Lincolnshire

 

Another foray into a part of the country I am not familiar with, Lincolnshire, uncovered another layer of our great country. I camped on a lovely site, the Camper UK Leisure Park, just inside the Lincolnshire border and a few miles outside the grand old town of Lincoln. It had a well-tended core with a lake surrounded by chalets, a kitchen and games room, plots for motorhomes and a vast outlying field for overspill and tents like mine which had the field virtually to myself. A short walk to the core gave access to a row of clean, modern toilet and shower cubicles. Just don’t forget it’s seriously flat and don’t those winds blow across these eastern English steppes, so just prepare for that!

Driving up the A1 in this part of the country takes you past some English towns worth a serious stop like Newark on Trent and Stamford which you’d miss if you just carry on speeding up the A1.  Newark was a revelation, with an impressive Civil War history and a fine town centre just a few miles from Newark show ground where I stayed for a few days. Newark has a lovely old town square with cobbled pavements and colourful market stalls, fronted by a classical town hall which boasts an old-fashioned indoor street with associated eateries and cosy enclosed passageway to the surrounding area. A large church sits just off the main square surrounded by gardens, trees and parkland, and a castle sits just down by the river. The town centre itself would give many British towns a run for their money.

  

I had never been to Lincoln, but camping nearby gave me the chance to nip into the centre virtually every day. It’s well worth a visit, even just for the cathedral, one of the biggest in the country. Although Lincolnshire is pretty flat, Lincoln itself is splayed over rolling countryside with the cathedral and its ancient Cathedral Quarter on a bluff commanding and overlooking the rest of the town. Of course the cathedral itself is the main attraction, with its huge twin towers dominating the frontage and surrounded by an open green oasis. Well worth a visit, there are a number of tours that cover the history, one of which, the Floor tour, takes you round the vast core of the inside of the building, whilst the Roof tour takes you around the roof areas and out onto the roof with great views of the vicinity including the castle across the road. Around the cathedral and down into the modern town centre is a wonderful medieval jumble of streets and buildings with plenty of cafes and restaurants to fuel your touristic wanderings, centring on the very steep Steep Hill which winds down to the modern shopping mecca and modern core. 

 

Opposite the cathedral at the other end of Castle Hill is the castle precinct in the Bailgate area, comprising an oval of walls and associated infrastructure, within which is a jumble of buildings, including the Crown Court, a Victorian prison with male and female sections and a copy of Magna Carta which can all be visited. An audio guide whilst on the wall and copious information points give a comprehensive story of the history of the castle. The wall walk provides a chance to drink in a 360 degree panorama of Lincoln itself. Prepare yourself with the car parking. There is a series of car parks adjacent to the city walls, but there are also some free spaces certainly in the evening along the adjoining street. Incidentally there’s also a Park and Ride from Waitrose on Searby Rd, Lincoln to avoid parking problems.

Sliding down Steep St takes you into the modern centre of Lincoln and the Cultural Quarter with the usual mix of chain stores, pedestrianised areas and old and new build. At the south end of the High St the St Mark’s shopping centre stretches away in a medley of new developments built round the remains of the old railway station. Not far from here is the Brayford Waterfront, a rather unusual and attractive inland water feature, a bit like having a lake in the middle of the city but actually a swollen part of the River Witham. Its northern edge is actually packed with restaurants and watering holes including old favourites like Wagamama which are stretched out along the modern waterfront. From here you also get some great views of the city skyline, especially up to the cathedral quarter.

Lincolnshire was called Bomber County in the war because of the presence of 49 military airfields, more than any other county in England, to support the endeavours of bomber command. So there are a lot of mementoes of the war scattered over the county including old airfields that can be visited. Just outside Lincoln to the south off the A15 and high on a hill is the International Bomber Command Centre, well worth a visit. Here at the huge open-air memorial is the Memorial Spire 31m tall, the wingspan of the Avro Lancaster, and the Walls on which are recorded the names of nearly 58000 men and women who gave their lives as members of bomber command, as well as Peace Gardens landscaped with plants and trees. There is a very worthwhile tour with knowledgeable guide on the history of the attraction, and it is the only place in the world that memorialises every loss in Bomber Command. There is also an exhibition, and a very nice modern café as well as a shop. Outside the front of the main building is a memorial to the airlift to feed the Dutch people at the end of the war who were suffering terrible famine.

