Testimonials from our walkers.
I. & L. of England
Many thanks for a wonderful week in Umbria, We booked a walking holiday, but experienced so much more. The walks were often challenging, but never exhausting, the scenery magnificent and the journey into Renaissance Art an unexpected pleasure.
Add to this the wonderful food, together with the hospitality of yourself, Emma and everyone at Il Granaio and as the Italians would say - ‘non solo camminando!’ Oh ..... and the wine was pretty good as well!!
On a more personal note we would both like to say how much we enjoyed your company throughout the week. Your efforts to make our holiday such a varied and enjoyable experience were very much appreciated, Please pass on our genuine thanks and best wishes to everyone involved.
S. of England
It all seems like a dim and distant memory now but I just wanted to drop you a line to say how much we enjoyed our recent walking holiday around Lake Trasimeno.
We have done many walking holidays in the last few years, and Lake Trasimeno was up there with the very best. The accommodation and food were fantastic from the very sophisticated Villa Di Monte Solare (which shouldn’t be missed as you really are pampered) to the much more basic Hotel Portole, (which is hugely enjoyable due to the friendliness of the owner).
The walking instructions were second to none with a level of details you so rarely find. The GPS system was a great reassurance for any times of doubt and stopped quite a few arguments I can tell you! But most enjoyable of all were the walks themselves. Setting off in the morning, not seeing another living soul until you get to the next hotel with the most gorgeous of panoramic views you can ever imagine. It felt like being on top of the world – fabulous. Thanks so much
P. & A. of England
We are experienced walkers and cyclists but have never before walked in Italy. The Quattro Passi Holidays self-guided walk around Lake Trasimino was a revelation. We have often driven through Tuscany and Umbria but had no idea just how beautiful, quiet and unspoilt the countryside is away from the roads. The walk on each day was brilliant and in many different types of terrain; through woodland, along high ridges and through olive groves to name a few. One feature of just about every walk was the profusion of wild flowers; for example we identified about 10 different species of orchid but there were many wild flowers that we had never seen before. The route instructions were first-rate and didn't require any special navigational skills.
The accommodation each night was excellent and each of different character, ranging from the elegant and sophisticated to the more personal and unpretentious. The staff in each of the hotels was very welcoming and the food and wine were well up to the high standards that one expects in Italy.
This was one of the most varied and enjoyable walking holidays we have had. Many thanks.
W. & A. of Australia
We were really pleased with the Quattro Passi walking adventure and would recommend it very highly to others. The walking experience could not be bettered for people such as us - the countryside, the vegetation and flowers, the climate and the accommodations were excellent. We did appreciate the upgrade of the weather that you sent after a few days! The variety of accommodations was an interesting and welcome experience in itself. In retrospect, while we enjoyed very much the luxury ones, and "Villa di Monte Solare" gave us a really splendid upgrade room, the "Le Grotte di Boldrino" and the "Albergo Portole" were probably enjoyed most, for the personal interaction. We have invited Fabio Belli to stay with us in Australia; we are very glad that we opted for the additional day in the programme, both to experience Panicale and to meet them.
We were also very pleased with your friendly attention to our queries and needs.
A. & S. of England
We did it! We completed the self guided walk around Lake Trasimeno! It was a challenge but we loved it. Setting off each morning not quite knowing where we would be at the end of the day. Days of stunning views of Umbria and Tuscany, hard walking, and forest picnics with the reward of arriving at a new hotel each night, fantastic meals and a few glasses of wine! We enjoyed all the hotels and places which we visited for different reasons but particularly the hill top town of Panicale - sitting in the piazza watching the sun go down - and the Capprici de Merion hotel in Truoro we think were our favourites. Thought we might lose half a stone each with the walking but balanced the exercise out with plenty of fine food! Busy practising our Italian now for our next visit. Thanks Martin for planning such an interesting and enjoyable walk!
