Pond Country to the Ostré Calvary

A full-day walk across the borderland between the Holany pond country and the České středohoří — from Zahrádky u České Lípy under Vlhošť to the Ostré Calvary and Úštěk.

I keep returning to this corner where the Máchův kraj ponds meet the České středohoří — it packs water, a lone big hill, tiny hamlets and a baroque hilltop into one day. The logistics are easy too: both ends of the walk sit on the same Litoměřice–Česká Lípa railway line, so the return to the start takes care of itself.

From the Zahrádky u České Lípy stop the way passes Zahrádky with its burnt-out chateau and heads west along the chain of the Holanské rybníky to Holany, a pleasant village at the eastern end of the pond system with a place or two for refreshments — worth using, as there is nothing else until Úštěk.

Beyond the ponds the country rises and the day’s one real hill takes over the horizon: the route runs along the flank of Vlhošť, the highest point of the whole Kokořínsko – Máchův kraj area, through open fields and pine woods with long views back over the water. Past the hill the paths thread quiet sandstone hamlets — Skalka is little more than a cluster of farms — and the woods between here and Ostré also hide the Helfenburk castle ruin, a short detour off the direct line.

At Ostré the Calvary appears ahead long before you reach it — three white chapels on a bare hilltop, climbed by a broad sandstone staircase straight up the slope. It makes a natural late-lunch pause: the last climb of the day, with the whole borderland you have crossed laid out behind.

From the Calvary it is a short, easy hour into Úštěk, entering the town along its narrow spur to the long sloping square. Time your arrival with daylight to spare — the square, the bird houses under the rock and a pub before the train home are the right way to close the day.