Old Railway Trail - Stage IV [Wałcz - Dobino]

Stage IV: Wałcz – Dobino – provincial border – Skrzatusz – Piła [30 km]

The route has not yet been built and is not marked - currently it runs along roads with little traffic.

Located between the Raduń and Zamkowe lakes, Wałcz is a charming town with a preserved medieval layout in the center. The town hall from 1890 stands proudly in the market square. As in Złocieniec and other Pomeranian towns, a castle once towered over Wałcz. Unfortunately, all that remains of the local fortress is the name of the lake; there are no traces of ruins to be found. It was most likely destroyed during the Swedish Deluge in the 17th century. Here, you can relax by the lake, for example at Aleja Gwiazd Sportu (Sports Stars Avenue). Military enthusiasts will be delighted that we have entered the Pomeranian Wall, to which two institutions are dedicated. The older Pomeranian Embankment Museum is located outside the city, on the site of former military barracks. An even more interesting site is the Cegielnia Fortified Group, on the outskirts of Wałcz, between Lake Zamkowe and Lake Chmiel Duży. This section of the Wall closed the gap between the natural obstacles that were used in the planning of fortifications and fortifications in the Wałcz Lake District. Picturesquely situated on the hills, the shelters were blown up in 1945, and a sand mine and a landfill operated on the grounds of the fortified group. Currently, not only can you visit the bunkers, but also a permanent exhibition with armored vehicles and weapons. There is also a "Cinema on the Bunkers" here, and several times a year, various types of reenactments, concerts, and military parades take place.

Ten kilometers west of the city, on the Strączno-Rutwica road, lies the "magic hill," one of the most famous gravitational anomalies in Poland. You can feel it well on a bicycle—when riding uphill, you don't have to pedal. Bottles roll in the wrong direction, and water flows uphill. Unfortunately, this is only an optical illusion, but the impression that the laws of physics do not apply is worth the extra few kilometers.

The route from Wałcz to the provincial border can be continued on local roads through fields to Dobina, located between two lakes. From the local train station, you can reach Szczecin or Piła. Let's hope that the continuation of the trail in Greater Poland will be ready as soon as possible. Those who decide to continue towards Piła should visit the impressive sanctuary in Skrzatusz, known for its 15th-century Pietà.

Transport: there are train stations in Wałcz and Dobina Wałecka (on the Szczecin-Piła line). Connections are operated by POLREGIO and Intercity. The timetable can be found at https://portalpasazera.pl

[To the provincial border]

Surface: asphalt 93%, cobblestones 7%.

Type of traffic: bicycle paths 7%, general traffic 93%.