Bledow Desert

The Bledow sands sit on a plateau between Olkusz and Zawiercie, a stretch of open dune and bare sand left over from glacial deposits and later kept clear by centuries of woodcutting for the local mines and smelters. Once the trees stopped being cut the sand began to be recolonised, and much of the original area is now scrub and young pine, so conservation work involves clearing vegetation to keep the open ground. What remains is genuinely strange for central Europe: pale dunes, a shallow stream cutting across them and a horizon of forest. The usual approach is from Klucze, where a wooden platform on a rise gives the overview.

History

Sands and gravels were laid down here in the Ice Age and then overgrown with dense forest, which was cut for the silver and lead mines around Olkusz from the 13th century; logging and the drawing of groundwater opened up the bare sand. Mirages and sandstorms were seen here at the beginning of the 20th century, and from the 1970s the water table fell by 20-30 m because of deep zinc and lead mining nearby (Wikipedia, Błędów Desert).

What's there

• The Czubatka platform - a wooden viewing structure on the northern rise looking out across the open sand.
• The open dunes - low ridges of pale sand with wind ripples and sparse tufts of grass.
• The Biala Przemsza stream - a shallow watercourse running through the sands and out into the woods.
• The encroaching pine - young trees and scrub advancing across the edges, showing why the site is managed.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable, since there is no shade at all and summer afternoons here are punishing. Early morning and the last hour of light give the raking angle that makes the dunes read properly. After rain the sand darkens and firms up, which is easier to walk on but less photogenic. Winter visits are stark and empty.

Before you go

It is not a desert in any real sense: the area is a few kilometres across, ringed by forest and industry, and scrub is taking large parts of it back. Part of the ground is closed to the public and fenced. There is no shade, no water and no facilities, walking in deep sand is slow, and many visitors leave feeling the name oversold the place.

Nearby

Olkusz is fifteen minutes away, and the limestone crags and ruined castles of the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland run to the east.

Key facts