St John's Way (South)

Phil McCarthy • March 20, 2025

St John's Way

The southern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from Southwark and Westminster Cathedrals in London to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate & St Thomas of Canterbury in Northampton.

Patron: St Anne Line (c. 1563 – 1601): English married lay woman, convert and martyr.

After the death of her husband, who had been banished for attending Mass, Anne was active in sheltering clandestine Catholic priests. Finally arrested, she was condemned to death and executed at Tyburn. She was canonised in 1970. Her feasts are: 27th February (individual), 25th October (with the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales), 30th August (with SS Margaret Ward and Margaret Clitherow).

Overview

The Way starts at the Cathedral of St George in Southwark and crosses the River Thames to reach Westminster Cathedral. It then passes through Royal parks to the Shrine of the Tyburn Martyrs. At Paddington the Grand Union Canal is reached. Apart from optional diversions to churches the Canal arm is followed to Northolt where the Way joins the Dog Rose Ramble and then the Hillingdon Trail. At Bayhurst Woods the Way diverts W to Harefield and soon rejoins the Grand Union Canal. Apart from diversions to Rickmansworth, Abbots Langley (birthplace of Adrian IV, the only English pope), and Leighton Buzzard the Canal is followed to Newport Pagnall. After the town the route follows the Three Shires Way, then the Midshires Way, the Northamptonshire Round and finally the Nene Way to Northampton Cathedral. The path leaves the city and rejoins the Midshires Way to Arthingworth and soon after follows the Brampton Valley Way to Market Harborough. The Way continues N on the Rutland Way and then the Leicestershire Round. Where this bends W the path follows the Jubilee Way to Melton Mowbray. The Way crosses farmland to reach Willoughby-in-the-Wolds where it breifly re-joins the Midshires Way before diverting to Keyworth. The Way heads towards Nottingham, briefly following a disused railway line, to finally reach Nottingham Cathedral.

Essential facts:

Route length: 169.2 miles
Ascent: 4,610 ft - the route is mostly very flat
Peak elevation: 656 ft
Average walk day length: 14.9 miles
Average walk day duration: 6 hours
Number of walking days: 12
Number of rest days: 1
Start date: Monday 1st September at St George's Cathedral, Southwark, London
End date: Saturday 13th September 2025 at St Barnabas' Cathedral, Nottingham
Pilgrims are invited to join the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 11.15 on Sunday 14th September at St Barnabas' Cathedral.

St John's Way route map

For details of the day pilgrimages and to register see below.

NB for some day stages shorter walks are possible.

Stage 1: Southwark to Harlesden, Monday 1st September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 9.1 miles
Approximate time taken: 6 hours
Ascent: 180 ft
Where to join: The Cathedral of St George, Lambeth Rd, Southwark, London SE1 7HY
Time walk starts: 9am
Where walk ends: The Church of Our Lady of Willesden, 1 Nicoll Rd, Harlesden, London, NW10 9AX
Approximate time walk ends: 3pm
Accessible sections: The route is generally accessible for wheelchairs and buggies as far as Tyburn, although the roads are busy.

Shorter walk options
Walk A: St George’s Cathedral to Westminster Cathedral - 1.8 miles
Leave St George’s at 9am. Arrive Westminster Cathedral at 10am
Nearest tube/rail stations: Lambeth North and Waterloo for St George’s; Victoria and St James’s Park for Westminster Cathedral.
This walk is accessible for wheelchairs etc

Walk B: Westminster Cathedral to Tyburn Convent - 2.1 miles
Leave Westminster Cathedral at 10.30am. Arrive Tyburn Convent at 11.30am
Nearest tube/rail stations: Victoria and St James’s Park for Westminster Cathedral; Marble Arch for Tyburn Convent.
This walk is accessible for wheelchairs etc

Walk C: Tyburn Convent to Our Lady of Willesden - 5.3 miles
Leave Tyburn Convent at 12 noon. Arrive Our Lady of Willesden at 3.05pm
Nearest tube/rail stations: Marble Arch for Tyburn Convent; Willesden Junction for Our Lady of Willesden
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 2: Harlesden to Ruislip, Tuesday 2nd September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 10.4 miles
Approximate time taken: 5.5 hours
Ascent: 85 ft
Where to join: The Church of Our Lady of Willesden, 1 Nicoll Rd, Harlesden, London, NW10 9AX
Time walk starts: 9.30am
Where walk ends: The Church of The Most Sacred Heart, 73 Pembroke Rd, Ruislip, HA4 8NN
Approximate time walk ends: 3pm
Accessible sections: The route is not accessible. There is a steep ramp to the canal near the beginning and steps to exit the canal at Northolt.

