Schauinsland (12.5 km - 290m ascent - 1020m descent)

Grey skies or not, the expanding views behind us over St Märgen, in its classic Black Forest village setting surrounded by green meadows and backed by forested hills, was superb. On reaching the edge of the forest near the hilltop, we began a long section where the path followed the fringe between meadow and forest with glorious views out to the distant hilltops of Feldberg and Schauinsland to the south.

Occasionally, the path took us for a brief foray into the forest before re-emerging on its fringe to look out over lush green pastures and scattered farmhouses in a scene commissioned by chocolate-box makers. When the sun did shine, the green of the meadows became luminescent - almost unnatural for someone used to drier climes.

We passed two tiny wooden chapels as we followed the ridge along, before finally beginning our descent by the forest roads, country lanes and farm tracks of Schmittenbach to the neighbouring village of St Peter. At varying points, the bright yellow towers of Maria Himmelfahrt stood out like beacons across the greenness, pointing out the whereabouts of St Märgen on its hillside, even though it was now several kilometres away. By contrast, the twin brown-stone towers of the baroque church of St Peter were hard to spot, even at close range - well camouflaged against the framing hills.

Reaching the village, we stopped in the cloistered courtyard of the former monastery, dating from the 11th century, for a bite of lunch - the present church, built in 1727, may not have a bright exterior, but this is more than made up for by the ornate baroque interior (fascinating in an over-the-top sort of way).

The village square at St Peter

After lunch, the yellow and white diamond markers led us out through the village streets and up to the start of the Lindenweg on its southern flank. This path, lined with linden trees and a set of stone pillars showing the Stations of the Cross, took us through field and meadow, with superb views back over St Peter, the village framed by the forests and meadows of the Kandelberg hills. We had reached the top of Lindenberg with its all-round panoramic views.

The path now began to descend, passing a grove of mixed conifer and broad-leaf trees. Ahead to the west, we could see the wind-turbine topped hills of the Rosskopf and directly down the valley to the distant flat plains of the Rhine River (where the sun was still shining). Ahead lay the pilgrimage church of Maria Lindenberg, set on a balcony with sweeping views eastwards over the valleys of the Ibenbach and Rechtenbach brooks. It was a good place for a coffee.

Heading down towards Maria Lindenberg Pilgrimage Church

Panorama from Maria Lindenberg over the Ibenbach and Rechtenbach Valleys

The fringe of forest and field

From this church, we followed the narrow ridge down into the forest, picking up an asphalt road just after passing a farmhouse at the top of Schwärzlehof Valley. This quiet road was our route down beneath the forest to the Eschbach Valley, and on reaching the valley floor, we wandered quickly down, alongside the main road that passed through this elongated village to reach the 18th century Church of St Jakob, a fitting place to end a great walk along the Schwarzwalder Jakobsweg.

The bus to take us to the train station and back to Freiburg arrived a few minutes later. It may be a long time since witches lived in its deep recesses and wolves terrorised little girls in red cloaks, but the Black Forest of today still has a fairy-tale attraction and the transport is such that there are few places not accessible to the keen walker.

Some 70,000 years ago the watercourse now known as the Wutach flowed down from the Black Forest into the Danube River and on to the Black Sea. Then there was a geological upheaval in the region and the waterflow was redirected to the Rhine and out to the North Sea - big consequences for the blocking of one gap! The Wutach has formed Germany's deepest gorge, which alone warrants a walk through its depths. Since arriving we had walked to the highest point of the Black Forest, beneath its dark canopy of conifers and broad-leafed trees and across some of its more bucolic rural landscapes. A walk in its deepest parts would nicely complement our activities and so, on our last Saturday in Freiburg, five of us - the fair Nello and I, Robyn and 6-month old Lina and Ursula (Lina's oma) - set off by tram, train and bus for the 1½ hour trip from Freiburg to the start of the walk. The trip itself was interesting as the train cranked across the forested slopes of the Black Forest and out onto the fields and crops of its eastern fringes. This low flattish rural landscape was not what you would expect to hide a deep and lushly vegetated gorge.

