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active travel

The Best Destinations in Italy for Active Holidays

Italy might be a haven for foodie lovers, limoncello connoisseurs (that’s me!), and culture vultures, but more unknowingly (especially if this is the first of my active travel posts about Italy you’ve read), it’s also a haven for travellers seeking an active adventure. From the rolling hills, vast lake expanses, and south coast gems, active holidays are a perfect way to experience quintessential Italy, whilst keeping fit.

Sounds enticing? Here are some of the best destinations in Italy, for an active escape.

Water Sports on Lake Garda

Water-worshippers can take on the calm currents of Lake Garda. The largest out-of-the-lake portfolio in Italy is a paradise for watersports. From tame meanders to more adventurous movements, the lake can suit a wide range of holidaymakers wanting to stay active. Thanks to steady winds, the lake waters within Torbole create the perfect conditions for windsurfing. Whether a team of novices or experts, the area is equipped with a wide range of schools and rental shops to cater to all skill levels. You never know, you just might end up at the Windsurfing Internationa Gala, which takes place on Garda every year!

Kitesurfing is another popular option and this sport combines surfing with paragliding techniques for a nostalgic experience of kite flying amid glorious Italian greenery. Or, for a sit-down activity, both canoeing and kayaking are active ways to explore secluded coves and the rocky cliffs from below. These shores also offer some excellent scuba diving and snorkelling spots, where you can witness colourful coral reefs and historic shipwrecks below ground level. Get up close to local marine life too.

Skiing in Cortina

In the northern region of Veneto, nestled in the Italian Alps, lies the resort of Cortina, which’s ideal for skiers of all experience backgrounds. With the dramatic Dolmites background of sublime valleys, the white mountains are picture-perfect with flawless ski conditions. SNO ski all-inclusive resorts craft luxury ski holidays for travellers seeking luxury in the snow. Dine at a combination of Italian cuisine and modern international restaurants serving classic mountain dishes. The thriving après scene includes clubs, dining establishments, and bars for nighttime enjoyment after long days.

Throughout the winter season, the region hosts a wealth of events and cultural festivals. With a charming vibe in the town, you can mix winter sports with strolling amid pristine façades and rich historic streets.

Historical Sightseeing in Rome

One of the most loved cities in Europe and beyond, Rome is Italy’s capital for a reason. Picture ambling through cobblestone streets ending in intricate waterworks like the Trevi and shopping till you drop around Piazza Navona. Head to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Colleseum and learn of the historical significance of the world’s largest ampitheatre. With an original seating capacity of nearly eighty thousand spectators, the sheer size of the ruins still standing today is astonishing for tourists to see. Gladialatorial combat was the highlight of events at the building, and if you take on a walking tour led by an expert, you’re sure to learn a lot about Roman history.

Once out of the Colleseum, reach an even higher step count, with a stroll to the Roman Forum that stands adjacent to it. Serving as a market place and historical centre in ancient Rome, head up Paletine Hill to overlook the Forum Hill sand and wander among mythology and history. From Rome, you can even head to the world’s smallest country, the Vatican City. Where the Catholic Church plays significance to the whole state, travellers are able to marvel at the beautiful works of Michelangelo as well as view the panorama from the dome top of St. Peter’s Basilica. Walk through the streets of the Eternal City and the Vatican City to see how religion still shapes much of Europe today.

It is one of the best sight-seeing walking tours in the world and as run at sunrise, it is unbeatable and elevates, as a destination, Italy for active holidays.

Climb Mount Etna in Sicily

On the east coast of the Italian owned island, stands one of the earth’s oldest active volcanic spots. Known for continuous activity, it has been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its cultural and ecological significance. The range stands at over eleven thousand feet above sea level, and it can be hiked by tourists looking for an adrenaline rush. Experience a variety of landscapes, from dense forest land, to barren lava fields. Since the mountain is now a huge tourist attraction, the local area is synonymous with tasteful vineyards and cultural hotspots, the perfect spots for breaks amid the active holiday.

For the perfect Sicilian stay, holiday rentals in Sicily can range from luxurious beachfront cottages, to hilltop panoramic apartments. Delve into an Italian home-from-home and have a restful place to rest after busy days across the island.

Running in Sorrento

Ok, this one isn’t for the faint hearted. With its steep inclines, narrow and winding streets and drivers maybe not expecting to see someone running towards them, running in Sorrento is challenging but rewarding (in the form of limoncello slushes).

