Was looking forward to a peaceful weekend in the middle of nature until the evening rolled in and that's when it all kicked off!!!! It was like being in Rimini for spring break instead of a nature reserve!!!! Drunken, screaming lads and ladettes not to mention the huge bonfires and rave music ALL NIGHT!!!!! At a certain point the "guardie" Came but they just started up even louder when they left (they came around at least 3times but to no avail). The next day a parks policeman came up to me informing me that I should park my car tent on the road (thus hindering free passage around the lake) and not on the gravel of a hill (strange, 5 years ago I was told I could park in any spot that was gravel and not grass) OK. Fine, but as I started to tell him about the chaos and that I hadn't got any sleep, after paying my fee to enter the reserve I expected a little tranquillity, I was astonished to hear that yes, he knew all about this, and it's been going on for sometime!!!!!he just shrugged his shoulders!!!!!! I also had to point out about how dirty the place had become since my last visit, again I was met with shoulder shrugs. Maybe more staff checks to ensure safety and enjoyment for" all. Heavy fines and eviction as a Deterrent. After this huge dissapoint I WILL NOT visit this place again !!!! Maybe Rimini might be quieter!!!!!!

We found our way to Lake Giacopiane in the end. At first we tried to walk it from the road but found it was a good 90 minute walk and that the sandals we were wearing weren't up to it....so we drove late in the evening. The road itself feels like an adventure, climbing quite steeply with spectacular views, and when the lake appears all is good. It's large with a huge retaining wall at one end. The only reason there's any suggestion you can't swim there is apparently because if you swim next to this wall you may get sucked out with the outflow! Swim well away from the wall (as we did) and it is quite magical. The wooded slopes of the Apennines still loom large in my memory as does the unusually "clean" feel of the water. You should buy a 5 euro day pass at the Café/Ice Cream Shop in Borzonasca (we did) but as far as I could tell it wasn't like impossible to get in without it