Hadrian’s Wall Pilgrims’ Way
Beginning Houses Castle
Come to an end Roman Temple of Brocolita
Distance 4¼ miles (use regular AD122 bus to shorten if necessary)
Those who have walked 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall in a week might describe it as a kind of pilgrimage. But over the last few years, the ever-innovative British Pilgrimage Trust has worked with English Heritage to design historic pilgrim routes including ancient sites across Britain, including the 37-kilometre section between Housesteads and Corbridge. For a Roman-flavored pilgrimage, start at the Roman Dynastic citadel, a place where “hooded gods” were said to have been worshiped, and walk east, visiting spindle fortresses, turrets, and ruins of temples dedicated to Mithras, the Roman god of light. (Take the Hadrian’s Wall bus to return to the start).
St Patrick’s Camino, Newcastle, County Down
Beginning/come to an end Port House, Newcastle
Distance 3-7¾ miles
Established as a guided offering by St Patrick’s Center in Downpatrick (still available as a day trip for £45 per person), this Irish camino takes you through the town where CS Lewis holidayed as a boy and no doubt heard the legends of the adjacent mountain. Slieve Donard – Said to be a monk’s cell for St. Donart, as well as a tomb of legendary figures in Irish mythology and a gateway to the other world.
As you loop through town (a case of following your nose or a map from the centre), your destination is the Narnia-like Tollymore Forest Park; here, various trails can create a circular walk among giant sequoias and rocky outcrops. and cross stepping stones and 16 bridges over the Shimna River, which is of particular scientific interest due to its rare algae, Atlantic salmon population, and geology. Evidence of prehistoric humans has also been discovered here.
John Bunyan Trail, bedfordshire
Beginning/come to an end Sundon Hills Country Park
Distanceto 2½ miles
Published in 1678, The Pilgrim’s Progress has been translated into more than 200 languages, has never been out of print, and has influenced writers such as C.S. Lewis, Charlotte Brontë, and Enid Blyton. This track is named after its author, who was imprisoned for preaching. In 1995 the Bedfordshire Ramblers group created a memorial walking route that transposed the locations from his book to the real locations on which the author based his book. This section begins at the site of one of Bunyan’s persecutors and winds its way across the chalky landscape towards the summit of Sharpenhoe Clappers (we cut through Streatley for this shorter route); a tree-covered spur of land that rises dramatically from the flat arable land that surrounds it.
Cuckmere Pilgrim Way, E Sussex
Beginning/come to an end Berwick station
Distanceto 1-11¼ miles
In 2014, Will Parsons and Guy Hayward noticed an ancient road connecting churches and holy places on a 14th-century Gough map (one of the oldest maps in Britain). They used this to try to revive what they called the Old Road, which connected Southampton to Canterbury; this action reignited interest in walking the ancient trails. Inspired by their work, in 2018 the Reverend Peter Blee of East Sussex decided to create this circular route (split into six shortened options), which touches on many landmarks and includes seven rural churches. But what makes it stand out is the chance to wander among the clay and chalk of the South Downs, the Low Weald and the archaeologically rich Cuckmere Valley, viewing a 1,600-year-old overgrown yew tree and bird hides to spot migrating and nesting birds. and the Tall Man of Wilmington, a 72-foot-tall figure carved into the limestone hillside in the 16th or 17th century.
Peak District Old Stone Path
Beginning rowley
finishH Youlgreave
Distance 8 miles (start at Birchover and shorten to 1¾ miles by walking from there to Hermit’s Cave and Robin Hood’s Stride or Nine Lady)
The full length of this neolithic walk is just over 60km, but this top slice has some highlights and ends at Youlgreave, a handy YHA youth hostel housed in a former village co-operative a few miles outside Bakewell. There are no Christian saints here; instead it is filled with stone piles or standing stones of prehistoric chiefs. These include the stone circle called Nine Ladies (in local belief, it is said that there are women who dance on Sunday and turn into millstones); a giant torch known as the Hermit’s Cave, which houses a carved 13th-century cross; and a beautiful rock formation called Robin Hood’s Stride – perfect for climbing and feeling the cool limestone beneath your toes, which film buffs may recognize from the 1987 film The Princess Bride – all overlooking distant Minninglow, a chambered tomb dating back thousands of years. Mound bowls dating from pre-Christian times and covered with a crown of beech trees.
