Cycling the Wine Trails of Umbria

Mr Pryor, 09/10/2019

An excellent combination of cycling culture and Italian cuisine. The routes are well chosen with good views and interesting places to visit each day. The layers of history and architecture in the hill towns and churches is astonishing. You can see 5 epochs of architecture in an hour. The backdrop of the Appennines in the distance and cycling through olive groves and vineyards in warm weather (20 - 25 deg in mid Sep - one afternoon of rain only). was a pleasure. And we ate and drank extremely well. The choice and richness of food and the Sagrantino grape are a revelation to first timers to Umbria.

Morgan, 05/10/2019

Lovely landscapes and comfortable accommodation. Hotels in great locations and Umbrian people are very welcoming. E-bike is a real bonus/must for less active/experienced riders, but care also needed in handling these bikes, as they offer significant power when the battery is activated. Overall this is a beautiful itinerary on immaculately prepared bikes supported by very helpful and responsive local reps.

Mrs Wade, 04/10/2019

A memorable experience. Visiting the lovely hilltop villages made so pleasurable with e bikes

Mr Bohin, 24/09/2019

First time we chose E-Bikes and on this holiday we were glad we did. Probably use E-Bikes on future holidays.

Mr Sinclair, 23/09/2019

Overall, this was a good trip. Umbria was very scenic and the September weather wonderful. Staff in hotels were pleasant and helpful and although my Italian was virtually non-existent, language was never a problem. None of my hotel rooms was luxurious but all were clean with air-con and good bathroom facilities. I was delighted that all beds had sheets instead of, or as well as, duvets! Dinners were very good overall but there was a disappointing paucity of fish and few options for vegetarians - the locals appear to enjoy their red meat! Local wines weren't too expensive. Breakfasts were adequate with the usual pork products and cheeses and usually an extensive array of cakes and tarts - so much for the much-vaunted Mediterranean diet!

I had an e bike for the first time and it was a godsend - I don't think I would have survived without it. Some of the gradients were formidable and the road surfaces sometimes rough and treacherous on descents. Not a trip for an inexperienced or unfit cyclist - other than with an e bike.

I am a huge fan of Ride With GPS and, as usual, it performed well although I experienced a couple of glitches which caused some anxiety. At times some extra detail would have been useful to avoid the dreaded "Off course" admonition. On one occasion, because of some ambiguity, I had initially gone wrong and then, after exhausting every alternative option, found that the system had frozen!

Finally, rep Glyn was extremely helpful. and informative.

Mr MURRAY, 22/09/2019

Cycling through Umbria was highly enjoyable. The area is beautiful, and the food is fresh simple and delicious. We did not have a bad meal. The wines are also different to the mass produced stuff and it was great trying some different styles.

Overall the cycling is challenging with some tough hills and I would advise to ensure one has trained and is fit (unless using E-bike). Other travellers have commented on the day trip to Bevagna and we would also echo their sentiments. Unless you have an e-bike (which we did not) or a good light road bike, this is a very tough ride! We are both fit and regular cyclists and had to get off and push! Many of the roads are also in a poor state of repair, with many potholes, and the dirt tracks can be slippery in dry weather so vigilance needed.

However, it was still an enjoyable trip and the area worth visiting.

Mrs Evans, 16/09/2019

Very enjoyable. Hotels and scenery excellent. Italians very helpful and friendly. Route interesting but E bike essential for a 75 yr old who doesn't ride much back at home.

Ms Hogg, 19/08/2019

A lovely journey through Umbria - challenging cycling ; beautiful views of the countryside; delicious food and interesting historical sights.

Mrs Kimpton-Moss, 18/08/2019

Excellent holiday - particularly in a group environment.

Mr Bell, 08/08/2019

Headwaters always provide an excellent service from booking through to the actual holiday. The guides and reps you have are extremely helpful and very informative. We have travelled with Headwaters on 4 previous occasions and the service is always of a high standard, which is rare to find nowadays. Thank you for great holiday

Ms Tulloch, 26/07/2019

Great way to see the real country, plenty of opportunity to meet local people.small ,friendly hotels.Have recommended you to loads of people over the years. the scenery and cycling were excellent , just the right balance of quiet villages and then busier towns (but never overcrowded).

Glyn the rep was always at the end of the phone if needed (we went wrong a couple of times) to offer advice and support which is a strength of Headwater. We used e bikes for the first time and we were glad we had them for the hills in the extreme heat.

Already looking to see where to go next.

