Hidden Garda

Of all the Italian lakes, it’s Garda – with its enviably temperate climate – that really pulls in the punters. At the northern end (‘Alto Garda’), the blue waters spear into rugged Trentino and the pine-scented foothills of the Dolomites. Travelling south, the lake widens out to 18 kilometres and the cafés and restaurants dotted amid the promenades and marinas have a distinctly Mediterranean style.

A miniature Med on their doorsteps is hardly going to be ignored by the shivering masses of northern Europe. Interest in Garda has also been stoked by the 2017 Oscar-winning film , which used the famous Grottoes of Catullus as a location. But Garda, with its busy ferries and 150 kilometres of shoreline, does make it easy to flee the summertime crowds and find an entirely new (both literally and figuratively) side to the lake. It’s something I discovered on a short visit to the side of the lake that falls