Going to the beach in November

Last weekend, my first in Rome, I took a train to Sperlonga beach, determined to make the most out of the last drops of summer. We arrived to find the beach totally empty, with just miles of sandy coast (plus loads of stray cats, and an ice cream vendor who looked at us with mild confusion when we went to buy gelato) for company.

 Although it was still just about what you could call 'beach weather' at the start of November, for Italians it was already way too cold, and by this time they had all retreated back inland. There seems to be a very narrow range of acceptable temperatures for the average Italian, whereby anything below 20 degrees is cause for hibernation, but the August heat sends them rushing to the coast for the sea breezes.

Sperlonga is the beach getaway of choice for most Romans - back in the day, even Emperor Tiberius had a villa there. During the summer months it is crammed with rows of sun beds and umbrellas, which seems to be the norm for Italian beaches; all the popular resorts are absolutely packed over summer during the mass exodus of Italians to the coast.

Different hotels or private beach clubs divide up the beach between them, fililing their patch with rows of deckchairs and sunloungers, and you'd be hard pressed to find a secluded spot. But when we went it was almost deserted, and it was beautiful.

The village itself doesn't seem nearly as commercialised or spoilt as Rimini, remaining on the low key end of the spectrum. A walk up the steep and winding path to the village, which sits on top of a hill, offers a vantage point over the port, various stretches of beach, and miles of ocean.

Unusually for Italy there were brightly coloured flowers everywhere, draped over people's walls and terraces. It looked a bit like the setting of Mamma Mia, and you half expected Meryl Streep to pop out from around a corner and burst into song - but it was silent.

The houses are whitewashed, and take on a subdued orangey glow as the sun sinks lower. We watched the sunset over the water before finally getting the train back to Termini - it only took about an hour and a half, but couldn't have seemed further away.