The approx. 8 km excursion branches off at the north-western end of the Erftaue leisure park and leads us to the idyllic Paffendorf Castle. The brick building, built in the Renaissance style, is completely surrounded by moats and was constructed between 15.31 and 1546. Today, the castle houses the RWE Power AG information center with an exhibition on the Rhenish lignite mining area. An absolute highlight is the castle park, which covers around 8 hectares and has some huge, ancient trees. Due to its special character, it is also part of the "Road of Garden Art" in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Zieverich Mill on the Erft, which is also located along the route, offers an insight into the hydraulic engineering of bygone times: for centuries, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages and farms had their oil and flour produced here. The mill first appears in chronicles around 1243. At the beginning of the 18th century, the old mill was abandoned and replaced by a new mill building a few hundred meters to the north in 1715. This still exists today: It consists of a three-winged courtyard complex with an L-shaped farm building wing and a residential building. The mill was shut down in 1950. The water wheel and the inventory no longer exist. Only the floodgate (= Freiarche), a wooden post weir, has been preserved. The Freiarche is part of a weir that was specially developed for a mill on a flowing body of water. It can be used to control the flow of water for the mill by means of various lifting and turning devices.