20 WALKS WITH MEANING
Heritage, wildlife, literature… a modern pilgrimage doesn’t have to be about religion. Gail Simmons inspires Telegraph writers to lace up their boots
Why walk? Unlike our forebears, we don’t need to travel on foot, yet many of us still choose to. One reason may be fitness – those recommended 10,000 daily steps – but I don’t believe this tells the whole story.
In an age that seems to be moving ever faster, slowing down is a profoundly liberating experience. In a world that is ever more complex, repeatedly putting one foot in front of the other is an act of simplicity and – dare I say it? – mindfulness.
A bracing walk in the countryside can often do the trick. But some of us are seeking walks with an extra dimension, journeys that reveal something more meaningful.
Historically, people found meaning in pilgrimages to the shrines of saints. Why make such a journey in today’s increasingly secular society?
Will Parsons is co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust, which aims to revitalise pilgrimage in Britain. He’s noticed a “groundswell of interest”, seeing “new groups embrace the tradition, and new routes opening”.
For Parsons, 21st century pilgrimage is about connecting with those who have trodden the same paths for centuries. As he puts it, “knowing that others have gone the same way, by the same track, under the same trees”.
So it’s the journey, rather than the destination, that matters to today’s pilgrims. And perhaps it was always thus. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was more about a shared adventure than visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket.
It doesn’t have to be religious, or even spiritual. Walking in the footsteps of others, whether on the trading routes of long-forgotten ancestors or the rambles of eminent literary figures, adds insight to a journey.
This was my experience as I followed the route of the young Robert Louis Stevenson across the Chiltern Hills for my book The Country of Larks, the walk enriched by sensing his presence striding alongside me.
Here is my choice of 20 meaningful walks you can do in Britain. Some are spiritual journeys, some are heritage routes and others have a literary or environmental focus. There are long walks, short walks and shorter version of long ones.
PILGRIMAGES THE OLD WAY Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales famously described a pilgrimage from London to the tomb of Thomas Becket, murdered in 1170. But there’s a lesser-known route to Canterbury that begins at Southampton, where pilgrims from throughout Europe disembarked to travel to the saint’s shrine. The Old Way spans some 230 miles of southern English countryside, passing through such gems as Chichester, Arundel, Lewes, Battle, Winchelsea and Rye before reaching Kent’s cathedral city. Start walking from Southampton’s medieval Bargate (SO14 2DJ). britishpilgrimage.org
BARDSEY (YNYS ENLLI)
In the Middle Ages three pilgrimages to Bardsey equalled one to Rome, so dangerous was the crossing from the mainland. For the devout, the reward was communing with the 20,000 saints said to be buried here. The island is easier to reach these days, with daily boat trips in summer, and is the final stop on the 130-mile North Wales Pilgrims Way. Park in Porth Meudwy (LL53 8DA) for the boat, and spend three or four hours exploring the wildlife-rich island on foot. pilgrims-way-north-wales.org
BEDE’S WAY
The Venerable Bede may have been a revered monk and scholar in Northumbria, where Christianity flourished in Anglo-Saxon England, but this 12-mile walk from St Paul’s Monastery (NE32 3DY) in Jarrow on Tyneside to St Peter’s church Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, is more about the expansion and decline of coal mining and shipbuilding than it is about early Christianity. Today, Jarrow is associated with the “crusade” of 1936, a mass protest against unemployment and poverty when some 200 people marched to London to petition the government. ldwa.org.uk
WALSINGHAM WAY
Canterbury may be more renowned, but today Walsingham is England’s most important centre of pilgrimage. A Saxon noblewoman saw the Virgin Mary here in 1061, and while the sites of two medieval monastic houses still exist, it was the 20th century that saw the revival of pilgrimage here. The Pip Sloan and Dom leave Padstow behind, below; Bardsey Island, left; the Wiltshire Downs, below right 73-mile walk leads from the cathedral at Ely across the Fens to Walsingham, ending at the medieval Slipper Chapel. An alternative six-mile circular route takes in the major religious sites of the village (NR22 6DH). explorenorfolkuk.co.uk
ST CUTHBERT’S WAY/ BORDERS ABBEY WAY
Cuthbert is the great saint of early Christianity in the North. The full 62-mile walk runs from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) off the Northumberland coast, places associated with St Cuthbert’s life. Viking raids on Lindisfarne Priory led to his followers moving his tomb to its eventual resting place in Durham Cathedral. For a shorter version, leave Melrose Abbey (TD6 9LA), crossing the dramatic Eildon Hills towards Newtown St Boswells, returning by the Borders Abbey Way to Melrose (15 miles). stcuthbertsway.info
ST PATRICK’S WAY
St Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint, also closely connected with places in the north of the island. This 82-mile walk takes you from pre-Christian Navan Fort close to Armagh (where two cathedrals, on two hills, representing two Christian denominations, are both dedicated to the same saint) to Downpatrick, his final resting place. Park at Navan Centre (BT60 4LD) for an easy five-mile round trip walk into the small city of Armagh, the ancient ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, with its two cathedrals and many Georgian buildings. walkni.com
CUMBRIAN CISTERCIAN WAY
