A sunny Friday afternoon — work is done — the weekend is just around the corner! The dogs are cheering and want to get out and do something. Che looks at me as if to say: "Come on, come on, come on! Think of something fun!" & Murphy: "Yes, I'm in. Where are we going?".
So I have a think, bundle up my mum and the two Frenchies, and off we go to the Meierei Füllenberg. It still belongs to the municipality of Heiligenkreuz, but sits right on the border with the municipality of Wienerwald.
Getting There.
My phone's sat nav refuses to take us along the direct road through the forest and instead steers us towards Gestüt Geyer, which we briefly head for — only to decide we've got it wrong — and we end up arriving at the dairy farm via a bumpy gravel track.
The car park is empty, and a sign tells us it's only open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. A shame, but we still want to go for a walk. Dogs out of the car, rucksack loaded with water, treats, toys and everything else a dog mum needs, slung over my shoulder — and off we go!
The Walk.
Behind the dairy farm we head straight on towards the farmyard. As we get closer to the buildings, a large black dog suddenly comes running towards us, making it very clear we are not welcome here. Me: "Mum, I don't think we're in the right place. Come on, let's turn around and have a look." Che, who is normally pretty self-confident and loves to play the big guy around larger dogs, had apparently sensed that he should keep calm — because even he turned around without a fuss and didn't grumble at all. Back at the fence we then spotted the "No unauthorised entry" sign… Eyes open next time!
Right by the fence, though, we quickly discovered a small connecting path leading up into the forest and headed that way. A beautiful forest track winds roughly 5 km around the großen Buchkogel. Mostly in the shade, the walk is perfect for warm summer days. The only chance to cool off with water comes from two or three small collection pools that probably aren't drinking quality and should really only be used to cool your legs.
Since a network of bridle paths crosses the route fairly often, dogs should either be kept on the lead or be used to horses. Hunting-minded four-paws would have a field day here too — Murphy spotted a fawn close to the path — so it's better to keep them on the lead. At the end of our walk we passed some cattle contentedly chewing the cud in their fenced-in pasture. Murphy and Che behaved (contrary to my expectations) incredibly well ;)
Route Facts.
We took just under 2 hours for the circular route, though according to outdooractive you can do it in 1 hour 25 minutes. Well, we weren't in a hurry and took our time enjoying the forest. We didn't bother with the option of cutting across on smaller forest paths to shorten the route.
Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy a well-earned coffee and cake at the idyllically situated dairy farm, but in return we practically had the trail to ourselves. I can easily imagine it gets quite busy here on a sunny weekend day.
Route Details
- Pace: leisurely
- Stated walking time: 1:25 hours
- Our time: almost 2 hours
- Distance: 5.1 km
- Ascent: 79 m
- Descent: 63 m
- Highest point: 462 m
- Lowest point: 404 m
Dog Facts
- Walk on forest tracks and woodland paths.
- A very popular day-trip destination at weekends and in good weather, with and without dogs.
- We found it very quiet on a weekday.
- No wildlife sightings, but plenty of interesting scents.
All in all, a really lovely outing!
We'll definitely be back.