On reaching the trail head at Schattenmühle, a former mill and now restaurant and guesthouse, we set off, stopping briefly on the road bridge to take our first glimpse of the clear, tea-coloured waters of the Wutach. Then it was off, past the restaurant and on to a narrow and rocky footpath. The upper part was more deep valley than gorge and the track wound its way along the north-bank of the river beneath a cool and lush forest canopy.

The river itself is a mix of sunlight and shade

At times, it climbed the valley sides in dappled sunlight or followed the river's edge as it rippled its way down a stony bed, glistening in the sunlight. At other times it crossed a lush green clearing in the forest or passed a tiny stream flowing down across the path from the valley heights - a very peaceful stroll. After climbing up to a small waterfall that tumbled softly over a thick mat of moss, we dropped down to reach the Dietfurt Bridge, where we crossed to the south bank. It was a good place to stop for a break as the river tumbled over a series of boulders.

Once on the south side, we climbed up through the forest of the deepening valley wall before descending again to cross a series of river flats, shoulder-high in dense undergrowth and almost steaming in the warm sunshine. We were now in the middle section and the track was becoming busier, as people descending from Bad-Boll joined the gorge walk.

For the first time we were starting to see the white cliffs of the gorge, rising up from these flats. Passing the tiny Josef's chapel, we came up to the face of the cliffs as they squeezed the valley tightly to form the gorge proper. The narrow track, protected in parts by cable railing led us high up the cliff-face, where we traversed its sheer walls. Deep beneath the tea-coloured river flowed through the lush green vegetation - the views here were superb.

From the heights of the cliff, the track descended gradually to reach the river again at Schurhammerhütte, a grassy car-accessible picnic point. Needless to say, this meant lots of people, so we pressed on, working our way around the base of another set of cliffs to reach a lovely spot on the sun-sparkling river, the pebbly bank beneath the shade of overhanging branches - time for lunch and for young Lina to get her feet wet and escape the confines of a baby-sling.

A tranquil stony beach

It was so nice that we stopped again for Lina to enjoy a play in the sand and for the rest of us to enjoy the tranquility of the river and the stillness of the forest. Still, time was edging on and we had deadlines for buses.

Lina enjoying a break from walking

We pushed on, following the river around to the wooden suspension bridge at Rümmelesteg. Crossing back to the north bank we quickly reached the track junction leading up to the village of Bachheim. Here we parted ways - Ursula had to get home earlier and headed up towards Bachheim and the bus / train home, while the rest of us, with more time up our sleeves ,continued on down the gorge. We had left the popular middle section of the gorge and the track was now a lot calmer.

Another cliff-side traverse

It wasn't long before we were back on the south bank again, courtesy of a bridge that seemed to run straight into the cliff face. However, the track deviated to the east and followed a narrow ledge between river and cliff, crossing a set of powerful springs that surged out into the stream from the base of the layered rock. The route through cool forest flats and along cliff bases was particularly aesthetic as we pushed eastwards towards the mouth of the Gauschachschlucht, a smaller side gorge coming in from the north.

We crossed a pretty covered wooden bridge to reach it and, farewelling the Wutachschlucht, headed up the Gauschach. For the first time we were gradually climbing, on a damp and often slippery track beneath the cool dark canopy. Though smaller, this gorge had a more isolated and closed-in feeling, as trees completely overshadowed the narrower Gauschach river.

Criss-crossing the river, we reached the Burgmühle and its welcome restaurant, where we stopped for a cool drink and received advice from the staff that, contrary to my plans for returning, the train did not stop at Bachheim station this afternoon. We would have to take the bus, which meant a fast climb up the gravel vehicle road and out of the gorge, followed by a longish road walk beside hay field and ripening wheat crop to reach the bus station in time to connect with the train from Loffingen to Neustadt and then on to Freiburg. It was a circuitous route that took us almost 2 hours to reach home, though the memories and reminiscences of this great walk in Germany's deepest gorge made the time pass more quickly (either that or I dozed off!).