Finally, this trip took place, albeit in a very small company - me and my friend Alexey. I’ve been wanting to go to Krasivaya Mecha for a long time, but everything was somehow postponed, either the weather was not right for going with Yegor, or we didn’t have any car at all. And then the rains came in August and early September, and I was immediately afraid that summer was ending and I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere, especially since I don’t like wet weather too much, and my car doesn’t like it any more. Therefore, it was decided not to delay and to go with a stern male company and without youngsters.
And it’s very good that we dropped everything and went, since then there haven’t been warm and sunny weekends, in my opinion, even once, and the Indian summer has already ended before it even began. The Lancer showed its good side, didn’t catch anything almost anywhere, only on the day of departure after the rain it refused to drive through the wet black soil. The only thing that upsets me is that I was already in these parts in 2007, I walked with a backpack along the Beautiful Sword, and I also wandered around the Niva, but then I had neither a camera nor a blog. And accordingly, everyone has already written about these places, but even though I’ve been before many, I haven’t.
Distant 2007. Who will find the cucumber in the photo? 
Overnight in the quarry
We set out late on Friday evening towards Efremov, in the Tula region, but drove about 100 kilometers away from Moscow along the M4 and spent the night in a tent in some quarry, as we really wanted to sleep. In the morning we moved on, had breakfast along the way, and then spent the whole Saturday climbing over rocks and fields, and by evening we reached the Ishutinsky settlement, where we spent the night at the very top. We spent half of Sunday walking and waiting for the road to dry, and then returned to Moscow. This is why I wrote everything that two days should be enough for this weekend route.
Somewhere in a quarry near Moscow. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec
And it’s already autumn in the career
We slept on piles of rubble
It's about to fall apart
Our breakfast on the Efremov-Dankov road
Kayaking on the Beautiful Mecha River with sauna: description
Start of the hike (April 30)
30.04 at 19:00 we meet at the Tsaritsyno metro station, board a comfortable bus and go to the starting point of the route. We arrive after midnight, so we get ready to quickly set up camp, get acquainted over a light dinner and go to bed
Day 1 (May 1)
We have breakfast and pack up camp. We are divided into crews and undergo instructions. After that, we distribute the public equipment among the kayaks, and finally, we get on the oars!
On the first day we have to walk a very short distance, about 10 km. Approximately halfway along the path, a small roll awaits us . There we will stop for lunch, which will give us the opportunity to get a good look at this obstacle before passing. Well, towards evening we stop for the night opposite the majestic ruins of the Church of the Archangel Michael.
Day 2
Today we have to overcome two more small riffles in order to earn the honor of admiring the horse-stone - another local landmark, which is a huge pile of bizarrely shaped boulders. Here we, of course, stop, listen to interesting stories about this mystical place, take cool photos and enjoy the surrounding views.
Then we continue our journey until we reach the village of Oktyabrsky, where we will replenish our supplies of drinking water, pass another interesting obstacle on the water and camp for the night on the border of a cozy spreading forest.
In total, we will cover about 16 km this day.
Days 3-4
Our next goal and the most significant point of the entire route is the Ishutinskoye settlement . This huge hill served as the site of a fortified city in ancient times. Until now, no one can say with certainty who exactly lived there and from whom they wanted to protect themselves. Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to climb it from the river, those who do it will discover the beautiful endless expanses of the surrounding nature. And from there you can see the next obstacle on the river, not difficult, but treacherous :).
From our camp site to our destination it is about 22 km. Depending on the situation, the instructor makes a decision: either reach this monolith in a day, or stop overnight a little earlier and walk the rest of the way in the morning.
Having arrived, we set up a sauna, relax, play games, eat, steam, bathe and have fun in every possible way
Day 5
Today we only have a short distance to – about 7 km. Unfortunately, this does not mean that we can sleep until lunch. After all, in addition to enjoying the remaining part of the journey, we will need to dock, collect equipment, pack and leave. And although, as always happens, after five days spent together no one will want to leave, we are not upset.
The way back is not close, but filled with sharing impressions, making plans for future hikes, songs and fun, which will not let anyone get sad :)
Horse-stone
It is located near the village of Kozye, and if you drive from the asphalt through Vyazovo, then immediately after Soldatskoye, you need to turn right onto a dirt road. And after driving a little across the field, this stone will be visible on the opposite slope. It's not difficult to find.