Cycling in Emilia Romagna

The Quaint Italian region in Northern Italy is renowned for classic Italian cuisine and local heritage, among rolling landscapes. Cycling enthusiasts can enjoy the wide array of routes in the region that cater to all levels. Whether it’s families wanting a leisurely amble through scenic vineyards, or uphill ascends in the local Apennine Mountains. Well maintained roads and various bike rental shops across the region make it perfect for anyone wanting to get involved in two-wheel rides. For a fulfilling way to explore, cycle within one of the most quintessential Italian regions.

Summary

Italy’s natural landscape is a plethora of natural colour and wonder. For travellers ready to combine exploration with keeping fit, the country awaits.

August 11, 2024 0 comment

Physical Activity Sustainability

Winter Walking with adidas

written by Stephen Morrison

Winter is on its way (arguably already here) and while the temptation might be to hibernate and wait out whatever crazy weather this winter might bring, for many of us there’s the small matter of work or college etc to get to.

COVID 19 has led for many to adapt to a more hybrid working pattern, with time split working between home and the office, but there has been a push to get us all back into the workplace. With the cost of living crisis and increasing fuel and public transport costs, you might want to consider cycling or walking (even part of the way) to work.

I tend to be a fair weather cyclist who doesn’t like cycling in the dark nights or icy and wet conditions, so walking to work is my preferred mode of transport when not getting the bus.

And that’s another reason for winter walking with adidas.

With more of us back working in the office, there’s more of us back using buses and trains. It might not be headline news, but there STILL is a horrible respiratory virus in the air and full buses with all the windows closed and people coughing is all the encouragement I need to get my walking shoes on.

It’s also a way for me to offset calories and carbon from my visits to Big Bear Bakery and our driving to the gym (still going 3 times a week to JD Gyms Glasgow South). Walking more was what changed my life, brought me so many opportunities, and what launched this blog, so it is fitting that as I consider hanging up my blogging boots, that I return to my roots.

But as I said, winter is coming and in my final adidas blog of the year, I thought I’d share a few Black Friday recommendations of what I consider as essential kit for those looking to actively commute.

Put your best foot forward

It is impossible to ignore the floods affecting the world. Climate change, zoning laws (who thought it was sensible to build houses in a floodplain? It is in the name!), and poor drainage all play a role, and while there are ways we can slow down climate change for future generations, the weather is here to stay (and potentially get worse).

So a good pair of shoes is a must.

I went for the albeit strangely named adidas X9000L2 COLD.RDY, a water-repellant and COLD.RDY shoe partly made with recyclable material and insulating you from the elements. With its Jet Boost sole you still get that Bounce in your step and I do find that my knees appreciate the support and shock absorption. At £45.50 (reduced from £90.00) they are one of my cheapest adidas trainers, but I cannot fault the build, look, and feel. Being water-repellent it doesn’t allow you to walk through rivers of water, but it will help you navigate puddles and keep your feet warm and dry in the rain.

Keep Your Head On

I will always remember my papa extolling the virtues of a good hat. As a hard worling foreman on building sites, he was regulary exposed to whatever mother nature could throw at him. He’d wear tights (sorry tradespeople if I am giving away trade secrets) under his work trousers and when he took me to watch Pollok Juniors, he’d always be wearing his bunnet.

Time has moved on, and sadly so has my papa, but I still remember him telling me that we lose all our heat from our heads. It turns out that like many things papas tell their grandchildren, this was a myth. While the head does lose heat, it is not significantly more than other parts of the body. But I digress.

A good hat will keep your head (and your ears) warm in the harshest of winds. Again, I went for something using the insulating COLD.RDY tech, the aptly named Tech Cuff Beanie. Made from 50% recycled polyester and 50% recycled wool plain knit, it’ll help keep me warm and contribute to my efforts to live more sustainably.

Body of Evidence

The fact is that we need to keep our bodies warm. As well as preventing hypothermia, it helps with our body’s thermoregulation. In cold environments, the body redistrubutes blood to the torso, mainting the warmth of our vital (again, a clue in the name) organs. So when hunting for a suitable jacket, I was looking for something that would keep me warm AND keep me dry in Glasgow, one of the wettest cities in the UK.

It also couldn’t break the bank (or rather, the remainder of the gift voucher kindly given to me by adidas).