Shorter walk options
Walk A: Our Lady of Willesden to St Bernard’s RC Church, Northolt - 6.6 miles
Leave Our Lady of Willesden at 9.30am. Arrive at St Bernard’s at 12.40pm
Nearest tube/rail stations: Willesden Junction for Our Lady of Willesden; Northolt for St Bernard’s church
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc.

Walk B: St Bernard’s Church, Northolt to St Gregory’s Church, South Ruislip - 2.6 miles
Leave St Bernard’s at 1.40pm. Arrive at St Gregory’s at 2.40pm
Nearest tube/rail stations: Northolt for St Bernard’s; South Ruislip for St Gregory’s
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc.

Walk C: St Gregory’s Church, South Ruislip to Most Sacred Heart, Ruislip - 1.3 miles
Leave St Gregory’s at 3.10pm. Arrive at Most Sacred Heart at 3.45pm.
Nearest tube/rail stations: South Ruislip for St Gregory’s. Ruislip for Most Sacred Heart.
This walk is accessible for wheelchairs etc.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 3: Ruislip to Rickmansworth, Wednesday 3rd September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 9.3 miles
Approximate time taken: 6 hours
Ascent: 302 ft
Where to join: The Church of The Most Sacred Heart, 73 Pembroke Rd, Ruislip, HA4 8NN
Time walk starts: 9.30am
Where walk ends: The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, 5 Park Rd, Rickmansworth, WD3 1HU
Approximate time walk ends: 3.30
Accessible sections: Not accessible for buggies or wheelchairs due to mud and hills.

DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 4: Rickmansworth to Berkhampsted, Thursday 4th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 16.7 miles
Approximate time taken: 8 hours
Ascent: 394 ft
Where to join: The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, 5 Park Rd, Rickmansworth, WD3 1HU
Time walk starts: 9am
Where walk ends: The Church of the Sacred Heart, Park St, Berkhamsted, HP4 1HX
Approximate time walk ends: 5pm
Accessible sections: Not accessible except when pavements are available, e.g. Abbots Langley

Shorter walk option
D’Arcy’s Bar to Sacred Heart Church, Berkhamsted - 6miles
Leave D’Arcy’s Bar at 2pm. Arrive at Sacred Heart Church at 4.20pm
Public transport: Apsley station for D’Arcy’s Bar; Berkhamsted station for Sacred Heart Church
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 5: Berkhampsted to Leighton Buzzard, Friday 5th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 15.2 miles
Approximate time taken: 7.5 hours
Ascent: 128 ft
Where to join: The Church of the Sacred Heart, Park St, Berkhamsted, HP4 1HX
Time walk starts: 9am
Where walk ends: The Church of the Sacred Heart, 5 Beaudesert, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1HZ
Approximate time walk ends: 4.30pm
Accessible sections: Not accessible due to eroded, narrow and muddy towpath.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 6: Leighton Buzzard to Newport Pagnall, Saturday 6th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 16.2 miles
Approximate time taken: 8 hours
Ascent: 72 ft
Where to join: The Church of the Sacred Heart, 5 Beaudesert, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1HZ
Time walk starts: 8.30am
Where walk ends: The Church of St Bede, High St, Newport Pagnell, MK16 0ED
Approximate time walk ends: 4.30pm
Accessible sections: Tow path is not accessible despite claims in publicity to the contrary - narrow, steps, steep slopes, erosion and improvement work in progress.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 7: Newport Pagnell to Northampton, Sunday 7th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 8am
Approximate time taken: 9 hours
Ascent: 397 ft
Where to join: The Church of St Bede, High St, Newport Pagnell, MK16 0ED
Time walk starts: 8am
Where walk ends: The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate & St Thomas of Canterbury, Primrose Hill, Northampton, NN2 6AG
Approximate time walk ends: 5pm
Accessible sections: From 15.9 miles to the end the route is accessible: pavements and good quality paths

