Out and about in the area
Camporosso or Ventimiglia are the closest beaches (about 5 miles away). Recently refurbished with imported sand and rocks, thanks to a massive European grant. The nearest is straight under the railway at the junction of the coast route with the road which goes down the Nervia valley. Well, not quite straight across .. go left at the round about then sharp right just beyond the petrol station, if you are coming down the hill. There are lots of other spots to choose from, on the Italian side Bordighera around the station parking area is probably the prettiest, this is 8 miles from Apricale. Ospidaletti just around the next corner has a sandy beach. On the French side our favourite beaches are in Menton which is about 10 miles away. You can avoid the crowds and park for free by choosing the first cove just as you pass through the border post and enter the town from the Italian side. We like to avoid the autostrada and take the coast road through Ventimiglia old town and the village of Latte. There are lots of little beaches and places to swim along this road, look for the parked cars. There is one sandy one according to our teenage granddaughter who has been there on the back of a local lad’s motorino. (dangerous! yes we know, but she only told us afterwards) Menton has good gift shops and street life in the evenings with face painting, hair braiding, and buskers (one regular plays the bagpipes), ice cream stalls and beach trampolines. Don’t miss the fireworks if you are here on Bastille Day!
You can also swim in the lovely river pools at Rocchetta. Turn right on your way down to Dolceacqua. Follow the footpath up stream behind the village and take your pick. There are 4 or 5 decent-sized pools, the further up you go, generally the less crowded they are. Bigger children will enjoy the rock climbing and water falls. Nice bars in the village do cool drinks, roast vegetables, salads, pizza which can be carried out ‘a fiume’.
Walking and biking
The area has a wide range of scenery to walk through; seacoast, mountains, woods and historic olive groves. They call it ‘slow tourism’. Old footpaths snake their way through the wooded valleys and up and around the terraced hillsides, most of these are the old mule paths which were once the only roads linking villages and little churches. The walk from Pigna through Castelvittorio to Bajardo for example, is part of the longer Saorge – Pigna – Bajardo - Ceriana – Taggia trail. Rochetta is linked to Isolabona, then Apricale links up to Perinaldo which has paths down into Dolceacqua. There is a pathway from old town Ventimiglia along the coast to France. Fish from the coast and cheese from the slopes of mount Torraggio would have been traded along these routes. These pathways link with longer trails crisscrossing the mountains from France to Italy, old trading routes but they also provided connections between French and Italian resistance during World War 11.
The marked tracks around Apricale are part of and linked to the European Via Alpina system which connects countries, national parks and nature reserves across Europe. Average completion times and difficulty are marked on the signposts. Some have markers showing T for tourists, E for trekkers, EE for expert trekkers (experienced on rough tracks, mountain weather, steep slopes) and EEA for the fully equipped climber. There are detailed maps for walkers in the house.
All of the hilltop villages, such as Perinaldo and Baiardo have café/bars for snacks, lunch, wine, cold beer or coffee. Try one of our favourites. Walk back along the private road from the house to where it divides, take the upper fork to your left over the hillside through Venunte swinging round to meet the Teatro road just above Apricale. You can climb down into the village for a coffee in the piazza (about an hour in total). If you want to make a round trip and not lose too much height or to retrace your steps, you can leave the square through the arches which lead to the public toilets (to the left when you are standing in front of the water taps) Cut from here along the Teatro road and meet Strada San Pietro road where it divides above the Favorita restaurant.
Another favourite is the walk up to Perinaldo via the track which crosses the old arched bridge below café Tarrochi. When you get to the top of the hill swing to the right on the road below the village, without going into the centre, follow the route over the ridge through the stations of the cross to the little church. Keep going until you find the second set of stations on the steep track down into Dolceacqua. The agriturismo mentioned earlier is on the ridge and signposted before you get to the stations and the church. The walk with lunch makes a lovely day out.
Shorter walks from Apricale include a one hour or so circular walk down over the little hump backed bridge below the café round to the left to the church (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) hidden in the chestnut trees. And up to meet the Pigna road from whence back to Apricale. On this road you will see a little headstone commemorating the death of an Apricale man killed by German soldiers during the war. The little shrine is still well attended.
Strada San Pietro ends in two smaller tracks, both are pleasant walks, particularly early morning from Amarin. The upper one continues as a rough road for several miles, the lower one meets a warren of small mule tracks which pass through overgrown chestnut groves, deserted rustic houses, wells and streams. Great places for fungi hunting in autumn and shady walking in summer.
Cycling
Nervia valley has produced some of Italy’s best cyclists. (you will see why when you experience how steep some of the hills are!) But once you are up on top of a hill you can stroll or ride along the ridges and enjoy the views. Roads and tracks in the upper part of the valley are quiet and the views spectacular. The principal cycling club is in Bordighera but there are many smaller ones. On a Sunday morning dozens of groups will come racing up the Nervia valley, stop for refreshments in Isolabona and fan out over the hills around Apricale. I like to see them chatting as they pass under our balcony in the village. I marvel at their ability to laugh and gossip after the long climb up from Isolabona. The mule tracks in the area are mostly accessible by mountain bike.