Balduinstein walks

The stage takes us behind Selters to the "Hahn" hill and the "Wacht" viewpoint, where we come across a Stone Age site. Later, we reach the old Jewish cemetery of Selters and learn why many inhabitants of Sessenhausen were "Landgänger" (people who left the land), pass a biotope at the Holzbach stream and reach Dierdorf through a magnificent beech forest.

The Westerwald Lake District is an undulating plateau between the mountains of the Hachenburg and Höchstenbach forests in the north and the Saynbach valley in the south. The Cologne Trail runs almost all the way around the Dreifelder Weiher and leads through a densely wooded landscape to the Haiden, Brinken and Postweiher lakes. We continue our hike to Maxsain, pass a beautiful half-timbered house and finally head for Selters.

The hike goes through the Märkerwald forest, past the Max and Moritz oak trees to Dernbach, then through meadows and fields to Urbach, a village with a church reminiscent of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen. Behind Urbach, a beautiful beech forest welcomes us. We reach Linkenbach, whose main street is named after the path that runs through the village: the Kölner Weg. Through the Linkenbach Valley, we reach the Grenzbachtal and the Grenzbach Mill.

We walk through Bad Marienberg, cross the Schwarze Nister and later, at Langenbach, cross the Nister for the last time, pass the Götzenberg and arrive at Stöffel Park in Stockum-Püschen. Just outside Rotenhain, it is worth visiting the excavation site of the Alte Burg (old castle). We then walk past the Vierherrenstein (Four Lords' Stone) through extensive woodland to Dreifelden.

We walk past former mines and collieries and reach the Hoher Westerwald. At the Großer Wolfstein, we come across a legendary rock formation and then reach the highest point of the entire Cologne Trail at 567 metres on the Marienberger Höhe. Later, we come to the Marienberg Wildlife Park and the Hedwigsturm tower with its magnificent view. Shortly afterwards, we reach a stone nature trail and, a little later, the impressive Basalt Park.

The medieval long-distance roads from Cologne to Leipzig and Cologne to Frankfurt, as well as the iron road from the Siegerland region, already met in Hachenburg during the Carolingian period. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa advised Count Henry II of Sayn to build a defensive structure with a fortification wall to secure the trade routes. In 1314, Emperor Louis the Bavarian granted Hachenburg town rights. Hachenburg's Old Market Square is considered the most beautiful market square in the Westerwald. After a long walk through the historic old town and a visit to the Landscape Museum, we hike through the Hachenburg Forest to the Nister and on to Unnau-Korb.

This route is also one of the highlights of the Cologne Trail. From the Grenzbachtal valley, we climb up to Horhausen and reach two former mines, the Otto-Stollen and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Grube, near Niedersteinebach. Later, above Niedersteinebach, we reach a wonderful vantage point and hike through forests past a "legendary" oak tree to Peterslahr. We visit Ehrenstein Monastery, cross the Wied, pass through the Metteshahner Schweiz, reach the Bertenauer Kopf and finally arrive in Neustadt.

On the fifth and final stage, the Soonwaldsteig trail leads from the quiet and secluded forests of Lützelsoon and Großer Soon into the Middle Rhine Valley, a World Heritage Site. The route mostly follows narrow paths and rocky climbs. A narrow gorge, a turbulent torrent, two medieval ruins and several fantastic views of the Rhine Valley characterise this section of the trail, which begins at the Jägerhaus forest lodge and ends in Bingen am Rhein.

There is hardly a more unspoilt and picturesque section along the Nister than the stretch between Heimborn and Hachenburg. At Heimborn, the Kleine Nister flows into the Nister. This is one of the most charming spots in the Westerwald. The Nister, which has carved its way deep into the north-eastern part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains, has formed steep and unusual rock formations, such as the Hohe Ley, together with mountain folds. Since the Middle Ages, the Nister Valley with the Marienstatt monastery has been a Christian centre and boasts a special gem: the oldest Gothic church on the right bank of the Rhine in Germany.

This exceptionally varied hike first takes us through meadows, pastures and forests to the Nister, a small tributary of the Sieg. At Alhausen, a village with beautiful half-timbered houses, we cross the Nister and continue above the river on wonderful narrow paths to Heimborn. This is one of the most picturesque sections of the entire Cologne Trail.

From the panoramic Schanzerkopf in the Mittlerer Soon to the Binger Wald The fourth stage also takes us through the unspoilt, almost untouched landscape of the Soonwald forest. However, we are noticeably closer to civilisation again. We pass through the village of Rheinböllen, walk through a wind farm and come across two former foresters' houses where we can stop for refreshments. On the section from Schanzerkopf to the Jägerhaus foresters' house, we can enjoy magnificent views and, in addition to the panoramic Soonwald ridge, we pass two viewing towers.