Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4 and Watchtowers WP 1/1 to 1/2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4

   West of the Rhine, between Bonn and the low hills of the Vorgebirge, a broad belt of oak and beech woodland covers a plateau called the Kottenforst. For centuries it was a hunting preserve of the Electors of Cologne, who lived in Bonn, and the forest still carries the marks of that history. Long straight rides, called Schneisen, cut through the trees in star patterns, laid out so that riders and hounds could drive deer toward the hunters, and some of these old alleys are now cycle paths and walking tracks. The southern and northern parts of the woodland are now a nature park, shared with the Ville, part of the Rhineland's wider belt of forests.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4 is where the day begins. Next is Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.

2. 2. Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof

   There is very little to see at first glance here, which is exactly what makes the place oddly moving. South of Bonn, in the edge of the Kottenforst near the Heiderhof quarter of Bad Godesberg and the town of Wachtberg, the forest floor hides the faint outlines of Roman practice camps. Legionaries stationed at the fortress of Bonna on the Rhine marched out here to train at the hard, boring work that won the empire its wars: digging ditches, throwing up earth ramparts and laying out a camp to the standard plan in a few hours. A handful of these training camps in the Kottenforst are part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine recognised by UNESCO in 2021.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/1 to 1/2.

3. 3. Watchtowers WP 1/1 to 1/2

   This is where it all begins, or ends, depending on which way you are walking. At Rheinbrohl, on the east bank of the Rhine between Bonn and Koblenz, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes left the river and struck out across country, running more than five hundred kilometres to the Danube near Regensburg. The first watchtowers, numbered 1/1 and 1/2, stood here near the river, and the line can be followed into the hills from the edge of the village. The whole frontier is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and Rheinbrohl has a modern museum, the RömerWelt, which brings the frontier to life with reconstructions, exhibits and hands-on activities.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/1 to 1/2 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 56 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 1/1 to 1/2. Next is back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof.

4. 4. back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kottenforst Süd | Heiderhof, late in the day. Next is Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4.

5. 5. Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Kottenforst Nord | Domhecken 4. That is the ride.