Trip to Tuscany is life-affirming for all ages

The hills of Tuscany, a vineyard for the adults and a pool for the children – it’s no wonder TV presenter Charlotte Hawkins and her family turned into...

Holidays are all about making special memories, and some of my favourites as a child were with my cousins, spending endless hours playing games and staying up late. We wanted to give our two-yearold daughter Ella Rose a taste of this, so we planned a big family trip to Italy. We had our sights set on a decent-size villa where we could all stay together and make the most of some quality adult time, as well as having plenty of adventures to keep the little ones busy.

We picked Gugliaie, a beautifully restored 300-year-old rustic Tuscan farmhouse, complete with original beams and thick stone walls, on the Villa Le Corti Estate.

There was lots of room to spread out, and the all-important swimming pool. The seven bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms, meant with our group of six adults and five children, everyone could have their own space.

Even the littlest ones in the group soon got used to clambering up and down the stone steps, and the villa stayed refreshingly cool despite the blazing sun outside with the shutters drawn and airconditioning on.

For us, Tuscany was the perfect location to be able to make the most of some of the best food and drink. One of the enticing features of the villa was the fact that it is on one of Tuscany’s most important wine estates, right on the northern edge of the Chianti Classico region. The handy thing about being based at a vineyard is that the villa comes stocked with plenty of bottles you can drink, and the owners will tot up a bill for you at the end of the week.

My favourite was the sparkling Principe Corsini Rose, the perfect accompaniment to a plate of Tuscan cold cuts, bruschetta and juicy olives.

It also meant we could do wine tasting right on our doorstep. We had ours at lunchtime, which was ideal as the adults could try the wines while the children munched on spaghetti and fusilli, while home was just a few minutes’ walk away.

TheOsteriaLeCortirestauranton the estate offered a tempting selection of traditional Italian dishes; our favourites were deep-fried egg yolk with pumpkin flower and zucchini salad and Mezze Maniche pasta with Cinta Senese white ragout and lemon peel, a dish made from local wild-bred pigs.

The estate itself, Villa Le Corti, has a fascinating history. It’s owned by Prince Corsini, a member of the Florentine aristocracy. His family history is intricately linked with the history of Italy; one member was Pope in 1730, Clemente XII, credited with commissioning the Trevi Fountain.

Villa Le Corti has been the family’s ancestral home since 1363, but they only returned to restart wine production in the early 1990s, and recently opened the winery and cellars for tours. They also produce olive oil, so there are vineyards and olive groves as far as the eye can see.

It makes for spectacular scenery, with row upon row of vines crisscrossing into the distance, and olive trees flanking the gardens.

We wanted to explore, so we booked a horse-riding experience where you get to see the beautiful Tuscan countryside close up. The local stables, just a few minutes away, were very friendly and luckily welcoming of all abilities. We booked an early morning ride to avoid the heat. It was such an experience, as the horses picked their way up and down stony hills, past vines and through woodlands.

The villa was also a great base from which to explore the rest of Tuscany as you are just 20 minutes from the centre of Florence and an hour from Pisa.

Also right on your doorstep is the village of San Casciano, with a wellstocked supermarket to keep you in supplies, including a fish counter where we bought some fresh octopus and mussels to cook our own paella. The villa was perfect for family dining as there is a huge outdoor table you can all sit around.

Our stay began well when we opened the villa’s door and were met with a welcome selection of culinary delights… glistening mozzarella, nestled among the juiciest tomatoes, and homecooked biscotti. You can even have an amazing meal cooked for you in the villa. For about the same price as an evening out, we arranged for chefs to come and cook for us.

We were presented with a selection of Tuscan meats, bruschetta, and the nicest steaks we’d ever eaten, which were barbecued with juniper and served with roasted vegetables. It was