Philip II's Seat through La Herrería

A seat carved into a throne-shaped granite crag, high in the La Herrería forest, from where, according to tradition, Philip II watched the monastery's construction progress. The tourist office also notes a recent hypothesis: that the rock may have been a Vettonian altar, much older than the king. Either way, the views over the building and the town, with the sierra behind, are the best known in El Escorial.

The walk from the town

The council suggests it as a family route from the tourist office. You leave the Lonja through the arches of La Compaña, with the view of the Friars' Garden, its kitchen gardens and the weeping-willow pond, and continue along paseo de Carlos III, among horse chestnuts, to the two columns that open onto La Herrería by the Cuesta de los Pastores. La Herrería has been a Picturesque Site since 1961 and belongs to Patrimonio Nacional.

You go down keeping Zarco's kiosk and the Seminario fountain on your right, pass the golf course and the Santa María del Buen Aire youth hostel, through a pasture of ash and plane trees, and reach the Cruz de los Romeros; a detour leads to the fuente de los Capones. The slope drops to the arroyo del Batán and the crossing with the M-505 road, which you must cross with care at the zebra crossing. From there a tarmac track leads to the Silla, with the hermitage of the Virgen de Gracia to one side; next to it is a Scots pine listed as a Singular Tree of the Community of Madrid. It is about 7 km of easy walking among Pyrenean oaks, cherries, blackthorns, hawthorns and hazels.

At the Silla

You climb some steps carved into the rock to sit where, as the story goes, the king used to sit. Beside the stairway grows a tree-sized Montpellier maple, also a Singular Tree. The oak wood around is a good place to see birds; red-rumped swallows are often plentiful on this stretch.

By car and with reduced mobility

There is a recreation area with parking at the foot, on the Silla road, from where you climb the steps carved into the rock. From the resting place close to the Silla starts the Senda ecológica, 1 km and low difficulty, on a forest track closed to traffic, with Braille panels and access for wheelchair users.

With children and what to combine

It is the classic family outing: easy, with springs along the way and a rewarding finish. Dogs must be on a lead, especially at the road crossing. On the second Sunday of September the Romería de la Virgen de Gracia, a festival of National Tourist Interest, is held around the hermitage. If you want to make it longer, return through La Herrería and El Castañar, and in autumn do not miss the chestnut trees.