel, through countless woods and fields, panoramic vistas abound, ending up in Rocamadour. No big packs, taxi scheduled for the return trip back. Ice cold beers waiting at the outdoor café in Rocamadeur. Now this is how you do this walk. Picnic lunch for the second time, exact same spot, overlooking the “unknown” little village of Montvalent. So much deja vu.... only better!
Martel, for me, the fondest of memories of the Dordogne.
Lovely dinner, little café by the timber covered market square. A perfect duck cassoulet for me, and sumptuous little lollipop lamb chops for Sandy. A St Emmilion decanted at the table. Life is good! Oh yeah!!
Check out: “Long Walks in France” by Adam Nicholson and the Auberge 7 Tours @ www.auberge7tours.pageperso-orange.fr
Italy;
Liguria, “The Cinque Terre” 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2010
This is unarguably where Sandy and I first got our “travel groove”. This is where it all came together. Sandy says it best, “everything was just so sensual”. The sights, the smells, even the sounds, all served to stimulate the appetites. First time perfection, a lovely appartment on little Vernazza’s town square, couldn’t have been any better.
Five impossibly charming little seaside villages, knitted together by an “ages-old pathway offering outrageous views of the Ligurian coastline from vertigious, if not a bit dangerous heights”. The little “goat path” passes thru terraced fields of vineyards, silvery olive trees and aromatic lemons, each casting their sensuous spell on you.
The walk is surprisingly liesurly, with the villages, each unique in their characters, about an hour apart. We have walked to all five in the same day, but I recommend maybe a couple. Find a little outdoor café in your destination, enjoy a lunch or an afternoon carafe of local wine, then... hop on the train back to your starting village. Now, that's walking!
Check out: www.parconazionale5terre.it . Also, Rick steves’ popularized this location. See his Italy guide for details on accomadations, etc. Be warned, it’s become a bit too popular at times. We often stay in Camogli up the coast and next to gorgeous Portofino and train down to the Cinque Terre. See my posting; slipintoazurblur, Friday 28 May 2010 for details on Camogli.
Pienza-Monticello-Montepulciano: 2004 & 2010
A moderate 18k walk thru the rolling countryside of the Val d Orcia. Kinda sounds like an advert for a walking tour brochure.
This walk has got to be the perfect way to experience my favorite corner of the Tuscan countryside. From the awesome medieval hilltop village of Pienza (worth a look) to the “way too cute” tiny hilltop village of Monticello, you traverse fields and fields of grapes, most destined to become the renown Brunello di Montalcino. I have walked many a pathway in Tuscany and Umbria, but, for me this is the essence of the Italian countryside. Poggios crowning hilltops, zig-zagging rows of cypress, quiet country lanes and pathways, criss-crossing countless vineyards.
And.... excellent food and wine opportunities at either end, although I myself am parcel to La Porta Restaurant in the guardhouse of the main porta in the Monticello wall.
We have done the walk all the way in 2004, but my opinion is that the best stretch is from Monticello to Pienza in that order. Do see worthy Montepulciano, but on it’s own .
Check it out: My blog posting: slipintoazurblue for Tuesday 25 May 2010 “53024 Montalcino”
Also stay: Affitacamera Nada, sergiomuli@libero.it for the warmest welcome and the most awesome bedroom window view of the rooftops in all of Montalcino. (She doesn’t speak english, so you may want to route your request thru the TI @ www.prolocomontalcino.it
Amalfi Coast, Atrani-Ravello: 2002
Up.... way up!!
Yes. This walk is up. Atrani, a relatively unspoiled little seaside town, the starting point, with Ravello far above overlooking almost the entire length of the Amalfi coastline.
The trail itself is well marked and, because of it’s largely zig-zagging nature, is not as strenuous as you might first expect. It is a walk that will take the better part of a morning or afternoon. Grapes, wildflowers and wild fennel “follow” you the whole way.
We hiked up from Atrani one morning to arrive in surprisingly charming Ravello just about lunchtime. In fact, the trail deposited us literally at the doorstep of the Ristorante Salvatore. Now we hadn’t expected to eat a large lunch, but with this walk behind us and this too-cute little restaurant patio, We're game. And... wow. special of the day... stuffed breast of guniea fowl, stuffed with a black olive/artichoke tapenade and served with a local well-chilled white from just over the hill. Oh, and the views from that patio, well, let’s just say to this day it’s still the image that pops into my mind when I think of Ravello.
Now, we hadn’t been too keen on our diggs back in Atrani, something about church bells just outside our window ringing at all hours, and.... upon finding out that the Salvatore had a few rooms downstairs to let, and.... after seeing the amazing views from the rooms balcony, and.... finding out that the rent was about the same as that back in Atrani.... well we had ourselves some new diggs, now didn’t we.
