Sorrento Peninsula

One week on the Sorrento peninsula and so many impressions still whirling round my head. There was marvellous scenery, staggering man-made artefacts and art works, excellent walking, entertaining company, helpful local people and a comfortable hotel. What more could we want? Well, what really made this holiday exceptional was the Ramblers WH leader – Anna Duke.

We rapidly learnt three vital facts: Anna knows all about the Sorrento peninsula: Anna knows everyone on the Sorrento peninsula: Anna can organise anything on the Sorrento peninsula.

Anna knows all about the Sorrento peninsula – before each day’s activity we were given whatever we needed by way of information: maps, guide-books and advice so that we could feel confident that we could achieve our aims. On the actual walks she was a never-failing source of information relevant to where we were.

Anna knows everyone on the Sorrento peninsula – walks and coffee breaks were punctuated by cries of “Anna” and enthusiastic greetings. On one occasion we were even presented with three bottles of the family’s red wine.

Anna can organise anything on the Sorrento peninsula – sometimes without even trying. On one warm day, as six increasingly hot and, dare one say, tiring Ramblers followed Anna up a footpath, she jokingly commented that she’d forgotten to book the ice-cream van at the top. Minutes later we emerged to a piazza outside a church where there were a few parked cars…..and an ice-cream van! The driver was having his lunch-break but was happy to open up for six unexpected sales. Before we’d finished our ice-creams in the shade of the church porch, he’d gone.