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This was my first experience of an organised walking holiday and I can’t say I was disappointed.
Stunning scenery, delicious food and marvelous company. The weather left a little to be desired but didn’t really spoil the week at all.
When we weren’t walking we were looked after by Angela and her team at Braccicorti. Always a warm, welcoming smile and sometimes a chat over a cup of tea!
The accommodation in the farmhouse is simple but comfortable and warm, with plenty of communal areas to discuss the day’s activities or find a quiet corner to just relax.
I love my food and I loved the fare dished up during the week. Traditional, homely, delicious and plenty of it.
I have got to give a special mention to our Tuesday guide, Pierluigi, whose enthusiasm, in the face of lashing rain, knew no bounds.
And finally, our wonderful guide for the week, Sara, who had a wealth of knowledge about the area’s history and geography as well as its flora & fauna. Her leadership throughout the week made it for me.
Although the scenery was stunningly beautiful with so many Instagram worthy vistas, it was the people – group members, our hosts and Sara our guide.
What can i say...Inspirational. A wealth of knowledge and experience.
Read the trip notes and make sure your fitness is up to muster. Although nothing extreme, there’s a fair amount of altitude to be ascended.
Enjoy…it’d be hard not to!
I would recommend this trip to anyone. A level of fitness is a must – certainly more than a few brisk walks around the block – it’s challenging but rewarding!
Sara – our guide – was absolutely amazing – calm, knowledgeable, patient, kind, tough. She looked after us as a group and individually – nothing was too much trouble.
The farmhouse is amazing and the family who prepared our meals were so welcoming, kind and fun! The meals by the way – beautiful simple, rustic, locally sourced food – every evening we ate at the farmhouse was a treat! The idea of being able to create your own lunch from the choices laid out was a brilliant idea and you were able to take as much or as little as you wanted. Breakfasts set you up for the day!
The accommodation is lovely with real charm and plenty of warmth, heating, drying room, roasting fire in the lounge when cold and a swimming pool with amazing views.
So many - the walks up the mountains, the valley walk, trip into Lucca - a beautiful roman town with so much history and beauty. Meeting so many interesting and kind people who made the week that bit extra special. A superb guide and the kindness and friendliness of the family
A....MAZ...ING! There are not superlatives to describe Sara - it will be difficult to find a better guide on any future trips - that's for sure!!
Take the advice on the web-site - the right walking gear and walking poles are a huge asset for this week. There are 2 tough walks but certainly do-able and worthwhile - I felt a real sense of achievement at the end of the week in spite of a wobble on day 2!
Thank you for the experience. It will remain with me for quite some time to come. Thank you to the other people who joined the group and made it a week to remember...…..
An unknown region of Italy, mountainous and craggy, with peaks still covered in snow at the end of April. Although the weather was predominantly grey and wet, we made the most of it, and it was a wonderful week. In fact, the last walk was enhanced by the fog that gave the forest a mysterious and mystical atmosphere.
We walked to the rock arch of Monte Forato, a stunning wonder of nature.
Sara Bull is better than excellent. She is an extraordinary being, very inspirational. From the minute we met her at the airport, she was attentive to all, caring and adjusting to the needs of each individual in the group. Every stage was explained in advance, choice was given but wisely directed, her advice was gently given. I thought I knew enough about walking, but I learned more about using my walking poles, protecting against ticks, etc. She was eloquent when communicating the beauty of a place, a corner of the world she deeply loves. She has a great generosity of spirit, and no one in the group felt left out. Encouraging and motivating calmly. You could go to the end of the world with her. Pier Luigi took over the guiding for a lovely valley walk, when he explained the history of the Garfagnana and the customs of the region, while visiting villages. I enjoyed his company.
The walks are moderately hard, so take walking poles (some might be available on site) and good walking boots. Do not forget your rain gear!
The Braccicorti agriturismo lodge is very welcoming. Angela and her team prepared delicious evening meals with local products. For lunch, no slab of bread and cheese, but an array of freshly made salads, local cheese, pesto.... As we were there at Easter, Angela offered a large chocolate egg which was shared between us, made of excellent dark chocolate. Honey came from the hives in the garden. Excellent wine. All to make a wonderful ambiance and camaraderie.
A holiday that very much delivered as per the trip notes, with the varied hikes only being enhanced by the great weather and autumnal colours in the forests.
A well established trip with a very experienced group leader and a good bunch of fellow travellers.
For me, staying in one location is a plus, with only short minibus journeys required to reach the start point for each hike. And that one location was a lovely, relaxing one.
The hikes themselves were of the activity level expected and challenging enough for the group. The rewards were great – generally involving walking through colourful beech or chestnut forests before reaching ridges and peaks with stunning views. Few other hikers were seen throughout the week. The hikes on days 3 and 7 stood out for me.
All of the group visited Lucca on the “free day”, which was a good choice, with plenty to explore for a good few hours.
The trip also introduced me to the life of those living in the area, including exploring towns and villages. As would be expected, there are plenty of churches and other religious features.
Hard to pick out one inspirational moment. It was more about the collective week and the varied experiences. But as noted previously, the hikes on days 3 and 7 were delightful.
Clearly very experienced and able to handle any apparent eventuality (not that we really had any of significance). Worth noting that (due to EU driving regulations, I think) she was with us for four of the six whole days, plus the two travel days. She lead on all of the mountain hikes, and did so very well. For me, she did dwell too much on what she'd done over the years for the trip and for previous travellers rather than let us judge her on first hand knowledge. Maybe some like to hear this, but it was not for me.
