Past the Seven Loaves

A 29.6 km west-east crossing into the Kokořínsko from the Labe at Hněvice, past the Sedm chlebů rocks, the heritage village of Brocno and the Nedvězí view to Dubá.

Kokořínsko is my favourite region, and this route is the west entrance. You take the train one hour from Prague to Hněvice on the Labe, then walk all day across a plateau that gets better the deeper you go.

The start needs one warning. The first kilometres cross Štětí, a paper-mill town with nothing to stop for. Push through. Beyond Stračí the yellow waymark enters the woods and the sandstone begins. First comes the Mariánská chapel, then the Sedm chlebů, a stack of rounded ledges that really does look like seven loaves piled up. From there the route continues east to Brocno. The village with its log and timber-framed farmhouses is a protected heritage zone.

The blue waymark continues through Chudolazy to Vidim. From there an unmarked path climbs Nedvězí. Open views are rare on this forested plateau, and this hill has one. That is why the route takes the unmarked stretch. The last leg passes the Rozprechtice pond and Nedamov to Dubá. The walk ends at the Nový Berštejn bus stop, with a bus back towards Prague.