Horse-stone is a strange stone, standing on three others, as if on legs, and was brought here a long time ago by a glacier. They say that it resembles the head of a horse, but apparently something is wrong with my imagination. There is also an opinion that the groove on its upper plane is not accidentally oriented to the southeast. In general, various legends are associated with the horse-stones, and perhaps it was once some kind of altar. Honestly, a stone is like a stone, you rather pay more attention to what kind of nature is around, and how beautiful the Krasivaya Mecha River is (I apologize for the taftology).
Sign in Vyazovo in front of the bridge over the river
The road to Soldatovo is like an alley
In the distance there are stones lying - this is the Horse-Stone
Horse-stone in person
Stands on supports
You can collect money here, but you can’t get back gasoline
The groove points to the southeast, checked
MBOU Secondary School No. 1 named after. M. M. Prishvina
Main menu
Prepared by:
Demina Anastasia 5G grade.
Supervisor:
Roldugina Olga Yurievna.
Beautiful Mecha.
Memory has a wonderful property. Carefully collecting grains of the past, she helps us get to know ourselves better, understand the origins of national character, feel the richness of the centuries-old culture of the people, and find out how it was formed. It is memory that helps us preserve priceless folk traditions, encrypted in everyday habits, various rituals, holidays, games, in language - in the entire spiritual culture of our native land. Academician D.S. Likhachev quite rightly asserted: “Memory is overcoming time, overcoming death.” This is the greatest meaning of memory...
The epic Lipetsk region: hills and ravines, fields and forests, rivers and oak groves... He also remembers the Tatar yoke, the glorious exploits of Russian heroes. And there is one small river there, running like a blue snake in the shadow of the green oak forests through the ravines. The name of that river is Sword, and not just Sword, but Beautiful.
The picturesque river Beautiful Mecha is the largest tributary of the upper reaches of the Don, considered the pearl of the Central Black Earth Region, flowing through the Tula and Lipetsk regions of Russia. The length of the river is 244 km.
Starting from the village of Vyazovo, Lebedyansky district, the banks of the river become higher and higher. Very often this area is called Russian Switzerland. The icy, transparent river flows as quickly, meanders as irregularly as a swallow flies over it, worrying about the approaching cloud. Tall reeds rustle through its bays. Its banks are steep and steep. Forests stretch along them, in some places there are mounds, tombstones of nameless people, and here and there multi-colored rocks flash: sometimes pale, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. The river is beautiful, the river is picturesque, charming!
What's in your name, Beautiful Sword?
The first mention of the name of the river dates back to 1723, and it was simply called the Sword. It was only around the second half of the 18th century that the modern name was established. If you believe the surviving legends, then one of its bends opposite the beautiful Settlement (in the upper reaches) was called the Beautiful Sword, and because of the rapid current in some places it was sometimes called the Fast Sword.
The people nicknamed the river Beautiful Sword, not agreeing the adjective with the noun. In the place where it arches like a horn and where the village of Izrog stands, a legend about the adventure from which this poetic name originated has been preserved to this day.
According to the stories, a long time ago a noble man named Yaroslav passed across the river on the bridge. The bridge could not bear the load and broke off under the weight of the animals and the stroller. The horses were stuck in the harness and could not get out on their own, and then, in order to save them, Yaroslav took out his sword and began to chop down the wooden structures of the bridge, but eventually dropped it into the river...
But there is also a legend that Khan Mamai, after the defeat of his army, fled through the Russian land to the places where the river flows, and while crossing it dropped his sword, but not a simple one, but decorated with gold and jewelry, after which he ordered his bodyguards get it, but it didn't lead to anything. As a result, the sword remained at rest at the bottom of the river, which after that began to be called Mecha.
According to other sources, the river was named the Beautiful Sword long before the invasion of Khan Mamai in memory of the clash between the hero and the bear. Translated from ancient Slavic, “mechka” means she-bear.
There are other versions of the origin of the name of the river. If we turn to the etymological dictionary, then the name of the Sword is of Ufa-Ufa origin (translated from Finno-Ugro sword - “steep, steep”). Indeed, although the river flows through a flat area, nevertheless, starting from the mouth of the river, the banks become higher and higher.
Each of the listed versions was taken from the unique Russian epic, and each of them deserves to become the only correct one in determining the origin of the name of this beautiful and ancient river.