Shorter walk option
Midsummer Meadow car park, Northampton to Cathedral of Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury, Northampton - 2 miles
Leave the car park at 4.15pm. Arrive at Northampton Cathedral at 5pm (Mass at 5.15pm)
Parking available in the car park
This walk is accessible for wheel chairs etc.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 8: Northampton to Market Harborough, Tuesday 9th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 18 miles
Approximate time taken: 9 hours
Ascent: 295 ft
Where to join: The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate & St Thomas of Canterbury, Primrose Hill, Northampton, NN2 6AG
Time walk starts: 8am
Where walk ends: The Church of Our Lady of Victories, 1 Fairfield Rd, Market Harborough, LE16 9QQ
Approximate time walk ends: 5pm
Accessible sections: Path is tarmac between 52.261090, - 0.913236 and The Windhover. There is possibly access through the estate but no obvious parking.
Good access at The Windhover.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 9: Market Harborough to Belton in Rutland, Wednesday 10th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 15.9 miles
Approximate time taken: 8.5 miles
Ascent: 1,115 ft
Where to join: The Church of Our Lady of Victories, 1 Fairfield Rd, Market Harborough, LE16 9QQ
Time walk starts: 8.30am
Where walk ends: Belton in Rutland
Approximate time walk ends: 5pm
Accessible sections: Through Market Harborough town: other paths not suitable.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 10: Belton in Rutland to Melton Mowbray, Thursday 11th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 14.7 miles
Approximate time taken: 8 hours
Ascent: 814 ft
Where to join: Belton in Rutland
Time walk starts: 8.30am
Where walk ends: The Church of St John the Baptist, 44 Thorpe End, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1RB
Approximate time walk ends: 4.30pm
Accessible sections: Burton Lazars to Melton Mowbray there is a paved path.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 11: Melton Mowbray to Keyworth, Friday 12th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 15.1 miles
Approximate time taken: 7 hours
Ascent: 778 ft
Where to join: The Church of St John the Baptist, 44 Thorpe End, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1RB
Time walk starts: 9am
Where walk ends: The Church of St Margaret Clitherow, Willow Brk, Keyworth, NG12 5BB
Approximate time walk ends: 4pm
Accessible sections: Melton Mowbray town centre, the rest is farmland.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
Stage 12: Keyworth to Nottingham, Saturday 13th September 2025
Details of the walk

Distance: 9.4 miles
Approximate time taken: 4. hours
Ascent: 148 ft
Where to join: The Church of St Margaret Clitherow, Willow Brk, Keyworth, NG12 5BB
Time walk starts: 9.30am
Where walk ends: The Cathedral of St Barnabas, N Circle St, Nottingham, NG1 5AE
Approximate time walk ends: 3.45pm
Accessible sections: TBC

Shorter walk options
Walk A: St Margaret Clitherow, Keyworth to Holy Spirit Church, West Bridgford - 6.4 miles
Leave St Margaret Clitherow at 9.45am. Arrive at Holy Spirit Church at 12.50pm.
Public transport: bus service from Nottingham bus station to Keyworth, the Keyworth (no 19)
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc.

Walk B: Holy Spirit Church, West Bridgford to St Barnabas’ Cathedral, Nottingham - 2.9 miles
Leave Holy Spirit Church at 1.50pm. Arrive at St Barnabas’ Cathedral at 3.15pm
Public transport: bus service from Nottingham bus station to Holy Spirit Church, the Keyworth (no 19)
This walk is not accessible for wheelchairs etc.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE

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Another Day in Paradise, but "Why are we walking?"