You might be able to come up with an "essentials equipment" list more appropriate than the one provided. Towel and swimming things are only necessary if you intend to swim in the pool, and that it's open. I happily wore hiking shoes, not boots, and walking poles certainly near essential for many of us of a certain age. You most likely will need to carry 2 litres of water on some hikes. Visiting Lucca does seem like the obvious choice for the free day.
Could more be made of day 8? There are plenty of hours between leaving the farmhouse at 9:30 and checking in for the group flight at approx 16:00. Our group were taken into Castelnuovo di Garfagnana for a few hours, but it doesn't offer a great deal. Perhaps direct to Pisa would be more worthwhile.
It was a fantastic trip with some relay amazing walks and views.
The mountains the open space and the views are breath taking.
The views the open space
I would recommend this trip
it was perfect
This was a fabulous trip from start to finish. Beautiful and diverse scenery, great walking, great weather, and a great guide (Sara Bull). The grounds and views from the farmhouse at Braccicorti are stunning and it really is a great escape from the normality of everyday life. It was lovely to be able to relax in the pool after a day’s walking.
I loved the ridge walks and scrambling so my favourite walking days were Monday when we did Dead Mans Belly and the Valley of Hell, Tuesday when we did Monte Tambura and Thursday when we did Monte Prado and Monte Cusna. Essentially I loved it all.
Sara is an excellent guide, she goes above and beyond, although I think we were quite an easy going undemanding group. She's very knowledgeable about the local area, history and culture, and is a lovely person, really easy to talk to and get along with. She also does a lot of other high altitude treks so if you're interested in other trips it's worth picking her brains.
If like me, you're not a fan of a continental style breakfast, bring some snack bars. You may also want to bring ear plugs for the night in the refugio. And remember to bring your swimwear for the pool.
Simply brilliant trip all round and I'd recommend it.
‘ ‘Happiness from small things’ is what we want to give our guests; peace and tranquillity from our countryside, and company with which to discover the secrets and beautiful areas of Garfagnana’ so says the Agriturismo Braccicorti website – and this trip provided just that.
I was a little apprehensive initially, never having done an Exodus trip before and because my own level of fitness wasn’t what it had been and should have been. Yet, those apprehensions dissipated when I met the group and discovered Tuscany.
Great company in my trekking companions and leader, and kind hospitality from the family – an enjoyable and memorable break overall (despite the pain in my knees!).
Just stopping and taking in the breathtaking and spectacular scenery of the region, whilst walking or relaxing at the farmhouse. (and finding out that one member of our group had scaled Everest - three times!!)
Liz excelled at every level. In addition to being immensely knowledgeable and organised, she was incredibly industrious, understanding, caring, funny, helpful - and very, very patient! It was very evident that she was passionate about the region, the walking/activity and her role. I cannot believe she eats cake! A worthy runner up for the Tour Leader Awards in 2014 (check out the Exodus website!) – but very much a winner in 2018 ;-)
Ignore any apprehensions and go for it! Take mossie repellent.
As others have commented - perhaps the trip could be extended to ten days? Or offer some dates for a ten days.
A great holiday with excellent walks which were enjoyable as well as being physically quite demanding. Liz, our guide for the week, made the holiday extra special as she was a superb leader who always went the ‘extra mile’ to please everyone.
The 2 day trip to the hut was a fantastic part of the holiday.
Liz was excellent. She was knowledgeable about the area and always got the best out of group with her support. She had a great personality and was never bossy as some leaders can be. Her own level of fitness was an inspiration.
Go for it!
The food in the Braccicorti was a little disappointing. Breakfasts were good and it was helpful to be able to make your own packed lunch from the ingredients provided although there was room for improvement with some of these items eg the bread and the packet cakes. Dinners could have been better eg salad was usually just a bowl of chopped lettuce, pasta was quite bland and the meat was disappointing. The red wine was however much appreciated.
What a fantastic trip,the weather,the acomadation,the scenery,Trek Leader & her Dog ( Elvis ) only one word to describe it.
BEAUTIFUL !!
All of it !!
Sara was Excellent, she was very informative she was a damn good cook ( cakes ) very knowledgable. Helped us in any way she could,Hat's off to her fantastic.OBE,MBE She deserves a bloody Medal ! Never let this Women leave Exodus ! Everything that she recommended was spot on.
If Sara Bull is the Trek Leader go for it you won't be disappointed. Tuscany is Beautiful. We went to Pisa a day early before the trip started and it is well worth a visit. On our day off we went to the ancient walled town of Luca which was again well worth seeing.
One week was not enough.a 10 day Trip would be nice ?
A brilliant experience and can’t wait to go on the next one.
Having walked up a mountain, with sweat pouring out of me, breathing deeply, with the sun beating down on us, to get to the top of the mountain, to see the views in the distance below and the mountains in the distance across makes it all worth while. This happened everyday.
Sara was the female version of Gear Grylls, though she didn't have us drinking our urine! She is very knowledgeable about the Region, the language, and health and safety in trekking. She has trekked in jungles of Africa, South America, to name but a few. She is a trained medic.
If you have never done any trekking, prepare well, to get the most out of this exhilarating experience. Go for walks starting 6 weeks before travel building up to 10 miles the week before, to harden up your feet and to get your feet used to wearing boots.
More emphasis should be made on the need for Isotonic refreshments to keep you energised with the correct minerals for all day trekking
