A Pilgrimage along the Whiting Way

Anne Bailey • May 12, 2025

On a cloudless morning in July 2023 I headed out of Clifton Cathedral, over the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and up into open countryside with a small group of pilgrims. We were the first walkers to step out onto the Whiting Way, a pilgrim path between Clifton and Glastonbury, one of 22 routes that form part of the ‘Hearts in Search of God’ project.

Together with Phil McCarthy, the ‘Hearts in Search of God’ founder, we were about to embark on a three-day hike that, over 37 miles, would see us journey through pretty villages, conquer some not insubstantial hills, marvel at spectacular views, pass by one of England’s finest cathedrals, stroll along verdant Somerset lanes, brave torrential showers, and finally make the breathless climb up Glastonbury Tor.

Along the way there was time for prayers, conversation, conviviality at wayside watering holes, and the partaking of refreshments generously provided by kindly hosts. There was also time for an al fresco fish-and-chip supper at Chew Magna at the end of Day One before those of us who were roughing it (like ‘true’ pilgrims?) lay down our sleeping bags on a hard church-hall floor.

All this is captured in my short, 3-minute video that follows our journey from Clifton to Chew Magna, then to Wells, and onwards for the final clamber up Glastonbury Tor. The walk completed, we sat with our backs to the iconic church tower – all that remains of the medieval church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel – and looked down over the Somerset Levels and the rolling green fields stretching into the distance.

As you can see from the video, we weren’t alone. Picnicking families, groups of chatting friends, and young couples taking selfies were scattered here and there on the summit enjoying the view, the sunshine, and the welcoming breeze. It seemed such a peaceful, benevolent landscape that it was hard to imagine the scene that unfolded on this very same spot six centuries earlier. For it was here, on a bleak November day in 1539, where Somerset’s last abbot, Richard Whiting, met his death on the groaning gallows at the behest of Henry VIII.

Times have moved on, and Richard Whiting is largely unknown to those who come to Glastonbury seeking Arthurian legends, New Age wisdom, and earth mysteries. Still, walking a pilgrim route that carries his name is one way of ensuring he’s not forgotten.

Anne Bailey is a research associate at the History Faculty at Oxford University. She has longstanding interest in pilgrimage.

Her Pilgrimage YouTube channel can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@DrAnneEBailey-df4pr/videos

< Older Post

Newer Post >

The Pilgrimage of Hope is open for day pilgrims to register!

By Phil McCarthy • June 5, 2025

Registration for day pilgrims to join the 2025 National Walking Pilgrimage of Hope is now open! The Pilgrimage of Hope is a national walking pilgrimage with four main Ways converging at the Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham, on Saturday 13th September 2025, for shared prayer and celebration. The four main Ways start at the Catholic cathedrals in Cardiff, Leeds, Norwich and Southwark, London, and will bless our nations with a Sign of the Cross and with the Gospels. The routes are named after the Evangelists and use established hiking routes and are off road as much as possible. A small group of 4-6 'perpetual pilgrims' will walk the full distance of each Way, and up to 20 day pilgrims will be able to join for day stages. Stretches which are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies have been be identified. There will be opportunities for non-walkers to provide enroute support, hospitality and prayer. There are possible feeder routes to the four main Ways from all the other Catholic cathedrals of England & Wales for keen long-distance walkers, so people from every diocese can organise their own pilgrimages. More information and registration Information about how to support the Pilgrimage with prayer and hospitality and how to register to walk stages as day pilgrims can be found here . Wishing you every blessing and joy during this Jubilee year, as we strive to become ‘pilgrims of hope’. I hope to meet many of you in Nottingham on 13th September. Buen camino! Phil McCarthy, Project Lead

Walking in the steps of London's saints

By Colette Joyce /ICN • June 4, 2025

A group of 25 pilgrims gathered at the English Martyrs Church by Tower Hill last Thursday morning, Feast of the Ascension, to take part in the Westminster Way Jubilee Year Pilgrimage, led by Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Co-Ordinator Colette Joyce. At each station we prayed and reflected on saints connected to London and the inspiration they continue to be for us today: St John Houghton and the Carthusian Martyrs of the Reformation, the missionary St Augustine of Canterbury, St Anne Line who sheltered priests and held secret Masses in her home during the Elizabethan persecution, St Erconwald, St Ethelburga and St Etheldreda. We remembered the scholars of the 7th century who brought learning and education to both men and women, and St John Henry Newman whose own spiritual journey of conversion and prophetic sense of the nature of the Church had a profound influence on the 20th century leading up to the Second Vatican Council. From the church we walked past the Tower of London, where so many Catholic martyrs met their fate during the Reformation, stopping to pray at the site of the scaffold where St John Fisher and St Thomas More were executed. Our next stop was Mary Moorfields, the only Catholic Church in the City of London. From here we walked to the Charterhouse, once a Carthusian priory and home to the first martyrs of the Reformation. The Prior, St John Houghton and Companions were hung and quartered for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy. Watching from his cell window, St Thomas More witnessed the monks being dragged on hurdles from the Tower of London on 4 May 1535. He is said to have admired their courage and faith as they went to their deaths, viewing them as "Cheerfully going to their deaths as bridegrooms going to their marriage." From here we walked to St Etheldreda's, Ely Place, one of the oldest Catholic churches in London. Built around 1250 as the town chapel for the bishops of Ely. After the Reformation It had several owners . For a a time it was used by the Spanish ambassador as a private chapel. During Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth, it was used as a prison and a hospital. The Rosminians bought St Etheldreda's in 1874 and have restored it beautifully. As we were walking during Laudato Si' Week, pilgrim leader Colette Joyce invited pilgrims to reflect on the flora and fauna of London on our way. London is a surprisingly green city, blessed with around twenty percent tree coverage - which makes it technically a forest! We are especially grateful to the Victorians who planted the ubiquitous London Plane trees which can be found in streets and parks all over the city, while there are more than 400 other species of tree to discover. "The entire material universe speaks of God's love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God… contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us." (Laudato Si', 84-85) After a stop at Corpus Christi Church in Covent Garden - where former parish priest Fr Francis Stanfield wrote Sweet Sacrament Divine and Mgr Ronald Knox preached his famous homilies on the Blessed Sacrament - we made our way down the Strand, past Traflagar Square, through Whitehall, down to Westminster Cathedral. On our arrival, we weary walkers were greeted by the Cathedral Dean, Fr Slawomir Witoń. We ended our pilgrimage with prayers in the Martyrs Chapel and a reflection from Fr Slawomir on the life and witness of St John Southworth, patron saint of clergy in the Diocese of Westminster. The pilgrims received the final stamp in their Pilgrim Passports and a blessing before returning home. Colette Joyce, Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace Co-Ordinator Read more about the Westminster Way: https://westminsterjusticeandpeace.org/2025/06/02/walking-the-westminster-way/ This article was first published on Independent Catholic News: Independent Catholic News Image: Pilgrims at Westminster Cathedral (Archdiocese of Westminster)

The Psychology of Pilgrimage

By Phil McCarthy • June 3, 2025

In this podcast I discuss the psychology of pilgrimage, especially as it relates to visiting First World War battlefields and cemeteries.

Walking the St Wulstan Way

By Peter Chisholm • May 31, 2025

Pilgrims joined Fr Gerry Walsh tracing St Wulstan’s life and legacy, from Worcester Cathedral to Clifton Cathedral as part of the Catholic Church’s Year of Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope” celebrations. Participants explored their faith while journeying through stunning landscapes and historic locations.