We tend to fly Ryanair to Bologna Forli, Perugia, Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Rome Ciampino, Rimini or Ancona. Any budget airline to those airports, Florence, Perugia or Rimini would be ideal.

You do need a car to get to the house, and to see some of the best sites in the area. For car hire we have found Hertz (if accessed via Ryanair) cheapest, or holidayautos. You can either pick the car up from the airport, or get the train to Arezzo or Florence and collect a car there.

Being so close to nature at the cottage makes us very aware of the impact our travelling has. We’re hoping in the long term to make the cottage much more environmentally friendly, we’re already trying to re-use, and recycle as much as we can and think about the things we buy like cleaning products and light-bulbs. The wood we use to heat the house comes from local sources and the forestry is managed responsibly. In the longer term we’d really love to start using the summer sun and the winter winds to produce the energy that we use.

We've also been looking at carbon offsetting and in particular the idea of tree planting. Carbon offsetting is a relatively new, and controversial, area. It’s widely acknowledged that there’s no substitute for just not producing the emissions but we’d like to do what we can. From the information we could find it seems there is controversy over whether tree planting works. We therefore looked at something a bit broader, and which also had the appeal of a community/aid element too.

Flying is the way that most of us get around Europe and it not only tends to produce high emissions but it also produces them high up in the atmosphere which causes more damage. For each person who books with us and gets to Italy by air we will contribute to the International Communities Portfolio from the Carbon Neutral Company. We thought this was a good way to make a positive difference to communities around the world. We’ll send you an email with the details (we thought the posting of a certificate might undo a little of the good work!)

If you’re travelling by car or train then we’ll give you a £5 discount from your bill unless you’d like us to contribute to the fund for you.

You don't have to fly to get to the house. We have made a couple of trips by car from the UK which were fantastic (even, or especially, in an 17 year old Panda!). There are some great routes you can take, some avoiding most of the tolls too. Let us know if you'd like details.

We have also travelled by train from London to Florence and then hired a car locally. The train ride is fantastic! Again, let us know and we can give you details.