 Just down the road is RAF Waddington which has a heritage centre on the history of the station. There is a viewing area on the A15 overlooking the airfield together with snack bar and gift shop. Traversing the county one just comes across one airfield after another. RAF Scampton on the main road from Lincoln to Gainsborough was a famous bomber base and is the home of the Red Arrows, although they are scheduled to move to RAF Waddington. Scampton of course was the base for the 617 Dambuster squadron led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The Heritage Centre covers the history of the base from the Great War. You can immerse yourself in World War 2 history by visiting the Dambusters Inn, just down the road from the air base. The western edge of Scampton airfield is a natural lip that looks out over a vast swathe of countryside sweeping down over the Trent valley, great place to admire the views.

Gainsborough is a small town in western Lincolnshire on the River Trent and is worth a visit to see Gainsborough Old Hall, a medieval Tudor Hall run by English Heritage. It sits just on the edge of the town centre a short walking distance from the river and provides an amazing contrast to the quiet residential streets that surround it. A giant of a building of the black and white timbered variety, it has a great hall, kitchens, former living quarters, battlements amongst other attractions. It must be one of the finest examples of its type in the country, and to think that they were planning to knock it down to build a car park in the fifties! 

There is not much to see in the town centre which is pretty standard but there is a fine shopping centre, Marshall’s Yard, which has been constructed around the core of an old steel works and is tastefully designed in a rectangle of outlets around car parking, fountain and decorative features.

 One thing I noticed looking at house prices round here is that housing is pretty cheap compared with the South-East as I’m sure you realise! You could sell your house down south and buy maybe two properties up here, live in one and rent the other out! The river Trent provides a good opportunity for a riverside walk along the western side of the town. I walked to the bridge at the southern end of the town and then took the riverside walk all the way back to where my car was parked north of the town centre.

I stopped off at Stamford on the way home for breakfast and funnily enough had only visited the town a year previously in 2021. It must be one of Lincolnshire’s, and indeed England’s, most attractive towns, bursting with old world charm and listed buildings. Dress everyone in nineteenth century costume and you would hardly be able to tell which age you were in, then or now. You can spend a delightful hour or two just wandering the ancient centre and pedestrianised streets, admiring the honey-coloured architecture which reminds one of a Cotswolds town. There is plenty of shopping to be had and an abundance of eateries and cafes to satisfy the most ardent foodies. I had possibly the most expensive breakfast I have ever eaten, the full Monty but with delectable mini tomatoes.

The town slopes down to a waterway with meadows beyond, a great spot for a picnic or a sit down to admire the impossibly chocolate-box vista. Even the railway station, a few minutes walk further, will delight architectural fans. For Stamford, the icing on the cake is Burghley House, a splendid Elizabethan mansion which sits in parkland within walking distance of the town centre. This pile is well worth a visit even if you wander the extensive grounds, what a place for a dog walk if you’re a local. Stamford looks to be a lovely place  to live.

Battersea power station

 

I had a spare hour or so in the Old Smoke and thought I’d try out the new underground line from Kennington to Battersea power station via Nine Elms. It’s a spur of the Northern line and terminates at Battersea. Only a short journey to this area which promises to be another upgraded hub amongst many in London.. 

Here’s the new tube station.

Rather swish inside, plenty of space and future proofed for large crowds.

Zooming out a bit on this one to get a flavour of the area.

Power station is a bit of a monster, cool place to have a flat. You can walk all the way round it on a circular path, surrounded by new build. Cafes, restaurants and shops all spouting up in the vicinity.

Walk takes you down to the Thames, another spot for an afternoon promenade.

You have to see it close up to appreciate its monster size, used to provide one fifth of London’s electricity needs at one time. Art Deco masterpiece but did it ever appear in Poirot?

It’s reported that the power station itself will contain Apple’s London campus, hundreds of new shops, a 2000 capacity event venue, a food hall, a glass chimney lift and hundreds of new homes. Wouldn’t you like to live there!

With al this activity it will undoubtedly be a big tourist attraction and hub in itself. 

