Italian Lakes & Mountains (Sept 2018)

The peak of Mottarone overlooks the city of Verbania on the Lake Maggiore; the Monviso in the Maritime Alps, as well as the Monte Rosa, can be seen on clear sky days. It is possible reach the peak of Mottarone by car. There are two roads: the first comes up from Armeno, west of the Mottarone summit near Lake Orta; the second, a private toll road, begins from Alpino, a frazione of Stresa on the eastern side of the summit.

L’Antica Strada Regina is the old Roman road which ran from Cremona to Milan. It was based on an earlier trade route. the total length of the road was about 75 kilometres (47 mi)
Associated with it was the road along the western shore of Lake Como across the Milanese plain, that linked up with Valchiavenna.
The name "Via Regina" (“strada regia”, royal road, hence main road) was given to it much later on and is first documented in the year 1187. Together with the waterway of Lake Como and the Po River, the Via Regina and associated paths were used by sailors, soldiers and merchants, as well as local traffic, with parts of it being suitable for vehicles, some just mule tracks, and a few pedestrian only paths.
For centuries it constituted a true “Lake Como system”, an articulate network of routes pointing northwards, to the Alpine passes, and southwards, towards Milan, the hub for the Po Valley.

The Borromean Islands (It. Isole Borromee) are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania to the north and Stresa to the south. Together totalling just 50 acres (20 hectares) in area, they are a major local tourist attraction for their picturesque setting.

Their name derives from the Borromeo family, which started acquiring them in the early 16th century (Isola Madre) and still owns the majority of them (Isola Madre, Bella, San Giovanni) today.

Isola Bella, named for Isabella, countess Borromeo, was originally a largely barren rock; after first improvements and buildings, opened by count Carlo III between 1629 and 1652, his son Vitaliano the 6th built an attractive summer palace, bringing in vast quantities of soil in order to build up a system of ten terraces for the garden. The unfinished building displays paintings by Lombard artists and Flemish tapestries.

Isola Madre, the largest of the three, is also noted for its gardens, which have been maintained since about 1823 in an English style. Its palace, though uninhabited, is splendidly furnished with 16th- to 19th-century Italian masterpieces and paintings.

Isola dei Pescatori or Isola Superiore is now the only inhabited island in the archipelago. It has a fishing village, which in 1971 had a population of 208.

Isolino di San Giovanni is located just off Pallanza (today part of Verbania) to the north.

The tiny uninhabited rock of Malghera, with an area of only 200 square meters, lies between Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori and offers bushy vegetation and a small beach.

Walking In The Wye Valley (July 2018)

WALKING THE WYE VALLEY

Secluded charm, ancient woodland and the majestic river Wye.

Rambling through the Wye Valley, the ruins of Tintern Abbey come into view – beauty in stone in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The chants of long-ago monks seems to echo round these stones.

Perhaps the most unspoilt river valley in Britain, the Wye flows though breathtaking scenery rich in both Welsh and English history. From the source of northern Wales down to the Bristol Channel, the river passes many evocative and famous sites – Symonds Yat, Kilvert country, Tintern Abbey – and conjures up vivid memories of the 19th century Wye-tourers in search of the ‘picturesque’.

The area enjoys a relatively mild climate and its vineyards continue the tradition of producing wines probably started by the Romans. Over 800 years ago an abbey was built at Tintern and its ruins still stand tall. Further downstream lies the historic border town of Chepstow with its early Norman, stone built castle.

We’ll follow sections of the Wye Valley Walk, the Offa’s Dyke Path and surrounding trails meandering along the hillsides high above the majestic River Wye often emerging at superb viewing points such as Symonds Yat Rock and the Eagle’s Nest. We can take in the area’s rich history and discover the myths and legends of these borderlands.

The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Welsh: Dyffryn Gwy) is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. It is one of the most dramatic and scenic landscape areas in southern Britain.

The River Wye (Welsh: Afon Gwy) is the fifth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the river passes through the settlements of Rhayader, Builth Wells and Hay-on-Wye, but the area designated as an AONB covers 326 square kilometres (126 sq mi) surrounding a 72-kilometre (45 mi) stretch lower down the river, from just south of the city of Hereford to Chepstow

This area covers parts of the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, and is recognised in particular for its limestone gorge scenery and dense native woodlands, as well as its wildlife, archaeological and industrial remains. It is also historically important as one of the birthplaces of the modern tourism industry. The area is predominantly rural, and many people make a living from tourism, agriculture or forestry.

The Lower Wye landscape was formed by the river acting on a series of layers of rock, the river has incised into the margins of the Old Red Sandstone plateau to form a gorge with substantial river cliffs. The steepest parts of the Wye gorge are cut through the Carboniferous Limestone. Here the combined action of the river, natural joints in the rocks and quarrying have exposed many vertical faces, particularly between Tintern and Chepstow.  Geological interest extends underground, and there are many rock shelters and solution caves in the area.

The first brass made in Britain was founded at Tintern in 1566. Wire-making followed, with water mills situated on all the tributaries of the lower Wye. The area resounded to the noise and smoke of heavy industry for the next 400 years and gave rise to many pioneering industries. At Redbrook, copper works were established by 1691, and a century later the village became one of the world's major tinplate manufacturing centres.