Green Velo

The surroundings of Chęciny are famous mainly for the ruins of the monumental royal castle that has stood over the small town for centuries. A bike trip will give you more knowledge about this interesting land. You will learn about the place from which, according to a legend, devils embarked on a mission to destroy the abbey on the Łysa Mountain. You will learn that pilots of gliders could be met here in the 1950s. You will see an ideal place to climb in the Stokówka Quarry. You will start your trip on the market square in Chęciny. You will see the ruins of a medieval royal castle rising over the town. Leave the market square through ul. Małogoska. You will pass by the tourist information point located in the historic house built in 1570 and the Monastery of the Bernardine Nuns. You will cross the provincial road no. 762. Past the boards of the Świętokrzyski Archaeo-Geological Trail, ride towards Skiby. There you will find marks of the blue hiking trail that will take you to the Hell Cave. Situated in the western slope of Żakowa Mountain, the karst cave in Devonian limestones is the subject of many legends about the devil’s powers. Return to the main trail to Polichno along the yellow trail. It is worth riding off the trail and turning left at the crossroads to see the monument to pilots that commemorates the international elite gliding school for pilots from Poland, Romania, Hungary and other countries which existed here from the 1930s till the 1950s. In Polichno, you will come across the green trail that will lead you through an unsurfaced road. On the left, you will pass by a small elevation – Grabówka. At the crossroads, turn right near the cross. Moving without any marks, you will reach the Stokówka Quarry, which is a paradise for rock climbers. Leaving Stokówka, ride local (unmarked) roads along the open pit. You will arrive at the road leading to Miedzianka, where you will see again the yellow trail that will accompany you for the rest of the trip. You will ride through the Miedzianka Hill Reserve. Because of their history, these areas are called the centre of former lead and silver ore mining by many geology lovers. In Bolmin, where you will arrive along the yellow cycling trail, you can see a 17^th-century church and ruins of a manor house. Through Mosty you will reach the crossroads with the road no. 7. Ride along the national road on a short section (watch out for traffic!). Then you will arrive close to the parking area beside the castle in Chęciny. From there, after visiting the ruins, return to the Chęciny Market Square.

Course of the trail:

• Chęciny (Market Square) – 0 km
• Riding to the Hell Cave – 8 km
• Riding to the Pilots Monument – 2 km
• Stokówka – 2 km
• Miedzianka – 5 km
• Milechowy – 5 km
• Bolmin – 23 km
• Royal Castle in Chęciny – 5 km
• Chęciny (Market Square) – 6 km

Marking and infrastructure:

Most of the trail runs on roads marked with tourist cycling trails according to the PTTK trail marking instructions. Leave Chęciny along the green cycling trail. Then, past the direction boards of the Świętokrzyski Archaeo-Geological Trail, you will reach Skiby, where the marks of the blue hiking trail will lead you to the surroundings of the Hell Cave. Here you will see the marks of the yellow cycling trail that will take you to Polichno. In this village, you will come across the marks of the green trail that will lead you to the crossroads with the road leading to Stokówka. The trail turns left, and you ride the unmarked section from Polichno – Stokówka – surroundings of the Ostrówka Quarry – Sosnówka – the road to Miedzianka. Here you see again the marks of the yellow trail, which will accompany you for the rest of the trip.

Surface:

75% of the trail runs on the asphalt surface. Longer sections of an unsurfaced road occur on the way to the Hell Cave (from Skipy, around 1.6 km), near the access road to Polichno (around 1.5 km) and from Polichno through the surroundings of the Ostrówka Quarry – Sosnówka (around 5 km). On the Bolmin Reservoir, you will come across a mixed surface on a length of around 1 km (gravel, ground and concrete slabs). Another section of a gravel road (around 300 m) occurs past Bolmin.

List of attractions on the trail:

• Chęciny – Tourist and Historical Information Centre of the Chęciny Commune (26-00 Chęciny, ul. Małogoska 7, phone 41 315 18 29, informacja@checiny.pl, checiny.pl)
• Hell Cave near Skiby (on the Świętokrzyski Archaeo-Geological Trail, szlakarcheogeo.pl);
• Pilots Monument in Polichno;
• Stokówka Quarry;
• Miedzianka Hill Reserve (on the Świętokrzyski Archaeo-Geological Trail, szlakarcheogeo.pl);
• Ruins of a manor house and the Church of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bolmin;
• Ruins of the Royal Castle in Chęciny (phone 41 308 00 48, biuro@zamek.checiny.pl, zamek.checiny.pl)