Up Falco and Falterona

This was our second foray into the Casentino National Park. We ended up climbing the peaks of Monte Falco and Falterona - which we have looked at everyday from the house.

Parking at the little ski field makes it a relatively gentle climb but the beech woods are disorienting and even through well waymarked I was wary given my woodland walk experience last year as night fell.

All was well and the summit was covered in blueberry bushes - a remnant from colder times (as are the red deer, golden eagles and wolves).  This is the view from the top of Falco at 1657m (5400ft) looking into Romagna. The cliffs are the Balze delle Rondinaie (rondine - swallows - swallow nest).

It was a long descent down to a track that took us back up to the car. Wooded all the way. It is hard to give a true impression of the high beech woods but see extra. They stretch for mile after mile after mile.

We saw very little of the Park's wildlife but the crisp cool of the high forest was heaven after the last few days of summer heat and the African anticyclone's last hurrah.

In fact we saw very few people despite it being the last week in August.

The cafe owner by the skilift told us that it has been a very poor season and that he would now be closing up shop until the snow arrives in November.

Last winter  a total of 16 metres of snow fell.