Mrs Pearson, 16/07/2019

Overall, we had a really enjoyable 8 days. Umbria is very like Tuscany, wonderful scenery but without the crowds of tourists, and offering really good value for money. The rides were a good mix of hill climbs to scenic ancient towns and villages, and valley routes through sunflower fields and olive groves. Beware the road surfaces though - much worse than ours in many places. Also, many Italian drivers show little respect for cyclists and frequently, and unnecessarily, pass far too close for comfort. It is not a holiday for nervous or inexperienced cyclists.



Our local Rep, Glyn, and the provider of our e bikes, Paulo, were untiringly helpful and supportive. Our thanks go out to both. The bikes were good quality and easily coped with the terrain. Our 4 hotels were all very different to each other eg one was in the very middle of a big busy town, another on the outskirts of a very small peaceful village, but each had its charms. All had reasonably good a/c in our bedrooms, essential in the sultry heat of late June! We must mention the host at the Hotel Relais Laurenti, Diana, who made us feel so welcome (a lesson to other, seemingly quite indifferent, hoteliers).



One last thought, whilst we ate well on our holiday, Umbrian restaurants rarely offer much in the way of fish, so be prepared for menus dominated by meat dishes.

Miss Campbell, 09/07/2019

A great holiday. Fabulous rep. Great e bikes to tackle the hills.

Mrs Dunscombe, 22/06/2019

The bikes were good and the rep took time to set them up just as we wanted them. The RideGPS system worked well and we enjoyed the routes, which were as described. We liked being able to set our own pace and being able to stop when we wanted to.



The main disappointment of the holiday was the quality of the accommodation, two out of the four hotels were really well below the standard we were expecting.

Headwater response:
Thank you so very much for taking the time to contact us with your holiday feedback, whilst overall we were pleased to see that you enjoyed your holiday we are truly sorry the standard of accommodation did not live up to expectations. Rest assured your hotel feedback has been passed on to our Programme Management team. Thank you.

Mrs Johnson, 08/10/2018

Cycling the Wine Trails of Umbria was a great holiday for us. The mix of easy cycling on the flat plain and a few challenging climbs was just right, in particular the ride up to Assisi was worth every hard fought breath. We travelled in late September/early October when the weather was cooler , but I may have found the climbs more uncomfortable in the heat of summer. On the 'rest' days we adapted the suggested routes as they often involved big climbs; in particular our excellent local reps, Luke and Eleanor (one of the main reasons we use Headwater) suggested we visit Bavagna en-route to Spoleto instead of on the later day cycle ride, this proved to be really good advice. The evenings were quite cool and we didn't have the opportunity to eat outside, except for one breakfast in Marcellano. We also made little use of the outdoor pools owing to the cooler weather( the one in Spello couldn't be used as it wasn't clean). The welcome in Marcellano was fantastic and as we were more or less the only guests for the weekend it felt quite special.

Mr Pritchard, 25/09/2018

A generally very enjoyable activity holiday in a beautiful part of Italy. The cycling was generally flat with occasional steep gradients which as two cyclists in their mid 60s used to cycle tracks at home we would have been unable to complete without the e-bikes, this is particularly true of the optional route to Bevanga which my wife was unable to complete even with e-bike (gradient up to 15%). All the hotels as you might expect had their strengths and weaknesses, La Bastiglia best food,Relais Laurentia warmest welcome, al Grappolo best room, but overall they were all acceptable. Headwater organization was excellent and our local reps Luke and Eleanor, who were also with us in Piedmont in May, were once again outstanding.

Mr Dewey, 20/07/2018

Overall an enjoyable experience. Underpinning the whole holiday was the comfort of knowing the good quality of each hotel. In particular the food and dining experience at Albergo La Bastiglia was outstanding, definitely the best food we had! All the hotels offered a different experience; a town centre -Hotel Charleston; a warm welcome at Grande Relais Laurenti (shame about the area it is in - nothing much there and slightly shabby on the approach); the lovely room and pool area at Al Grappolo d'Oro and the nice food at their restaurant down the road although there was some confusion over what we were allowed to eat; and it was great to return to Albergo La Bastiglia with its wonderful food and setting in the lovely town of Spelo.

The bikes are robust but quite heavy but do the job. Ride with GPS guided us well but would benefit from some refinement such as the ability to listen to a repeat of instruction as in traffic (especially in towns) it was often difficult to hear and sometimes information was missed.

