A 15 km tour of the hills and forests around Žebrák and Točník castles

• This fine circular walk on interesting and varied terrain explores the hills and forests close to the well preserved unique medieval ‘twin castle’ system of Žebrák and Točník.
• Starting in the parking below the castle of Točník, the route ascends directly to the castle, then along a fine limestone ridge, with spiky rock formations, over the Zámecký vrch hill and down into the village of Hředle.
• From Hředle, the route ascends on easy paths into the attractive mixed Křivoklátsko forests, returning firstly along a section of the Údolí Ticha, then across the windswept fields surrounding the village of Březová, with the final section of path enjoying fine views of Točník castle from different angles.
• The route is mostly on easy paths without steep sections, except for the ridge walk after Točník castle, which can be slippery in places (this can be avoided if desired by taking an easier trail around the hill)
• A total of 420m height is gained/lost on the 15.6km total route
• There is an interesting restaurant in Hředle for an early stop for refreshments and also at the end of the walk in the village of Točník.

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 and finish the walk in the large paid car park below the castle of Točník
• Initially walk up the winding main track towards Točník. There is an option to take the steeper more direct trail (marked RED/YELLOW) which starts just below the car park
• After visiting the fine castle, return 100m down the main track towards the car park, and then turn onto the YELLOW trail, which runs along the interesting rocky limestone ridge and over the hill of Zámecký vrch (this path although interesting can be slippery in places and can be avoided if necessary by taking the RED trail around the hill. Both trails lead after 3km to the village of Hředle
• At the entrance to the village is the Na Číhátku restaurant for early refreshments if required
• From Hředle take the RED trail in the direction of Roztoky
• The trail climbs up through attractive mixed forests, and after 2.9km reaches a cross roads close to the top of the hill. The RED trail continues on, but take a left turn onto the rough asphalt forest road (this is marked as a cycle track on the map, but has no colour markings)
• This road leads gradually down the hill, past rocky outcrops and after 3.2km descends to the Údolí Ticha, with its stream and old cottages
• On reaching the Údolí Ticha valley, turn sharply left onto the YELLOW trail firstly along the stream, and then just before the footbridge over the stream the path turns up into the forest again. Continue on this YELLOW trail, across open fields to reach the village of Březová
• From Březová continue on the YELLOW trail again through open fields, with excellent views towards the castle of Točník
• The ruins of Žebrák castles are reached after 2.5km, and after visiting the ruins (if desired) return back to the car park along the access road (800m from Žebrák castle)