Off to France

First stop Alba ,Piemonte in wine growing country.

Barberesco

We went on to Annecy with its crystal clear lake.

Near Annecy I went to a gorge where one goes through the gorge on a cantilevered walkway.

 

We returned to Avignon to see some things mainly out of the city.

Pont du Gard aqueduct. The Romans managed to build it with a gradient of 300mm every 1000m

At St Roman south of Avignon I visited a Monastery carved out of a rocky hilltop. 

 

Out of the way Avignon, in Rue Teinturiers

Other odd angles of Avignon

 

July in the Apennines

I managed to find time to do some walking in the Apennines this month.

The first walk was from Prato Spilla to Mount Sillara and back. Unusually for this part of the Apennines it stayed nice all day.

Towards M Bocco

Lago Martini

Lago di Campione

Lago Sillara

M. Sillara

The view from M. Sillara

 I did another walk from Lago Santo in the Parmense to the Fugicchia Pass, which included a hair raising stretch with a forest on one side and a near shear drop down into Toscana on the other.

The Passo delle Guadine

Along the crest from M. Brusa

M. Scala

Sheep pens near Passo Fuicchia

Cap. Badignana

The last part ment a 400m climb back to M. Brusa and down to Lagdei.

I went a couple of times to Lago Santo in the Modenese and did two different walks,the second ending at Lago Nero in the province of Perugia.

Early morning cloud clearing at Lago Baccio

Monte Rondinaro from Rondinaio Lombardo

Rondinaio Lombardo

Towards the Finestra del Rondinaio

Decending From Finestra del Rondinaio

Lago Turchino

Lago Turchino a halfway point with a spring issuing lovely cold mountain water.

Lago Piatto

Lago Nero

Lago Nero

Lago Nero

Lago Nero was full of Alpine Newts.

Near Foce di Campolino

  The last walk I did was the Airone 2 in the Orecchiella Park near Lucca in Toscana. Nothing very special apart from the cliff edge section with a shear rockface above and a shear drop in front.

Airone 2

Chestnut woods

Orrido di Botri

This is a strange gorge near Bagni di Lucca in Tuscany in the Garfagnana.

The walk involves mostly wading up a mountain stream until the first part of the gorge. Then as it had rained the night before, the walk then involved wading almost up to my waist through the first narrow stretch. which is just four metres wide.

The first narrows- Guadina

Out of the guadina.

Then onto the Prigioni which are the second narrows which are wider, so one gets less wet.

The Prigioni

Then it is quite easy to arrive at the Salto di Becchi.

Salto di Becchi

The the going gets interesting where one must cling onto a rope to edge along the rocks each side of the stream.

Section with ropes

The Guadina

It also rains down from the sides

Back into the Guadina

Thank goodness I took my monopod which doubled up as a walking stick on the sometimes slippery rocks and made taking photographs (even the 17-55 2.8 needed high ISO hand held)  possible in the gloom of the gorge.

Badgers

Whilst out for a walk to the waterfalls and ruined mill at Mulino del Diavolo (Devils mill) near Cerredolo dei Coppi I came across these badgers who were seemingly oblivious to my presence. When they had finished eating they came up to me within a meters distance and growled before running off.

A last minute decision to take the 80-200 instead of just the 17-55 that I usually carry alone let me take these pictures at F2.8 in the low light of  the forest.