From J. & K. J. of Wokingham, Berkshire
We loved every moment of our walking holiday. Martin is a brilliant guide. He arranged a programme of walks that were varied and interesting; amazing views, stunning wildfloweres and cultural interest. The walks were perfectly judged to suit the ability and fitness of the group. Il Granaio is an amazing place, the accommodation was charmingly rustic and the food was of top restaurant standard - we've ordered the cookery book!!
From C.G. of Ireland
A short note to thank you for what was a really wonderful walking week on the borders of Umbria and Tuscany.
It is difficult to pick out the highlights of the week because each and every day was so well chosen by you offering yet another wonderful walk, a new village or town, an amazing etruscan tomb or a very special fresco. Having said that, the Gubbio circle walk was stunning and that is the walk I will remember most because of the trip on the Funivia, the amazing wild flowers and the hills that rolled on and on. The pace was perfect and I was particularly impressed by how you catered for the individual needs of the group with such ease.
Il Granaio is a wonderful place, the food was outstanding and the accomodation there was so restful. Thank you to Antonella and Patrick, Ellie and Alfredo for looking after us so well at Il Granaio. I look forward to the publication of Il Granaio's cookery book though I doubt I will ever be able to recreate those wonderful dishes!
The evening at the Gritti vineyard and the lovely lunch at your home were two further highlights.
I returned to Ireland so refreshed after the holiday and I have no doubt I will reap the benefits of the week for some time to come. I will be recommending your walking holiday without hesitation to my friends. Thank you both again.
From S&K.D of NSW. Australia
Just a short note to thank you both for what we consider to have been a truly great 8 day, individualised, walking tour of Umbria and Tuscany. Ken and I had a great time and are still singing your praises to family and friends. A thank you also to Patrick and the team at Il Granaio for enhancing our stay with great Italian food, wine and coffee.
From R&J. Y of Vancouver, Canada.
....we were greeted at the Terontola-Cortona train station by our host and hostess for a week. In about half an hour we were at our agriturismo inn called Il Granaio. The people there all came to welcome us. From then on it was a feast after another interrupted with frequent wine tastings and dealing with the rivalry between Umbria and Toscana. We enjoyed and tastebudwise benefited from this neighbourly rivalry.. Also during the day, with a long and merry lunch/wine
break, we hiked a total of 100 km, up and down, pretty vistas, old houses converted to million dollar Bramasoles.. We perspired sometimes "Under the Tuscan Sun." Our host Martin told us about the battle between Hannibal and the Romans where thousands of Romans were wasted. It was a long weekend and everywhere we went, like Lago Trasimeno and Isola di Maggiore, we melted in the crowds with mostly Italian tourists. We benefited greatly from Martin's knowledge of history, art, indigenous plants, trees and flowers, local fauna, real estate, restoration of tobacco towers, wine, wineries of Italia,
vinifera, sommeliership, and much more. He was also a master driver specializing in narrow roads, tight spots, fast trucks and solving whatever
problem confronted the group such as a backpack left in a Cortona coffeehouse. We had interesting info about Etruscans, Underground City of Perugia, Gubbio and Cortona. We went to the market with Emma for fruits and veggies a la Italiano. It was a sad goodbye yesterday for a group of people after just a week of overindulgence in eating, drinking and talking.
From U.K. of Stockholm, Sweden
Coming back to the walks, I think Martin and you have done a wonderful job in planning all the walks and made all the excursions to find them. The schedule that you had made for us was perfectly balanced with a steep terrain and slopes in a very good mix. The city walks in Perugia and Gubbio in between the walks in the "country side" was good as well and we also had the weather gods on our side as that day was a mix between sunshine and rain.
The winetasting evening showed a lot of knowledge from Martin's side and he did it all with a smile and really showed that he enjoyed it all and his personality and his sense for the country and it's wine gave an extra touch to the event.