North Norfolk

 

                                                                    North Norfolk (photos to be added)

Norfolk is a county that up to now has largely passed me by. It’s part of that bit of the UK that sticks out into the North Sea known as East Anglia, a land of flat if not gently rolling countryside, rather exposed to the sea, the Norfolk Broads and wide windswept beaches. In the past I’ve made limited forays into the area, Woodbridge, Southwold, Norwich, Constable country but never thought of it as prime holiday territory.

I had read about North Norfolk being a rather select area, of places like Blakeney and Wells next the Sea being inhabited by posh types from London, a stretch of coast that was a birdwatcher’s paradise, full of nature reserves and blessed with great beaches and cosy little resorts. Maybe a bit of a hidden gem, off the beaten track for those with a bit of discernment.

A word about getting there. North Norfolk is slightly more difficult to get to, which is maybe a good thing. There is no motorway that ploughs up from London straight to the coast, and beyond Norwich it’s a bit more of a struggle to get to places in double quick time, and you still have quite a way to go even if you’ve got to Norwich. You can of course get the train from London to Norwich, but then it’s a bit more tricky (you can get another train to Sheringham). Having said this, the road from London to Norwich is basically M11 and then onto A11 dual carriageway all the way so perfectly adequate. There is the option of going from London King’s Cross to King’s Lynn, but bear in mind you are right over to the western end of the North Norfolk coast.

July 2021 was a great month for weather, and I took myself plus camping gear to North Norfolk to discover its delights for myself. It proved to be a stroke of genius, just before the school holidays and the inevitable rush of people desperate to get away somewhere in the UK with the normal foreign travel somewhat curtailed. I found a new campsite, Barley Fields, just a few miles from the coast near the village of Binham with just enough facilities to make for a great camping holiday. Here at my base deep in the Norfolk countryside I could plot my daily excursions on a whim. Barley Fields was literally a couple of big fields with the most basic but adequate facilities. There is a wooden structure housing a couple of loos and sinks, a kitchen area and a couple of showers, one of which was a gas shower which I made my own in the evening with its consistent hot blast of water. Having arrived well before the school break I had the campsite almost to myself with just one or two others for most of the time thus avoiding the inevitable queues. At weekends the numbers mushroomed to a full house but then by Monday morning most had disappeared, it’s amazing how so many camp even for just one night even with all the hassle of erecting a big tent.

As regards supplies, you’ve got a Morrisons just a few miles down the road on the edge of town in Fakenham, and further towards the centre quite a big Tescos. Fakenham is actually a perfectly pleasant place to spend a half day and has a nice centre, although I think the guy in the mobile phone shop alluded to it being one of the most boring places in the country! Watch it with petrol and don’t leave it too late in the evening to refuel. There was a big BP garage on the main road near my campsite but it closed quite early in the evening, congested south east it is not.

Binham is within ideal striking distance of all the main attractions. Binham itself has a 12^th century priory (The Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross) with substantial ruins strewn around the main building, which still appears to be a functioning church. There is a self-service café there with outside benches for a welcome cup of coffee. The village has the Chequers pub where you can eat in the evening, and a useful tiny petrol station and village shop on the edge of the picturesque green with its medieval Wayside Cross.

 

North Norfolk proved to be a revelation with rolling countryside, certainly not the stereotypical flat landscape you find in much of eastern England, and lots of houses with red tiled roofs which funnily enough reminded me of Italy. There was a real Mediterranean feel about Cley next the Sea with its panoply of roofs jumbled together on the edge of town.

Blakeney and Cley make a nice pair of twins to ding dong between on this expansive marsh filled coast with its Sahara sized sandy beaches. The coastal road through Blakeney stays clear of the shorefront and has a nice big car park alongside on the edge of town that you can’t miss, with toilets as well. Then a shortish walk takes you down through the village to the harbour where you see why it’s such a popular spot, must be one of the quaintest and most picturesque harbours in the UK. In fact it recently got a spot in a Daily Telegraph article ‘The most beautiful seaside villages in the UK.’ On a grassy knoll you can look out over the waterfront with its customary old hotel, cafes and ice cream kiosk, children messing about in the water, signs advertising seal watching trips, and a huge area of marsh and rivulets that takes you out to the sea. I walked out from here all the way to Cley next the Sea through the marshland on winding raised pathway. But be careful, I took one or two wrong turnings and if you want to get to the beach you could be stumped by a large water channel blocking your path unless you’re prepared to get very wet. Check paths if you want to reach the beach or just follow the coast to Cley. Anyway it’s a great walk and you’re rewarded with lovely views of the emerald coastline with Cley windmill punctuating the skyline. Cley itself is a cute cottage filled village with a few watering holes where you can quench your thirst. You can actually rent the windmill for a vacation stay, although I would expect through the roof prices. At the eastern edge of town as said, red topped residential stock makes your think you’re in the Italian Rivera on a sunny day. From Cley I traced the main road back to Blakeney car park.

