A 15km circular tour from Sobotka, via Kost and Humprecht
- A circular tour starting at the historic town of Sobotka, visiting the baroque hunting lodge of Humprecht, the gothic castle of Kost and the fascinating Plakánek valley
- The geologically interesting Plakánek valley along the Klenice stream has an interesting short nature trail
- The route passes many examples of folk architecture, including several scenic houses in Sobotka and Střehom. There is an optional diversion to the heritage village of Vesec
- The total length of the walk is 15km if the recommended detours are taken. It is a relatively flat walk with only 160m of height gained and lost, with no difficult sections, although the paths around Kost can get wet and muddy
“The area around Sobotka is an important, but relatively unknown, part of Český ráj. Here there are some of the oldest and best preserved examples of timbered folk architecture anywhere in the region. This excellent medium length walk combines these historic buildings, with a visit to Kost castle and the unusual Plakánek valley.”
Directions
- Start the walk in Sobotka, where there are several small parking areas, but the largest is probably the (paid) car park used for visiting Humprecht, which is 600m out of town on the road towards Kost. The map directions below assume the parking at Humprecht is used. Sobotka also has a train station which is directly on the walking route, so if convenient trains are available then this would be an excellent alternative to driving
- The Humprecht baroque hunting lodge/chateau is worth a quick visit/detour, either at the start of the walk, or on the return if using Humprecht parking
- From the Humprecht parking take the YELLOW trail in the direction of Libošovice
- After 1.6km reach the Nepřívěc signpost, where there is the option (recommended) to take the 1.1 km detour along the BLUE trail to see the heritage village of Vesec with its folk architecture. Return back to Nepřívěc after visiting Vesec
- From Nepřívěc continue for 800m on the BLUE trail to reach Libošovice village (refreshments available)
- In Libošovice turn left onto the RED trail (direction Kost)
- After 2.1 km reach the castle of Kost (various refreshment locations available including restaurace Kost). A visit to the castle is highly recommended.
- From Kost, take the YELLOW trail (direction Sobotka) for 2.6 km through the geologically interesting Plakánek valley and then past the attractive watermill of Střehom (refreshments available in the village)
- Continue on from the mill for 3.1km on the YELLOW trail (mostly on road) to reach the outskirts of Sobotka.
- After crossing the railway line turn onto the GREEN trail and follow this through the old town into the town square, passing several attractive half timbered buildings. The market square also has the interesting hotel and restaurant Pošta
- From the town square take the YELLOW trail for 600m up the road back to the Humprecht car park.