Tutto bene!!
Check out: www.salvatoreravello.com
Austria;
Hallstatt: 2000
The Saltzkammergut of Austria, “Sound of Music” country. Little villages where one might imagine Hanzel and Gretel might live.
We left Salzburg one morning by train, no, by the “milk-run” local train. Passing through some of the most enchanting scenery that I belive I’ve ever seen, and... 23 stops later, we find ourselves at little Hallstatt. Well, not exactly “in”, but rather across the lake from Hallstatt, at it’s tiny train station awaiting the ferry that would take us across the lake to Hallstatt. Wow, this place is quintessential Austrian lakeside village material, you know, like the pictures on a travel brochure. Amazing!
Now, we did maybe 4-5 walks while here, all with spectacular scenery and equally charming, but, perhaps our favorite was from Hallstatt, or rather from the tiny trainstation across the lake from Hallstatt, to the little nearby spa town of Bad Goisen, following the Halstatter See (lake) the whole way. Spectacular! Perhaps the best part, a little outdoor café by the geranium festooned train station (they’re all impossibly cute, all with geraniums and waiving station managers who come out and greet you upon arrival... seriously, they do) with humongous pitchers ( 1 litre mugs) of cold Munchen Bier.
Just don’t have the “Bad Goisen burger” (bad inside joke between Sandy and I) just don’t!!
When you feel as though you’ve had enough, or, perhaps you’ve come to realize that you’ve had maybe a bit too much, the best part is you can ride the train back to Hallstatt, well, the to train station that is, then the ferry, etc.
A late afternoon siesta, the balcony doors of our room at the Gasthof Simony open to the incredible lake view, thunderstorm rumbles across the lake, smells of a nearby restaurant wafting through, hinting at tonights kase spetzel, grilled homemade sausages with red cabbage all washed down with a, way tall glass of Austrian Whitbier.
Storybook perfect!!
Check out: www.gasthofsimony.at
Switzerland;
Berner Oberland: 1998 & 2001
I’m sure that there is no place on Earth that does travel & tourism as well as Switzerland. They’re just perfect, really, they are. And... as you might expect, it comes at a price.... well that is to say.... it’s a bit pricey. But, that notwithstanding, the whole place is drop-dead gorgeous.
None, more than the Berner-Oberland. Head straight for Interlaken, smack in the middle and not at all a bad town in it’s own right. But, for my money, hop the train and head up the valley to Lauterbrunnen. Aaaahhh... the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Unbelivable, it doesn’t look real. (pics incl) But wait.... don’t stop. Now hop the funnicular (incline train) up to Murren. And.... you're pretty much on top of the world here. Murren is a surprisingly likable resort village in the classic cutesy but non kitschy, if that makes sense, Swiss style. It’s adorable!
Now, about the walking. Dozens, yes dozens of paths up here in the middle of nowhere. Hell, they’ve got the equivalent of a street sign network for the paths pointing to here and there with approximate walking times. Geesh! How Swiss can you get.
With all these choices, just pick one. Really, you can’t go wrong. A favorite of mine, walk out of Murren, direction of Gimmelwald, there’s a sign of course. A gentle down hill walk, no problem and a bit welcome if you’ve recently done one or more of the uphill varity.
Towering vistas, incredible mountians, thundering waterfalls. It’s almost sensory overload.
Impossibly cute tiny Gimmelwald, you pass thru in less than five minutes, you can take a path on down into the Lauterbrunnen Valley, yes there’s a sign. Once on the valley floor, follow the one lane road to Lauterbrunnen or... just hop the Post Bus, yep, that’s right, the Postman takes passengers. Back in Lauterbrunnen, again hop the funnicular and back to Murren. Oh, by the way, this walk can be done by bike as well, rentals in Murren.
The next day, head another direction, hop a cable car up and walk up/down. The possibilities really are endless.
Check out: www.hoteljungfrau.ch. Oh, and pay extra for the view rooms, you really won’t belive your eyes.
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| The Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland |
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| Hallstatt Austria |
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| Near Pienza Italy |
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| Vernazza on the Cinque Terre |
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| Picnic spot overlooking Montvalent in the Dordogne, France |
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| Approaching Fellfoot Crag near Keswick in the Lakes district |
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| Stanton in the Cotswolds |
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| Morning mist on Warfdale in Yorkshire |
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| View from the balcony of Salvatore in Ravello |
For similar reading, take a look at some of my other blog postings:
On slipintoazurblue.blogspot.com
09.17.11 Beaune Ces't Beaun
09.05.11 "Smoke on the Water" Vines in the Sky
On chasingeternalspring.blogspot.com
08.14.11 A Slice of the Perfect Day/ The Perfect Ride
01.29.11 Lost In a Dream
07.06.11 The Country Life "Bits and Bobs"