Holkham Hall was just down the road from my abode, a Premier League sized stately home with skirts that virtually roll down to the sea at Holkham Beach. Never have I seen a stately home so pushed up against the seashore but what a setting, acres of rolling parkland and lake, fronted by a wonderful dune filled beach edging your classic sandy pine woodland. Holkham seems to swallow up the local economy and is a nice contrast from the holiday resort attractions of Wells next the Sea which sits next to Holkham just to the east. You can see the attractions of Wells for the masses. The main drag stuffed with shops and cafes and a pleasing waterfront. Parking seems to be a bit of an issue. I managed ok in July but you could feel the summer rush coming on. At least two people since have said to me they had trouble trying to park in Wells.

Hunstanton is perched on the west coast of North Norfolk overlooking the Wash, resting atop a line of cliffs which disappear to the north into a flat coastal plain. Imagine a lovely rolling green plain swishing down to the sea and then plonk a town on it, that’s Hunstanton for you. ‘Sunny Hunny’ as they call it proved to be a very pleasant visit with a prom stacked with eateries and entertainment, the standard bikers’ patch on the seafront, backed by well-tended swathes of flower bed strewn green sloping down from the town centre. Fish and chips and a coke went down very well watching the sun set over the Wash at the end of a blistering day. You can follow the Norfolk coastal path out of town along the edge of the vast sandy beach, which I did for a while.

If you’ve done Holkham you have to do Sandringham as well, which can be booked online through the website to get a house and garden ticket. Well known as Her Majesty’s Christmas destination, although she arrives straight from Kings Lynn station after a train from Kings Cross, it’s another worthwhile visit to a forested oasis splashed with swathes of greensward and centred on the house itself and nearby tourist centre. Here you are in the Norfolk Coastal Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You park up and a short walk takes you to expansive tree strewn lawns where you can take a picnic before or after your royal visit. Here in the Courtyard there is the ticket office, a restaurant where you can enjoy high tea, a café, with limited seating it has to be said, toilets and of course a shop filled with Sandringham branded goodies.

From this spot you can take a walk to see inside the St Mary Magdalen church where we see the Queen visit every year for the Christmas service, and even before that you can go through the entrance to Sandringham House itself. A winding walk for ten minutes or so takes you through the gardens and right up to the house itself, a fine Edwardian pile. Well worth a visit, I was surprised at how accessible the house was, with an audio guide giving intimate details of a royal Christmas at Sandringham as you wander the very rooms where they play games, open presents and eat, etc. A comprehensive tour of the ground floor, with views out onto the royal lawns, is an experience I can highly recommend. The gardens are worth a wander as well, with a picturesque lake plus pagoda type building and a coach house/stables area with another café and toilets, although when I got there it was all winding down for the day. There’s also a walled garden which has private pre booked tours only. Surrounding all these attractions is the Royal Park, nearly 243 hectares, with swathes of woodland and grassy avenue to wander.

You can have a real blowout in Norfolk by visiting the main town, Norwich, which together with Sheringham did very well in a ‘Best Places to Live’ survey. The centre is a delightful concoction of large market square with imposing town hall, winding medieval streets, a prominent castle, an attractive river scene and fab cathedral precinct. There are in fact two cathedrals, the Roman Catholic one sits like an ageing matriarch in the middle of a traffic gyratory high up looking out over the city centre. Meanwhile the Anglican cathedral sits in an extensive precinct filled with a jumble of ancient buildings and grassy lawns, well worth a wander which stretches from the city centre right down to towards the River Wensum with its riverside parkland. There’s also a fine modern upstairs café tagged onto the edge of the cathedral itself.

