Rheinsteig Stage 8: Sayn - Vallendar (North - South)

Vallendar's town hall square

From the palace terrace, we follow the walls of the castle building up to Sayn Castle. The 800-year-old ancestral seat of the earls of Sayn offers a panoramic view of the Westerwald hills, across the Rhine Valley and as far as the volcanic cones of the Eifel. A tarred path leads from the castle up to a car park. From here, the Rheinsteig trail leads off to the right into the Buchenwald forest and continues in a semi-circle on a gravel path. Above the Brexbach Valley we reach the Oskarhöhe hill with a hikers' shelter. Winding paths bring the trail down into the valley; from there, it turns right towards the viaduct and left over the River Brexbach. Then comes the next ascent to the Pulverberg, where you can enjoy a well-earned rest at the Roman tower.
We cross the plateau between the Meisenhof restaurant and the Bellevue Hotel. Above Weitersburg, the trail brings us on field paths via the German Limes Road past a riding school and finally underneath the A48 motorway. Walking down the valley, we reach the Schnatzen mill and begin the short ascent to the Wüstenhof restaurant. You should pause here, not just for the lovely view of the Rhine, but also because it was here in 1774 that Johann Wolfgang Goethe, inspired by the Muse, is said to have written his famous poem Heidenröslein ('Little rose on the heath'). From here, we hike downhill to the River Meerbach. Above a mini golf course, the trail continues along 'Obere Meerbach' street, passing the parish church of St Marcellinus and St Peter, ending in Vallendar's town hall square. Getting home: follow the streets from the town hall square to the train station.