1. The Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham to the Church of St Francis of Assisi, Long Eaton: 8.9 miles    

The route is mostly along wide canal and riverside paths. The Cathedral can be reached by foot or bus from the train and coach stations. There are plenty of pubs, cafés, restaurants and accommodation of all types in central Nottingham. There is a café shortly after the Way reaches the River Trent and another on the outskirts of Long Eaton. There are more shops, cafés and pubs in the centre of Long Eaton. There may be Airbnb accommodation in Long Eaton. There are buses from Long Eaton back to central Nottingham. 

2. The Church of St Francis, Long Eaton to Kegworth: 6 miles 

The route is beside the canal and river at first, then on paths and lanes across quiet countryside. There are pubs and a tearoom at Trentlock, and a café at Sawley Marina. There are shops, pubs and cafés in Kegworth. There may be Airbnb accommodation in Kegworth. There are buses back to central Nottingham from Kegworth church. 

3. Kegworth to the Church of St Winefride, Shepshed: 8.1 miles 

The route follows the River Soar to Zouch, then across farmland by track and lane. There is a pub at Zouch and shops, pubs and cafés in Shepshed. There may be Airbnb accommodation in Shepshed. There are buses to Loughborough railway station from Shepshed. 

4. The Church of St Winefride, Shepshed, to Mount St Bernard Abbey, Coalville: 2.9 miles 

The route is across fields and through woodland. There is a pub near the path on Ashby Rd W. St Joseph’s tearoom is about 0.5 miles to the east of the Monastery on Oaks Rd. There is a guest house at the Monastery. The Monastery is not well served by public transport but there are buses from Tressall Rd (2.5 miles away) and from Oakham Drive (2.3 miles away). 

Public transport links 

Trains: 

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Coaches: 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

Buses:  

https://www.traveline.info/ 

https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/public-transport/find-bus-timetables

NB Many churches are closed during daylight hours. If you would like to visit the churches and shrines it is best to check the parish website first. You can also email or phone the parish office to see is someone would be willing to open the church. Please be aware that many priests cover more than one church and so may live many miles away.  

The Cathedral of St Barnabas, Nottingham 

In 1825 the congregation of the Nottingham Catholic mission numbered about 150. Three years later the Church of St John the Evangelist in George Street was opened. This building survives today in secular use. As the Catholic population grew a larger church was needed, and in 1841 a site on Derby Road was acquired. AWN Pugin was appointed architect and in November 1842 the foundation stone of St Barnabas’ Church was laid by Bishop Wiseman. The building, which is in the Early English Gothic style, was largely funded by Pugin’s patron Lord Shrewsbury. At the time it was the largest Catholic church built in England since the Reformation. With the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy in 1850 St Barnabas’ became the cathedral church of the new Diocese of Nottingham, and the first Bishop, Joseph Hendren, was enthroned in December 1851. The original interior design was of rich colour. This has undergone several transformations, but the most recent, in 1993, sought to reinstate some of Pugin’s original concept. 

The Church of St Francis of Assisi, Long Eaton 

In 1884 the Rev Elkins of St Barnabas Cathedral was given charge of a new mission in Long Eaton. A site was acquired in Sawley Road (now Tamworth Road) and an iron church seating 76 was built at a cost of £130. A presbytery was built in 1923, and in June 1929 the foundation stone was laid for the present red brick church, which was completed in 1930. A baldacchino over the high altar was built by two unemployed parishioners. In 1973-4 a narthex was built at the west end of the church and in 1995 the interior was re-ordered with a curved sanctuary dais, a font with a sunken pool and good quality artworks.  

The Church of St Winefride, Shepshed

The first Catholic church in Shepshed was built in 1842 in Belton Street, designed by AWN Pugin. This building survives, converted to residential use. By the end of the C19 this was too small for the congregation. In 1892 a large house was purchased for use as a presbytery and in 1899 an adjacent field was bought. St Winefride’s was opened in 1928. It is a late Gothic Revival church, well-designed with a high standard of finish. The parish includes the communities of Hathern and Belton. 

The Monastery of Mount St Bernard, Coalville 

Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery founded in 1835. The Cistercian order dates to the C12. Trappist communities are dedicated to strict observance of the Cistercian rule and date to the mid C17. Following the suppression of monasteries in France, a small colony of dispossessed Trappist monks arrived in London in 1794, with the intention of moving on to found a monastery in Canada. Thomas Weld, a Catholic recusant and philanthropist, provided them with land on his estate at East Lulworth. The monks remained at Lulworth until 1817, when following the Bourbon Restoration they returned to France to re-establish the ancient Melleray Abbey in Brittany. Following the 1830 July Revolution the monks were again persecuted and left to found Mount Melleray Abbey in Ireland (1833). From here a small community of monks was sent to found Mount St Bernard in 1835. The Abbey was the first permanent monastery founded in England since the Reformation. 

The monks live a contemplative life of work, prayer, radical discipleship and fidelity to the Gospel. Mount St Bernard is the only Trappist house in England and the monks brew the only Trappist beer in Britain.