STARTING POINT: MADRID
END POINT: SAHAGÚN
DISTANCE: 321 km
This Jacobean route leaves the city of Madrid, crosses the provinces of Segovia and Valladolid and then reaches the town of Sahagún, in the province of León, where it joins the French Way.
It is not a very crowded way so it is ideal for the pilgrim who wants to do the path alone and far from big crowds. This route crosses the Guadarrama mountain range through the Fuenfría pass – with an altitude of 1,796 metres, and then continues along an ancient Roman causeway towards Castilla.
In 1996 the “Asociación de Amigos de los Caminos de Santiago de Madrid” recovered and signposted this route, already documented by records dating back to the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
History
Once again, making use of Roman road infrastructures, the Way of Madrid overlaps the track of the Via XXIV of the Antonine Itinerary, which connects the capital of Spain with Segovia, Valladolid and Simancas, finally joining the French Way in Sahagún. Pilgrims departing Madrid usually start at the parish church of Santiago, one of the six historical parishes of Madrid, where they receive the blessing for their journey. From there, they cross the Guadarrama mountain range through a thousand-year-old cattleway, once also used by Galician reapers. These reapers were farm labourers who, every summer, travelled with their sickle from Galicia to the towns of Castile and León and La Mancha to manually harvest wheat.
The use of this route by Jacobean pilgrims is documented since the 12th century, that is, from the Golden Age of pilgrimages once the regions south of the Duero river were repopulated. The number of pilgrims on this route would increase after 1561, after king Felipe II made Madrid the permanent seat of the Court.
INFORMATION FOR PILGRIMS
Most of the route is flat, well signposted and runs along paths and dirt tracks wide enough to be covered by bicycle.
In the main towns there is a wide range of accommodation available in hotels and “hostales”, as well as both public and private hostels.