15 cool places to relax by the water in the Tula region

Description of the river

The length of the river is 244 km, originates on a plateau located in the Klimovsky, Bogoroditsky and Kurkinsky districts (Tula region) and flows into the Don in the Lipetsk region 25-30 km downstream of the Lebedyansky district. It flows through the eastern part of the Central Russian Upland, through the territories of two districts of the Lipetsk region - Lebedyansky and Krasninsky, as well as 4 districts of Tula - Efremovsky, Kamensky, Volovsky, Teplo-Ogarevsky.

The total area of ​​the pool is 6 thousand square meters. km. 13 tributaries flow into the Krasivaya Mecha, the largest are the rivers: Krasivaya (233 km), Mutenka (221 km), Turdey (195 km), Kamenka (184 km). The average width of the channel ranges from 50-100 meters, flow speed is 0.3 m/s, depth is 1-3 meters (rifts/maximum).

The reservoir is fed by snow, plus there are a large number of springs. There are especially many of them near the village of Yudinka. The freeze-up period lasts almost 4 months, from late November - early December to late March - early April.

The main attractions of the Beautiful Sword River are:

• A pile of stones near the village of Kozye, called “Horse-Stone”.
• Outcrops of Devonian limestones.
• Remains of a power plant and dam near the village of Troekurovo.
• Ishutinskoe settlement.
• The remains of a hydroelectric power station (Kurapovskaya), located just below the village of the same name.

Beautiful Sword River - etymology of the origin of the name

Beautiful Mecha Wikipedia

The name of the river Mecha , of Finno-Ugric origin (Udmurt sword - steep, steep). Another name for the Mecha is explained from the language of the Baltic group of Finno-Ugric languages, in which the word “mets” means forest . In this case, the name of the Sword means forest river.

Length 244 km, basin area 6000 km2 Flows in the east of the Central Russian Upland. The food is predominantly snowy. High water in March - April. The average flow rate 22 km from the mouth is 30.2 m3/sec, the highest is 1360 m3/sec. It freezes in November - early December, opens in late March - early April.

Additionally: photo gallery of the Beautiful Sword River >>

Beautiful Sword River received this name in the 8th century . Previously, she did not have the epithet “beautiful” . There is another river, the Mecha , a tributary of the Vozha , which flows into the middle Oka. It was from this Sword that settlers from the north brought the name of the river to our region, which could not have happened earlier than the 8th century. Indeed, traces of presence on the Sword of an East Slavic tribe, probably the Vyatichi, date back to this time. The name of the Mecha River is explained from the language of the Baltic group of Finno-Ugric languages, in which the word “mets” means forest.

In this case, the name of the Sword means forest river. This name suits not our forest-steppe river, but the Ryazan Sword, flowing through the forests of the Middle Oka.

Let's turn to the cards.

What we see is that on the map of the Tula province in Ilyin’s atlas compiled in 1871, the river is called “Beautiful Sword”

Now let’s look at the map of the Tambov province compiled in 1822. The river is called “Beautiful Sword”, yes, not a sword, but a sword.

But if you look at the map of the Tambov province of 10 counties compiled by the Geographical Department in 1800, we see that the river is designated as “Beautiful Sword”

. This allows us to conclude that the names of the river were changed only on paper by the compilers of maps and atlases, distorting them, but in essence the name of the river did not change.

Let's turn to books and look for information about the river there.

The first mention of our river contains
“ The Walking of Metropolitan Pimen along the Don in 1389.” The ambassadors boarded ships near the Kochur River above Dankov and from here on the second day of the voyage they passed Mecha and Sosna.

Additionally, we recommend the article: In ancient times, Mecha was navigable and served as an access route to the Don...

There are many names whose etymology is clear and indisputable. They usually say about these that they are “transparent. Beautiful Mecha, what is there to think about? This is how it should be - a “ beautiful river ”.

We read in the book Russia , volume 2, published in 1902 under the editorship of V.P. Semenov :

- “Below Efremov, the banks of the Beautiful Sword, the valley of which is deeply cut into the elevated area of ​​Efremosvsky and then Lebedyansky districts, along the entire length of its winding course are unusually beautiful and picturesque, fully justifying the original name of this river. In general, this part of the most fertile of the black earth districts of the Tula province is located in the best areas of the region under consideration.”

