What rocks and streams around Nuremberg tell us

There are 835 bicycle parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the railway station.

It is a short walk of about ten minutes from Nuremberg Central Station to hire a bike.

To do this, walk along Hummelsteiner Weg from the south exit, turn left at Humboldtplatz and then immediately into Dovestraße. There you will find the Rent a bike hire centre.

With private bike hire in Nuremberg, you can choose from a wide range of bikes: from Dutch bikes to tracking bikes, from city bikes to pedelecs. The bike hire also offers a storage service for excess luggage and tours with professional and certified city guides. Rent a bike is available from 9:00 to 18:30.

Now it's off and out of the city. Initially, you mainly head east and cycle through Gleißhammer and Zarbelshof to the Schmausenbuck.

The Schmausenbuck is an elevation of almost 400 metres above sea level in the middle of the Lorenzer Reichswald forest on the eastern edge of Nuremberg. Its extensive network of paths and trails is ideal for hiking and cycling. The Nuremberg Zoo has been located on its southern slope since May 1939, which you now cycle round to the left.

The Buchenklinge is a layered spring that is symmetrically framed and accessible via a curved sandstone staircase. This facility was renovated in 1908, 1932 and most recently in 2000. However, the Buchenklinge was first mentioned in a document 650 years ago. The reason for this was also a renovation. The spring has therefore been known for much longer and was used as a resting place by the workers of the nearby quarry and by day trippers.

The beech blade is reluctant to give up its cool water. Have you tasted it?

Cycle through the Zerzabelshofer Forst, part of the Lorenzer Reichswald forest, to your next destination, the Schlüsselstein.

The strikingly shaped sandstone monolith stands alone in an otherwise seemingly stone-free environment. It is around ten metres long and wide, five metres high and full of notches and small caves. The name of the rock is derived from its bowl-shaped depressions, some of which fill with water when it rains. In prehistoric times, the keystone was probably of ritual significance. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it served as a boundary marker.

Continue eastwards through the forest. Keep your eyes open, you are about to come across another strangely shaped rock - the Frog Stone.

Viewed from the north, the approximately five metre long and two metre high castle sandstone rock resembles a frog. It's worth taking a closer look: Have you spotted the elephant in the stone?

The route continues and you first cross the A9 motorway. The trail then leads through the municipality-free area of Brunn and to the beautiful course of the Röthenbach stream and into the gorge.

As befits a gorge, it is very narrow here in places, so everyone should be considerate of each other.

The Rumpelbach Gorge is a small rocky notch made of sandstone at the headwaters of the Röthenbach stream and is also known as the Röthenbachklamm. Over thousands of years, the stream has carved its way into the transitional layers of the Rhät-Lias sandstone and the Upper Feuerletten, which are difficult to distinguish. The rock, which is heavily weathered in places, was formed around 200 million years ago, when the north-west of central Franconia lay in a shallow inland sea. Fine-grained and sandy sediments were deposited and later became claystone and sandstone. Today, this gorge, which is pleasantly shady in summer, is filled with rich vegetation and dense moss.

Take your time as you follow the course of the Röthenbach stream northwards until you come to the first of the two Birkensee lakes.

In summer, the quarry pond is ideal for swimming. Otherwise, the lakes, which are not developed for tourism, are a rather peaceful natural paradise for water birds.

Continue to the last destination on today's tour: the Hammer factory estate.

The Hammer factory estate is a fortified medieval industrial settlement, one of the most important sites of its kind in Europe. There was a mill as early as 1372, which formed the centre of the small village and industrial estate on the banks of the Pegnitz. From 1492 at the latest, there was also a brass hammer next to it. Brass products were manufactured here almost without interruption until its destruction in the Second World War and final closure at the end of the 1950s.

The factory village was not only technically outstanding, but also created an exemplary social system early on. An exhibition in the ensemble, which has been protected as an industrial monument since 1977, tells the story of a unique industrial asset. The historic buildings, some of which date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, have been preserved and restored to this day and can be visited.

You can get back to the centre of Nuremberg by following the banks of the Pegnitz and the Wöhrnder See.

If you would like to enjoy a hearty Franconian meal before you leave, stop off at one of the oldest inns in the centre of Nuremberg. The Trödelstuben on a Pegnitz island offer traditional culinary specialities, beers and wine - all from the region. (Trödelmarkt 30 44, 90403 Nuremberg, tel. 0911 36772767)