Sárvár – Sümeg (OKT-02)

The tour starts at the lakeshore(s): the Csónakázó Lake by the shelter next to which the National Blue Trail's Sárvár stamp can be found. The lake system is a "descendant" of the former brick factory, as its clay was extracted here from the early 20th century, then when it closed in the 1970s, lakes were created in the remaining pits. We circle the spa building along the city's main road – in 1961, thermal water was sought in Sárvár for spa purposes and was found nearly 1000 meters deep. However, the Blue Trail leads towards another water body, the Rába, after which we turn left at a junction, and continue walking among the houses of Hegyközség, gently ascending. This part of the city was once inhabited by displaced workers and is now a garden city-like area surrounded by vineyards and forests. At its end, we turn onto a wide forest road and climb along a narrow path to the ridge covered by Rába's gravel.

At the top, we cross the highway and pass through meadows framed by pine trees with a distinctly mountainous atmosphere, only the road noise detracting from the allure. The Blue Trail enters the Haraszt Forest, crossing straight paths through a forest mixed with pines. The decor well known to flatland Blue Trail walkers alternates; we pass a farm and finally reach a wide meadow where we turn right on the edge and cross another highway.

We cross a field which seems unremarkable at first glance, but from the other side unexpectedly reveals the most beautiful view of the entire section: the light-colored wall and truncated tower of the Sitke Calvary Chapel and the view of the Ság hill rising out of the plain. The chapel, built in 1871 in a windowless neo-Gothic style, has towers carved from sandstone, one of which lost its peak due to a lightning strike. Interestingly, the ruined building was renovated in 1986 using the proceeds from a concert organized by Fecó Balázs, and since then concerts have been held every year on the wide, sloping square.

The next section isn't outstandingly beautiful but is quite atmospheric: after a short forest strip, we wind among vineyards, orchards, and holiday homes at the foot of a hillside, with wide fields opening to the right. Although hidden by vegetation, the westernmost member of the Kemenes basalt volcanoes lies here (surrounded by one of the country's largest tuff rings); its alginite is still mined today. Eventually, the slope of Hercseg hill falls away, with a Blue Trail (summer) buffet on the left, then the panorama opens towards the Kemeneshát and Bakony: views reach as far as Kab Hill and the High Bakony, with the plain dominated by the Somló block.

At the end of this atmospheric section we turn right – here an easily recognizable dilapidated station building stands at the end of the street – but there are no tracks. This was the same line whose trace we crossed earlier between Hegyközség and Sitke. We soon reach Gérce's main street and turn left. We find two stamps in the village, both on the sidewalk on the right hand side: one hanging on a fence corner at the town hall (where you can also drink from a water tap), and the other further ahead on a utility pole.

Gérce – Rózsáskerti forester's lodge

Leaving the village's main street the road leads upward; turning back, the Ság hill appears closer and larger than before. Passing between trees next to the cemetery and sports field, we cross highway 84 and reach the entrance gate marking the Farkas Forest on asphalt. We spend the next hours walking through Vas County's largest and oldest continuous forest. On the right side of the road stands the Rózsáskerti forester's lodge, with the Blue Trail stamp hanging on the fence near the corner.

Rózsáskerti forester's lodge – Hidegkúti hunting lodge

From here we walk on asphalt through a forest richly dotted with benches and resting places – soon we find the first larger rest area on the left, equipped with a shelter and campfire facilities, suitable for roasting or even overnight bivouacs.

The origin of the name “Farkas Forest” has four explanations: three link it to former owners or prominent local families, one to wolves that used to live there. The forest was devastated and essentially logged when it came under Bavarian royal ducal family ownership in 1875. Bavarian foresters were brought in to implement modern forest management techniques, including Lőrinc Scherg, who converted the used-up area into a closed forest again. His and his wife's joint grave is a slight detour from the rest area, accessible via a path branching left from the forest road, followed also by the K trail mark.

After that, we walk for a long time on an even asphalt road with mossy edges, but the march is not boring, as the surrounding forest varies in age and species composition, mixing hornbeam, beech, maple, ash, alder, linden and sometimes acacia with mostly oak forest. (We can also spot small patches of spruce and black pine; various rest areas offer viewpoints for sightseeing.)