But what poems Margarita Aliger

.

Isn’t that why Mecha circles Our meadow and village, That says goodbye and grieves About her girlhood?.. Reflecting the meadow and field, The punt, the swing of the oar, The blue color of the maiden will of the Sword brought to Don. And she contradicted him in everything, disagreeing with fate, And the Ice and Blue Sword remained in the Don...

I also remember Kasyan’s from the story. P. S. Turgeneva :

“There, on Krasivaya - then on Mechi, you will go up the hill, you will come out and, my God, what is this? A? And the river, and the meadows, and the forest; and there is a church, and there again there are meadows. You can see far away, far away. That’s how far you can see... Look, look, oh, really!”

And the ancient road going from Voronezh to Moscow will bypass the Beautiful Sword nowhere. If you drive along it by car, you will cross our steppe beauty three times: in Efremov, in Frolovka Kadkoy, in Dorobino! The beauty of the river fascinated us and we forgot about the second part of the name.

- What is Mecha?

We begin to rush around the map, looking for something similar that can lead us to analogies, to similar elements that will reveal the secret of the name. There is a village called Mechetka in the Voronezh region. Won't do! The “mosque” is seen too clearly. Then Mechek is a village and a stream in the Lipetsk region. There are other rivers with the names Mecha, Mech in the Upper Don basin. The name is of Finno-Ugric origin. To interpret it, the Soviet toponomist V. A. Nikonov cites sword - “steep, steep.”

In the same book “Russia” one of the types of rivers is described as follows:

“The river flows in steep banks consisting entirely of Devonian limestones. Its valley is very narrow and intricately winding. The river bottom is rocky. The water is quite cold and the current is significant. There are relatively few shoals, and they look like rocky underwater ridges. During high water, the flood goes not wide, but high, flooding the base of the coastal cliffs. This type is very common in a significant part of the Central Russian Upland; Here, by the way, part of the Don flow, Krasivaya Mecha, Zusha and others belong to this type.”

The especially high banks of the Beautiful Sword near the village. Inshakova, Lebedyansky district and near the village of Sergievsky, Krasninsky district, Lipetsk region.

And the village of Sergievskoye even has a second name: Kamenny Verkh. The geographical features of the area confirm the correctness of the explanation of the name of the Sword from the Finno-Ugric word.

In the first geographical and economic description of Ephraim's Sword, compiled according to a 1723 from the Office of the King of Arms, the Sword of Ephraim was never called Beautiful. It was only around the second half of the 18th century that the modern poeticized name was assigned to it. In the 17th century, one of its bends opposite the Beautiful Settlement (in the upper reaches) was called the Beautiful Swords, and because of the rapid current in a number of places, the Mecha was sometimes also called the Bystry.

The delight of the enchanted Swords gave birth to a poetic hymn to the river, similar to Gogol’s immortal classic “Wonderful Dnieper!” Its author was the writer of Pushkin's time Nikolai Filippovich Pavlov. Fascinated by the Marking, he wrote:

- “Many rivers cut through the vast Russia... and none has so much poetry in its name as the river that flows through the Tula province from the northwest to the southeast. Having broken through the earth with a restless spring, she was born in the Bogoroditsky district, cut her way through Efremovsky district and you can see with what effort she tore between the mountains, rushed from rock to rock, in order to finally get to the Don. Beautiful Sword , not agreeing the adjective with the noun. In the place where it curves like a horn and where the village of Izrog stands, a dark legend about the adventure from which this poetic name supposedly originated has been preserved to this day.

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. Here nature looks wild and when autumn, tearing off the trees, twitches the greenery with the color of death, it is pleasant to look at the eagle, how he, having descended on the coastal peak, sits calm with a feeling of his royal strength. The river is beautiful, the river is picturesque, the charming Sword!.. At another moment its sky will be mistaken for the sky of Switzerland! Further from the banks, behind the forests and behind the mounds, a vast horizon opens up: villages, fields, groves. The picture is more playful, more vain!.. It shows life, labor, the sweat of a person, and so that this life, these labors do not seem bitter, it should be admired not in the fall, but in the brilliant sun of summer, on a summer afternoon, on a summer morning! ..”