Then there’s the Holt connection. Holt is a very pleasant Georgian style town which sits a few miles inland and would be a good base for hitting all the main local sites. The centre is worth loitering around for an afternoon and has a super shop called Bakers and Larners, I was really impressed. I’m no shopaholic but wandered into this pristine emporium to buy some gas cylinders for my camping. It’s like a department store on one floor which unfolds into different tempting sections as you go front to back. and being an older building has bags of character. Great place for an unhurried browse. If you fancy a nice Indian, I ate at the Taste of India, 31 Bull St.

A short drive east out to the edge of town brings you to the rail station, no, not the Network rail to Norwich but the North Norfolk heritage railway on which you can enjoy a bit of magic rolling back the years by taking a steam or diesel train to Sheringham via a bit of good old English coastal scenery. The route takes you through heathland and rolling countryside via Weybourne, where John Major has a home, down to the very English holiday resort of Sheringham. Here you can alight and visit the rail heritage shop on the platform before walking down to the seafront for a jolly bucket and spade day. The town tumbles down to a rocky seafront with sandy beach, well populated with tourists on the very fine day that I visited.

Rent a bike from ‘On Yer Bike Cycle Hire’ (01328 820719) for a couple of days as I did to explore quiet Norfolk country lanes and villages. They give you maps of different local routes to follow. You can strike for the sea at Holkham or hit the Catholic shrine village of Walsingham. Actually there’s Great Walsingham and Little Walsingham, one of Norfolk’s finest medieval villages and the premier pilgrimage site of medieval England, both well within biking distance of Binham, although I parked my car up at the rental centre and went from there. Little Walsingham actually has the main attractions and is the obvious hub, with Walsingham Abbey being one of the main magnets (‘Living history since 1061’). Entrance to the abbey grounds are at the Shirehall, Walsingham’s original Georgian courtroom. The site is mainly ruins, although there is a crypt that still stands, and it’s a very pleasant green space with paths leading out into woodland (the Dell) and the quaintly named River Stiffkey running through the middle. There’s also the Wells – Walsingham Light Railway, the world’s longest 10 and a quarter inch narrow guage railway which I didn’t go on! Also there is the St Seraphim’s Pilgrim Chapel, Icon and Railway Heritage Museum, an orthodox chapel within the former railway station. Another route I did took in Burnham Market, another cosy village to tick off the list, which is a bit of a centre for the ‘Chelsea up from London crowd.’ You also ride past the birthplace nearby of none other than Lord Nelson. There’s always a decent pub not too far ahead for lunch or dinner.

A further attraction on my biking travels was Langham Dome, literally a concrete dome just outside the village of Langham which was used to train anti-aircraft gunners in the Second World War. Here on the edge of an RAF airfield moving images projected onto the inside of the Dome were used to teach trainees how to shoot down enemy aircraft. There is a picnic and exhibition area outside, with a suspended Spitfire on a plinth, and inside you can have a coffee and wander the shop after having a go at the simulation gunnery exercise. Down the road nestles the village of Langham with a very fine pub, the Blue Bell where I ate one evening. The church is also worth a visit and with its memorials reminds you of the connections with so many servicemen who were stationed in this area in the war.

Wanting the full flush of North Norfolk sights and sounds, I stopped off at Blickling Hall on the way home. There’s a bit of an ‘awe and wonder’ moment as a sweeping driveway up to the splendid mansion itself almost falls onto the main road with an absence of high wall and tree filled parkland to hide the big house itself from the ‘hoi polloi.’ You can park up in the usual National Trust carpark and a short walk takes you to the big Jacobean house and extensive formal gardens and parkland with lake. All well worth a day out and I was especially interested in its role in the Second World War when RAF aircrew were billeted here. Its story goes back a lot further. The original Tudor house was believed to have been the birthplace of Anne Boleyn!

 

 

 

 

Bologna, Italy

Bologna is one of Italy’s biggest cities with about a million people in its metropolitan area and as well as being an excellent tourist visit itself is a big rail hub which makes it possible to do day trips to many well known Italian destinations including Florence and Verona.

It proved to be a good choice for this strange Covid summer as there was no quarantine required, Italy was over the worst of the spring pandemic and seemed to have some of the best numbers in Europe. Also restrictions were similar to England in the summer so it was almost home from home.

I wasn’t able to get a flight from my local airport, Gatwick, and ended up flying with Ryanair from Luton, where I parked my car for £55.96 for eight nights.

