Knightly Amble

THERE was a footpath leading past Stolzenberg Castle, so I followed it to see where it would take me.

I soon came upon colourful coats of arms on a tree

I had a choice of trails to follow, and I picked one called Stolzenberger Ritterblick, which I later learnt means something like Views of the Knights of Stolzenberg Castle.

The route turned out to be circular, which was handy, and was not without interest

The trail is well waymarked - much better than you get in Britain.

Orange usually shows up well from a distance

There were a couple of times when I was unsure as to which path to take.

I find the best course of action in such circumstances is to choose the more promising path, give it five minutes of brisk walking, while keeping a sharp lookout, and if no more waymarks appear, double back and try the alternative route.

Both times when I was uncertain I chose the right path, but I got lucky when what I thought was a waymark - you might be able to see it on the lefthand tree - proved to be sawn-off branch (but I was on the correct route anyway)

Clear views over mainly flat terrain

Just one shrine on the seven-plus-kilometre trail, at least as far as I noticed

Some natural colour

Striking cemetery at the finish in Bad Soden