Additional material:

Photo gallery of the Beautiful Sword River >> Legends and stories about the Beautiful Sword River What the Beautiful Sword was like in the old days Horse-stone on the Beautiful Sword River

Tags: name, origin, Troekurovo, beautiful, etymology, beautiful, river, Mecha, Legend, Legends

Peculiarities of biting by season

You can fish on Krasivaya Mecha almost all year round, with the exception of the off-season and the official ban on the spawning period, which lasts here from the end of April until June 10.

In winter , the main trophies are perch, roach, bream, silver bream, pike and, if you're lucky, podust.
The best time is considered to be fishing on the first ice and during the onset of thaws, as well as in the last days before the ice melts. Active biting is also observed immediately after the ice melts .
True, it does not last very long, and fishing is made difficult by spring floods and rising waters. Real fishing with summer gear begins only after spawning, when the fish have a real hunger. At this time, almost all representatives of the aquatic world are caught using various tackles: Bolognese fishing rod, donkey, feeder, fly fishing, spinning rod. The best time is early morning and evening; on some days, a good and stable bite is observed throughout the day (usually in cloudy weather, with light rain).

In summer, when the heat peaks, fishing is productive only in the morning and evening dawns. During this period, it is better to look for fish in the deepest places, in the shadow of high banks and on rifts. of which there are plenty on the river.

The end of summer and the beginning of autumn is the time when the fish begin to become more active, the bite becomes more stable, and the catches are significant.
The time has come for spinners hunting perch and pike. At this time, perches weighing more than 0.5 kg and pike weighing 1.2-2.5 kg are often caught. Active biting continues almost until the onset of frost.

Winter fishing on the Beautiful Sword

Winter fishing in these places begins as soon as more or less strong ice is established on the river. Usually this is the end of November beginning of December. The main prey during this period are perch, pike, roach, bream and subfish. They are usually caught in bays, due to the availability of food and a slower current.

The main gear is a standard fishing rod for winter fishing with a jig , spoon, and crescent . Local fishermen quite successfully use “witch” and “devil” - types of equipment that they make themselves. The first is characterized by the presence of three hooks, which are hung individually using rings. At the “devil” - the tee is fixed “deafly”.

Moreover, it should be taken into account that on the “first ice” they are more often caught with a bare spoon or jig.

To catch pike, they use girders and catch them with live bait. When the bite becomes not as active as on the first ice, you should use bloodworms, maggots, dough or semolina (chatter).

An important condition for successful fishing in winter is the activity of the fisherman in search of fish. Under no circumstances should you sit in one place, especially if there is no bite.

It is also recommended to use bait. You can use store-bought samples or make your own.

Depending on what kind of fish you plan to catch, you can use porridge, adding sunflower cake, ground seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chopped bloodworms; live bait, which is lowered into the hole, is well suited for a predator.

What gear is best to use?

Fishing on the Beautiful Sword is very varied. Due to the presence of a large number of different species of fish.

Therefore, fishermen here use almost the entire existing arsenal of gear. intended for recreational fishing in rivers:

• Float (Bolognese fishing rod) . A classic tackle that can be used to catch all types of fish from the shore and from a boat.
• Donka. They mainly catch bream, roach, carp, and silver bream.
• Feeder tackle. The main trophies are carp and bream.
• Fly fishing. Designed for fishing on currents on the surface of the water and on riffles. This way they catch chub, ide, asp, roach, and rudd.
• Spinning. Traditional gear for predators - perch and pike.
• Zherlitsy. Live bait is used as bait. Installed on rifts and creeks. The main object of hunting is pike.

The baits used by local fishermen are traditional for central Russia. These include :

• red worm;
• maggot;
• bread;
• wheat;
• corn (raw, fresh, canned);
• grasshopper;
• dragonfly, etc.

Artificial flies, wobblers, spinners (“oscillators” and rotating ones), twisters, and jigs are also widely used.

