Castle Route

Had a bit of bad luck today. First the car broke down, then the battery. That's why the tour was in two parts.

https://www.mobil.nrw/ziel/ueber-80-wanderrouten-in-nrw/details/unterwegs-auf-der-burgenroute.html << On the way on the castle route >> Highlights of the tour: The Wildenburg and Reifferscheid Castle. At the Wildenburg there is a witch's tower, the castle fountain and a voluminous church. Reifferscheid Castle - also a hilltop castle - has existed in its current form since the 12th century. The castle itself and its courtyard are in ruins, only the keep is well preserved. The outbuildings in the large castle complex, on the other hand, form a beautiful, intact ensemble. Description of the hiking tour: The castle route starts very beautifully and close to nature. A few steps from the platform of Blankenheim Wald train station you are directly in the forest. We hike along the meandering Wisselbach on a narrow path until we reach a wider forest path after 400 meters. On this path we soon reach the eastern one Tip point of the Hellenthal district. Only the municipalities of Hellenthal and Dahlem meet at this tip and Nettersheim each other. We follow the Wisselbach for a while until we reach a country road, which we cross. Walk a few hundred meters We take an asphalted road through Silberberg, named after the former mine. The mountain is still there, but the silver apparently isn't. Then we follow our markings and hike to the right downhill through a wide valley. A seating area offers the opportunity for a first, short picnic. Shortly before From the small town of Paulushof we walk a short distance again on the district road, at the level of the crossroads We turn right and soon go down into the next valley. On our hike we walk through so many valleys that the castle route could also have been called the castle and valley route. We follow our path through the Manscheider Bachtal and learn something about dippers and the farm terraces on the slopes on some information boards. As soon as we have discovered the Wildenburg on the hill, we go up a narrow path and we have reached our first intermediate destination with the castle. The castle route leads through the castle complex until we go downhill again along the castle wall. In Manscheid we cross a road and then we go steeply uphill between pastures on a meadow path. At the top we can enjoy wide views of the North Eifel before we head back down on a narrow path near the stream. We walk through the town of Reifferscheid, past the Liebfrauenhof, always following our markings and soon see the Reifferscheid castle complex in front of us. We leave the asphalted roads and walk an enchanted path past calves and sheep, up to the portal of Reifferscheid Castle, the Matthiastor. After a tour of the castle complex, we continue past the Reifferscheid elementary school. Then we go along pastures, we cross another country road and walk along narrow forest paths and wide meadow paths, until we see the center of Hellenthal in the valley. We walk through the town and finally down Rathausstrasse. On the main road turn left to the town center, straight ahead to the bus station at the roundabout. Conclusion: The castle route is a very varied hike with valleys, streams, Eifel towns, forests, Pastures and of course – the two castles. Hiking map as PDF: https://www.mobil.nrw/fileadmin/01_Content_Sales_Hub/02_ Ziele/01_Wandertouren/Wandertouren_2018/Wanderkarte_Burgenroute.pdf Source: “Wunderbar Wanderbar 2018” +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ Arrival and departure with the 🚌 Public transport 🚃 on this tour: + Blankenheim (Wald) Bf, Blankenheim (Eifel) + Hellenthal bus station, Hellenthal +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++ +++