Following in the footsteps of monks and preachers, this 25-mile coastal trail connects Furness Abbey with Cartmel Priory and passes Swarthmoor Hall, central to the origins of the Quakers. For a taster, park in Cartmel (LA11 6QB), with its unmissable priory church, and follow paths over hills and through woodland to Grange-Over-Sands. Take the train to Cark and Cartmel and walk back to the village. Crossing the tidal sands of Morecambe Bay is dangerous without a guide, so consider travelling by train between Ulverston and Cark. britishpilgrimage.org
HERITAGE WALKS GREAT STONES WAY
Wiltshire is where you most sense England’s ancient and enigmatic past. This 36-mile trail takes you through 5,000 years of history as it crosses the Wiltshire Downs from Old Sarum to Barbury – a landscape strewn with prehistoric monuments. Alternatively, a five-mile loop around Stonehenge takes in Bronze Age barrows, the largest complete henge
in Britain (Durrington Walls), the probable ceremonial route to Stonehenge and, of course, the stone circle itself. Start at the Neolithic site of Woodhenge (SP4 7AR). nationaltrust.org.uk
THREE CASTLES WALK
The border between England and Wales is studded with ruined castles and ancient earthworks. This demanding 20-mile walk across wooded hills and along hidden river valleys in Monmouthshire includes three early medieval castles, one hill village (Grosmont) and joins the Offa’s Dyke path close to remote White Castle. The challenge on this nowpeaceful walk is to guess where the invisible border lies today. Start at Skenfrith where there is free parking by the castle (NP7 8UH), and walk clockwise. ldwa.org.uk
STROMNESS TO SKARA BRAE
Orkney might seem the fringe of the British Isles today but historians believe that in Neolithic times it was a centre of technological innovation, with the first stone henges erected here, not in Wiltshire. A 12-mile walk begins in the historic harbour town of Stromness (KW16 3AE) and follows the coast north, taking in the Broch of Borwick, seals, seabirds and sheer cliffs. Finish at Skara Brae, approaching the prehistoric village and Unesco World Heritage site on foot – just as our ancestors did. orkney.com
BATH SKYLINE WALK
Bath is renowned for its outstanding architecture, but the city’s setting, surrounded by lush Somerset hills, is just as beautiful. A six-mile circular walk devised by the National Trust makes the most of this backdrop, taking you through meadows, woods and valleys with views over the Georgian skyline. From the entrance to Bathwick Fields (BA2 6EN), the route continues clockwise to encompass Sham Castle, Bathwick Wood, Bathampton Down, Claverton Down and Prior Park (for tea), ending with the historic Smallcombe Garden Cemetery. nationaltrust.org.uk LITERARY WALKS
LAURIE LEE’S SLAD
No English village is as indissolubly linked with an author as Slad is with Laurie Lee. Ignoring the busy road running through Slad today, you can still identify many of the places mentioned in Cider with Rosie. This circular six-mile walk around the wildlife-rich Slad Valley follows the Laurie Lee Wildlife Way, and encompasses the author’s 11 “poetry posts”. Starting at Bull’s Cross lay-by (GL6 7QS) continue through woods, meadows and nature reserves, stopping for lunch at Laurie’s local, The Woolpack Inn. gloucestershirewildlifetrust.bigcartel. com JOHN BUNYAN TRAIL John Bunyan, author of the allegory
The Pilgrim’s Progress, was born in Bedfordshire and began his bestknown work in the county prison where he spent 12 years for Nonconformist preaching. So it’s appropriate that the 80-mile John Bunyan Trail should pass through many sites in Bedfordshire associated with the Puritan writer. Begin the trail at Sharpenhoe Clappers (MK45 4SH) in the Chilterns, a chalk escapement with panoramic views, or in Bedford
itself at the statue of John Bunyan (MK40 2TH). britishpilgrimage.org
COLERIDGE WAY
William Wordsworth will forever be associated with the Lake District, but he and his fellow Romantic poet Thomas Coleridge took many long walks together through the Quantock Hills where Coleridge was living in 1797. It was in the Quantocks that Coleridge and Wordsworth penned their seminal work, Lyrical Ballads, including “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Today you can stride across these same Somerset hills on this 51-mile coastal and inland route, starting (or ending) at Coleridge’s home at Nether Stowey (TA5 1NQ). visit-exmoor.co.uk
POETS’ PATH
Between 1911 and 1914 so many poets made their homes or stayed near Dymock in north Gloucestershire that they collectively became known as the Dymock Poets. The most famous of these were Robert Frost, Rupert Brooke and Edward Thomas, and two circular routes take in the places linked with the writers. Path I heads north towards Ledbury, while Path II extends east. Both begin at St Mary’s Church, Dymock (GL18 2AQ). You can also follow the Daffodil Way, if you’re feeling particularly energetic. ldwa.org.uk
THE LARKIN TRAIL
Most English poets are associated with the countryside – think John Clare, William Wordsworth and Ted Hughes. But Philip Larkin is linked with a city, Hull, where he spent the greater part of his working life (the 17th-century metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell also grew up here). Now you can follow in Larkin’s footsteps with this three-part literary ramble that unites 25 locations connected with the poet. Begin the trail at the Royal Hotel (HU1 3UF) in the city centre, a favourite Larkin haunt. thelarkintrail.co.uk NATURE WALKS DORSET UNDERCLIFF PATH On Christmas Day 1839, part of the Jurassic coast between Seaton and Lyme Regis slid into the sea, leaving a massive chasm and drawing thousands of sightseers. Since then it’s developed its own ecosystem: a jungle-like 830 acres of wild woodland and scrub that is home to 80 species of bird, rare orchids and butterflies. A National Nature Reserve, it’s crossed by a seven-mile stretch of the South West Coast Path. The walk is challenging, and there’s no mobile phone signal (EX12 2LX). southwestcoastpath.org.uk • Also see Knepp, above