We slaked our thirst there after our trek and revisited a couple of days later at the end of a mountain bike ride led by Sauro Topini who turned his hobby into a career, opening a sports shop, Punto Bici, in Perugia thirteen years ago.

He began hiring bikes of all sorts in Umbria and Tuscany and now operates throughout Italy. He tailors his bike treks for all ages and abilities and each bike is prepared individually for its rider. Riders and bikes are transported by minibus to the start of the ride. Sauro led us on a picturesque jaunt down through wooded paths and grassy slopes on to the Piano Piccolo. It was a perfect sunny day and the padded cycle shorts we were advised to pack proved their worth on the rocky tracks!

Some of our group felt safer walking on the loose surface on a steep downhill section, and there was no pressure to be macho. Once on the plain we diverted to a small lake from which emanated the voices of thousands of frogs – an extraordinary sound. Although the frogs were hidden by the reeds, they could be spotted as a collection of choreographed splashes as they plopped in and out of the water.

The toughest part of the 17 kilometre ride was the last steep drag up to Castelluccio, which sorted the fit from the flabby.

We were rewarded with a great lunch at the Taverna Castelluccio, designed to show off the regional produce. We began with delicately flavoured lentils with garlic and celery. Next came farro/spelt, which was regarded as a cure-all before the advent of modern medicines, cooked with carrot and onion. This was followed by sheep’s offal in a rich sauce. We didn’t examine the ingredients too closely since we were told absolutely nothing of the animal is thrown away. Anyway it was very tasty. Finally we were treated to pasta parcels containing locally madericotta cheese with wild spinach that grows on the mountains.

The rugged Umbrian terrain lends itself to another fast growing recreation, water sports. At the Gaia Sibillini Rafting Centre on the river Corno, we were kitted out with wet-suits, life-jackets and helmets for an afternoon of white-water rafting.

The fashion-conscious among us felt the kit didn’t do a lot for our image, but it was all to prove its worth. Carlo Nini, co-owner of the centre was our instructor and guide. He had enough English to tell us left or right, go or back, to steer us through the rapids and we soon realised the value of the helmets as we ducked low branches and sped downstream.

The river is spectacularly attractive, with gorges and wooded banks and was filled with the sweet scent of elderflower. At the time of our visit the water levels were low due to a lack of rain, but there was enough current to get a flavour of the sport. Carlo also persuaded us that the rubber raft could be optional. Under his instruction we abandoned the raft and lay back in the water and, supported by our life-jackets, went with the flow.

Despite the shock of the 10-12 degree water temperature, it was exhilarating, and we soon found out how warm wet-suits keep you. After a couple of hours balanced on the edge of the raft, paddling backwards and forwards, ducking and diving to avoid rocks and trees, the muscles felt the strain. I ached all over. Dinner that evening of truffles and wild boar casserole went down a treat!

In between the athletic stuff we found time to enjoy more passive attractions. A short drive away is the beautiful 8th century town of Monteleone di Spoleto, home to the Biga.The Biga is a chariot from around 600 BC, possibly Roman, maybe Greek. No-one is certain. It is a single chariot in which the driver stood to guide the horse that pulled it – a bit like those seen in the famous Ben Hur chariot race.

The Biga was found in 1901 in a tomb, along with a number of other important artefacts. The man who found it on his land didn’t know the value of what he had discovered and sold it for the value of its scrap metal weight to a clever and knowledgeable antique dealer, via whom it eventually found its way to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where it remains. Monteleone has a replica in a modest museum.

Along the Valle Castoriana, near the town of Preci, is the Abbey of Sant’ Eutizio, site of the first school for surgeons in Europe. It dates back to the 5th century when a community grew up around a religious group whose leader was renowned as a healer. They originally lived in caves, but by the 16th century the surgical school was known throughout Europe.

Nothing now remains of the school but there is a church which contains the tomb of the healer, Saint Eutizio. It is a place of pilgrimage, for beneath the stone coffin, close to the altar, is a tunnel, and the belief is that if you pass through the tunnel all your ills will be cured. Well, you have to try it – and we did!