Finding a jacket that is both insulated and water repellant at a reasonable price is hard enough, but since learning more about how what we wear can damage the environment, I try to avoid durable water repellent coatings that use perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). At only £85.00 (£59.50 in the current sale) the PFC-Free BSC 3 Stripes Insulated Jacket was exactly what I was looking for.

Hidden cuffs keep out the wind and rain and the hood fits well. It’s not too heavy and with it being made from 100% recycled materials, it is another item of clothing that I will not feel guilty buying.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

With your feet, head and vital organs covered, you will be set for your winter walking regime. It just needs you to commit to making the journey. I tend to only walk on days when the weather isn’t truly miserable as water repellent is not water resistant. It’s a 3 mile walk for me and I use it to think, plan, and dream. You might want to download some audio books or listen to podcasts, but please do be conscious of traffic and considerate of other pavement users.

And please be mindful that the great Black Friday discounts at adidas are only great discounts if you are buying something you need. As consumers, we do need to also buy less as well as buying more sustainable products. I was gifted the three products by adidas.

Adios adidas?

And that ends my adidas blogs for the year. It has been a great experience being part of the #adidasbloggercommunity and I hope you have enjoyed my blogs about the different ways adidas are making their products more sustainable.

I do not know if they will invite me back next year, and part of me is not even sure if How Many Miles will still be here in 2024, but I still enjoy pressing publish on a new blog post and I still have not discovered how many miles I need to go, so it is maybe not au revoir just yet.

Thanks for all of your support since 2012.

Stephen

November 24, 2023 0 comment

Europe Travel

One Day In Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland

written by Stephen Morrison

“Nooooo, not another walking holiday!!” exclaimed Daniel and Jack in unison when we revealed at the airport that Interlaken in the Swiss Bernese Oberland region was our holiday destination.

For, Teresa and I (and the boys when they actually get there) love active holidays and visiting this part of Switzerland had long been on our bucket list. So, when a combination of cheap flights from Edinburgh to Geneva via EasyJet and discounted accommodation via Travala.com (I paid and saved over £200 with this emerging and price beating booking platform on the Interlaken hotel!) presented themselves, we immediately started to plan our excursions from Interlaken. A brilliant base, as you’ll see from the Wanderlog map for accessing all the local valleys and mountains.

This map was made with Wanderlog, a travel planner on iOS and Android

Interlaken

In hindsight, our excellent mountainside side Dorin Hotel in Beatenberg was slightly too far out from Interlaken and our day trips did tend to start slightly later than we would have wished. Although it was possibly worth waking up to this view every day from our bedroom window.

And for the opportunity to take the ferry on Lake Thun most days

That’s not to say that we didn’t pack a lot into our days with our adventures in Interlaken possibly worthy of a separate blog post. However, one day in particular stood out and even impressed the boys.

One Day In Lauterbrunnen

Nestled between the peaks of the Bernese Alps lies Lauterbrunnen Valley; gateway to the mountains of Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch but also home to one of the most scenic and wondrous family walks that we’ve ever experienced.

The three mile long and relatively flat Lauterbrunnen Valley walk starts as soon as you step off the train from Interlaken Ost in the centre of Lauterbrunnen and catch a glimpse of the stunning Staubbach Falls.

As you walk along the wide and tarmacked road , you soon notice an absence of cars and this is because this stretch of road is car free other than the occasional homeowner or delivery vehicle.

What you also notice are the imposing but majestic rock faces looking down upon you from both sides and the snow capped peaks in the distance.

As you approach the 300 foot high Staubbach Falls, its power and beauty is something to behold and yes, I did take about 30 pictures of it and those I share still don’t do it justice.

Once past the falls, the relatively gentle and flat(ish) walk continues past many of Lauterbrunnen Valley’s 72 waterfalls; past cows lazing in the sun, with their cowbells providing a relaxing and fitting soundtrack to the walk, and past to die for properties with their cute and amusing post boxes

And then the cable cars ascending from Stechelberg come into view and your journey into the clouds begins with the peak of Schilthorn the final destination (or so we thought).

Both the train to Lauterbrunnena and the Cable Car to Schilthorn are included in the cost of the Swiss Pass (it’s a must if travelling by train, ferry, bus or cable car in Switzerland) and children under 16 years of age travel for free with the accompanying Swiss Family Pass and the cable car to Schilthorn includes a few stops worth er, stopping at.

