Summer 2020 - #3

3rd to 6th September 2020

Brentonico 

Ended up here for eight days! Only cost was 1.50 euros for eight hours of electricity to recharge the bike battery! Discovered some chestnut orchards when walking to Castigone, one afternoon. Never seen anything like that before. Some looked extremely ancient.

7th September 2020 

Casola Valsenio

Headed south across the endlessly flat Po Valley to spend the night at a small sosta a few kilometres into the Apennine foothills west of Ravena. Nice spot with free electricity: but ruined by noise from kids, scooters and footballers until about 10pm.

8th September 2020

Santa Maria Nuovo

South along the Adriatic Coast and into the Province of le Marche. An area l briefly visited a couple of years ago that l wanted to spend some more time in. So, into the hills to the west of Ancona for the night at Santa Maria Nuova. Intensely hot until about 1700. Then headed of on the bike coz the electric was free to recharge the battery! Obviously, the parking, waste disposal and drinking was free as well. There are a number of sostas like that around here - to be investigated over the next week or so. Wish the UK catered for motorhomes like this! 

9th September 2020 

Staffollo

A few kilometres further west to another hilltop village, Staffollo. With a single main street through the old part of the town. Great sosta, with free EHU, surrounded by vineyards and greenery  Spoilt,again, later by noisy teeangers racing 50cc scooters and picnicking until about midnight. Seems to be endemic in parts of ltaly. 

10th to 12th September 2020 

Pievebovigliana

West into the Apennines towards Perugia to stop off at the sosta in Pievebovigliana. Stayed here in October 2016 for a night. Wanted to come back and do some cycling in the hills. Ten days after l left, in 2016, the area was subject to a number if earthquakes. Over a fairly wide area, say 40km by 20km, cracked and abandoned houses, churches and village centres. Many churches supported by external steel framing. Have seen groups of up to 100 small prefabricated houses for the displaced population. After four years little signs if rebuilding. Half of the sosta was occupied by portacabins for the Post Office, a bank and the Police Station. Some good cycling routes. Very hot during the afternoons. 

13th September 2020

Castelangello sul Nera

After a few days cycling around Pievebovigliana moved on to another village in the same general area, still in the zone impacted by the 2016 earthquakes. The centre was completely deserted closed off, as was that in Viso about 8km away. Felt uncomfortable in a 'disaster area' and decided to move on after a night. Three and even four wheeled Piaggio vans are ubiquitous in this area!

14th to 16th September 2020

Torrito di Siena

A hop across to the west side of the Apennines into Tuscany to stop at the small sosta at Torrita di Siena for a few nights. Had stopped over here a couple of times previously but never explored the area. Some important Renaissance towns within a 20km cycle ride - Montepulciano and Pienza. Preferred a smaller less tourist ridden village of Montefollonico.

17th to 21st September 2020

Lusignano

Tuscany and Umbria are two places where the guide books ring true - slightly dilapidated, but lived-in and engagingly attractive hillside towns everywhere, together with vineyards, olive groves and some wooded hills. Still in Tuscany a few days at Lusignano where there was a huge fully serviced field provided as yet another free sosta for vans just below the town.

22nd to 23rd September

Lisiana Niccone

On the border of Tuscany and Umbria, in the hills to the east of Lago di Trasimeno, a couple of nights at the small village of Lisiana in the upper Tiber valley surrounded by wooded hills. Memo to self - when going for a bike ride make sure you route the satnav on roadways/cycleways/gravel roads - i accidently used the hiking setting and set a cycling route up an incredibly steep footpath that was totally water scoured to rock in many places, it took an hour and a half to progress a kilometre in plan and about 400m uphill! Thought that the crop in many of the fields was tobacco and discovered that it is quite an important crop in Italy. Spent two nights totally alone at the free serviced sosta with a pleasant view across the valley to a castle, Rocco del Pierle,which I walked up to it one afternoon between the thunderstorms which have been around for a few days.

24th to 26th September 2020

Citta della Pieve

Parked for a few days below yet another walled lively, hilltop town! Sadly the weather has become quite autumnal for a few days, tomorrow the max temperature is forecast as 13C!! Fortunately, temperatures should climb into the low twenties from next Tuesday, Heavy rain, thunderstorms and a cold front today! Fortunately, a free 6amp electrical supply is enough to run the fan heater at 1kW and the van cozy. May head for a coastal campsite for a couple of weeks on Tuesday.

Summer 2020 - #2

20th to 23rd August

Ipofen, Bavaria 

East of Wurzburg to the old fortified town of Iphofen, nestled below the wooded Swanberg and vineyards lower down the slopes. Good cyling routes into the hills, forests and vineyards. First day was blistering hot and impossible to sleep at night. Fortunately, cooled down to the mid twenties over Saturday and Sunday. Clean but busy parking area adjacent to one of the town gates. 

