Straža - Želin - Veliki vrh (Lajše)

Access to starting point:
A) We drive to Idrija, and then we continue driving in the direction of Tolmin and Cerkno. When we get to the traffic light crossroad in the settlement Straža - Želin, where the road in Cerkno branches off to the right, there is the beginning of the described path. At the starting point, there aren't any parking spots.
B) From Podbrdo or Most na Soči we drive to Bača pri Modreju, and then we continue driving in the direction of Idrija. When we get to the traffic light crossroad in the settlement Straža - Želin, where the road in Cerkno branches off to the left, there is the beginning of the described path. At the starting point, there aren't any parking spots.
C) We drive to Cerkno, and then we continue driving in the direction of Tolmin and Idrija. When we get to the traffic light crossroad in the settlement Straža - Želin, where to the right the road continues towards Tolmin, and to the left towards Idrija, there is the beginning of the described path. At the starting point, there aren't any parking spots.

Path description:
From the crossroad, we go on the road in the direction of Idrija, and by the road, we walk few 10 meters, after that on a concrete retaining wall we notice signposts for Bevkov vrh, which point us sharply left, on the road which ascends to the nearby homestead. At the homestead, we continue through the yard, and behind the house we go right and we ascend to the nearby hayrack, where we go slightly left, so that we then ascend through a meadow diagonally towards the right. Higher, we get into a lane of a forest and then we go also past the house to which doesn't lead any road. Above the house, the path returns into the forest and starts ascending steeper. For some time we are steeply ascending through the forest and then we reach an asphalt road which we follow to the left. The road soon becomes a macadam, and from there we go slightly right and we ascend to the church of St. Pavel, which is situated on a panoramic hill.
From the church on a ridge we descend to the nearby homestead, which we bypass on the left side, and behind the house, blazes point us to the right and we ascend through a meadow. The path quickly passes into the forest, where on the left side we bypass Straža (548 meters), and on the other side of the hill, we reach a wider cart track which we follow towards the northeast and further we walk on an occasionally panoramic ridge. When after some time the cart track splits into more branches, we leave the marked path, which from the ridge turns right and goes towards Bevkov vrh and we continue straight upwards, so that we continue the ascent on the ridge (left a little longer path). After a shorter steep ascent, the cart track flattens and soon from the left an already mentioned a little longer path joins.
We continue straight, and a little ahead we on the left side bypass the nearby house, and few more strides further from the left the path from Cerkno joins.
We continue walking on the macadam road which leads us below the route of a power line. A little further, we get into a smaller valley, through which we ascend to a smaller saddle, where there is a crossing.
We continue sharply left on the road which leads by shrine Lajše (straight mountain pass Kladje, right Bevkov vrh).
If we leave the road we can walk to the nearby shrine with a chapel, Way of the Cross and memorial plaque, otherwise we continue on the road to the nearby quarry, where the path turns left and changes into a cart track. Here the path passes into the forest, and at the smaller crossing, we go right and past transmitters we walk to the nearby peak.
Želin - Sveti Pavel 0:35, Sveti Pavel - Veliki vrh 1:25.
Description and pictures refer to a condition in January 2020.

On the way: Sveti Pavel (Straža) (451m)