To many, they may appear a historical curiosity more at home within the pages of classic literature like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales but, in keeping with travel experts, pilgrimages are removed from a thing of the past within the UK. Instead, recent pilgrims are discovering the age-old attractions of the pilgrim trails to Canterbury and Holywell on daily basis, and experiencing Britain in an entire recent way.
This return to the age-old practice of pilgrimage will not be limited to Britain, with pilgrims returning to sacred routes all across Europe. The Camino de Santiago de Compostela—Europe’s hottest pilgrimage that takes travellers to the shrine of the Apostle James in Northwest Spain—was accomplished by a record 442,073 people last yr.
However, with some Brits unable to search out the time or funds required for an prolonged European pilgrimage, there are a lot of trails that date back centuries closer to home, offering something each to recreational walkers and people in search of spiritual adventure.
“Britain’s remarkable pilgrim trails offer a really different form of holiday for people wanting to raised understand their country, keep fit or to recharge their spiritual batteries,” Lily Smith, a number one travel expert from Monasteries.com, said. “Even this summer, when the sun seems to have forgotten the way to shine, many individuals have already accomplished an historic pilgrim trail.
“To paraphrase John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress: ‘There’s no discouragement, shall make them once relent, their first avowed intent, to be a pilgrim’.”
Canterbury Cathedral, where Archbishop Thomas Becket was martyred in 1170, was already a destination for pilgrims long before Chaucer’s famous book was written in 1400. Sadly, the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London, from where his band of pilgrims embarked, was demolished within the Victorian era, but a way of what it will have been like might be felt on the nearby George Inn, the one surviving galleried coaching inn in London.
For those wanting to immerse themselves within the spiritual atmosphere of the route, it is feasible to remain at a lot of monasteries and other properties owned by religious institutions along the best way. One notable site is St Monica House in Kennington, London, which is run by the Maltese Province of the Augustinian Sisters Servants of Jesus and Mary.
“Of course, Chaucer’s route has a bit of more traffic now than it did within the medieval period,” Lily said. “That’s why many individuals follow the equally old Pilgrims’ Way to Canterbury from the historic cathedral city of Winchester.”
Many pilgrims actually begin their journey in Winchester’s sister cathedral city, Salisbury, with the Clarendon Way linking these two ancient cities. They are capable of stay at Sarum College, a theological college based in Seventeenth-century buildings just opposite Salisbury Cathedral.
The Pilgrims’ Way ‘proper’ is a 119-mile (192km) walk that follows an ancient trackway that dates back to pre-Christian times, running the complete length of the North Downs, linking the English Channel to ancient religious sites like Avebury and Stonehenge.
Canterbury is removed from the one significant destination for pilgrims within the United Kingdom, with the 130-mile (215km) Pilgrim’s Way that begins in Holywell, Flintshire, and results in Bardsey Island, North Wales.
“As its name implies, for hundreds of years Holywell was vital for its Holy Well. Visitors can still explore the traditional St Winefride’s well shrine,” Lily said.
This route also offers pilgrims the prospect to remain in a non secular community, with the Bridgettine Sisters welcoming visitors to St Winefride’s Guest House, with the neighbouring Convent Chapel at all times open to visitors.
Pilgrims depart from the ruins of Holywell’s Basingwerk Abbey, heading west through Abergwyngregyn, and following sections of the Wales Coast Path and Llyn Coast Path—a chosen Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Bardsey Island possesses attractions for those on a less spiritual journey, because it is known for its scenery, wildlife, and rugged coastline. However, Bardsey Island can also be often called the ‘island of 20,000 saints’, and has been a vital religious site because the sixth century, allowing pilgrims to go to its many stone churches dedicated to Celtic saints.
