The Hemingway Trail in the Sierra de Guadarrama, is a guided hike where we will discover, with the help of a professional guide and Hemingway expert, Raymond Buckley, different scenes from the Spanish Civil War that appear in Hemingway's novel ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ after his return to the United States. The novel reflects the reality that inspired it with almost pinpoint accuracy. In April 1937, the Republic launched an attack on the Nationalist positions established in La Granja and Segovia. Although the offensive was unsuccessful, it helped Hemingway to set his novel in an area he knew very well, the Sierra de Guadarrama on the slopes of Madrid and Segovia. From the Puerto de Navacerrada, controlled by the Republic, to the area of La Granja, in the hands of the Nationalists, there was a vast expanse of “no man's land” where Hemingway set the action of his novel.
Hemingway moved to Spain as a press correspondent for several American newspapers and was a colleague of our guide´s father, Henry Buckley, who was the correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. Many years after the war, Hemingway returned and, together with the Henry visited the settings of his novel.
We will start our hiking route at Venta Arias, located in Puerto de Navacerrada at 10:00 a.m., where we will sit down for breakfast and gather our strength for the hike. At this location, which offers incredible panoramic views of the Sierra de Madrid, our guide will give a 30-minute presentation in which he will tell us more about Hemingway, the Spanish Civil War, and the novel ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.
After the presentation at Venta Arias, we will descend (by our cars) to the so-called Cantina Bridge, a place described by Hemingway in his novel and the site where the Republican forces clashed with the Nationalists. We will make a short 10-minute stop at this location, where we will be able to admire the incredible surrounding landscapes and learn more about the history of this place.
After the stop at the Cantina Bridge, we will head to Valsaín, where our walking tour will begin. From there, we will climb up to the so-called ‘Monk's Cave’, located in the mountains behind Valsaín. This cave is the setting for Hemingway's novel and where the protagonist, Robert Jordan, meets with the militiamen who will help him in his mission.
We will end our morning with lunch at La Hilaria restaurant famous for the woodchoppers who built Valsain.
The date of this event will be confirmed closer to the date of the trek as much of the visit is weather dependent. If you would like to note your interest in attending please email Lisa on
info@britishspanishsociety.org