Non-participating partners’ activities

Pontremoli is a quaint Medieval town on the road to Parma. The small cathedral has recently been beautifully redecorated and there’s a fine Piazza della Repubblica (seek out the marvellous art nouveau café) and narrow old streets in which to stroll.

One of them leads up to the 16th Century castle where there is an intriguing and well-worth-seeing exhibition of the enigmatic Etruscan statue-stele: strange ancient carved stone figures. For more information, visit their website here

If you fancy seeing these enigmatic statues and the charming town of Pontremoli, we’ll fix a taxi to take you to Aulla station for the short (20 mins) train journey to Pontremoli and advise on return train times and how to get a taxi back to the mill. You can let us know beforehand or when you have settled in during you week at the mill.

As we said above, Wednesday is excursion day and you partner can choose either to go to the Cinque Terre or to Lucca and you will probably want to accompany her/him on that day. So if you’ve gone to Lucca on Wednesday, how about the Cinque Terre on Thursday?

The Cinque Terre, the Five Lands, are five Ligurian fishing villages nestling in vertiginous valleys terraced with vines, orange and lemon trees. Amazing views, colourfully painted houses, tiny harbours, fishing boats, wonderful cliff-top walks. It’s a National Park and a World Heritage Site. You can visit their official website at www.cinqueterre.it

BUT, a note of caution: there are a lot of steps up and down on the paths between most of the villages, from boat to village and to and from the train stations so, if you are not too steady on your pins, it’s probably not for you.

If you fancy seeing the wonderful seaside villages of the Cinque Terre, we’ll fix a taxi to take you to Aulla station for the (45 mins) train journey to Monterosso (or Riomaggiore) and advise on return train times and how to get a taxi back to the mill. You can let us know beforehand or when you have settled in during you week at the mill.

As we said above, Wednesday is excursion day and you partner can choose either to go to the Cinque Terre or to Lucca and you will probably want to accompany her/him on that day. So if you’ve gone to the Cinque Terre on Wednesday, how about Lucca on Thursday?

Lucca is our favourite Italian city, imposing red brick walls, wide enough to walk (or cycle: hire a bike) all the way round. The centre is wonderful with superb architecture, notably the San Michele church, the Cathedral, the medieval Piazza del Anfiteatro echoing the shape of the old Roman amphitheatre, the classical splendour of the Piazza Napoleone. And there are shops where you’ll find great shoes and leather goods, and there’s an elegant pedestrian shopping street, the Via Filungo. You can visit their official tourist website here

We highly recommend hiring a bike and cycling all around the top of the city walls: it only takes about 20 minutes for one circuit and it’s a wonderful way to get the sense of the city, before swooping down to negotiate the narrow streets and lanes.

If you fancy seeing the quintessential Italian city of Lucca, we’ll fix a taxi to take you to Aulla station for the (90 mins) train journey to the city, give you a map, advice on sightseeing and on return train times. We’ll tell you how to get a taxi back to the mill. You can let us know beforehand or when you have settled in during you week at the mill.

The little spa town of Equi Terme, about half-an-hour by road from the mill (or 25 minutes by train from Aulla), boasts thermal, sulphur-smelling springs, which feed an open-air swimming pool as well as the spa buildings. The Romans took the waters here and they are still used to treat skin complaints, respiratory and osteo-articular conditions and even heart disease. You can swim in the pool, which is fun. For more, please visit their website at http://www.termediequi.it/ but it is in Italian!

You can also visit the grottoes and the archaeological museum at the edge of the village, which nestles under the Apuan Alps and the impressive peak of Pizzo d’Uccello. It’s an enjoyable underground tour. You can find out more by visiting their website at http://www.grottediequi.it/

You may want to go to Equi on Monday, when the group go to the hill-top village of Monte dei Bianchi to paint of have lessons in the garden of the gourmet Al Vecchio Tino restaurant – you don’t want to miss that! So, it may be easier either just to join them, take a stroll in the hills, or visit the nearby vineyard of Monastero Frati Bianchi (see next section.)

If you fancy swimming in the sulphurous spa waters of Equi Terme or dodging the stalactites in the grottoes, we’ll drop you at a train station near the mill for the short (10/15 mins) journey to Equi and advise on opening times and trains back to Aulla. We’ll tell you how to get a taxi back to the mill. You can let us know beforehand or when you have settled in during you week at the mill.

There is a public hard tennis court in Fivizzano, run by the town, with its own changing rooms and showers. You can find it beyond the car park and the new town gardens above the bus station (to the right of the Via Roma). The system is that one of the town cafés holds the key and the booking sheet. You pay in advance and collect the key before you play. The key-holding café changes from year to year, but Bill or Lois will know. (Or you may have to drink in each to find out!)

We have tennis racquets and balls at the mill to borrow. We’ll fix the court for you!

There are trout in the River Rosaro, which flows past the mill. You can fish for them with a permit which is obtainable at the Dominicelli hardware store in the Via Roma (on the left just below the fish shop!), which is then stamped at the post office. (The delights of Italian bureaucracy!)

There are other rivers and lakes nearby you can try. Fishing tackle is also available at Dominichelli’s.

If you are interested, we’ll fix the permit for you.

We have a bicycle at the mill you can borrow.

We can also fix bicycle hire for you at a specialist bicycle store nearby, or help you fix hire at a place of your choice.

The roads are steep and windy, but if you are a keen cyclist, very rewarding. We’ll lend you a map.

We’ve collected together all sorts of walks for you, from strolls around the mill grounds, the river, the millstream and the village, to walks through vineyards and olive groves, to treks in the High Appennines.

There’s a book at the mill with details and we’ll tell you more when you are here.

We’ll lend you maps as appropriate.