Vipava at Kasovlje mill
The Kasovlje mill, first recorded in 1370, is one of the oldest on the Vipava; the mill itself is gone but its large, solid weir still backs up the river. Upstream the river forms a 3 m pool on the right bank and, about 20 minutes further, a 2.5 m pool on the left bank where a shoal of big but very shy fish lives. After about 40 minutes you reach the modern road bridge between Potoče and Brje, with old wooden bridge piles on both banks, and after an hour the bed gets too shallow.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Vipava valley & Karst (Škocjan)
- Depth: 0–3.5 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: low
- Type: drift, channel
- Coordinates: 45.8736, 13.81067
- Highlights: large weir of a mill first mentioned in 1370, pools of 3 m and 2.5 m, shoal of large, very shy fish, wooden piles of earlier bridges, small fish in the shallows
- Tips: Leave the motorway at Selo, drive towards Ajdovščina, turn south at Potoče towards Brje, cross the river and follow the left bank to the large building by the mill; park there. Cross the footbridge over the mill race onto the weir and enter where convenient. Swim upstream and drift back; with two cars you can start at the bridge and finish at the weir. Visibility is poor, best at low water and in cold water. Not recommended at night because of the current at the weir. The SPZ sheet dates from 2012; river gravel, banks and access roads may have changed since.