At one point, a short, approximately 10–15 minute-long nature trail branches off to the left: it winds through an old natural forest part, stations colored with mushroom identification boards. At one terminus there is a shelter and campfire site; the clearing owes its occurrence to two old oaks felled by wind in 1995, which were probably reserve trees left from earlier logging. These were called “witch trees” locally (called “basa trees” in the Great Plain) because local legends said witches met at their trunks. Remnants of oaks predating the forest’s formation lie on the ground, impressive even in death.

Near the end of the long, straight asphalt walk, we find the oldest and most natural forest section of our route: oaks over 250 years old, and hornbeams and lindens over 120 years old live here in this varied composition area. At the road junction we reach Hidegkúti hunting lodge, opposite which a resting place was created under old oaks. On the meadow next to the hunting lodge stands a chapel, making this green area ideal for a pause before gently ascending towards Káld. The stamp hangs at the corner of the fence, and behind it, since 2023, a tourist house operates with 16 beds.

Hidegkúti hunting lodge – Káld

We take a left turn and walk on a gently undulating, slightly ascending asphalt road to the second forest crossroad, where we turn left. Walking 10-15 minutes on the K▲ trail, we reach the Scherg Lőrinc Lookout, from where we can glimpse the Kemenesalja plain, the lookout hills and the Bakony mountains towering in the background. The Blue Trail zigzags with right-angled turns along the small, dry ravines bordering Kemeneshát, continuing through mixed and scenic forest. The elevation difference is negligible but the terrain is slightly more varied than before.

Before the end of a long straight stretch, surprisingly thick, dried tree trunks lie on the right side of the road. The moss-covered Avasi old oak takes its name from the forest section — “avasi” once meant a protected forest used for acorn gathering, not timber production. The tree yielded to nature in 1995 at about 250 years old, similar to the Witch Trees.

The Blue Trail turns left here, and the dense, undisturbed forest disappears; intensive forest management is now evident. Still, in pleasant surroundings we find the Lajos-bükk recreation area with shelter and campfire sites placed in small clearings among the trees, offering opportunities for roasting and bivouacking. The eponymous beech trees stood further down the forest but were toppled by a 2005 windstorm; they were the heirs to a forest created by Lőrinc Scherg in memory of the previous owner, Bavarian King Ludwig III.

At a gas pressure booster station we reach the forest edge again and see the Ság hill over the fence. At the end of a long forest straight lined with rest areas, beneath a gate similar to the Rózsáskerti lodge’s, we exit the Farkas Forest. In Káld, we can choose from two stamp places: one at the pub on the main street, the other on the school fence. Both are passed by the Blue Trail.

Káld – Hosszúpereszteg

Opposite the pub stands the slowly decaying, closed Maróthy mansion, a local landmark. Until 1975, Káld and Hosszúpereszteg were also connected by a train line on the Sárvár–Zalabér-Batyk vicinal railway opened in 1913.

We leave the center of the settlement heading south, then turn right onto Rákóczi Street, in front of the elementary school's fence - the second stamp opportunity in the village. We largely leave Káld among mostly Kádár-era houses, with fields on the left and forest on the right. We pass a wider path leading to Új-hegy: on the southern slopes of the enclosed garden district belonging to Káld, mainly vineyards and wine cellars are found; elsewhere in the region, winemaking is also practiced. Because phylloxera dislikes rock high in quartz, Hungary's sandy soil wine regions mostly survived the devastating epidemic at the end of the 19th century.

We enter cultivated or fallow fields cut out from the forest; the names of the fields recall the former estate Pereszteg-Tacskánd, where the famous forester Lőrinc Scherg spent his first years of service. The stream that occasionally dries out beside our path is called Tacskándi brook, and the final village's name also contains the word “pereszteg,” derived from Slavic “prestrug” meaning “watercourse.”

Crossing the “pereszteg,” we walk on a slightly ascending cart road reaching a clearing, then pass through the charming Tomaji Forest where trees form a tunnel over our path. We then walk 2.4 km on a straight field road, arriving at Hosszúpereszteg Felsőfalu.

