Easy walks in the countryside around Bučický mlýn, near Rožďalovice: 4 km to 10 km

• The countryside north of the river Labe in Central Bohemia is the heart of the fertile Cretaceous basin, a generally low-lying plain bisected by the Labe, which 90 million years ago was a shallow tropical sea. This is peaceful farming country, with relatively few popular tourist destinations outside the well-known sandstone rock regions of Kokořinsko and Český ráj.
• However, despite its lack of famous destinations, the area offers excellent hiking options and is especially suited to all season walks – in winter the trails remain accessible and are generally reasonably flat. Some parts have an ‘English county’ feel to them and this is especially true of the landscape around the town of Rožďalovice, situated roughly midway between Mladá Boleslav and Hradec Králové.
• Rožďalovice is a quiet town, well away from the main trade routes, but still managed to acquire an imposing chateau and an impressive church, which were both rebuilt in a late Baroque style by the Valdštejn (Wallenstein) family, who were owners of the town for most of the 17th and 18th centuries. The chateau is today an elderly people’s home and is not accessible. Possibly the most famous native of Rožďalovice was the Renaissance book printer and publisher Jiří Melantrich of Aventino (1511–1580).
• The highlight of a walk starting at Rožďalovice is undoubtedly a visit to Bučický mlýn, situated directly on the shores of the large Bučický pond/reservoir. This old manorial mill dates from 1639 and was in operation for 300 years. It today houses a pension and an atmospheric pub/restaurant (quite similar in style to an English country pub).
• The direct route from Rožďalovice to the mill from the town square is only around 2 km along a good country road and is suitable for strollers. The road is bordered by a number of fields which are home to a surprisingly wide range of different farm animals, including some very friendly donkeys.
• A more varied but slightly longer circular route (5 km in total) traverses the nearby forest area and a section of path beside the pond, before returning to town along the country road. This is shown in the map below. There is also the option to extend the trip with a circular walk in the attractive mixed forest to the north of the bond. Various paths (mostly without tourist trail markers) cross the forest area, so walks of various lengths can be created if walking with a good map (or using the mapy.cz application). The route shown below is just one of several possibilities. The forest trails are easy, but not suitable for strollers.
• For refreshments, apart from the restaurant at Bučický mlýn (which also has outdoor terrace areas for summer use), there is a cukrána in the main town square offering nice homemade cakes.

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Rožďalovice can be reached by public transport on a regional train from Nymburk and also by bus from Mladá Boleslav. For drivers there is a parking area on the main square
• From the main square follow the GREEN hiking trail in the direction of Bučický rybník. The pond is reached in 2.7 km and from there it is a short walk along the shore to reach the mill
• From the mill, if adding a walk in the north forest, follow the YELLOW trail for a segment and then cut across the forest using one of the unmarked paths to rejoin the GREEN trail which eventually leads back to the mill
• For the return journey back from the mill to Rožďalovic town centre, follow the access road to the mill. This leads directly back to the centre in 2.2 km