I stayed in a terrific accommodation just a few minutes walk south of the city centre. Situated in a classic old apartment building with ancient elevator to the third floor it was as much as you could expect for just over £50 per night, large, spotlessly clean with a big ensuite bathroom and walk in shower, stamped with Italian style. You accessed the building by punching in a code on the pad by the main door, and used the same code to access the relevant lobby area upstairs with its reception desk and the door to one’s own relevant room.

Splendid accommodation

On my first night on arrival at the building I couldn’t access the email on my phone with the relevant entry code, so was forced to find wifi in the city centre to get said access. That meant ending up in McDonalds and killing two birds with one stone with a welcome meal. Getting into the apartment and following the email instructions still took a while, amusement being provided by a large insect of the cricket variety sitting squarely on the elevator button and refusing to move.

Bologna is the city of porticos, a wonderful architectural inclusion in this very well-preserved medieval city. These covered walkways or pavements are all over the centre of the city and mean that you can avoid the beating sun or the pounding rain on your shopping expedition. No doubt you can cross the city north south or east west with hardly a break in the snaking porticos. And Bologna has the daddy of all porticos, the longest portico in the world snaking out of the city and up the hill beyond the Bologna football stadium to the the Santuario di Madonna di San Luca church at the top of the hill. There are so many locals in sports gear running up to the top that it’s more of a marathon workout than religious pilgrimage. It was hard work just walking up! Well worth it however as you get marvellous views from the top over the verdant, green hills above the city.

Longest portico in the world

View from the top of the hill

Santuario di Madonna di San Luca church

The centre of the city is the expansive Piazza Maggiore, flanked by the cathedral or duomo, civic buildings and porticoed shops and restaurants. In this L shaped space we also have the Fountain of Neptune statue, an excellent photo op. The Basilica di San Petronio dominates the square as all self -respecting cathedrals should, and it’s a whopper inside as well with typically Italian embellishment and a full set of side chapels, as well as housing the largest sundial in the world. One of the chapels sports a huge frieze/painting of Mohammad in hell. No wonder that there have been a couple of Islamic terrorist incidences aimed at this building. Indeed while I wandered past outside one day, a large policeman had turned up to quiz a couple of middle easterners outside the main entrance. I heard the word ’Iran’ from one of the students, the next thing I knew the two students were walking off. The square outside is decked with open air seating and at night time in the summer they show classic films on a massive screen in the square, a great way to end your day.

Mohammad in hell

Neptune statue

Alongside the Basilica is the Archeological museum, and also the Teatro Anatomico, a wonderful wood decorated medical lecture theatre where anatomy lessons were once held.

Anatomical theatre

No trip to Bologna would be complete without ascending the Torre degli Asinelli, a skyscraper standard ancient tower (97.2m) dominating the centre of Bologna. It is one of the ‘Two Towers,’ which is the iconic symbol of Bologna. These two sisters are left over from an amazing surfeit of towers, over 200, from the 12^th century. It’ll test you though, getting to the top, only 498 steps but it helps to be quite fit. And just a reminder, it leans a noticeable 1.3 degrees off centre! They did plan to install lifts on three occasions going back to 1887 but it never happened. Pilots placed bets in the Second World War to see who would be the first to topple the tower. Fortunately they never succeeded. The view is terrific, a sea of red, terracotta tiled roofs and beautifully delineated streets in all directions, the city pushed up against verdant green hills along one side, stretching out into the plain on the other.

View from tower

Another view

Other city highlights are the underground waterways that were open canals until two centuries ago. Now it looks like Little Venice. Get there from Via Zamboni going towards Via Independenza. There’s also the former Jewish ghetto quite nearby to wander through. Just off Via Independenza and before reaching the railway station is the park of Montagnola, a nineteenth century circumference of tree lined parkland with statues, a fountain and cafes, a great spot to escape the heat. Back towards Piazza Maggiore is another daddy of a church, the cathedral of San Pietro.

Little Venice!

