About the author … and the guide

I have enjoyed scrambling over rocks for as long as I can remember. Family holidays in the 1970’s, amongst the hills and mountains of the English Lake District, were probably to blame. Sometime in the 1980’s I discovered a passion for ancient ruins. Since then, I have spent countless days wandering the trails of Europe, in search of yet another crumbling wall or rocky canyon to explore.

A work colleague introduced me to the sandstone pillars and ruined castles of Český ráj in the early 90’s, not long after I moved to Prague on a two year assignment. It was love at first sight. That work colleague, Jitka, later became my wife. Český ráj was her favourite place in the whole of the Czech Republic.

The two year assignment was extended indefinitely. I have been living, working and exploring the trails in this beautiful country for nearly 30 years now. I still do a bit of real work (occasionally) but whenever I have some free time I set off on another adventure to see if I can discover a new path, set of rocks or ancient ruin to scramble around. This guide is a summary of (nearly) everything I have discovered in the Bohemian Paradise.

my♡Český ráj is dedicated to Jitka, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2003. I think she would have enjoyed browsing its pages.