Take the waters at a spa in Tuscany

The pleasures of a trip to Tuscany taken out of season make up for the lack of summer sun, says Natasha Langan.

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Take a hound truffle-hunting, or just enjoy the rejuvenating waters

Many Britons think of Tuscany as the perfect location for a summer holiday, relaxing in an olive grove under the hot sun sipping chilled Chianti, but they're missing out on the seasonal beauty of autumn and winter when its verdant valleys are shrouded in mist. The ideal base is Fonteverde Spa in the picturesque Val d'Orcia valley, next to the medieval village of San Casciano Dei Bagni, renowned for its natural thermal spa and large pools of mineral-rich waters bubbling up at a balmy 42C, making outdoor bathing comfortable even in the depths of winter.

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Natasha read politics at Sussex University. She then spent a decade in social care, before completing a postgraduate course in Health Promotion at Brighton University. She went on to be a freelance health researcher and sexual health trainer for both the local council and Terrence Higgins Trust.

In 2000 Natasha began working as a freelance journalist for both the Daily Express and the Daily Mail; then as a freelance writer for MoneyWeek magazine when it was first set up, writing the property pages and the “Spending It” section. She eventually rose to become the magazine’s picture editor, although she continues to write the property pages and the occasional travel article.