We cross road 8; Hosszúpereszteg indeed continues along a long “main axis” southward. It's worth observing the houses, as the population dwindled during the state-socialist period, there's only a few “Kádár-cube” houses and therefore folk buildings still constitute a large proportion of the housing stock. We arrive at the renovated pale blue-white church under a pine tree row, where the stamp is found on the fence.

Hosszúpereszteg – Szajki forester's lodge

After less than a kilometer we exit Hosszúpereszteg, where the Fire Museum operates on the outskirts. We walk another km on the Mikosszéplak road, then turn right after two bends onto a forest road leading directly to the Szajki Lakes.

The partly natural lake system formed by damming the north-south flowing Csörgető stream. Following the K marks, we walk along the left bank of the stream and lakes, somewhat away from the water, but thanks to the fishing paradise all lakes are on good condition paths and accessible trails. The detour is recommended as the lake system surrounded by fishing huts and piers is very atmospheric. Originally there were only two lakes in the valley, with a watermill exploiting the water's potential between them - the other lakes were created artificially.

The Blue Trail stamp is found at the resort, near the main road, on a wooden pole in front of the forester's lodge. In summer there is even a beach by the lake, and buffets await visitors.

Szajki forester's lodge – Ötvös

We pass three other lakes, but they are not surrounded by development and fish are bred in them. We leave the lakes by a sharp left turn, then on the next section of the trail we walk on forestry roads in varying condition, sometimes turning with right angles. In two places, we briefly follow only the classic trail, which represent the most beautiful parts of the route. The mainly hornbeam-oak forest sometimes gives way to black pine patches. After this bleak section, we reach the former Ötvös railway station, after which we must turn right onto the road. We have to walk 450 meters more on asphalt to Ötvös's stamp, then turn left into the forest, where the stamp is found on a wooden pole.

Ötvös – Kisvásárhely

Through the friendly oak forest of Dergecsi we alternate directions with sharp turns along glades until we reach the road to Dabronc. The Blue Trail follows the road for about 1.5 km. At first, our way is still bordered by the forest we just left, but soon we reach open terrain with farmland and fields on both sides.

However, the horizon holds more exciting details: looking ahead left from the white church tower of Gógánfa rises a characteristic shape from the Kisalföld plain: this is Somló, a fellow witness hill of the Balaton Uplands in Kisalföld. Turning right, a long Rendeki hill extends before us, and a smaller, cone-shaped elevation emerges to the side: the hill crowned with Sümeg Castle.

Before the road bends into Gógánfa, after a forest strip, we turn right off the asphalt. We walk for about 2.5 km along a row of trees at the edge of fields. After a short road section we arrive at charming Kisvásárhely.

The settlement developed along the Marcal, but never significantly expanded due to wetlands, thus it retains the character of a tiny village with a permanent population of just over fifty. The stamp is found on a leg of the wooden bell tower in the center, surrounded by benches – an ideal spot for a short rest.

Kisvásárhely – Sümeg

Leaving the village we almost unnoticedly cross the Marcal river, which here rather resembles a creek. We walk along a grassy pasture lined with bushes and turn right at a lookout tower to reach the bank of the Meleg-víz stream. A rickety but stable wooden bridge crosses the water covered by duckweed. The path through the reed is a favorite photo theme and its romantic atmosphere is hard to resist. On the far bank we quickly reach the Nyírlak forest, which we cross with a pleasant 3 km walk. Occasionally black locust and an unexpectedly appearing black pine patch enrich the mainly oak-route.

Near Nyírlakpuszta, it's worth making a short detour to the solitary Tarányi chapel deep in the forest. The neo-Gothic style chapel built of natural stone is surrounded by a special atmosphere: slender vaults, columned entrance, and arched windows create harmonious proportions. The blue chapel trail marks a 400-meter round trip which is definitely worth the effort.

Exiting the forest we are close to Sümeg. Approaching the town through farmland, the castle hill and the Sümeg castle on top emerge more and more prominently. The tour ends at Sümeg railway station, where the stamp is found on the pillar opposite the ticket office.