Bologna is a well-known hotbed of left wing politics and was under a communist mayorality from 1945 to 1993. Bologna ‘The Fat’ is one of its titles and no surprise there with its abundance of café and restaurant culture and reputation as the birthplace of Bolognese, although the ragu sauce is different from the variety found worldwide. The Quadrilatero area near Piazza Maggiore is the place for foodies with its narrow streets of the old city markets and food stalls.8

Santuario di Madonna di San Luca church

Watch yourself in Bologna, especially out in public keep your wallet well hidden and be very aware of Africans continually begging for food or money. I was pestered by one guy whilst at a restaurant who wanted me to help him get to England. I tried to dissuade him from this and ended up buying him a fresh chicken for less than 5 euro, a new one for me. Normally it’s a sandwich!

Bologna railway station is a major rail hub with lines splaying out in all directions to many delightful destinations of Italian culture, and the great thing is you can travel there and back in a day. You can even do Sienna but that’s a 3 and a half hour trip each way. It was a 20/25 minute walk from my accommodation, porticos most of the way via Via del’Independenza, the main shopping street. It’s well known also for a terrorist attack at the station on the 2^nd August 1980 which left a huge death toll of 85 with 200 wounded. You can’t stay for long in the city without coming across the memory of this atrocity.

Destinations from Bologna include Verona for which I bought the fast train ticket setting me back 26.50 euro one way (10.30 the other way on the slow train). Rimini was 9.85 euro, Modena 3.85euro and Parma (of ham fame) 7.35 one way prices. Don’t forget to validate your tickets by inserting them into the punch machines which can be found in station concourses or on the platform. I forgot to punch mine on one occasion, or rather punched the wrong ticket, an old one, but survived the journey without any checks. You have to watch it though as fines can be issued for unvalidated tickets.

Verona centre 

I’d never visited Verona before but was suitably impressed by this elegant medieval town. It’s a bit of a walk from the railway station to the centre, so factor this in to make sure you catch your train in the evening. The first sight you see opposite the tourist information, is the Arena, the Roman amphitheatre, a truly spectacular and incredibly well preserved stadium which is still used for entertainment (entry 7.50 euro including senior discount). You can wander freely up and down the bleachers, right to the top for some skyline views, and also do the oval underneath the stands where there are presentations on the history of the arena. Then there’s the Shakespeare connection on Via Cappello. I actually had to queue up for the Romeo and Juliette balcony, even in these Covid times, a constant stream of snap happy tourists filing into the yard to take pictures of the famous spot. There’s a shop and museum that you can rip round pretty quickly giving you the opportunity to pop out onto the balcony, which I briefly did with mask on, but not the romantic type of mask. There seemed to be plenty of snappers below but I wasn’t the one they were waiting for! Once you leave the Romeo and Juliette experience you can wander through the deliciously evocative main town square, the Piazza Erbe, medieval Italy in a nutshell, and then head for the river a bit of a walk away. On the way you can visit the Basilica of St Anastasia (entrance fee euro 3), the largest church in Verona.

Various arena views

You can take the bridge over the river (Fiume Adige) and then get the funicular (1 euro) up to the top of the hill where I found a cool bar to admire the views over Verona. There’s also a nice promenade viewpoint over the skyline where you can take a romantic stroll or just go snap happy with your smart phone.

Verona across the river

Modena proved to be far more than its connections to the Ferrari and Maserati brands. The town centre is an easy walk from the rail station and can be reached by the arresting and expansive Piazza Roma fronted by the Palazzo Ducale. As with all these visits, the town centre was beautiful, with an elegant square, the Piazza Grande, cathedral with its Torre Ghirlandina bell tower that can be ascended for a small fee of euro 3 giving great views over the area. I ended up at a balsamic vinegar talk which I booked at the town tourist office in the Palazzo Comunale, only trouble was it was all in Italian! The only meaningful part was a couple of small samples which were truly delicious, but I understand the real mccoy is very expensive, like liquid gold, not your average supermarket bottle. Fortunately there was a young Italian couple there who I had met earlier at the tower and the guy provided a translation for me at the end. I wound my way back to the station in the evening via the Palazzina dei giardina, a town park with a welcome open air café where I enjoyed ice cream and a beer.