Notes

1. Surface water resources of the USSR: Hydrological knowledge. T. 7. Don region / ed. D. D. Mordukhai-Boltovsky. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1964. - 267 p.
2. Beautiful Sword // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
3. State water register.
   River Krasivaya Mecha (Beautiful Sword) (Russian).
   textual.ru
   . Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia (March 29, 2009). Access date: December 20, 2018. Archived March 29, 2009.
4. Beautiful Sword // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. — 3rd ed. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
5. Razuvaev Yu. D.
   Ishutinskoe settlement on the Beautiful Sword // Archeology of the Eastern European forest-steppe. Vol. 12: Archaeological sites of the Upper Don region of the 1st millennium AD. e. — Voronezh: TPI Voronezh State. University, 1998. - ISBN 5-85815-094-2
6. Troekurovskaya HPP - History, facts, data - Troekurovskaya HPP - Interesting and picturesque places - Catalog of articles - Troekurovo (Lebedyansky district) - Website about the village of Troekurovo (Russian). selo48.ru
   . Date accessed: December 12, 2021.
7. Kurapovskaya hydroelectric power station on the river Krasivaya Mecha - Kurapovskaya hydroelectric power station - mill - Interesting and picturesque places - Catalog of articles - Troekurovo (Lebedyansky district) - Website about the village of Troekurovo (Russian). selo48.ru
   . Date accessed: December 12, 2021.
8. I. S. Turgenev. “Kasyan with a Beautiful Sword” (undefined)
   (inaccessible link). Access date: July 28, 2009. Archived September 8, 2009.
9. Where and what kind of fish is caught in the Tula region (unspecified)
   . -Tula (August 7, 2009).

Where can I stay?

When going fishing for several days, you should decide in advance where to stay. There are several options here:

1. A savage in a tent.
2. At a camp site or the house of a fisherman-hunter.
3. Rent the room.

The most popular places among fishermen are in the area of ​​Shilovo, Krasnogorsky, Ishutino, the village of Kozye (Tula region), Inshakovo, Sergievsky, Troekurovo (Lipetsk region).
It is near relatively large populated areas. True, many fishermen note severe pollution, which is especially clearly visible in the spring. If you move further away, it becomes much cleaner, and the places are simply mesmerizing with their views.

Those who like long trips should take into account that the roads here are bad. In particular, descents to the water. In bad weather or heavy rain, getting out without a tractor turns out to be very problematic, and sometimes even impossible.

the riffle near the village of Vyazovo and the places just below are especially popular

You can easily find accommodation for the night on local fishing forums, where there is information with addresses, names and other information about hospitable hosts who are ready to rent out a room for fishermen. There are such places in large settlements and small villages, of which there are more than a hundred along the river bed.

Recreation centers

The most famous and popular among fishermen are the following bases:

• “Sinichensky Club”. Fishing and hunting base. There are three guest houses on the territory. One for 6 and two for 2 people. Located in the village of Kartasenevskoye (Yasnogorsk district, Tula region). In addition to fishing and hunting, here you can practice clay pigeon shooting, rent a snowmobile or ATV, ride horses, pick mushrooms and berries, visit the sauna, ride bicycles, and ski.

  
  Sinichensky Club

  
  Shilovo

• "Shilovo " Picturesque views, beautiful and landscaped shore, convenient access, stocked pond, 24-hour security, comfortable living conditions. You can also go on a bike ride or go down the river in a kayak. There is also a well-equipped beach, sports and children's playgrounds, sauna, karaoke billiards, children's disco and animation.

Places for a savage to rest

For lovers of travel, recreation and fishing away from big cities and bustle, there are many places on the Beautiful Sword River. Almost along its entire length there are suitable ravines, clearings and areas for a tent or even a tent camp.

Ishutinskoye settlement

And if quite a lot of people gather near large populated towns and villages in the summer on weekends (and not always adequately), then after driving literally 20-30 kilometers you may not meet anyone at all for several days.

Moving with a fishing rod along the banks of the Beautiful Sword, you will be accompanied everywhere by stunning landscapes and beautiful views. Separately, it should be noted Ishutinskoye fortified settlement . Here you can visit a ruined church surrounded by secrets and legends near the village. Kocherginka.

In normal weather there are plenty of decent access points to the water. So the choice of a place for a vacation for a savage usually does not arise here.

Large settlements

In the Tula region

:

• Pozhilino village (Efremovsky district)
• suburban village of Bogovo (Efremovsky district)
• Efremov city
• Krasnogorskoye village (Efremovsky district)
• Kozye village (Efremovsky district)
• Ishutino village (Efremovsky district)
• village of Shilovo (Efremovsky district)

In Lipetsk region

:

• Troekurovo village (Lebedyansky district)
• Sergievskoye village (Krasninsky district)
• Inshakovka village (Lebedyansky district)
• village of Bolshoye Popovo (Lebedyansky district)

How to get there?