On the way down, that is, because we were advised that it is better to reach the peak in the morning when the clouds and crowds are at their lowest.

Schilthorn

With our later start and three mile walk that included dozens of stops for photographs, we arrived at the Schilthorn Station at around about 11.30am and the view, even with the clouds, was mesmerizing.

Eiger, Junfrau and Monch were all within sight and Mont Blanc in France was even visible to the south east. The vista was incredible and other than a few other tourists, it was for our eyes only.

Anyone who recognise that James Bond pun and the James Bond gun barrel might be interested to know that Schillthorn was the location of the inevitable Bond vs Bond villain clash at the latter’s base in the George Lazenby fronted “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and wow, even 50 years later, this fact isn’t forgotten. It serves as the theme on the viewing platform, in the revolving Piz Gloria restaurant and even in the toilets.

We hadn’t booked for the revolving restaurant and with travel groups descending upon tables, we were lucky to get a window facing table. Hungry after our walk, we ordered a few bowls of tasty fries. These were only around 8 Swiss Francs each which is very reasonable given that it is Switzerland and that we were a captive (thankfully not by Blofeld) audience and a round of drinks at a price worth paying for the experience.

One experience we did avoid was the highly recommended Thrill Walk at Birg station just below Schilthorn as it was enveloped with clouds and with time against us, we wanted to explore the charming mountain village of Murren and fit in another walk.

Murren

Murren offers several short (in Swiss terms) and accessible walks including the Flower Panorama but we are practical people and decided to forego the train and instead decided to walk along the ridge to Grutschalp, above the Lauterbrunnen Valley and down to Lauterbrunnen itself via another cable car (much to wee Jack’s displeasure- he hates cables cars).

This was another relatively gentle walk and at times the views were breathtaking, especially if you look behind you

But maybe it was because the earlier walk along the Lauterbrunnen Valley spoiled us or because we were getting tired, but with the walks available in this region, I would maybe only include this one if you were staying in the area for a few days.

A combination of weather and Teresa demanding that we also see the Matterhorn on this holiday meant that we only had one day to explore the Jungfrau region and as we stood in the Lauterbrunnen station waiting for the train back to Interlaken, Teresa planted the idea of taking the train to the highest train station in Europe, at Jungfraujoch.

Jungfraujoch

While the ascent to Schilthorn is now included in the Swiss Pass, the train from Wengen (from Lauterbrunnen) to Kleine Scheidegg and eventually JungFraujoch is not, although it is half price for adults and children.

And ultimately, it is an experience worth it. Just don’t take the last train up and leave yourself thirty minutes to explore the station and glacier above and the Ice Palace and museums within the mountain which takes “normal” visitors approximately two hours.

With the clock ticking until the last train, we navigated our way along the ice corridors until we reached the very fast lift to the Sphinx Observatory on Jungfraujoch where we stepped out into a scene that will forever stay with me.

I felt both exposed and excited and fearful but also elated at the bleak but beautiful panorama that lay before me. With Teresa and the boys eager to see the Ice Palace, I had a solitary few moments to enjoy the tranquility and silence as I stood alone at the top of Jungfraujoch.

I was soon running along corridors to catch up with my family and to catch the last train back to Lauterbrunnen, but I did manage to capture some of the art and ice installation. Had we more time, we might have spent more time exploring and possibly shopping as Jungfraujoch is filled with luxury shops which were all sadly closed as the staff were also heading for that final train.

And on that final train, we had one final surprise. A commemorative Jungfrau Lindt chocolate that would serve as a reminder of our visit. Or it would have, if we all hadn’t scoffed them within seconds of receiving them.

The fifty minute journey back to Lauterbrunnan was extremely pleasant and relaxing. Its descent winded its way through alpine valleys and past alpine lakes and by the time we had made our connecting train back to Interlaken, we were all ready for an early night to bed, especially wee Jack.

With good planning, good weather and armed with the Swiss Pass, a day like ours exploring Lauterbrunnen Valley isn’t just possible but also highly recommended. It is a fairly inexpensive way to spend one magical day in Switzerland.

Please note that this is NOT a sponsored post but that I do work for Travala.com (please do read my travel articles for at the Travala.com Blog). Using the above link does NOT cost you any additional fees but it DOES earn both you and I £40 in travala.com credits (AVA) should you register and book using my link.

January 13, 2020 0 comment