Rogolone

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After climbing out of Menaggio on tight switchbacks up to Croce, high on the ridge, the road scoots along the floor of the Val Menaggio, passing Bene Lario and 3km later reaching the small, reedy Lago di Piano, protected as a nature reserve and breeding place for water birds. Drop into the little information office beside the lake, or ask the Menaggio tourist office for the route description of a pleasant, almost flat two-hour walk here that takes in woodlands and a fortified cluster of medieval houses on a peninsula in the lake, known as Castel San Pietro. Continue reading “Rogolone”

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To Monastero

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Villa Monastero was on the furthest shore of Lake Como, a long circuitous drive by car from Argegno where we were staying, but just ten minutes by ferry if we drove up to Menaggio. We left the car there and crossed the lake as foot passengers on the autotraghetto to Varenna. Continue reading “To Monastero”

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Burnham Beeches

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A couple of weeks earlier we walked in Burnham Beeches, where, according to England in Particularthe largest assembly in the world (of pollarded and coppiced beeches) still stands… acquired by the Corporation of the City of London in 1880 to protect it from development. Continue reading “Burnham Beeches”

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Balbianello

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We came to Lake Como thinking we’d visit a few of the local gardens. We’d seen Monty Don’s Italian Gardens but we’d not committed it to memory. Then when we arrived we were told – if you visit only one garden be sure it’s Balbianello, it’s perfect. This is how it looks from the lake. Continue reading “Balbianello”

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Down To Argegno

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We were staying for two weeks in a chalet overlooking Lake Como, with spectacular views across the lake to Monte San Primo. This is the top of our street, Via Cacciatori Delle Alpi, but here called Via San Sisinio. As we walked I took photos at regular intervals all the way down the hill. Continue reading “Down To Argegno”

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The Sky At Snape

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SNAP HQ, a cor-ten steel shed at Snape Maltings, nerve centre of the SNAP visual arts programme for this year’s Aldeburgh Festival, directing our gaze towards the great Suffolk sky. Continue reading “The Sky At Snape”

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