By Eddie Gilmore • July 21, 2025

I was in the north of Italy recently on the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrimage path to Rome that begins in Canterbury. My wife, Yim Soon and I were with a group from L’Arche in France who are walking to Assisi in one-week sections. It was the second day, we were going up an interminably steep hill, it was hot, and we had ‘slept’ the night before on a floor, and with that motley group of twenty-five sharing two toilets (one of which had a door with no lock!). Yim Soon turned to me and asked, “Why are we walking?” The pair of us had done a lot of walking up until that point, and we had a lot of hiking still to come, so that was a very reasonable question to ask. One immediate answer was that we had the unexpected gift of time. I had moved to Ireland at the end of 2023 to take up a new job but things hadn’t worked out and I left in August 2024. We’d let out our house in the UK until June 2025 so Yim Soon had said to me, “Let’s walk!” I’d immediately agreed and our plans quickly took shape. We would do the Camino in Spain in October, the Lycian Way along the Turkish coast in February and March; then in April and May, we would follow the Way of Francis to Assisi and Rome. We also had an invitation to spend the winter with an old friend of Yim Soon from Korea who was now living with her family near Atlanta. This would include spending Christmas at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, the Trappist monastery of Thomas Merton that I’d always dreamed of visiting. There is a pleasing simplicity to life on the road. You scrunch your sleeping bag and the rest of your stuff into a rucksack in the morning and you walk. That's it! A lot of the usual worries of life seem to drop away and the biggest anxiety becomes making sure you don't get lost! Or where the next café con leche is going to come from! There's just something calming and centring about the age-old act of putting one foot in front of the other. There is also something about it that brings people together and draws out their story. And what incredible people we met on our various walks, and what wonderful stories we heard. And how we laughed with one another. The beautiful scenery is therapeutic too. In Turkey we were treated to one amazing view after another as we paced up and down the mountains that fringe the Mediterranean. In Italy we passed each day through yet another stunning medieval fortified hilltop town. And since we were doing all 500 miles of the Camino Francés, we would see the stark changes in landscape as we crossed the north of Spain: from the Pyrenees and the mountains near Pamplona, through the flat, arid meseta, then into the verdant hills of Galicia as we neared Santiago. There is a heightened awareness of the natural world: the sunrises, the sunsets, little wild flowers that appear as if out of nowhere. Food is deeply appreciated and I don't think that a meal at a Michelin restaurant could have satisfied me as much as the bread, cheese, tomato and cucumber I ate one day on a beach in Turkey, which we'd reached by a rocky and slightly hair-raising trek down a mountain. On the Camino I developed the art of the second, or even third breakfast. We had earned it! I also loved the shared international meals, and there’s one that particularly stands out. I’d been looking forward to returning to the municipal albergue (pilgrim hostel) at a town called Nájera because of what had happened there nine years before when I’d been doing that same walk. I’d got in with a group of Koreans, partly on account of having a Korean wife, and they’d prepared a banquet and invited myself and my Australian friend James to join them. We’d also got in with the Italians and they wanted to feed us as well. Then a Spanish guy Gerado offered us food. We could have eaten three meals that evening, and I was determined that on this next visit it would be me doing the cooking for some of the lovely people we’d met on the way. I got to work in the kitchen, with a little help from my international friends, and a large group of us sat and shared a feast. There were people from different countries and continents and speaking different languages; there were twenty-year-olds who seemed happy to hang out with those of us who were three times their age; and there was a range of backgrounds and beliefs and reasons for walking. It was utterly joyous. And after we’d eaten I picked up a guitar and started the singing, and various members of the group took a turn, and we were joined by others in that very diverse dining-room. The first song I did was one I’d written after that first Camino in 2015 and I told the story of how it had been inspired. James and I had been sitting on a bench outside the albergue in the early morning, waiting for the water to boil for our tea. The sun was just starting to rise above the trees and there was the sound of rushing water from the river, as well as the first birdsong. We were sitting there in companionable silence and then James said, “Another day in paradise.” Those words became the title of a book about pilgrimage which I wrote years later. They are also the first line of the chorus of my song ‘El Camino’ which I sang in that same albergue in Nájera in October, 2024. And I was so touched when one of the young people in our group, Lucy from Croatia, remarked at the end, “Wouldn’t it be cool if one of us came back here in nine years’ time and cooked for the other pilgrims and kept this story going!” Why do we walk? Well, yes, it’s the food, the fellowship, the fun, the breathtaking scenery, the little daily miracles and random acts of kindness, and the opportunity to live a bit more simply and to discover that we can be very content with very little. But it’s also, as my friend James observed one morning when sitting with me on a bench outside a pilgrim hostel in Spain, an opportunity to give thanks for another day in paradise. Eddie Gilmore is a Hearts in Search of God project collaborator. For more about Eddie and his books click here .

Become a Pilgrim of Hope for a Day!

By Phil McCarthy • July 20, 2025

Registration for Day Pilgrims is now open. On some days there are new shorter sections. Registration will close on 21st August 2025, so REGISTER NOW to avoid disappointment! The theme of the 2025 Jubilee is ‘pilgrims of hope’ and this has inspired 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, named after the Evangelists, SS Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, start at the Catholic cathedrals in Cardiff, Leeds, Norwich and London, and will bless our nations with a Sign of the Cross and with the Gospels. The routes 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 register to join for stages. On some days there are opportunities for shorter walks.

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.