Arrabal Bridge and a walk beside the Lozoya

North of Buitrago's medieval enclosure, the Arrabal bridge, which in the village is also called the Old Bridge, crosses the Lozoya with a single semicircular arch. It is the walk for after lunch or for stretching your legs before climbing the wall: free, with no opening hours and five minutes on foot from the square.

What you see

The tourist office describes it as entirely of granite, in rubble and ashlar masonry, resting on a single arch over the river. On the north face it has two buttresses; on the south face it keeps some small attached arches, remains of an old aqueduct that carried drinking water to the arrabal, the district that grew outside the walls. The town council website does not publish a construction date, so do not trust signs that attribute it to a specific century without a source.

From the bridge and from the bank you understand how Buitrago is built: the Lozoya surrounds the village on three sides and the wall closes the fourth. Across the water you have the lower wall, the river one, which can be walked freely at any time. You climb by some steps from Calle Hospitalillo, next to Plaza del Castillo, or from the Medieval Garden, at the northern end of the enclosure.

Walks that start here

The bridge is the starting point of one of the routes published by the town council, that of the Calicanto bridge and the Trinidad bell gable: about 4 km and 1 h 30 on foot. If you prefer not to stray from the water, the Ribera del río Lozoya promenade is short, about 560 m. It leaves from Paseo del Río Lozoya, next to Juan Pablo II park, skirts the river before it reaches the Puentes Viejas reservoir and has two viewpoints over the walled enclosure. Those who want something longer can link it with the Gariñas pine wood route, 8 km and about 2 h 30, which runs partly along the reservoir shore.

It is a flat walk suitable for all ages. With a pushchair, the bridge and the river promenade are fine; the steps of the lower wall are not. Dogs on a lead.

Getting there and parking

Buitrago is about 75 km from Madrid by the A-1, exit 74, or on the ALSA 191 bus from the Plaza de Castilla interchange. Cars of non-residents cannot enter or park inside the walled enclosure, but there is no blue zone: the municipal car park on Calle Tahona has about 65 spaces and is open from 8:00 to 21:00, and there are other free areas on Calle Puente Nuevo, the cemetery road or Plaza del Belén Viviente.

What to combine

Join the walk with the wall and Clock Tower and with the Picasso Museum, which is free. For lunch inside the enclosure there is the Asador Las Murallas, and in summer, 2 km away, the Riosequillo pool.