Circumstances meant that we had a rep with little experience or knowledge of the area as she had been drafted in from Tuscany at late notice. This meant that we had no hints or tips about places to see/eat along the routes, or any guidance about the routes. We did the optional ride from Marcellano to Bevagne and it pushed my wife to her limits (and she is fit ) as the route was extremely steep. We felt that 'insider' knowledge may have prepared us for this. At each of the destinations she was there to meet us with our luggage which was good. She also quickly replaced a broken phone holder.

On the whole we enjoyed the routes we went on. most being on quiet country roads and cycling paths although some of the latter were difficult to ride on if they were stoney and downhill such as part of the route down from Trevi and one down from Eggi. The highlight was reaching Assisi which we really enjoyed despite a strenuous climb up coming at the end of a 33km ride.

A great experience all round.

Mrs Williamson, 22/06/2018

Umbria offered great routes and food options, accommodation could have been stronger.

Mr Cadman, 20/06/2018

Fantastically well organised and great hotels. Interesting and sometime a little challenging cycle routes with some of the best view you will see. Routes pass many land marks with detour options as well. Will be using headwater again .

Mrs Holt, 20/06/2018

Good route - beautiful landscapes, pleasant cycling through a mix of agricultural scenery and hilltop villages. A few tough climbs, - timing them around lunchtime means you are rewarded with an opportunity to explore and eat in a great spot! Usual mix of individual hotels, although one fell far short of expectation and was substandard. Bikes brand new and easy to use.

Mr Smith, 17/06/2018

A good introduction to a cycling holiday, easy going but with a few challenging climbs. Good hotels,food and wine

Mrs Roundtree, 05/06/2018

We had an excellent cycling holiday in Umbria. The cycling was a bit tougher than we had expected but this is probably a factor or our age and the general geography of Umbria where destinations are generally on top of hills. The hotels were generally good and well located and our on the ground representative was very helpful.

Mr Mcgeoch, 29/05/2018

To get away from the crowds (especially those that like to sit on a coach for hours on end) and to enjoy the natural countryside and historic villages. The exercise in cycling helps to justify our enjoyment of the amazing food on offer in the evening.

Mr Bridge, 31/10/2017

Interesting area to visit; good Italian food

Mrs Lee, 16/10/2017

Sometimes challenging, but great fun,lovely wine and food.

Mr Bastone, 03/10/2017

Great combination of healthy exercise, excellent hotels and high quality food and wine!!

Mr Sherry, 19/09/2017

This was a really lovely holiday experience. Beautiful countryside and wonderful views throughout our trip. This was our second Headwater holiday which lived up to our expectations.

Mr Fisher, 13/09/2017

Excellent holiday, great hotels, efficient transfers and electric bikes were brilliant. Please extend use of electric bikes to other holidays as this will be a priority for us in the future.

Mr Goddard, 06/09/2017

Organisation and customer care was excellent. Our rep--Jen Toy--was brilliant and extremely helpful

Mr Isherwood, 05/09/2017

Headwater picked a fine selection of independently run hotels that were a joy to stay in. The cycle routes were well selected on safe quiet roads and the GPS made them easy to follow. We had a great time

Mrs Pattison, 18/06/2017

Less hilly overall than expected with long very flat rides in between long climbs and some big steep hills. Challenging in the heat. Stunning scenery all the way with beautiful picturesque hill top towns. Wonderful region to visit with friendly locals, great food and wines.

Mr Catchpole, 04/06/2017

Umbria is a beautiful part of Italy and it is well worth visiting all of the hilltop towns as they each have their own unique atmosphere - but be aware that there is a lot of climbing! The hotels, especially the Grand Relais Laurenti, are very welcoming and the standard of accommodation in all of them is excellent.

Mr BeaumontThomas, 20/10/2016

Our first Headwater holiday and we can really recommend Umbria as a destination. We worried about whether the bikes would be up to scratch and the potential restrictions of half-board, but on both counts we were pleasantly surprised. The week's route circling the valley meant that the long views often included hill towns we'd visited or would be visiting. This created a real sense of achievement! And most of all, the fantastic cycling meant we could indulge in all that amazing food and wine and still come home only a couple of pounds heavier!

Mr Aung, 26/09/2016

Cycling in Umbria- need to review road going down from Gualdo Cattaneo down the hill to Torre del colle. Steep 15% average with turns .High risk even for reasonably experienced cyclist.Could an alternative route be looked at even if the roads are busier?

Mr Tennant, 19/09/2016

Great experience but slightly inconsistent and ambiguous route instructions which are very difficult to relate to the overall large maps

Mrs McKay, 02/09/2016

Beautiful scenery. Cycling hard at times - some demanding hills. Hotels very good with individual attractions. Pools a great asset at end of a hard day cycling or on day off. Lots of good (and cheap) cafes on route. Interesting places to visit including Montefalco. Assisi very busy and expensive.

