For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
peregrina2000 said:Any feedback on places to stay in Valsain? Someone mentioned there was a casa rural and a hostal.
I decided to post this separately from the "taking a tent on the Camino de Madrid" thread so that maybe it will be seen by others in the same situation as johnjosiah1.
The stage from Cercedilla to Segovia is a long 31 or 32. The first 15 or so are elite status beautiful, but once you're over the pass at Fuenfria and have descended off the long ridge walk, the terrain changes dramatically and there's a lot of scrub, no trees, mountain bike trails, and then still more, a long 8 km or so slog into Segovia on a flat no-nonsense wide trail.
If the stage is too long, there is an option I've learned from my friends on a Spanish language forum. There is a turn-off from the Camino that takes you to the town of Valsain. From there to Segovia there are very frequent buses, or of course it would be simple to get a taxi. I can see it on google maps, and I remember seeing it down below as I was walking to Segovia. The directions I got are rather vague, here's a translation:
Before arriving at the "Shephard's Fountain" (Fuente del Pastor, a great place for wonderful water), there's a split -- the branch to the right is on asphalt and used by bikes. Take it. Two or three kms further on, you come to another intersection. Take the path on the right, which takes you downhill and into Valsain.
I know that's not terribly specific. Maybe you can get a better idea with some of the maps that Peter Robbins has. But from Valsain, it's 12-14 kms into Segovia, so it will have cut off the most tedious part of that stage.
The man who posted the answer lives in Segovia, and offered to give you some personal assistance, so johnjosiah1, if you plan to do this, let me know a bit ahead of time and I'll contact this camino angel.
Hope this makes this stage do-able for you and others who might be dissuaded by the long distance, because this is a not to be missed section of the Camino de Madrid!
Buen camino, Laurie
I decided to post this separately from the "taking a tent on the Camino de Madrid" thread so that maybe it will be seen by others in the same situation as johnjosiah1.
The stage from Cercedilla to Segovia is a long 31 or 32. The first 15 or so are elite status beautiful, but once you're over the pass at Fuenfria and have descended off the long ridge walk, the terrain changes dramatically and there's a lot of scrub, no trees, mountain bike trails, and then still more, a long 8 km or so slog into Segovia on a flat no-nonsense wide trail.
If the stage is too long, there is an option I've learned from my friends on a Spanish language forum. There is a turn-off from the Camino that takes you to the town of Valsain. From there to Segovia there are very frequent buses, or of course it would be simple to get a taxi. I can see it on google maps, and I remember seeing it down below as I was walking to Segovia. The directions I got are rather vague, here's a translation:
Before arriving at the "Shephard's Fountain" (Fuente del Pastor, a great place for wonderful water), there's a split -- the branch to the right is on asphalt and used by bikes. Take it. Two or three kms further on, you come to another intersection. Take the path on the right, which takes you downhill and into Valsain.
I know that's not terribly specific. Maybe you can get a better idea with some of the maps that Peter Robbins has. But from Valsain, it's 12-14 kms into Segovia, so it will have cut off the most tedious part of that stage.
The man who posted the answer lives in Segovia, and offered to give you some personal assistance, so johnjosiah1, if you plan to do this, let me know a bit ahead of time and I'll contact this camino angel.
Hope this makes this stage do-able for you and others who might be dissuaded by the long distance, because this is a not to be missed section of the Camino de Madrid!
Buen camino, Laurie
I did it last year although I've slept in Valsain. It's all in my journalJust wondering if anyone has taken a further detour to La Granja, because that's a very nice place to visit. Not sure how the next day from La Granja to Segovia would be, but having a short day into Segovia would give more time to spend there in case people don't want to take a full rest day. Buen camino, Laurie
Well I did not found the stretch from Cercedilla to Segovia so difficult, especially because from the top, at the end of the Roman way, you are going down most of the time and then yes a long flat trail with no shadow, nothing interesting. I concur that the first part in Madrid provincia was absolutely beautiful, but the transition from a Canada like landscape to a Marocco like landscape happens in very short time; And it is somewhat depressing to see Segovia in the distance but it takes you 3 hours to get there !I decided to post this separately from the "taking a tent on the Camino de Madrid" thread so that maybe it will be seen by others in the same situation as johnjosiah1.
The stage from Cercedilla to Segovia is a long 31 or 32. The first 15 or so are elite status beautiful, but once you're over the pass at Fuenfria and have descended off the long ridge walk, the terrain changes dramatically and there's a lot of scrub, no trees, mountain bike trails, and then still more, a long 8 km or so slog into Segovia on a flat no-nonsense wide trail.
If the stage is too long, there is an option I've learned from my friends on a Spanish language forum. There is a turn-off from the Camino that takes you to the town of Valsain. From there to Segovia there are very frequent buses, or of course it would be simple to get a taxi. I can see it on google maps, and I remember seeing it down below as I was walking to Segovia. The directions I got are rather vague, here's a translation:
Before arriving at the "Shephard's Fountain" (Fuente del Pastor, a great place for wonderful water), there's a split -- the branch to the right is on asphalt and used by bikes. Take it. Two or three kms further on, you come to another intersection. Take the path on the right, which takes you downhill and into Valsain.
I know that's not terribly specific. Maybe you can get a better idea with some of the maps that Peter Robbins has. But from Valsain, it's 12-14 kms into Segovia, so it will have cut off the most tedious part of that stage.
The man who posted the answer lives in Segovia, and offered to give you some personal assistance, so johnjosiah1, if you plan to do this, let me know a bit ahead of time and I'll contact this camino angel.
Hope this makes this stage do-able for you and others who might be dissuaded by the long distance, because this is a not to be missed section of the Camino de Madrid!
Buen camino, Laurie
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?