Avebury Day Pilgrimage
Beginning/come to an end Avebury National Trust car park
Distance 11 miles
Most people who visit Stonehenge gravitate towards Avebury because of its fenced prehistoric circle of stones. But few have spent a full day to linger in this landscape and truly feel the depth of history. Using one of the oldest footpaths in the area, the Ridgeway first enters the ancient oval Sanctuary, bounded by wooden posts, thought to have once been a gathering place and gateway to the stones of Avebury. From there, pay your respects at West Kennet Long Barrow, where 50 burials date back nearly 6,000 years. Pass the headwaters of the River Kennet and the 4,500-year-old Silbury Hill, where overhanging trees are often covered with “clouties” or strips of ribbon, before visiting the Longstones, aligned with the winter solstice. At the end of the trees are said to have inspired Tolkien to create the Ents, tree-like creatures in The Lord of the Rings. Are you going with children? Wandering around Avebury is a pilgrimage in itself.
north wales Pilgrims’ Way
Beginning Tŷ Coch Inn, Morfa Nefyn
Come to an end Y Gegin Fawr, Aberdaron
Distance 15½ miles (start at Porthor to make it shorter)
The North Wales Pilgrim Way, officially launched in 2015, follows the route taken by medieval pilgrims in the sixth century. Their target was the Isle of Bardsey, the island of 20,000 saints (those buried there were almost guaranteed to be elevated to sainthood), but remains were found that predate Christianity by 700 years. The journey there from the Llŷn peninsula is often hampered by weather conditions, but this section, from a hostel accessible only on foot, to the Great Kitchen, once used by pilgrims and still serving coffee today, makes for an excellent excursion. It’s a dizzying mix of rugged beaches, tiny villages, crumbling cliffs and whistling sands at Porthor (which squeak when you walk over them due to the molecular structure of the grains) before crossing farmland and rivers and eventually winning over the landscape. island.
Brecon Cathedral Pilgrimage, Powys
Beginning/come to an end Brecon Cathedral
Distance 4½ miles (two route options)
As this starts and ends in a cathedral café (aptly named Pilgrims’ Tea Rooms), you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a walk for people of faith only. But the two routes created last year as part of the Welsh Year of Walking are about much more than religious hotspots. The lower Llanddew loop essentially follows water from an old well along the Honddu River to a market town. The higher level Pen y Crug receives the River Usk and the iron age hill fort at the top of the hill from which it takes its name; from here thrilling views of Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly known as the Brecon Beacons) and the Black Mountains reward a pilgrim’s efforts.
Saint NinianCave Pilgrimage, Dumfries and Galloway
Beginning St Ninian’s Chapel, Whithorn Island
Come to an end St Ninian’s Cave
Distance 5½ miles (one way); cave only 2 miles from Kisdale
The Whithorn Island village is home to the ruins of the fourth-century chapel of Saint Ninian, who is said to have converted many Celts and southern Picts to Christianity. In the 12th century, pilgrims came and rested by water before continuing on to Whithorn and its abbey, in honor of the eponymous saint. Green signs marking “core route 356” (a coastal network established by the local council) lead you along the sea cliffs to the cave where the saint would seek solitude. The names on the map are foreboding – Rock of Providence, Devil’s Footprints – and this coastline is also where the infamous final burning puppet scene of the 1973 classic The Wicker Man was filmed. Watch out for birds, especially cormorants, perched above the turquoise water and spy the numerous caves once used by smugglers until you reach Port Castle Bay and St Ninian’s Cave, where 18 medieval stone crosses have been discovered.
Iona of the East, Fife
Beginning North Queensferry station
Come to an end Aberdour station
Distance 8 miles (2½ miles if you use the train at Inverkeithing)
This longer walk, marked as the Fife Coast Path, passes through a part of Scotland that was overflowing with pilgrims at the height of religious journeys. So much so that in the 11th century, Queen Margaret, who was later canonized as a saint, had a ferry built here to help people cross the water (hence the name Queensferry) so they could reach the famous St Andrews further up the coast. The walk covers many coves and bays, as well as the fishing village of Aberdour, with its tree-lined trails and 13th-century castle (thought to be one of Scotland’s oldest surviving examples), and offers views of Inchcolm, AKA Iona. East, where the ruins of a 12th-century monastery can be seen. Perhaps even more impressive is the proliferation of beaches along the way for a refreshing open-sea swim surrounded by fulmars and seals.
Phoebe S.mith’s new book Wayfarer: Love, Loss and Life on Britain’s Ancient Ways (HarperNorth) is out now. To buy a copy for £14.95, go to guardianbookshop.com.