A9 - The Walloons

*Route temporarily not available*

The entire route takes place on sandbars accumulated by the floods of the Ombrone river between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, which formed a plain where previously there was the sea.
The initial stretch winds through the pine forest planted by the Lorenas, in a spontaneous undergrowth of large mastic and juniper bushes that alternate with small grassy clearings. The environment is intimate and of great beauty, especially in the early hours of the morning when the light is low and the activity of the rich community of birds is at its maximum. At the bottom you can glimpse the side of the Uccellina hills at times, where you reach the turtle bridge. Here you cross the Scoglietto canal, dug at the time of reclamation and today transformed into a long, narrow swamp, teeming with life.
Here we set off in the direction of the sea, on land formed during the Renaissance, for a walk in time until the time of our grandparents, when the plain stopped advancing. After passing a gate, the path continues along the Scoglietto-Collelungo canal. On the left, the plain widens up to what was once a cliff overlooking the sea, today largely covered by Mediterranean vegetation and has become the home of many birds of prey, including the peregrine falcon. In front, however, is the wall of a limestone cliff with the Castel Marino tower on top. The plain is a "serrata", that is, a closed pasture, with large junipers and large pines scattered in the tall grass, similar to acacias: it looks like an African savannah, with Maremma instead of elephants and wildebeests.

Continuing, the plain narrows and the path is narrow between the sheer cliff of Castel Marino and the canal, in a wonderful disorder of vegetation, between wild shrubs and domestic pines: it is truly difficult to understand where the work of nature ends and where that of man begins. Then the environment opens up again into the Cavalleggeri plain, another "savanna", where there is an ancient fountain, today frequented above all by wild animals. The name derives from that of the soldiers who for centuries patrolled this coast from Livorno to the border of the Papal State.

Once you reach a roundabout, with a short variation you can go up to the Collelungo tower to admire the view of the pine forest on one side, and of the very long beach on the other. From the same roundabout you can also continue, quickly reaching the beach, or immediately take the Pinastrellaia road, which leads to Marina di Alberese in a more open pine forest, from where you can quickly reach the starting point.

*Route temporarily not available*