Hoarfrost on Varhošť

A 23.8 km point-to-point hike from Ploskovice to Sebuzín along the viewpoints of the central České středohoří — Laffitova vyhlídka, the bare tops above Hlinná and the Varhošť tower.

Railway stops bracket this walk: off the train at Ploskovice among the orchards, back on at Sebuzín down on the Labe. I walked it at the end of November, every tree white with hoarfrost and no snow on the ground, and it remains one of my favourite days in the range — take the late season as a recommendation, not a warning, but start early: the light is gone by four.

From the Ploskovice stop the way leads almost immediately through the free park of the Ploskovice chateau, then climbs out of the orchards into the woods. The first summit is Křížová hora, where Laffitova vyhlídka opens just under the top — the best view of the day’s first half, with the Polabí and Říp laid out below the rocks.

The middle of the route is quieter: the long wooded ridge of Dlouhý vrch runs north with barely a view, easy kilometres that carry you across to the open country above Hlinná. There the walking changes completely — bare grassy tops through the Holý vrch reserve and over Lysá hora, with long views in every direction. The village pub in Hlinná sits ten minutes below the ridge if you need it; otherwise there is no refreshment anywhere on the route.

The last hill is Varhošť, reached by a short spur off the ridge — the tower’s full-circle panorama is the climax of the day, from Milešovka to Hazmburk with the Labe winding underneath. What remains is the long descent to the river: nearly 500 m down to Sebuzín, where the station platform sits right by the water with trains towards Ústí nad Labem and Litoměřice. In November this stretch ends in the dark — ours finished under the station lamps.