A short walk along the Vchynicko-Tetovský canal, starting at Hradlový bridge: 4 km (extendable)

• The Vchynicko-Tetovo Navigation channel is a remarkable 14 km watercourse built at the end of the 18th century by Prince Schwarzenberg to circumvent an unnavigable section of the Vydra river. The canal was used principally to transport timber, which used for heating throughout the country in the first half of the 19th century. After the channel’s construction, the Prince was granted a 30 year licence to transport timber to Prague. The canal was last used for transportation in 1958.
• The canal begins at Hradlový bridge and a 17 km educational trail along almost its entire route starts here. The trail has eleven stops describing the technical features and history of the canal. The one-way trail finishes in the village of Srní. There is a large paid parking area at Hradlový bridge, which is 2 km north of Modrava (the nearest bus stop).
• Although the whole route is worthwhile, the absence of good public transport connections creates a slight logistical challenge. So to get a taste of this important piece of industrial history, consider just walking the first 2 kmsection of the trail as far as the Restaurace Hotelu Antýgl, which is (was) popular for refreshments on its terrace during the summer months (although as of December 2023 the hotel appears to have closed for a uncertain period). The route is navigable with a stroller.

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

• Start the walk at the Hradlový bridge carpark, joining the GREEN trail heading in the direction of Rokyta
• The hotel Antýgl is reached after 2 km. Either turn back at this point or continue for as long as desired directly beside the canal and then return back to the start point