Torre Ghirlandina bell tower 

View from the tower

Modena cathedral 

Z

Modena square

Parma is another town with some wonderful architecture that has far more to it than ham and cheese! The food is a sideshow to the impressive squares and churches crammed into this gem of a town which has been the elected Italian Capital of Culture 2020. On the edge of the centre is a colossal old brick edifice, the Pilotta Palace (1583 vintage), with a walkway through the middle at ground level which houses the rambling museum Archeologico, a fine old wooden theatre, the Teatro Farnese and the Galleria Nazionale. Meanwhile the tourist information office lies on the impressive Piazza Garibaldi which seemed to be the commercial hub of the town.  A quieter, more historic and no less impressive square is the Piazza Duomo with its unusual Battistero tower which looked like an upended Vienneta ice cream bar. I did partake of the local fare by lunching at a square side café. The cheese was tasty although the overblown sandwich was somewhat on the dry side.

Theatre at Parma

Battistero tower

Over the river, the Torrente Parma, lies the Parco Ducale, where everyone evidently goes for their evening stroll, promenade or outdoor coffee and ice cream. It’s big enough to get lost in, with an ornamental lake at the far end and plenty of benches for a nap or rest.

Rimini is a large Adriatic resort to the south east of Bologna reached by a dead straight rail route across what must be the coastal plain. It is described by Wikipedia as one of the most notable seaside resorts in Europe with 15km of beach and is quite a sizeable settlement of about 150,000,. having been established originally in 268 BC as Ariminum. It must be the go to resort for the Bolognese at the weekend being only about an hour away. Alighting at the rail station, it’s still quite a walk to the beach, which proves to be well busy and the equivalent of an Italian Bournemouth. Again give yourself plenty of time and don’t be caught out returning to the rail station in the evening. Also don’t just hit the beach with your swimmers as the town centre is a bit of a surprise with beautiful old architecture and well worth a wander. I meandered through the Piazza tre Martiri and ended up in a lovely square, the Piazza Cavour with a nice restaurant to while away an hour or two. A little further walk took me to an old castle, the Castel Sismondo sitting on the edge of the town centre.

Entrance to town hall

Another great visit is San Marino (Repubblica di San Marino), a microstate near the coast just to the south of Rimini, comprising elevated settlement near the Adriatic. How to get there, just get the train to Rimini, then the bus from just outside the station, an hour’s ride that takes you off the coastal plain and up to the mountainous rugged outcrop of Monte Titano on which San Marino sits. They’ll give you a timetable at the rail station tourist office, you can buy your bus ticket (5 euro each way) at the shop opposite the station, don’t miss the last bus back from San Marino leaving at 7 in the evening, otherwise I guess it would be an expensive taxi! There’s also a funicular that takes you up the last stage to the top. You can get your passport stamped inside the gate of the old town atop the rocky outcrop, then spend the afternoon wandering the streets, squares and alleys of this tiny state. On the very square I ate earlier in the day, with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside far below, a rock band set up for an evening event no doubt, the riffs and rhythms of their practice numbers pulsating through the vicinity, encouraging impromptu disco dancing or at least foot tapping. A very quick look at the advertising made it look like a Jamaroqui tribute band. Send your postcards from here as well with the local stamps.

Heights of San Marino

 

Council chamber

At the top of the town you can enter the compound of one of the three towers that magisterially dominate the rocky skyline, like basking cats atop a giant sofa back. One ticket for euro 10.50 gives you access to two towers (Rocca and Cesta), the Public Palace which includes the council chamber, the State museum, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (a bit of a disappointment!) and the St Francis art gallery. Being a local councillor myself, it was interesting to see the council chamber here, somewhat more Italianate and ornate than my south coast chamber, with a huge colourful painting dominating the scene.

San Marino tower

And again

Another grim addition to your visit is the Museo dela Tortura which exhibits torture instruments through the ages, a pretty ghastly testimony of man’s inhumanity to man. Makes you grateful that we live in our own time. Despite the Covid constraints impinging on our freedoms and livelihoods we really do have it easy compared with the bloodthirsty past of our ancestors.

 

 

Practicalities

Accommodation:

Attico di via D’Azeglio di Alessandro Bini & C. SAS

R.E.A.: Bologna n. 547194

Via D’Azeglio 51

40123Bologna BO

direzione@atticodiviadazeglio.it

P.IVA: 03797701202 C.F.: 03797701202

 

I caught a taxi from the airport to my accommodation. I think it cost about 20 euro. The airport is very close to the city, very much within the city limits. You can get an airport bus from the rail station on departure.