Yesterday the E3 headed north to Hradec nad Moravici, today it started by going south. The switchback was probably because instead of picking the shortest route, those planning it wanted walkers to see the best sights in Czechia, which included the castle I visited yesterday.
When planning my itinerary I had vaguely imagined that today's walk down the valley of the Moravice would not be too strenuous. I was wrong. Although occasionally running beside the river, the E3 usually climbed up and down the valley sides or else cutting out a big loop of the river. The valley is an incised meander. Millions of years ago a meandering river ran across a plain. Then tectonic plates collided pushing up the hills of the area. As fast as the hills were rising the river was eroding down into the metamorphic rocks and basalt, cutting a valley in the shape of its meandering. This meant that to miss out a loop of the incised meander of the current valley, it was necessary to climb up its steep side and descend to the other end of the loop. The valley sides were wooded, flat areas of grass covered the valley floor. Occasional houses may have been holiday homes. A sign informed me I was in the Moravice Natutal Park, another said I was in the Krajina Břidlice Geopark. Once the area was mined for slate.
Žimrovice was the first village today, I walked straight down the main street and into the woods, reaching a small canal a few kilometres later.
The Weisshuhnův kanál was built in 1891 and provided water for a hydroelectric power plant and was a means of transporting logs to a paper mill. My route went by the exit of a tunnel cut through the rock for the canal.
Shortly after I first reached the canal there was a stall selling drinks. As it claimed to be open I rang the bell which summoned a lady who served me home made lemonade.
Podhradi was the next village. A few miles after was a campsite. I read somewhere on the Internet that it was permanently closed, however this was not true, it was open with noisy children in the play area. This was annoying as I might have planned to stay there, although it was a bit early in the day to stop. As it had a bar, I went in for another lemonade, raspberry this time, and an ice lolly.
Up until this point the paths and tracks on the route had been good, although maybe with too many road sections, however after the campsite the path deteriorated. It ran on a steep slope above the river. In places the path had slipped away. There was some maintenance as trees that had fallen over the path had been cut up. Nevertheless there were bits requiring hands as well as feet. The path end with a beautiful display of golden rod erupting in a clearing.
I had booked a room at a penzion in Zálužné, a strung out village along the river. After completing a form on a website an entry code was provided. I entered this on the door but an electronic voice told me it was incorrect. After trying a few times the door sounded an alarm. Nobody came to see what was up, the place was devoid of people. Then suddenly a loud voice began speaking, I was startled until I realised it was the village loudspeakers with a public announcement. Looking again at my emails I realised I had booked for 3 October....and it was still early September. I tried to rearrange the booking but the phone signal was not adequate for the task. Not wanting to walk back to the campsite I decided to continue on the E3 and maybe wild camp. To camp overnight I would need more water. There were plenty of springs and streams marked on the map, but when I reached them they were all dry. Czechia like England has had a drought.
Fortunately within a few kilometres a phone signal emerged which was strong enough to book a room at the next village of Kružberk. It was over 7 kilometres away so I hurried along the tracks to get there. A pity as on the way was the old spa complex of Jánské Koupele. Once a thriving resort offering various treatments it was abandoned in 1994 after later incarnations as a Hitler youth camp, children's sanatorium and recreational centre. It was sad to see so many, once fine buildings delapidated with broken glass in their windows and missing render. The path took me over a bridge under the remains of lamposts that once lit the way to additional buildings on the other side of the valley.
My alternative accommodation in Kružberk proved very good, in the old mill building I ate trout fresh from their own fish farm. At the accommodation I had originally planned to stay at I discovered the restaurant was closed for the winter, so matters turned out for the best. Despite the longer walk today the sore on my leg seems to be healing. I wore my compression sleeve beneath my brace today, so maybe that helped.
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