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Cercedilla to La Granja de San Ildefonso

ruimsig

New Member
Greetings to all. We will be walking the Camino Madrid early in April 2018 and having done it a few years ago, this time we want to avoid walking the whole distance from Cercedilla to Segovia in one day. Is the walk from Cercedilla to La Granja and then the next day La Granja to Zamarramala a good idea? And how do you get to La Granja from Cercedilla? A second question, seeing that the albergue in the monastery in Medina de Rioseco is apparently now closed, what is a good alternative to stay at in Medina? Thank you.
 
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I walked this stage last year and was very pleased with my decision. Be aware, it can be very cold at the height of the stage. The previous day (end April) had been warm and sunny but when we reached Fuenfria we were walking through low cloud and I have never felt so chilled in my life. Be prepared.

San Ildefonso is a charming town and the palace well worth a visit. The fountain display was great fun. We then had a short 12km walk into Segovia where we dumped our packs at Hostal Duerma Vela for a charge of 3 euros (www.duermevelahostel.com, tel 691 282 445 / 921 047 004) and were free to see the wonderful sights the city has to offer unencumbered.

Later in the day we took the river walk to Zamarramala where the albergue is large, clean and very comfortable.

You can see my blog post of this stage here

My wikiloc record of the stage is incomplete, something went wrong at the beginning of the recording, but you can see most of the route at the link below...
https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=19077329 (stage 4 - Cercedilla to La Granja de San Ildefonso)

I can't help with accommodation in Medina de Rioseco as I was lucky enough to stay at the convent, but it is a sizeable town and I imagine there are various options.
Buen camino!
 
I walked this stage last year and was very pleased with my decision. Be aware, it can be very cold at the height of the stage. The previous day (end April) had been warm and sunny but when we reached Fuenfria we were walking through low cloud and I have never felt so chilled in my life. Be prepared.

San Ildefonso is a charming town and the palace well worth a visit. The fountain display was great fun. We then had a short 12km walk into Segovia where we dumped our packs at Hostal Duerma Vela for a charge of 3 euros (www.duermevelahostel.com, tel 691 282 445 / 921 047 004) and were free to see the wonderful sights the city has to offer unencumbered.

Later in the day we took the river walk to Zamarramala where the albergue is large, clean and very comfortable.

You can see my blog post of this stage here

My wikiloc record of the stage is incomplete, something went wrong at the beginning of the recording, but you can see most of the route at the link below...
https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=19077329 (stage 4 - Cercedilla to La Granja de San Ildefonso)

I can't help with accommodation in Medina de Rioseco as I was lucky enough to stay at the convent, but it is a sizeable town and I imagine there are various options.
Buen camino!
I walked this stage last year and was very pleased with my decision. Be aware, it can be very cold at the height of the stage. The previous day (end April) had been warm and sunny but when we reached Fuenfria we were walking through low cloud and I have never felt so chilled in my life. Be prepared.

San Ildefonso is a charming town and the palace well worth a visit. The fountain display was great fun. We then had a short 12km walk into Segovia where we dumped our packs at Hostal Duerma Vela for a charge of 3 euros (www.duermevelahostel.com, tel 691 282 445 / 921 047 004) and were free to see the wonderful sights the city has to offer unencumbered.

Later in the day we took the river walk to Zamarramala where the albergue is large, clean and very comfortable.

You can see my blog post of this stage here

My wikiloc record of the stage is incomplete, something went wrong at the beginning of the recording, but you can see most of the route at the link below...
https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=19077329 (stage 4 - Cercedilla to La Granja de San Ildefonso)

I can't help with accommodation in Medina de Rioseco as I was lucky enough to stay at the convent, but it is a sizeable town and I imagine there are various options.
Buen camino!


Thanks for the reply and the useful information. Your day in the mountains was really cold and tough! Four years ago when my wife and I walked the same route we had lovely weather up there! Apart from sightseeing in San Ildefonso do you think it is worthwhile to stay over there? Why I ask is because from your blog I gather that it is a distance of 28km versus a distance of 31km if you walk straight on to Segovia. Saludos, Izak and Antoinette.
 
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Lucky you with the clear weather.
My reasoning behind the decision for the diversion to San Ildefonso was to get a decent amount of time to sight-see in Segovia without taking a day off. My camiga who walked directly into Segovia met up with us for a late lunch and we all walked together to Zamarramala. We were both happy with our decisions.
 
@ruimsig I also took the diversion to San Ildefonso in 2017 and did not regret it. It is a nice interesting little town. Plenty of choice for eating. And the Hostal Camino de Lis very nice to stay in: you MUST ring ahead. It even has a Parador, though that is not where I stayed!:) I enjoyed the short walk next day to Segovia, even though it was along a quiet main road. And I had a rest day in Segovia then. I was there before lunch time, even after a leisurely start.
I am not very good at organising wikiloc, but my trace from Cercedilla (I started from the YH after the town) to Valsaín is here
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/las-dehesas-las-dehesas-17640218
And from Valsaín to San Ildefonso here
https://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/spatialArtifacts.do?event=setCurrentSpatialArtifact&id=17640219
I didn't find the marked turnoff for Valsaín but it is easy enough to follow your nose as you can see San Ildefonso in the distance and you know you are needing to head to the right. I did have to use GPS a little bit, but only when I was very near.
There is a ***fantastic*** restaurant, El Argentino, in Valsaín if you want to make a nice lunch stop. It is in the main square and far above what you would expect to find there. It seems to be also called Tio Pepe on Tripadvisor, but it is the same place. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays I think. Worth checking if you plan to stop.
It is a gentle walk on in the afternoon after that to San Ildefonso. I didn't see the fountains in action but the grounds were well worth seeing.
 
Hopefully I won't get lost detouring to Ildefonso. I don't use GPS or wiciloc. Praying there will be someone else also going that way on 9th April.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
One other reason to go to San Ildefonso is that you can tour the Granja -- a palace built as a "mini Versailles." Apart from the size, (and the historical importance, I guess), you will be able to enjoy a palace from that era without the crushing crowds you have when you embark on your forced march through the real Versailles. And there is a maze in the gardens that my children, now in their 30s still remember from when they were 13 and 9. Love the camino de Madrid! I
think, camino007, that once you find the turn-off, which others have described quite clearly in earlier threads, you will not have a problem at all. I haven't walked this alternative but I remember earlier posts with pictures and clear directions, hope you have found them. If not, let me know, and I'll try to help dig them up. Buen camino, Laurie
 
Hopefully I won't get lost detouring to Ildefonso. I don't use GPS or wiciloc. Praying there will be someone else also going that way on 9th April.

Hi @camino07 , hopefully the photos below will help a bit - screen shots of my wikiloc trail. No 1 shows thie point at which the trail divides. I think (although I wasn't paying too much attention - perhaps someone else can confirm) that the division comes as you encounter the first asphalt road after the pass at Fuenfria.

No 2 is zoomed in a bit, and No 3, a bit more. The X on No 3 indicates where I think you will see an information board and the route directly to Segovia is across open moorland whereas to reach San Ildefonso you take a right turn onto the road. You remain on the road all the way to Valsain and thereafter are mostly on a path alongside the road.

No4 is to give an idea of the layout of the land, and X marks Valsain.

I hope this helps rather than confuses.

CM1.jpg cm2.jpg cm3.jpg cm4.jpg
 
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Thank you Laurie,Maggie and Donovan. I have read and made notes from your info and blogs. I'm sure once I get to the intersection it will fall into place.
Can't wait .
 

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