1. There are various ways to get to the Beautiful Sword River. By bus from Moscow (from Shchelkovo bus station) to Efremovo. Next, it is better to immediately go to Vyazovo, Shilovo or another locality. Fishing in the city itself is not particularly interesting. On average, the road from Moscow to Efremovo takes about 7 hours.
2. By minibus from the station. Tsaritsino metro station . In 4.5 hours you will be there, but you will still have to walk to the fishing spot.
3. By train from Kursky or Paveletsky station . Travel time takes 6-8 hours. But it doesn’t take long to get to the river, since the station is located right next to the reservoir.
4. On your own motor transport . Along the M-2 or M-4 highway (Moscow-Simferopol or Moscow-Don, respectively). First you need to go around Tula, pass Shchekino and the village of Lopatkovo. Behind the last one there is a fork and a sign to Efremov. It is still 90 km away. In the summer, experienced motorists and fishermen advise driving along the M-2 highway, since it is less congested and although it is 10 km longer, the travel time often takes much less.

Tributaries (km from mouth)

• 24 km: Semenek River (Sukhoi Semenek) (pr)
• 36 km: Ptan River (lv)
• 59 km: Dubrava stream (Stupinsky stream) (pr)
• 105 km: Vytemka River (lv)
• 108 km: Golubki (Lubki) river (lv)
• 115 km: Kobylinka River (Yandovka) (pr)
• 130 km: Urodovka (Urodov) stream (lv)
• 132 km: Lyubashevka River (pr)
• 146 km: Semenek River (pr)
• 184 km: Kamenka River (pr)
• 195 km: Turdei River (lv)
• 221 km: river Mutenka (Amutnaya, Mutnaya) (lv)
• 233 km: Krasivaya River (Dorobinka) (pr)

Reviews from anglers

Reading numerous reviews of fishermen about trips to the Beautiful Sword, one pattern can be traced. Fishing successes alternate with failures, sometimes you catch excellent chubs and perches with pikes, sometimes you get 1-2 bites per day. But at the same time, fishermen always note beautiful landscapes, picturesque views and a great mood about a well-spent day.

Mikhail, 28 years old: “Continued to explore the Beautiful Sword not far from Efremov. I fished on the left bank, since the right bank was blocked by trees. I regretted that I didn’t have spinners and wobblers with me: the locals were doing a good job of catching chub on the rifts. I left Lucky John, filled half a tank of small perch in an hour, then caught one for a kilo. The places are simply beautiful...”

Timur, 34 years old: “The potential of the river (in terms of sport fishing) today is perhaps the most powerful of the rivers in the Tula region, not to mention the species composition of its inhabitants, and the breathtakingly beautiful backdrop of its banks. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Mecha, whether you’re a spinner, a guide, a carp angler or a fly fisherman.”

Vladimir, 54 years old: “Between me and my son, we caught about 10 kilograms of fish on the river. They only pecked at pearl barley. The fishing here is wonderful.”

Popular river for rafting

The river is popular not only with fishermen, but also with kayakers. And all because of the natural and artificial obstacles encountered every now and then along the way. The route along the Sword is not only about overcoming turbulent streams and treacherous pitfalls, but also about amazing views. While rafting along the Beautiful Sword, extreme sports enthusiasts will encounter a destroyed hydroelectric power station. After the station, the river briefly breaks into channels, and there are small riffles made of rubble. Bridge, mill, ford, fast current. Many villages, dilapidated churches and the restored Troyekurovsky monastery, collapsed bridges and a forgotten power plant, the remains of a hydroelectric power station in the village of Kurapovo, which was built on the basis of a water mill and beaver dams, steep banks and the Ishutinskoye settlement along the way.

Routes are usually designed for 2 days. For inexperienced beginners, the route, as experienced athletes advise, can be shortened, or a couple of days can be added for rafting. The current on the river is not particularly strong. We have to row. Sometimes there is wind in your face. This factor also reduces speed.

But the river is famous, of course, for fishing. Beautiful swords and fishing are practically synonymous.