Memorable battles took place on the Beautiful Sword River. Tatar troops passed here towards Tula and Kolomna. In 1380, Mamai’s army passed through these places, heading towards Moscow. In the wonderful monument of ancient Russian literature, the military story “Zadonshchina,” which poetically tells about the events of the Battle of Kulikovo, the name of the river is mentioned several times: “Gray wolves came running from the mouths of the Don and Dnieper, howling, hiding on the Sword River, wanting to rush to Russian land. Those weren’t gray wolves—the filthy Tatars came, they want to go through the war all over the Russian land.” The author describes the drama of historical events: many soldiers lie cut down on the Don bank, crowded with the corpses of the Sword.
The landscape of the Beautiful Sword is unique. Flowers like those on the Sword cannot be seen in other places - large, palm-sized, white water lilies. When you come out to the river from the side, it’s as if the stars are scattered, your hand will reach out to them. And if you pick them, they immediately wither. A water lily cannot live without water, it is very delicate, it looks like a piece of starched tissue paper. And where the water lilies end, nothing grows - a pool. The water lily is called the northern lotus. On the Sword they call her more simply: a nymph. The flowers are closed at night, and in the morning you can use them to check the time. They also close in bad weather: the air in the cup is warmer than around it.
Valley of the Megaliths
From Kon-Kammen we go through the village of Kozye and at the fork inside the village we turn right. We reach Krasnogorskoe and right in front of it we go left along the houses. You will see stones there.
Very nice place and beautiful scenery! Perhaps my love for mountains is reflected, since there are high hills and “rocks” here. True, the rocks are very small, and in fact just stones, but it is surprising to see them in such numbers in our strip. We probably climbed there for about an hour, I looked for angles and enjoyed the views, Leshka went for a swim, and then joined me. The stones have such funny hollows, and in one of them there was a large cavity where the hornets had built a nest for themselves.
Funny field-slope all in small trees
The thorns try to travel like hares a couple of hundred meters
Valley of megaliths on the Beautiful Sword
Orange stone and blue sky
Mushroom season is in full swing
I've always been amazed by this zest for life.
Hornets made a nest in a stone
Reach for the sky regardless of the stones
Destroyed church near the village of Kocherginka
From the stones along the road we go down and drive along the Beautiful Sword River to the west. We were able to drive just a little bit, as the first deep puddle stopped us and we started walking. It was possible to ride on horseback, but we didn’t try. The walk there doesn't take long, about 20 minutes. Don't miss the church, it's right next to the river.
I don’t know why, but I like ruined architecture; it smells of some mysterious antiquity. There is only one drawback to this - such a building has a short lifespan and, if it still stands today, it is not a fact that it can be seen tomorrow.
Destroyed church near Kocherginka
Durable and rough metal
Remains of icons on the walls
The dome now covers only half of the sky
The sunflowers are slightly dry
It's strange to see a piece of asphalt among fields and dirt roads
Beautiful Mecha
The beautiful Mecha is a river flowing through the Tula and Lipetsk regions of Russia. It is a right tributary of the Don River. Belongs to the Don River basin and the Sea of Azov.
The Beautiful Sword River flows in the east of the Central Russian Upland. It originates from several sources in the Tula region, Teplo-Ogarevsky district: the first source is located 2.5 km from the village of Volchya Dubrava, the second source is located near the village of Bolshoye Ogarevo. Further it flows through the Volovsky, Kamensky, Efremovsky districts of the Tula region. Then the river flows through the Lipetsk region, affecting the Krasninsky and Lebedyansky districts. The Red Mecha River flows into the Don River bed near the village of Tyutchevo, Lebedyansky District, Lipetsk Region, Russia.
The length of the river is 244 km. The drainage basin area is 6 thousand km 2. Water flow 30.5 m³/s (22 km from the mouth). The width of the river is from 50 m to 400 m. The average depth is up to 2 m. The flow speed is 0.2-0.4 m/sec.
Settlements. From the source of the river along the riverbed the following settlements are located: Tula region. 1) Teplo-Ogarevo district: Volchya Dubrava, Vvedenka, Granovka, Dorobino, Bolshoye Ogarevo, Gremuchy, Ionovka, Titovka, Aksakovo, Arsenyevo, Kachan, Kazanskoye, Tatishchevo; 2) Volovsky district: Purgasovo, Karateevka, Kryukovka, Panarino, Lebyazhye, Baskakovo, Gorstkino, Guryevo, Rozhdestvenno, Kostomarovka, Ignatievka; 3) Kamensky district: Filonovka, Kadnoe, Verkhniy Izrog, Nizhny Izrog, Yablonevo, Zakopy; 4) Efremovsky district: Bolshaya Korchazhka, Krugloye, Pozhilino, Inozemka, Efremov, Novokrasivoe, Kytino, Storozha, Krasnogorskoye, Vyazovo, Shilovo, Stupino, Khomyakovo.
