Hike number 2 in the Rother book for the Ruhrgebiet is already a red graded walk, which means it is moderately difficult, a grading usually associated with hikes in the Alps. I believe that the sheer length of this walk is the main reason it is graded red, but there were also at least three lengthy uphills, one of which was in open sunlight. I confess that I broke the walk into two sections, using the tiny station of Kalthof as the midpoint. The timing to this point was 2h15 in the book, but I managed it in 2h00. It began with a lengthy walk through the woods, followed by a section walking along asphalt country roads past farmsteads and a trout farm.


Leaving Ergste, the way followed a lengthy route through peaceful woods


Much of the route led along country roads


Nice bucolic scenes in the country

The second section was given as 3h30 and on the second day I completed it in around 3h07, so that means timings are quite conservative in the book. To begin with, this part of the route followed country roads past farms, fancy country houses and riding stables, then went all the way through the town of Sümmern, quite a pleasant place. Some 2km after Sümmern the way disappears into the woods on forest tracks for the prettiest part of the route. I managed to push all the way through to point 5 (out of 6) on the route map, Hembrocker Berg, before having my picnic. This was the prettiest point on the route, a quiet crossroads in the forest which is part of the town of Menden and the only place where I met anyone else. There remained a 40 minutes downhill traipse into Menden, a very pretty and historical town with cafes and restaurants that I would like to have spent more time in (the St Vicenz Kirche is worth a visit).


Kalthof station, which provided a useful midpoint on this lengthy itinerary


On the way to Sümmern


Some parts of the walk were along tiny trails

So this route demands a certain level of physical fitness, although in my opinion it is at the lower end of the red rating. There were absolutely no difficulties in finding the way, one just follows the X and XR signs on the trees and lamp posts. I would suggest doing just the section from Sümmern to Menden, the nicest part of the route. The only thing that "disturbed" me, as an observation, was the proliferation of huge logistics centers in the open countryside, menacing featureless buildings that are going to be much more of an indelible blot on the landscape than the old industrial infrastructure has been. Same goes for these endless wind farms.


In the woods approaching Menden


There were quite a few stretches of almost indistinct trail in the forest


Menden is an interesting town with a lot of old buildings and is well worth a visit