Italy Coast to Coast Walk 2026

We set off very early this morning to complete all but the last couple of kilometres of our walk across Italy. After the cycleway closure on the first part of the walk to Ostia, we wanted to allow ourselves plenty of time for diversions. From our research, one of the bridges seemed busy, so we decided to tackle it when it was quietest, before 8am on a Saturday. This meant we took the train to Ostia to do this part of the walk in reverse.  We quickly left the train station and streets at Ostia behind and walked through a nature reserve. We walked along an embankment beside the river before walking a short section along the verge to Ponte della Scafa, the first bridge. We were relieved to find it had a dedicated pedestrian/cycleway, so it was no problem at all.  We took an elevated path with views to the river and fields before dropping down beside a canal. Despite the murky water, we found birds and coypu. We returned to the streets but at another canal crossing found lot...

It's hard to know where to start in a big city like Rome - so much to see, so little time! We decided to explore some of the sites of the 'Falco' Ancient Rome crime series, by Lindsey Davis.  Yesterday on our way out we'd walked past the Aventine Hill, where Falco lives (in the series). In early Rome, it was a working class neighbourhood full of tenement blocks, but now it is a quiet, leafy residential section of the city. Today we started with the Palatine Hill, the place where Falco is summoned when the Emperor wants to see him and where the people with money and power lived in Ancient Rome. It was truly impressive - we spent most of the morning wandering in the ruins.  From there, we headed downhill to the Forum, the civic centre of Ancient Rome and where Falco goes to meet with clients. So many wonderful sites, crammed in together. We could have spent longer here too but by now the morning had vanished and the heat was building.  Eventually we tore ourselves ...

Eager to beat the heat, we headed off early through the streets of Rome. It was hard to tear ourselves away because Rome feels like a giant outdoor museum, but we wanted to complete some of the walk to Ostia. We had our usual second breakfast before we began the serious walking of the day.  Just after our cafe stop we joined the cycleway, which followed the Tiber River for the first section. There was a large riverside park with exercise equipment, flying fox, small soccer ground and off leash dog area. We came across a cat colony and later found out that cats are protected in Rome as part of the biocultural heritage. It was easy walking and pleasant enough, with bike riders in either direction. We stopped at the one shady rest area and gave a bottle of water to the only other walker we saw. We crossed the bridge and continued on a dirt track, with fields of hay off to the side. Some big trucks came up behind us, then up ahead we saw sand being tipped on the road. A man started ...