Lipetsk region: 1) Lebedyansky district: Bibikovo, Bolshoy Verkh, Buravtseva, Mochilki, Kurapovo, Inshakovka, Krasivaya Mecha, Tyutchevo; 2) Krasninsky district: Yakovlevo, Sergievskoye, Smorodinovka;
Routes (access roads). The P141 highway runs in the upper reaches of the river, and the Volovo-Panarino road runs near the village of Kryukovka, Teplo-Ogarevsky district. Near the village of Yudinka, Volovsky district, the river is crossed by the P141 “Turday” highway. Near the village of Kadnoe, Kamensky district, highway P141 “Lopatkovo-Efremov”, near the village of Yablonevo, highway P147. Near the village of Krugloye, Efremovsky district, the river is crossed by the P120 highway. Further in the city of Efremov, next to the river, there is an intersection of several roads: P141; M4 "Don"; P126 "Efremov-Ryazan" and others. In addition to the main highways, a large number of intercountry roads stretch along the river due to the large number of villages in the area.
Main tributaries. Right: Semenek River, Dubrava Stream, Kobylinka River, Lyubashevka River, Gogol River, Kamenka River, Krasivaya River. Left: Ptan River, Vytemka River, Golubki River, Urodovka Creek, Turdey River, Mutenka River.
Relief and soils. The river flows between steep and steep banks up to 50-60 meters above the river level, consisting entirely of Devonian limestones; in some places the banks become shallow and become smooth and flat.
The river valley is very narrow and winding. The river flows entirely through the Central Russian Upland. The terrain at this elevation is hilly. The Efremov subsoil contains quartz sands and building stone. In the Efremovsky region, the soils are chernozems and are characterized by high fertility. Gray forest-steppe soils occur in small areas.
Ishutinskoye settlement
We ended up here only in the evening, it was almost dark when we started setting up the tent. There are two options for where to spend the night: on the site itself, which is a hill, or near the river below. We chose the first option.
If there is no rain, then the road here is excellent, it’s literally a 10-minute drive from the highway. From the asphalt you need to turn onto the crushed stone road to Slobodskoye (it is marked on the Yandex.map) or onto the dirt field road, which will, before reaching 500 meters, reach the crushed stone road, they then converge. When approaching the Ishutinsky settlement, the first turn to the left will take you up the hill, the second turn dives sharply down and leads to the river bank. True, I wouldn’t risk driving down this descent in a regular car. Therefore, if you really need to go down, then you can drive even further along the dirt road without turning anywhere (going around the field and going to the right) and you will see then, after planting the forest, you will see another more gradual descent.
There is no reliable information about the Ishutinskoye settlement. There was probably once a city here, but no one knows who lived in it and what became of it. Only one thing is clear - they chose a good place for themselves, with a beautiful view, I wouldn’t mind living here myself. Although in the summer there are already a lot of people here due to the fact that the places have already been described by many people, and fishing on the Beautiful Sword is popular, judging by the forums.
Beautiful Mecha, Tula region. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 57sec
Beautiful Mecha, Tula region. ISO400, 11mm, f7.1, 1793sec
Beautiful Mecha, Tula region. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec
All sleep! ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec
Our tent at the Ishutinsky settlement
View from the Ishutinsky settlement to the picnic area
Beautiful Sword River
Rural landscape
In the background is the Ishutinskoye settlement
Couldn't do without swimming
Great place with its own beach if you walk a little downstream
Thresholds on the Beautiful Sword
We do not leave the topic of garbage unattended on our blog
Road to the river along a rocky ravine
Regular beveled red field
When it rains it all turns to mush
How to get there?
Getting to the river is easy. Highways P141, 120, 127 and 126 cross the riverbed in several places. Roads between several dozen villages and hamlets densely network the area around the river and serve as access roads to the water.
If you follow highways P120, P141, you can get to the town of Efremov, which is 310 and 149 km from Moscow and Tula, respectively. It's just broken up on the river. This is what visitors mainly focus on.
