Kuckuck Madness, Scheissbox im Wald

Two nights from the German Eifel to the Black Forest, self-guided, on roads the organisers have picked to be difficult.

A long weekend is the shortest format this organiser runs, and for anyone curious about the whole idea it is the obvious place to start: two nights, a modest entry fee and no need to take a week off work.

The Eifel is the natural starting ground. It is a volcanic upland of narrow valleys and forest roads west of the Rhine, best known to drivers for the Nurburgring but with a far larger network of small roads around it that almost nobody uses. The route then runs south to finish in the Black Forest, probably, as the organisers put it, in the woods. The field is capped at fifty cars to keep the group feeling like a group rather than a convoy, and the campsites are included in the entry as they are on all of these events. Detailed route information was still to follow on the operator’s page at the time of writing, so the specifics are worth checking before booking.

Every occupant of the car needs a ticket, and all the campsites are covered. The price shown should be checked against the live page, which quotes €150 per participant. Late May 2027 is the date, which suits both regions well: the forest roads are dry, the campsites are open and the summer traffic has not arrived. Three days from the Eifel to the Black Forest is a genuinely cheap weekend away for anyone who already owns something old and expendable, and it asks nothing of the car that a sensible service beforehand will not cover.