Tercino Udoli

Terezie Buquoyova laid out this valley from the 1750s as a sentimental landscape garden along the Stropnice below Nove Hrady, and it is one of the earliest and best-preserved examples of the English landscape manner in Bohemia. The route follows the river through meadows and mixed woodland past a set of built incidents: the Modry dum, the Blue House, a small classical building; the Lazenka bathhouse; a Swiss chalet built as a farm and dairy in 1801; and, at the far end, a waterfall - the Stropnice was diverted through a cut so the water falls over a rock face, an artificial cascade made to look natural, which was standard practice in these gardens. There is a mill and a hammer forge on the water. The valley is about three kilometres long, walked as a loop from Nove Hrady, and is protected as a national nature monument.

What you actually see

• An artificial waterfall - the river diverted through a cut over a rock face.
• The Swiss house - a chalet of 1801 built as a farm and dairy.
• The Blue House - a small classical garden building on the route.
• A three-kilometre valley - walked as a loop from the town square.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Buildings open seasonally and on limited hours. The path floods in wet weather. The waterfall depends on the diversion being open and can be a trickle in dry summers.

Nearby

Nove Hrady and its castle are at the top of the valley; the Novohradske hory are south.