Tour M4: The Naafbach Valley Loop

Our hike starts at the fountain in front of the parish church of Marialinden. We look towards the two cathedral towers from the front and walk to the RIGHT. We cross the main road and enter the street "An den Sieben Linden". We follow her. At the small roundabout, we continue straight ahead into "Meegener Straße" and now follow its course. After a short downhill stretch, we need to pay attention: at the lowest point of the road, we turn RIGHT and immediately keep LEFT on the path that leads steeply downhill. Trail markers are in place (see below). Map in the flyer). We follow this path, which leads down to the LEFT into the forest. We also keep to the LEFT at the next two junctions. "Fischermühle", one of our stage destinations (see below). Map in flyer no. 7), is signposted. The path is marked as "access route to the Bergischer Weg". We now follow a beautiful narrow path through the forest; we have to jump over a small stream. Shortly after a right turn, we have to pay attention again, because it goes sharply LEFT, a few meters below in the opposite direction ("Zuweg zum Bergischer Weg" is still marked), then along between two drained ponds. We are crossing the small Naafbach stream for the first time. Beyond this point, we continue walking to the RIGHT along the path. Later on our hike we will come to Krampenhöhe (see below). Card No. 18) still to the source of the little Naaf. A little further on, we pass a ruin on the left-hand side of the slope. We reach a signpost. From here we follow the "Bergischer Weg" trail to number 10 on the map. First, turn LEFT at the signpost; "Fischermühle" is signposted. After a few meters the path forks, we walk RIGHT up into the forest. Beautiful wayside cross in Falkemich. We continue to follow the "Bergischer Weg" and its markings. We reach the "Fischermühle", which is a good place to stop for refreshments. Directly behind the hotel and restaurant, we come across the Naafbach stream. We will now follow it upstream almost the entire time, all the way to its source area. We therefore walk to the LEFT into the Naafbach valley, continuing on the "Bergischer Weg" trail. After a few meters, a bench invites you to rest by the stream. In Breitenstein, we have approximately... Half the hike is complete. HALF-TIME! If the route becomes too long, you can shorten it here and walk back to Marialinden in about 40 minutes (see below). Map). Our regular route, however, leads us down to the RIGHT and then across a bridge over the Naaf. We leave the "Bergischer Weg" and turn LEFT immediately after the bridge. By crossing the Naafbach stream, we have crossed the district border into the Rhein-Sieg district, into the municipality of Much. We follow this path uphill (ignore hiking marker X22 to the right). At the first houses in Strünkerhof we reach a nice bench with a table, a great picnic spot. From there we continue walking HALF RIGHT. To the left, a beautiful view of the Heckberg, on whose southeast flank the Naafbach stream has its sources. After approx. We walk for 5 minutes, turning LEFT at the fork in Neverdorf and then follow the X22 marker for a while. We need to cross the district road to Much. It's still going downhill a little. ATTENTION: After hiking uphill for a few meters again, we turn LEFT at the bus shelter towards Schommelsnaaf, then LEFT again at the houses and 50 m further on RIGHT. To our left below flows the still young Naafbach, which here in the "Naafen" (Siebelsnaaf, Abelsnaaf, Schommelsnaaf, Bixnaaf and Hentgesnaaf) is fed by small spring streams. From now on, the Naafbach runs primarily along the border between the Rhein-Sieg district and the Rheinisch-Bergischer district. In Bixnaaf we pass a few beautiful houses and after a left turn we reach the road. We now go to the LEFT next to her, approximately... 50 m downhill, before we turn right again onto a farm track. After a right turn, the path leads uphill to a farm, which we bypass on the right. We reach Lorkenhöhe. Pay attention at the first houses: first turn sharply LEFT and then 20 m further on turn RIGHT, up the hill. At the top, where the road forks, we go LEFT and leave Lorkenhöhe. Between the horse meadows, we enjoy the beautiful view over the Bergisches Land region and back towards the Heckberg. We arrive in Krampenhöhe and turn RIGHT on the road at the first houses of Krampenhöhe. Just before we reach the lowest point of the road in Krampenhöhe, we have to turn LEFT at the bus shelter. After a short time, a small stream babbles beside us. This is the source of the small Naaf river, which we crossed more than two hours earlier (number 4). After some time we cross a paved road. We continue straight ahead from here. Always follow the path, later uphill. Just before we get back on the road in Marialinden, we pass a beautiful bench with a view, which the Marialinden citizens' committee has set up. We walk along the road to the LEFT and after 200 m turn LEFT again into "Franziskanerstraße". After about 400 m, we turn RIGHT at the small roundabout and reach our starting point after 3:50 hours of pure walking time: the Marialinden Cathedral.