Go Slow in Tuscany

Tuscany is, in so many ways, the very essence of Italy. The name alone conjures up the vivid images beloved of painters: rolling landscapes punctuated by dark cypress trees and enlivened by vibrant splashes of red poppies, all bathed in that wonderful light seemingly peculiar to the region. Here we will relish not just the rural olive groves, vineyards and charming hill-top villages of the Tuscan countryside, but also some of Europe’s best-known artistic and cultural treasures not far away. On this new ‘Go Slow’ holiday we will be based just outside the coastal town of Alberese in south-western Tuscany, staying at the excellent family-run guesthouse, the Fattoria Il Duchesco, set within the wildlife-rich Maremma Regional Park. During our 7-night stay here we will be treated to some award-winning Tuscan cuisine and outstanding home-produced wine, while a visit to a nearby spa will be a wonderful way in which to relax after a day enjoying the local natural history!

On each day we will head out on gentle-paced excursions, each within easy reach of our hotel, in search of the birds, butterflies and wild flowers of the area. At Orbetello Lagoon, Greater Flamingoes, Glossy Ibises, Little Bitterns and both Squacco and Purple Herons may all be seen, together with a good range of passerine migrants. Pink Butterfly and Small-flowered Tongue Orchid are just two of the orchid species that we will look for, whilst Scarce Swallowtail and Glanville and Spotted Fritillaries may be amongst the butterflies we will see. The coastal sand dunes and Umbrella Pine woodlands of Oasi San Felice often produce such Mediterranean delights as Roller, Bee-eater and Golden Oriole, while Large Tortoiseshell and Southern Festoon may be found here too. On another day we will spend a morning at sea enjoying a boat-trip from Porto Santo Stefano in search of such seabirds as Audouin’s Gull and Scopoli’s and Yelkouan Shearwaters, as well as Bottlenose Dolphins. A visit to the Argentario Promontory and its Mediterranean maquis should please the botanists in our party, as some 42 species of orchid have been recorded here amongst the more striking Field Gladioli and Common Asphodels. During our holiday we will also enjoy the cultural charms of the medieval towns of San Gimignano and Siena, while extensions to magnificent Florence and/or Pisa can be arranged on request.