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From Přibyslav to Žďár nad Sázavou (an alternative to the usual Cyril & Methodius route): 18 km

  • Stage 11 of the Bohemia-Moravia Cyril & Methodius (C&M) long distance route, begins in Přibyslav and finishes in Žďár nad Sázavou, close to the UNESCO World Heritage Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk. Unlike previous stages, the official routing heads into the hills on the northern side of the river Sázava and hardly spends any time on riverside footpaths. To this author, this is a shame, as footpath sections along Sázava are often the prettiest of the whole trail. Further, the ‘official’ stage 11 route has long sections on public roads, which most walkers tend to prefer to avoid where possible.
  • There is now an alternative to the official C&M route and this version is shown in the map below. This variant involves following the new cycle and in-line skating path (marked 19) which starts in Přibyslav and runs eastwards towards Žďár for nearly 10 km. The new trail stays close to the river, has attractive views and is essentially flat. It is widely used by locals for walks – so there is no reason why those on the C&M trail should not do so too! This versions avoids an unnecessary climb into the hills and sections on public roads.
  • After taking this variant, there are a couple of options for continuing the stage to reach Žďár. By continuing on the 19 cycle path, walkers will rejoin the official C&M trail at Najdek and follow the RED hiking trail on the northern side of the Sázava river. An alternative is to remain on the southern side of the river and take the footpaths through the attractive forested area south of Žďár. If planning on finishing the stage at Žďár train station, this is a slightly shorter and flatter route. It also passes the attractive (free) natural swimming pool at Sázava (pictured in the header). This might be welcome on a warm summer’s day!
  • The final section of the official route passes through the old town of Žďár and heads upstream along the Sázava for 3 km to reach the UNESCO site. This author’s preference is actually to undertake this section of the trail as part of stage 12. This balances out stages 11 and 12 at around the same length, and uses the Žďár main line train station as the stage start/finish point, which might be more convenient for those undertaking the route in separate trips.
  • The route as shown in the map below has around 160m of height to ascend (compared with over 300m on the official routing) and is on easy trails – note that the cycle paths are asphalt. There are various refreshment spots on the route: in the summer months, seasonal snack bars are available at map points 3 and 6. Otherwise, try the well regarded pub in Sázava village, the Starý hostinec (map point 5)

Directions

  • From Přibyslav train station, join the new asphalt 19 cycle path and follow this all the way to its end point at the parking area after 9.4 km
  • Continue on the cycle path into Sázava cillage and then beside the main road until the dedicated path ends after 2.7 km. At this point, turn right onto the side road which leads to the swimming pool (map point 6)
  • Continue past the swimming pool on the meadow and forest footpath for 800m to meet up with the YELLOW hiking trail
  • Remain on the YELLOW trail for 1.3 km until reaching the U Křížku junction. There join the BLUE trail which leads directly to the Žďár train station after 3.4 km
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