Camino Madrid in Early March?

[Stephan the Painter]

I'm thinking about starting a shortened Camino Madrid from Segovia, so skipping the mountains, in the first week of March 2024.
Has anybody walked it at this time of year? Albergues? Food? Weather?

It's not the warmest time of year. Average nighttime temperatures around 0 C (32F) up to about 13°C (55F) during the day. But it's probably the best time for me.....

It seems many people rave about the Camino Madrid. Encourage me!

I saw this March report that @Dave made, but he doesn't specify whether he did it at the beginning or end of the month. And March is the transition month from winter to spring and I'm talking about the first week.

Edit: while diving into old Camino Madrid threads, it looks like @Jenyat53 might have done it last year in early March?

 

[naplesdon]

I walked in May and had a few blustery, rainy days. I think the biggest contrast to walking the Madrid compared to other routes is the lack of fellow pilgrims and problems with finding places to stay.

 

[jungleboy]

I'm thinking about starting a shortened Camino Madrid from Segovia in the first week of March 2024.

The @Camino Chrissy variant!

I walked it the Madrid in the first two weeks of April in 2019. It snowed in Segovia while we were there, so be prepared for that possibility. Albergues were open and it was pre-Easter (Easter was late that year), but I’m not sure if that means they’ll be open in March too.

It seems many people rave about the Camino Madrid. Encourage me!

My summary is here: Camino de Madrid Highlights.

In a nutshell: for a short camino, I thought it had quite a lot of variety of landscapes and attractions (eg compared with the similar-length Primitivo), the albergue network is excellent for a ‘remote’ camino, and there was nice local interaction to make up for a lack of pilgrims.

 

[OzAnnie]

Hi Stephan
@Dave ’s thread from March 2023 really brought back my memories of similar time in 2018. You asked when in March did Dave walk. My math tells me he started around 20th March ? Maybe as he posted the thread on 30th March and said he spent around a week.
Okay … he may have been delayed in posting … so it’s my guess.

I started my 2018 CdM on March 22-23
I walked the city part of the first etapa to tres cantos on 22nd to the towers and got the train back to Sol. I didn’t want a long ist day.
Started walking from sol on 23rd to Tres cantos. It’s was a wild windy day. The streams were up on the next section. We had around 8? maybe crossings where we took off our footwear and walked through the freezing water. I believe from reading a later thread by @KinkyOne that there is a higher level path which avoids these crossings.

We were advised by Ray y Rosa to catch the train for the stage over the mountain to Segovia due to snow . No guarantees about weather in early
March.
I like less travelled routes and found it all a real joy. Loved reading Dave’s post - he gives a great and honest description .
Tempting to do it again. It’s great to be able to arrive in Madrid and not have to ‘get to the start of a camino route ‘. You’re there. Lots of castles. We were luck in Wamba to time our arrival perfectly for a tour of the church and after that the Ossary.

It was a chilly start in the first few days for us but walking warms you up. I was never too cold.
I think we were really fortunate in 2018 and scored most albergues open.

Unless you can’t handle your own company …. You’ll love it.

 

[Anniesantiago]

The @Camino Chrissy variant!

I walked it the Madrid in the first two weeks of April in 2019. It snowed in Segovia while we were there, so be prepared for that possibility. Albergues were open and it was pre-Easter (Easter was late that year), but I’m not sure if that means they’ll be open in March too.



My summary is here: Camino de Madrid Highlights.

In a nutshell: for a short camino, I thought it had quite a lot of variety of landscapes and attractions (eg compared with the similar-length Primitivo), the albergue network is excellent for a ‘remote’ camino, and there was nice local interaction to make up for a lack of pilgrims.

I'm walking starting around April 12 from Madrid.
Thanks for the warning about possible snow. I'll go prepared.
I've walked this route several times but not lately and not this early in the season.
One of my favorites!

 

[OzAnnie]

I'm walking starting around April 12 from Madrid.
Thanks for the warning about possible snow. I'll go prepared.
I've walked this route several times but not lately and not this early in the season.
One of my favorites!

Hi Annie
The warning re snow was for the pass over the high section before Segovia. ‘Puerto de la Fuenfria ‘.
Although you’ll find a thread by @jpflavin1 where he crossed it in April in snow. He includes a video too.

 

[jungleboy]

Thanks for the warning about possible snow.

Proof!

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Proof!

View attachment 161682

That looks like some pretty serious snow. A month after I'm thinking of starting! But that was just in Segovia, so right next to the mountains?

I won't have the equipment/clothing to deal with snow. But of course, no one knows what the weather will be like in a particular week. Could be a heat wave! I guess the weather compatibility I'll just have to decide right before I'm starting.

It was a chilly start in the first few days for us but walking warms you up. I was never too cold.
I think we were really fortunate in 2018 and scored most albergues open.

It's good to know that Albergues were open at least the third week of March. I'll check Gronze.... Thank you

Unless you can’t handle your own company …. You’ll love it.

I am getting a little tired of myself lately, but I guess I can put up with myself for a week!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hi Annie
The warning re snow was for the pass over the high section before Segovia. ‘Puerto de la Fuenfria ‘.
Although you’ll find a thread by @jpflavin1 where he crossed it in April in snow. He includes a video too.

Yes, I am pretty sure we will skip that portion and train from Cercedilla to Segovia if the weather is bad.

 

[Jenyat53]

I'm thinking about starting a shortened Camino Madrid from Segovia, so skipping the mountains, in the first week of March 2024.
Has anybody walked it at this time of year? Albergues? Food? Weather?

It's not the warmest time of year. Average nighttime temperatures around 0 C (32F) up to about 13°C (55F) during the day. But it's probably the best time for me.....

It seems many people rave about the Camino Madrid. Encourage me!

I saw this March report that @Dave made, but he doesn't specify whether he did it at the beginning or end of the month. And March is the transition month from winter to spring and I'm talking about the first week.

Edit: while diving into old Camino Madrid threads, it looks like @Jenyat53 might have done it last year in early March?

Yes, we stayed with Ray & Rosa two nights before leaving Cercedilla 9th March. Another couple from Madrid also staying had driven up the weekend before to check the snow situation and said it was clear.
It seems that in those two intervening nights it had snowed followed by sun followed by more powder snow the night before we walked. It was fairly treacherous with about 20cm of soft snow over ice.
We were absolutely exhausted by the time we got to Segovia and very grateful to have arrived safely although my partner had torn a ligament in her knee. That changed our journey but as we have come to expect … always expect the unexpected whilst ‘en camino’.
Buen camino to you!!

 

[Stephan the Painter]

That changed our journey but as we have come to expect … always expect the unexpected whilst ‘en camino’.
Buen camino to you!!

Ouch! It must've been very exciting. And good advice!
I was planning to skip the mountains and start in Segovia.
So after Segovia, did you find it OK? Did you continue despite the torn ligament? Enjoy yourself?

Albergue's open? Stores and restaurants, etc?. Not ridiculously cold? Thank you!

 

[Jenyat53]

Ouch! It must've been very exciting. And good advice!
I was planning to skip the mountains and start in Segovia.
So after Segovia, did you find it OK? Did you continue despite the torn ligament? Enjoy yourself?

Albergue's open? Stores and restaurants, etc?. Not ridiculously cold? Thank you!

It was definitely cold with some super windy and rainy days. Accommodation had some availability challenges but the Spanish people were helpful and friendly as always.
As a less travelled camino some locals I spoke with didn’t even realise that they lived in a camino.
Overall we enjoyed the challenges this camino provided even though there were a few more than usually found on the roads more travelled.