24th to 25th August

Caldozburg, Bavaria

Heading east towards the Czech Republic stopped at another green, free stellplatz adjacent to a hilltop town and castle, for a couple of nights, at Caldozburg, about twenty kilometres north west of Nuremberg. Had a cyling day out to Nuremberg visiting the Zeppelin Field where the NSP  rallies were held in the 1930's, old town and the huge castle.

26th August

Neunburg vorm Wald, Bavaria 

Caught the tail end of the storm bombarding the UK, only strong winds with gale force gusts. Stopped off on the edge of the walled town of Neunburg, about 40km from the Czech border, noisy during the day with road traffic but quiet at night. 

27th August 2020 

Dingolfing, Bavaria 

Decided to head south into northern Italy, as persistent rain for the foreseeable future in southern Germany. Covid rates are very similar in both Italy and Germany to the UK. Had a rear tyre blow, fortunately while only  doing 30mph through a small town. So no collateral problems. Through AA breakdown cover a guy arrived in about an hour and fitted, with a struggle, the spare - which is a bit dodgy as it's fifteen years old. So a new tyre needed tomorrow! Parked up in a free stellplatz at Dingolfing about 100km east of Munich. 

28th to 29th August 2020 

Neubeuern, Bavaria 

Struggled to find a place to get a new tyre. Not usually off the shelf in the UK either, must be an uncommon size. Eventually, thank goodness for Google and Google Translate, found a really helpful supplier near Munich. Long story but turned out that the other rear tyre was damaged as well so needed two. They could only find two winter tyres in all their Munich branches and got them expressed delivered to the depot. Spare tyre carrier needed repairing as well! Such a change to find such a helpful outfit. Drove down to near the Austrian border to destress for a couple of nights on the Inn at the quaint Bavarian village called Neubeuern. 

30th August to 2nd September 2020

Brentonico, Trento, ltaly

Incessant heavy rain the second day at Neubeuern and then through Austria via Innsbruck and then over the Brenner Pass into the South Tyrol. Unfortunately, low cloud, and heavy rain most of the way. Began to clear south of Bolzano. Had intended a long days drive down to the Appenines near Ravena. Incredibly heavy traffic on the autostrada lead to a change of plan and ended up at a great sosta adjacent to Brentonico, at about 800m, a smart, clean village just over the montains on the east of Lake Garda.

Some Italians seem to have been here for weeks! Weather has been variable. Great for walking and biking. Need a bigger battery for the bike as l can only manage about 1200m uphill and 28km! Biked 800m down to Lake Garda yesterday on some unbelievably steep, narrow agricultural roads. Could never have cycled back up the same way! Used the more gently graded main road. Garda was warmer but heaving with people, cars and bikes. 

View from the sosta and Lake Garda yesterday below. 

Summer 2020 #1

10th to 11th August

Edinbugh to Amsterdam 

Fed up with the weather in Scotland and the place is heaving with campervans and motorhomes - so decided to head for Germany which seems relatively low risk for CV19. The Newcastle/Amsterdam ferry was booked for the 11th, a day of fine weather resulted in leaving a day early and overnighting at the Forestry Scotland South Cheviot parking area, a stop with super panoramic views north.

12th August 2020

Amsterdam to Unkel

Arrived in Amsterdam about 10am. Then through the Netherlands on their superb motorway network and onto the more worn-out German autobahns near Arnhem to stop for the night just south of Bonn at Unkel on the Rhine.

13th August 2020

Unkel to Michelbach

Plan was to follow the Deutsche Limestrasse, a route along the line of the border of the Roman Empire between the Rhine and Danube. Like Hadrian's Wall without the wall. Pfft! Something definitely wrong with the route l down loaded on to my sat nav app - l think it was the cycle path. It kept trying to send me up forest tracks. And, then after an hour wandering around a forest loking for a tower, never found, l decided that there must be better ways of seeing Germany and deciding to head slowly south towards the Black Forest. Parked up at a quiet spot in Michelburg for the night.

14th to 16th August 2020 

Leidersbach 

Great green parking area in the village with walks and cycling on aling forest tracks and quiet backroads. Tried out the new electric mountain bike. Have to spend the stae pension on something. Superb! Up and down 300m or more with no problems. Just need places to park up where there is an electric hook-up to recharge it! So far no issues with that. Visited an lron Age hill fort the Altberg and the fantastic old summer residence of the Archbishop of Mainz on the Main in Aschaffenburg, using it. 

14th to 17th August

Leidersbach to Kulsheim 

Still in the Odenwald between Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Endless wooded hills, arable farming and deep valleys. About forty miles from Leidersbach. Yet another fabulous free parking area in a village. Although, you have to pay a nominal charge for electricity and water. More biking and hiking. A huge monastery about ten kilometres away, Kloster Bronnbach due for a visit this afternoon. Below parking areas at Leidersbach and Kulsheim.