Other tourism is possible less than an hour from Madrid
We are about to discover some of the most peculiar rural houses of the Sierra Norte de Madrid from the hands of their owners.
The appointment starts from Villa San Roque Center , which in addition to a Botanical Garden It houses the Tourist Office not only for La Cabrera, the town where it is located, but for the entire region. There, in addition to the three hoteliers, we are received by their coordinator Elena Rubio, that she will accompany us throughout the day.
The first stop is at The Capriolo , the farmhouse located in Mountain Gorge.
It is taught to us by Jaime, a biologist who decided to open this establishment in his town when he returned from studying in Florence, giving it the name they use there to refer to roe deer.
It's integrated by three plants that are rented in full, each with separate bedrooms, kitchen, living room and bathroom. It is curious to see how in all these houses they have used recycled materials for much of the furniture without losing an iota of elegance: from sofas made with pallets to hangers made of sticks, passing through an original vertical chess set that takes advantage of the frame of a broken mirror.
The house is finished off with Florence Room , the common area on the ground floor where Jaime does all kinds of workshops for all ages depending on the time of year: decorations for Halloween, making pacharán and craft beer, soaps… All geared towards a family tourism , to go with the little ones.
But what is really striking is the route he organizes aboard his old 4x4 along the natural path Lozoya Valley , a livestock route with views of the homonymous mountain range through which we will go up while he tells us local legends.
Everything to crown the Squad Head , summit where we will have panoramic views of the ideal area to observe with binoculars: from Penalara to Cancho Gordo , in addition to three of the five reservoirs of the Lozoya River: The Atazar, Riosequillo and Pinilla.
Visits from El Capriolo
It ends with a visit to their heads of cattle . Both to integrate ourselves among his more than fifty cows (it is incredible how he knows the name of all of them) while we caress them in his herd, as well as to meet his donkeys , on which visitors of all ages can take a one-hour walk on a guided tour.
Back to The Cabrera we must follow the way of the cross that leads to the ** Convent of San Antonio (11th century), ** on its outskirts. Next to it, surrounded by pine trees, under the Cancho Gordo and in front of the Cancho de la Cabeza (not to be confused with the homonymous peak of Patones) lies the ** Huerto San Antonio .**
2.5 hectares where the former orchards of the convent and in which Lourdes and Satur They have carefully rehabilitated "but maintaining the essence" the eight constructions that were among its granite rocks.
2.5 hectares of relaxation
A total of eleven rooms (ideal for groups of 20-30 people) and an endless number of common spaces, where we once again see sharpened ingenuity when it comes to recycling: beehive boxes converted into bedside tables, sewing machines transformed into sinks, jars of crystal made lamps… Without giving up the luxury of having hydromassage bathtubs or plasma televisions with Netflix.
Ideal place if what we are looking for is a retreat. The jewel in the crown is the dome of 150 square meters that have just been inaugurated. With its unimaginable acoustics and its height in the center of 6.5 meters (which allows aerial yoga ) is the ideal space to practice yoga in a group.
Although there are those who prefer to get up early to go with their mat to greet the sun on one of the canchos that surround the environment.
Calçotada in the Huerto San Antonio
They offer relaxation courses (yoga, meditation and hiking), self-esteem and female sexuality , withdrawals, biodanza, reiki, coach, tibetan bowls … And in August, gong baths under the perseid rain . But its multipurpose rooms also host alternative weddings, business meetings or the calçotadas that Lourdes organizes like a good Catalan.
It also has a wooden room prepared especially for the disabled, and is under construction a small dome that will also serve to sleep with views of Cancho Gordo . And if our thing is water, two swimming pools: one for the summer, and another that serves to make the cold-heat contrast with the enviable Finnish barrel sauna (with massage option), although the priceless thing is to go in winter and lie down directly on the ground snow. T All fed with spring water, like the rest of the facilities.
After eating some homemade pizzas at ** La Posada de Mari **, our route ends by visiting the ** Casa Rural Melones **, an old family corral that Iris has managed to transform into a haven of peace for lodging (includes a room for the blind and two suitable for dogs).
ecological spirit (from restored furniture to lamps made from bottles) and slow philosophy (tranquility and relaxation above all) to get to know the haunted town of Patons .
In Patones, a place to rest and learn
In its interior we will be able to account for its breakfasts with local products (homemade sponge cake, organic tomato, local honey...), and if we like them we can order a country picnic (Torrelaguna candeal bread roll, Patones gourmet sausage, organic fruit and donuts, honey...) to take it to one of the bucolic landscapes around: the town of Patones de Arriba , the abandoned dam of the Pontón de la Oliva , the old Canal de Cabarrús, the banks of the Jarama river…
A haven of peace where you can discover and enjoy nature like never before
In his corral, young and old alike can peek into his garden, feed the chickens or visit the cactus greenhouse , with countless species (both for display and for sale) .
Although the most original of its range of activities is undoubtedly its pottery workshop, in which Ricardo teaches one Saturday a month to make rustic pots.
We will be able to choose between different types of clay that we will mold with the ball technique and we will take one of the pots that he already has made with the cactus that we choose. If we want ours, we will have to return when he has baked it in his artisanal oven.
We rounded off the evening with a snack in the Melones dining room based on local produce: button cheese from the Jaramera cheese factory , cinnamon and orange pastries Lozoya oven , languages of San Lázaro natural chocolate and toast with Guadarrama raspberry preserves and Arbequina oil from Fanum , all washed down with a glass of Viña Bardela , a red made in Venturada. Rural, alternative, ecological, responsible and sustainable tourism. Other tourism is possible less than an hour from Madrid.