New Year's Fire on Solanská

A 17.2 km New Year's Eve round over Košťál castle rock and Solanská hora, from Třebenice to a pub finish in Třebívlice.

We walk a variant of this every New Year’s Eve; the combination of a quick climb, a fire, and an early pub finish is hard to improve on when the days are short. Both summits sit on short out-and-back spurs off the route, with the pub waiting at the end.

From the Třebenice město stop (trains via Lovosice) the way leads straight up to Košťál — the castle ruin on its bare basalt cone is the best viewpoint of the day, and in clear winter air the whole Středohoří stands around you. Back down, the route works west through the villages of Sutom and Vlastislav under the chain of hills, then takes the second spur up Solanská hora. The flat wooded top is a good place for a long stop — we set up a fire there and saw the old year out with a few beers.

The descent south passes Děkovka and Blešno into Třebívlice, where the village pub closes the day; buses run to Lovosice for the train back to Prague.