A week-long multi-active tour to the Orel region: cycling and rafting

09:00 Breakfast at the glamping cafe.

10:30 a.m. Before the start of the bike tour, the hike leader conducts a safety briefing. We go to the bike route (30 km).

Excursion to the Museum of Local Lore of Novosibirsk.

Before starting the bike tour, we will take a trip to the past, visiting the ancient settlement in Novosil. There are traces of an earthen rampart on the high bank of the Zushi River. In the 12th century, this city was considered one of the largest and fortified points of Russia at that time.

Local historians claim that Novosil was founded by nomadic Khazars in 874, and is one of the oldest cities in Russia. And only in 1155, in a historically reliable source, the chronicle, we find the first mention of Novosil, associated with the stay of the wife of the Grand Duke of Kiev Yuri Dolgorukov, Olga Grechanka, who hid in it from the constant raids on Kiev by foreigners.

The cultural layer in the settlement is up to 1.5 m, and contains deposits of the XII–XIII centuries.

14:00 Visit to the military memorial complex "Vyazhi".

Next, our bike tour will take place in the places where the Red Army's strategic offensive operation Kutuzov began in the summer of 1943, which became the first in a series of offensive operations by Soviet troops carried out in the central part and on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, resulting in a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War.

On July 11-12, 1943, after reconnaissance by combat, units of the 3rd army under the command of General A.V. Gorbatov and the 63rd army under the command of V.Ya. Kolpakchi broke through the enemy's defenses and liberated Vyazhi, creating a strategic bridgehead for the liberation of the Orel region.

A memorial was opened at the site of the bloody battles in the village of Vyazhi-Zaverkh.

Standing on the high bank of the Zusha River, we will be able to imagine the events that took place here eighty years ago.

15:00 Lunch in the field.

17:30 Return to the camp.

19:00 Dinner at glamping cafe.

21:00 Games and entertainment around the campfire.

09:00 Breakfast at the glamping cafe.

10:30 Transfer to the starting point of the rafting.

The beginning of a new rafting trip along the river (17 km).

We won't have time to be bored on the river. The swift current of the river will carry kayaks past steep scenic slopes and limestone outcrops.

The rocky ridges and backwaters of Zusha are perfect for fishing for pike and chub. You can also count on a good catch of roach, carp and bream.

The nature of the river is very variable: the deep riverbed is suddenly replaced by rapid ripples and shallow waters.

14:30 Lunch in the field.

15:30 Continuation of rafting on the river.

18:00 The end of the rafting. Arrival at the camp.

19:00 Dinner at glamping cafe.

21:00 Games and entertainment around the campfire. Camping sauna.

In the evening, there is a great opportunity to steam in the hiking sauna, which will appear near the water. In Russia, going to the sauna was always a ritual, and not only did they enjoy themselves in the steam room, but they also healed the body.

09:00 Breakfast at the glamping cafe.

10:30 Transfer by car to the Shatilov estate in the village of Mokhovoe.

Guided tour of the architectural monument of the XIX century.

It is a monument of architecture, history and culture of local importance. In 1865, Lev Tolstoy became a guest of the progressive businessman Joseph Shatilov, who later wrote:"This is probably the most wonderful household in Russia, and he is one of the sweetest people in terms of simplicity, intelligence and knowledge."

A little later, Shatilov would become Minister of Agriculture of Imperial Russia, and at the estate he would lay the foundations for high-yielding wheat breeding and effective forest management.

Now there is an experimental station in the estate, where useful plant species are cultivated, whose seeds are sold all over the world. And from the roses that grow here in abundance, local craftsmen make incredible jam, in each jar of which the tenderness of the summer sun of Central Russia is preserved.

13:00 Lunch in camping conditions.

14:00 After the end of the tour, we will set off on bicycles along the route (30 km).

We will get on bicycles and ride with the breeze between the fields of the Oryol region, which are famous for their fertile chernozems. Golden wheat and rich rye grow here, valuable oats and precious barley, sunflowers and rapeseed ripen here. And the scent of buckwheat fields attracts hardworking bees in summer.

We will see how beautifully fields and sky connect on the horizon, we will listen to the rustle of taut ears of corn in the wind and feel how the power of the earth fills the grain with strength.

During our trip, we will pass through the ancient village of Golun, the family estate of the Golitsyns. According to legend, the name comes from the word "gol" — a river in the valley, because it is here that the rivers Rakovka and Zusha merge.

But originally this village was called Galun, and it meant an open treeless place. At the end of the 16th century, the village of Golun was bought by Prince M.M. Golitsyn.

Extensive work immediately began on the construction and improvement of the estate, which became one of the most remarkable estates of the province at that time. The project was commissioned by the famous architect A.N. Voronikhin.

The estate included a main house designed in the classical style, two wings, a regular park, a garden and a stable yard. Despite the great losses, only the stable yard has been well preserved to this day, and is the only building of its kind that has survived on the territory of the Oryol region.

The manor house was surrounded by a delightful park. The shady fir alley, miraculously preserved even during the war, which led from the manor house to the temple, is still good today.

18:00 Return to the camp.

19:00 Dinner at glamping cafe.

21:00 Games and entertainment around the campfire.

09:00 Breakfast at the glamping cafe.

10:30 a.m. Master class in traditional folk art.

13:00 Lunch at the glamping cafe.

14:00 Departure for the tour.

15:30 Visit to the museum-estate "Spasskoe Lutovinovo" — the family estate of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. Guided tour of the house and park.

The tour to the family estate of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev is very informative and interesting. It will allow you to learn more about the ancient Lutovinov family, the life and everyday life of Ivan Sergeevich, and to "touch" the things that surrounded the whole family.

We will see the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, built in 1809 at the expense of the writer's grandfather, Ivan Lutovinov. Ivan Sergeyevich's parents were married in this church on January 15, 1816.

The manor's appearance is complemented by buildings restored in the farmyard: a stable, a carriage house, a harness room, a bathhouse and a cellar. There is a magnificent park around the 83-hectare manor house, with dense lime alleys leading down to the pond.

Since the foundation of the park, about 2,000 century-old and bicentennial linden trees, ash trees, maples, firs, oaks, elms, birches, and silver poplars have been preserved.

The park in Spassky-Lutovinovo has preserved the characteristic features of ancient noble manors and is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful manor parks in Russia.

Walking along the alleys of the ancient park, you feel the breath of the century before last. And it seems that Ivan Sergeyevich is resting on a bench somewhere nearby. Everything here is imbued with the spirit of the great writer.

19:09 Departure from Mtsensk by express electric train to Moscow (train No. 726SH "Swallow").

Tickets must be purchased in advance independently at the long-distance ticket offices or on the Russian Railways website.

22:48 Arrival in Moscow at Kursky railway station.