Overall a great holiday.

Ms Kidney, 08/08/2016

A wonderfully well planned holiday in the most beautiful surroundings with quality accommodation.

Dr Sheldon, 18/07/2016

Nice balance of luxury, activity and historical interest. We like the alternate days of rest/ cycling, and the independence of travelling on our own.

Mis Barrie, 14/06/2016

Many unspoilt cycle routes with stunning views

Hotel pools all very welcome after a hard day's cycling

Mr Loughlin, 30/05/2016

We expected 4 star hotels but got small 2 star rooms . Food was mostly not impressive and service poor . Staff were friendly and cycle agents excellent . Umbria lovely but route would have been very demanding without the power assist cycles which were excellent for ladies but ran out of steam for gents towards the end of each day

Mr Witts, 18/10/2015

Interesting cycle tour with plenty to visit.

Mrs Dietz, 26/09/2015

A delightful area for cycling, mostly great locations for hotels, overall an excellent holiday. Our only reservation is Torgiano, where the hotel was anonymous and the little town uninteresting and the Tourist Office useless in our queries about buses.

Mr Thomas, 03/08/2015

We were a family group of four. Mum ,Dad and two grown up children, son aged 27 and daughter aged 30. We had a really enjoyable trip, exploring all the towns and villages along the route. We really enjoyed a totally relaxing and stay put day at the Grand Relais Laurenti. We had the place to ourselves! Wonderful setting, fantastic views. The 'city centre' Hotel Al Grappolo was our least favourite and it was not the sort of place that you would want to spend the entire day (like Grand Relais Laurenti). The food was excellent especially for vegetarians. Four courses was to much! And the wine was very good and very reasonably priced.

Dr Dewar, 21/07/2015

Great holiday - cycling was wonderful through a picture perfect valley; a few climbs to hill-top towns but views compensate enormously. Well chosen hotels. Only minor gripe was that two hotels had a full menu (one with minor 2 euro mark-up for some dishes), while two have a very fixed menu with 2 and 3 choices respectively. On return to Bastiglia we had the same menu which had rabbit which we don't eat (just a promise we made as we keep rabbits !). This would have been just OK but we stayed two more nights and had the same menu given to us. To be fair we negotiated a slight change although our starter was still based on parma ham each night. The hotel was lovely but it did make us feel like we were second class diners who couldn't afford the full menu, which I am sure is unintentional but the created effect. We nearly dined elsewhere on the last night to get some variety of choice but this is probably our fault for staying 4 nights here - wonderful hotel but wouldn't half board in future if stay extra nights.

Mrs Gee, 12/07/2015

A great way to see and experience the parts of a country that other travel companies often don't reach.

Mrs Duncan, 02/07/2015

Welcome at La Macchia by the older couple felt off hand. Staff, however, were helpful and appeared over worked in the dining room. Food was good at Grapolo d pro but service was slow and we left before being offered a last course. Cycle routes good and notes clear Only got lost once.

Dr Bungay, 12/06/2015

Wonderful countryside, good cycling, plenty to see and stop at, so the routes filled the days with lots of interest. It was 30oC in the first week of May, and would be best when temperature was 25ish, which is what we had hoped by booking an early holiday. I don't know how it could be enjoyable in August.

Mr Yellen, 03/06/2015

trouble free and relaxing

Mrs Blay, 31/05/2015

Very enjoyable. You don't feel that you are part of a crowd but have the reassurance of the back up provided by a local representative, if required.



The routes were well put together but you need to be reasonably fit before you go.



Although you are travelling to a warmer country you need to be prepared. We had one very wet day and would have been lost without decent waterproof tops and trousers..

Mis Devlin, 13/10/2014

It wasn't the relaxing biking holiday I was hoping for. Some parts were, but the published route involved too many busy main roads. There were a lot of mistakes in the notes, which added stress. I do wonder if anyone had actually rode it from Headwater? It could have been a lot better - for instance leaving La Macchia, instead of going down the busy main road, we went into town on the back roads, over the railway, then along a parallel road, then onto a cycle track - easy to do and much less traffic.



The hotels were not brilliant. We didn't eat the four courses offered at meal times, as it was just too much. I would have rather paid a bit less and just had two courses.



I may sound churlish, about the birthday cake, but the reason we went on this week was because we had a family tragedy the year before on my birthday, and I specifically wanted a totally un-birthday normal day. It worked fine, and I had genuinely forgotten about it, so was very angry and embarrassed about what happened. They should not have been looking at my passport - the only reason they had it was for legal reasons.