To live at Il Granaio and be "taken care" of by Patrick, Antonella, Alfredo, Ellie and Fjodr as well as Sophia was like being in Paradise. Alex was a little bit shy so we didn't see that much of him until the last two days.The friendliness, the family atmosphere and the joy the people spread - they really made us feel at home and nearly part of their family.
I will definitely aim to get back to Umbria to do some more walkings and that is solely thanks to you and the introduction we got from you.
Many thanks
From T&M.F, WA
Emma & Martin, Michael & I want to thank you most sincerely for the wonderful walking holiday that you organised for us. We haven't stopped talking about it and have given your website to friends already. Today I was looking at the itineray you gave us and really wanted to be back there; it was a wonderul time that all nine of us enjoyed. I know it has gone down in my list of excellent holidays.Everything that you arranged was perfect and both of you, and Jude, were so relaxed with us nine reprobates. Il Granaio also takes some beating; very hospitable hosts and we loved Ellie's sense of humour. Our lemon tree is full of lemons so Michael is looking for a receipe for Lemoncello on the internet! Happy memories.
Reviews of "Circular Walks on the Tuscany Umbria Border" by Martin Daykin.
Hi Emma and Martin
Hilary and I found Martins book in the bookshop in Umbertide as promised - when we finally found it open! It was even in the window display! We really enjoyed these walks:
- The leaning tower.
- Montone short. The way up has a barbed wire fence near the bottom - a cattle restraint I think and easily passed. There is another at the top near the castle.
- St Anna Long
- Ruinned village long.
- Monte Tesio - we got lost at the top on beautiful day!! The wind measurer has gone and the top is now unmarked. Believe it or not we walked past the summit to the cross in the distance! Still the longer walk was good and we eventually claimed the summit!
We also did about 3 hours of the Montone long - backwards. no - not walking backwards but walking in the reverse direction up the ridge - 90 mins out - then turning and returning. Doing it backwards produces an interesting diversion through a farm yard - where the dog proved too bored to make much fuss! All in all your book really enhanced our holiday. Fantastic views - and never a soul to be seen! We gave the book to Carlo at La Cassacce to show other English walkers - can't work out if that will be good for sales or not!!
Thanks
RB
PS Strange spellings of walks reflect the fact I gave the book away - hope you recognise them!!
Dear Sir,
Your book "Circular Walks" is very impressive and has been very useful to better know the wonderful land around me.
Since I bought it last october at the Terontola station newsstand, my wife and I (we are, despite the russian name, Italian living in Passignano since 1985) during the winter and early spring season followed your # 1,3,6,13,14 walks discovering sometimes places with unknown beauties (like the Roman road close to Pierle).
We felt ourselves in touch with you when you speak about "Torre di Fiume" we saw for the first time twenty years ago. We had the same idea, because it is a pity to leave such wonderful castle in a ruinous state.
We already have been all around the Trasimeno lake walking, biking and sailing, but it is difficult to find a book like this one, which is so comprehensive giving all the informations you need about the nature, the culture, even the gastronomy.
I hope that you could make a new book explaining the walks concerning east, west and south parts of the lake.
A.K.
We purchased Martin's book, Circular Walks, and found it clearly written, accurate and very useful. We now must return to do some more of the walks he describes.
LH
We thoroughly enjoyed the walks around Cortona and would not have been able to find our way around without your book. Thought you would appreciate some feedback. Incidentally stopped at Hotel Corys for an unexpected late lunch - wonderful service, food and great views. Magic!
HP
Dear Martin Daykin, A big thank you for transforming our variety of walks around our house - Danciano just above Mengaccini. The circular concept is so attractive and we have already done 11 of your 18 walks. Your Guide is the best-thumbed book with our guests. I think we passsed your house 2 weeks ago on the Migianella short walk? We had superb weather and scenery in Oct. with one breathtaking day above Cortona and the mist below us like the sea with the 'islands' emerging from it.
With good wishes,
TC-W