Miraflores, Cabeza Arcón and El Pendón

Start: There's plenty of parking space at the old station in Miraflores de la Sierra. There are also regular buses (725) from Plaza Castilla in Madrid that run to Miraflores de la Sierra. The stop is indicated as "Guardia Civil", which is at the top of the Calle de la Estación.

(S/E) From the station, go out onto the old disused rail tracks, bearing left in a northeasterly direction. Drop off the tracks onto a narrow path to the left, which leads to the vía pecuaria (drove road) at the Calle Río Tormes. This path drops down to the stream, Arroyo del Valle, to cross a footbridge, repaired by a local handyman by the name of Paco. Turn immediately right to climb back up towards the rail tracks. Bear left before the railway, to reach a junction just above the tunnel. Turn left to follow the path to another junction.

(1) Turn left and go through the gate (make sure you close it behind you). Almost immediately, turn right to start the climb up the hill. There's no defined path on the map, but the route follows tracks used by the farmer and the cows to reach a grass meadow. Continue straight up, past some rocks, to reach the dry-stone wall. Carefully cross this wall (replacing any stones that fall) and continue upwards towards the Cerro del Hornillo.

(2) The path is clearer now and skirts past the Peña del Retamalejo (3) to reach a wide forest track that we cross, heading northeast to go left of the Cabeza Cristina.

(4) The path is badly eroded by motorcycle use (not legal in the region of Madrid, only on privately owned land). However, we need to keep climbing the hill and over the next rise, the path drops slightly to go past the Fuente del Mostajo (a natural spring).

(5) The path is not marked on the Spanish topographic map (ignore the path that leads off to the right), but it is clearly marked on the ground with small cairns (and is marked on OSM hiking). There's a bit of a climb up to the Cancho del Reloj, over stony ground, but no need to use the hands.

(6) Now it's a straight run to the foot of the Cabeza Arcón, a stony outcrop, weathered by the rain, snow, ice, wind and sun.
Drop your bag at the bottom and scramble to the top for some breathtaking views.

(7) Once you've had some refreshment and maybe put on or taken off some clothes, the route continues eastward through the trees, past the Canchos de la Peña del Rayo (8), to reach the crossroads at the Collado (saddle) before continuing southeast towards the next high spot. Our objective is right ahead of us (on a clear day), but the preferred route is round the back (to the left) before heading up to the trig-point at El Pendón.

(9) Take the required photos and maybe more refreshment. Don't stay long, as it's almost always windy at the top.
Head south to pick up the Senda Buford. This trail skirts the Cerro de los Canteros (10) to drop down into the head of the valley and, after a 90º turn to the right, follow the stream Arroyo del Mosquil (11). The descent terminates when the trail reaches the disused railway.

(12) Turn right, along the railway (there is a good space on the left of the tracks that is easier to walk on than the gravel under the tracks).
The railway was built in the 1940's by republican detainees, forced to work in extreme conditions by the Franco dictatorial regime. Some of the buildings and concentration camps are still visible today.
Continue southwest along the railway to go through the tunnel we saw at the beginning of the route and reach the station to pick up the car or go up the Calle de la Estación to catch the bus back to Madrid.(S/E)