Mr Hall, 19/09/2014

Excellent hotels and food in lovely locations. Italian roads lack signage and the camber on some roads is bad especially when trying to ride and navigate in heavy thunder storms. The maps issued are of too small a scale and our trip involved two maps. It would be preferable to order special maps based on a 30 mile radius of Spello with a bigger scale. From the Headwater book in each hotel, it is clear that most people get lost. We did on each of our transits but perhaps that is the fun of it.

Mr O'Driscoll, 03/09/2014

A great holiday for cycling enthusiasts who like good food and wine, a few historical and cultural sites to visit, and time to relax after getting off your bike.

Mrs Mendham, 26/08/2014

We enjoyed the holiday but the directions were probably the worst we have ever had. They are not clear and some directions referred to signs/cafes etc that no longer seemed to be there. In Gualdo Catanneo the instructions sent us all round the village back to where we started but the road had collapsed and we had to go back. In fact we could have pushed the bikes 50m down the hill back to where we started! Often directions are given in distances but when you have no means of judging distance it is hard to know if you are in the correct place. There should be more information on how to get to places on the off days. We went to Perugia but found out how to get there on our own. It was simple and this information could be made available on your website. The bikes are very heavy and poorly maintained. I could only use 18 of the 21 gears until my husband fixed it after 3 days - not great on the Umbrian hills.

Mr Hill, 10/08/2014

We had a wonderful holiday (our second with Headwater) and consistently hot weather in July; although it was too hot really and quite debilitating at the end of each travel day when having to cycle up hill to reach the next hotel. Each hotel was of a high standard with a pleasant welcome and the food was amazing. We look forward to trying another Headwater cycling holiday but will take more consideration of the cycle rating and likely weather conditions next time.

Mr Somers, 31/07/2014

Cycling was fabulous along mainly quiet beatiful roads with some climbs which were all rewarding and enhanced the riding. Hotels were great, all small family run and so friendly. Food and wine was fantastic. Our 2 teenage girls (ages 16 and 15) hardly complained at all for the duration! Great family holiday!

Mrs Gregson, 19/06/2014

The holiday was a fantastic way to enjoy this beautiful area. An Italian feast!

Mr Duncan, 31/05/2014

There was 5 in our family party. 2 x over 65 1 x over 40 & 2 x 36 to 39

All enjoyed the trip very much. However I have sent an e mail to Lisa regarding the representative.

The hotels , staff & food were excellent & we were made most welcome.

Mr Ray-Johnson, 30/05/2014

Stimulating and sufficiently challenging to arrive home with a sense of achievement as well as enjoying the local culture, history and scenery. Whilst we are still fit, we will consider taking another Headwater Cycling trip again.

Mrs Bruce, 31/01/2014

We cycled every day and enjoyed being in the area; our trip had some changeable weather, including warm sun, heavy rain and strong winds. If you had another cycle route in the area, we'd certainly like to consider returning!

Mrs Kinmonth, 04/10/2013

Harder cycling than expected, mainly due to wind.

Mrs McLynn, 20/09/2013

Javier, the rep, was excellent! He had so much local knowledge, he knew and updated the routes, and he gave much useful advice on safe cycling and

cycle maintenance. He also made it clear that if we had any problem he was only a phone call away! Well done!

Mr Kerr, 18/09/2013

A great way to explore Umbria, including the interesting towns of Spello, Spoletto, Motefalco, Bevagna and Assisi. The cycling is challenging enough and the well chosen hotels provide welcome refuge and refreshment at the end of the day. On the stay-put days it's good to have the opportunity to sight-see or relax, depending on your mood. We enjoyed the regional food and wine and our dinner at the Trattoria di Oscar in Bavagna was a particular highlight.

Mr Rutter, 08/08/2013

We really enjoyed our cycling holiday. The route instructions were excellent and easy to follow. The Rep Javier was great, welcoming friendly and extremely helpful. He knew all the routes really well and checked them daily with some revisions where roads were closed or signs changed.At the start of the holiday he would turn up on a route ,unexpectedly, to check if we were alright so this was very reassuring when we were getting into the swing of things. The routes were on quiet roads or cycle paths and we felt we saw the real Italy with picturesque medieval towns and villages. We liked all the hotels, each with a different character and with lovely local food. The towns were full of Italian culture and we enjoyed exploring the narrow streets and tasting local food and wine. Well done Headwater, we can't wait for our next holiday.