DAY 67 - SIENA to BUONCONVENTO - 260626

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Once again we were out early and encountered a group of three pilgrims before we'd even left the city gate. It was a steady downhill at first and we had great views back of Siena.

We overtook another couple of pilgrims before we had our first stop, at Isola d'Arbia, for sparkling water and croissants.  We briefly took the bike route to save a little distance and time, seeing people out walking their dogs or jogging.   We rejoined the Via Francigena pedestrian path to climb upwards on a gravel road.

The sweeping views on this section were quite spectacular. There were patterned fields, Italian cypresses and long white roads. There were occasional farmhouses and a number of interesting sculptures. We stopped at the first bench to eat our peaches, then again a short while later to eat our leftover pizza,  when we came across a shady picnic table.

We descended and walked beside a railway line,  with fields of sunflowers on the other side.  Eventually we came to Ponte d'Arbia, where we saw five pilgrims at the bar. After another 1.5L of sparkling water, we followed them out, topping up our bottles and soaking our hats in the water fountain. We climbed up and over on a gravel path to get to Buonconvento.

After a light lunch and supermarket visit,  we climbed the last kilometre to our accommodation, just off the Via Francigena.
Leaving Siena this morning 
On the Via Francigena 
Rest stop in Isola d'Arbia 
A short stretch on the bike path
Off the Via Francigena  - near Ponte a Tressa
Back on the Via Francigena
Via Francigena towards Ponte d'Arbia
A sculpture of a hand sticking out of the ground
Rest stops along the way
The sunflowers are not yet out in force, but there are odd flowers poking up here and there
Lost sole on the Via Francigena
The hot, dry weather has spared us from having to walk through gluggy mud 
Some Via Francigena artwork at Ponte d'Arbia 
More from the Via Francigena 
A bit of climbing on the way to Buonconvento 
Buonconvento ahead
Buonconvento 
Just a bit more climbing to get to our accommodation
Bits and pieces
Birds
Day 67 - Map

Day:                               67
Distance:                      31.93 km
Walking time:               6 hrs 12 mins
Elevation gain:             419 metres
Cumulative distance:  1363.93 km

Comments

  1. VLN27 June 2026 at 00:14

    The mud is here - scrubbed my boots yesterday
    Spectacular vistas. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barkers27 June 2026 at 04:49

      We're glad not to have had too much mud - it does add an extra layer of difficulty. Yes, beautiful countryside.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous27 June 2026 at 07:33

    Today’s birds: Common Wood Pigeon, Common Swift?, Eurasian Magpie, Stonechat?, possibly domestic Geese/ Grey Heron, Ring-necked Pheasant

    ReplyDelete
  3. Barkers28 June 2026 at 04:40

    Excellent!

    ReplyDelete

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