Following the old mill path alongside the Radotínský stream; an 8 km trail

The Radotínský potok is an apparently minor stream located to the south west of Prague. The stream is little more than a couple of meters wide (at its widest point), but in earlier ages it managed to power more than twenty ancient water mills on its short journey to meet the Berounka river. Several of these old mills have recorded histories back to the 17th century, but some are likely to have a considerably older origin, with interior Gothic features still visible.
There is a marked trail (with information boards outside each of the mills) along the whole 22 km route from Úhonice to Radotín, but the most scenic part of the route is the 8km path between the village of Chýnice and Maškův mlýn.
The valley carved by the Radotínský stream is also an important geological and paleontological site, with slanted beds of exposed Devonian (400 million years old) limestone visible on the steep valley sides at various points along the route (especially in winter). Fossil hunters have been visiting these rocks for the last two centuries. This is also one of the Prague area’s most important nature reserves, with several rare plants and mushrooms growing in the shady and moist limestone terrain.
Walkers on this trail can also take an adventurous diversion to the ridge that runs above the stream, between Chýnice and Choteč villages. Here there is a mysterious prehistoric hillfort, the Hradiště Choteč, whose ramparts are still visible, but have not yet been reliably dated to a specific period. It seems likely the fortification was created in the Bronze or Iron Age as a refuge for villagers farming the fertile valley. It has yet to be fully excavated.
The route passes through the village of Choteč, which dates from the medieval period, and is overlooked by its striking 17th century Baroque church. On leaving Choteč, the route passes the Mlýn U Veselých, which still has functioning early 20th century mill equipment, and sells its freshly ground flour, usually on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
There are no identified parking areas on this section of the route, so the recommended approach to this walk would be to use the bus connections to the start and end points. There are no refreshment options directly on the route, but there is a good village pub in Chýnice.
The total length of the route is 8.4 km (including the diversion to the Hradiště) and involves 80m of ascent and 150m of descent. Some of the footpaths are quite narrow and can get very muddy after wet weather.

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

The recommended route lies between the village of Chýnice and the point where the trail meets the public road at Maškův mlýn. Both places have bus connections to/from Zlíčín metro. It is suggested to follow the path downstream (so, starting from Chýnice) as this follows the stream ‘downhill’, and is also the order in which the information boards have been created
Start the walk at the Chýnice war memorial (buses to Chýnice can be caught from Luka metro or Zlíčín) and follow the RED trail for 400m towards the forest
Just as the path starts to descend, the RED trail branches to the right (it is not easily spotted). At this point it is necessary to decide whether to take the unmarked path diversion to visit the ancient hillfort on the ridge, or simply follow the RED trail through the woods to reach the village of Choteč after 2km (note: there is one section of this RED trail through the woods that requires a short steep descent and then re-ascent to cross a gully)
If taking the hillfort diversion, continue down the lane past Dubečský mlýn (which has an information board just after passing the stable building) and then curve up the hill on a narrow, often muddy, footpath
After 1.2km the path emerges from the forest area and levels out. At the junction, turn right onto the farm track, which leads anticlockwise around the large rectangular field
Follow this path for 500m until there is a wide turn to the right. This path – which is very straight – leads directly after 400m to the entrance of the hillfort, at the edge of the ridge above the stream
After trying to decide what prehistoric era the fort was created in , return back on the same track for 400m to the main path and continue anticlockwise past the football pitch to reach the public road
Turn right onto the road and descend the hill for 800m to reach the crossraods in the centre of Choteč village (where there is a hiking signpost)
At the signpost, rejoin the RED trail and continue in the direction of Kalinův Mlýn
After 600m the trail leaves the public road upon reaching the working mill (Mlýn U Veselých). The RED trail turns sharply to the right and now directly follows the stream
Continue on the RED trail for 1.1km to reach Kalinův Mlýn, where the RED trail passes along the left side of the old mill and enters the forest area
Continue on this RED trail for a further 1.9km, passing the Taslarův mill, to reach the public road. Here, turn right and after 350m, reach the Maškův mlýn bus stop (for buses to Radotín or Zlíčin)