DAY 31 - GREVE IN CHIANTI to CERBAIA - 21 May 2026

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Today we got most of the uphill out of the way in the first 5 km. When we weren't in the forest, there were great views over olive trees and vineyards. We found a cross and a cairn, like you see on the Cammino trails, but we don't believe we were on a Cammino path at that stage. 

Our track eventually came out on a road with very little traffic apart from cyclists. We plunged off that onto a forest track. We were worried when we came up against a 'No access - beware of the dog' sign, but luckily our path skirted the property. The path became overgrown after that but we quickly linked up with a dirt road leading to marked walking trail signs. One of them was the Via Romea, an ancient path between Florence and Siena.

Navigating is much easier with trail markings and we followed them for quite a way, through varied countryside. Again, we came across a 'No access' sign but with the official trail markings we were able to ignore it.

We walked through Calzaiolo and sat down at the first place we could - some well-placed rocks, marked with the red and white walking path sign. These were spaced at regular intervals along the path by the Pesa River,  which we followed for several kilometres. We also came upon a waterfall with swimming hole which looked tempting, but we pushed on to the next bar at Ponte Rotto for a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. 

We continued along our river walk with a few cyclists and joggers and even spotted a deer. After a gelato break, we took the road then a track to our accommodation, 'Il Poggio' (The Hill).
An uphill start to the day
We had soon left Greve in Chianti far below us
What was over the top of the rise?
A bit more climbing
We do enjoy walking through forests
There were a few stretches of forest-walking today
One of several forbidding signs we encountered today
Walking on the right side of the fence
A change of scenery as we looked for a cut-through path
We were walking on well-marked scenic paths for much of the day 
A well-marked scenic path
Another well-marked scenic path
A well-marked scenic path through a forest
There's usually something of interest to catch the eye as we wander along
Muddy puddles
A section of the clearly-marked walking path going through an apparently closed road
Alongside some vineyards
A not-too-arduous water crossing 
The path by the Pesa
A waterhole by a waterfall on the Pesa River 
Approaching Cerbaia
Sharing the path
One of many welcome stone benches along the riverside path
Today's food stops
Into Cerbaia
On the approach to tonight's accommodation
Bits and pieces
Birds, tadpoles and a deer
Day 31 - Map

Day:                               31
Distance:                      28.25 km
Walking time:               5 hrs 57 mins
Elevation gain:             418 metres
Cumulative distance:  592.60 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous22 May 2026 at 00:53

    Today’s birds: Mallard, a bit tricky but I think it’s some sort of hybrid Mallard, Eurasian Jackdaw

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barkers22 May 2026 at 06:15

    That duck did look a bit different! Thanks once again.

    ReplyDelete

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