Western Lake Districts Route - Szczecin Link - Stage II [Stargard - Ińsko]

Stage IIA: Stargard - Ińsko [51 km]

The exit from Stargard has not been made yet; it is possible to detour along a dirt road to Ulikowo. Between Marianowo and Ińsko a bicycle path will be built on the old railway embankment. The detour is possible with a little-traveled district road through Wiechowo and Kępno.

From Stargard, we cycle along a slightly hilly, agricultural area towards Ińsko. Almost every village can boast a historic church: Ulikowo, Pęzino, Czarnkowo, Marianowo, Wiechowo, Kępno.

Former Cistercian monastery in Marianowo is interesting for one reason. Sydonia von Borck - a Pomeranian beauty accused of witchcraft and the cause of the fall of the Griffin House, stayed here for about 15 years. After Prince Ernest Louis broke off the engagement, she casted a curse that in less than half a century the whole family would leave this world. Sydonia had many enemies, and eventually she was accused of witchcraft and cursing the Griffins. In 1620, the would-be princess was beheaded and burned at the stake. The alleged curse was fulfilled when in 1637 Bogislaw XIV - the last of the House of Griffin - died childless.

The small village of Pęzino, 10 km from Stargard, has a different kind of ace up its sleeve. There is a little-known but one of the most beautiful castles in the whole of Pomerania. Built by the Knights Hospitaller at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle became the property of the state-owned farm after WWII and could face the same fate as dozens of other palaces and castles in Pomerania, but fortunately it was saved. For the last 25 years it has been functioning as a hotel, a place of events and conferences. Interestingly, the fortress represents a different style on each side - Gothic, Neo-Gothic and Renaissance. At the time of writing, the castle remains closed after the covid-19 pandemic.

In Dobrzany (when the bicycle path on the old railway embankment will be finished - in Kozy), we connect with the main Western Lake Districts Route. More adventurous cyclists, instead of following the main trail, can choose the "Ińsko Ribbon", which is the road winding like a snake through the Ińsko Landscape Park. In a distance of fewer than 10 kilometers, there are as many as 55 turns! A narrow, mostly concrete path meanders between hills and lakes, surrounded by ancient beech trees. In the middle of the route, in a vast clearing, there is the Okole forest settlement with a fallow deer farm.

In the landscape park you can spot white-tailed eagles, lesser spotted eagles, marsh harriers and kites. In clean lakes live rare whitefish. You can even meet extremely rare pond turtles, so keep your eyes open!