St Luke's Way (East) to Nottingham

Phil McCarthy • September 15, 2025

St Luke's Way

The eastern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist in Norwich to the Cathedral Church of St Barnabas in Nottingham via the National Shrine of Our Lady at Houghton St Giles and the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at King's Lynn.

Patron: Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – after 1416) English anchoress, mystic and theologian.

Julian's writings, now known as Revelations of Divine Love, are the earliest surviving English-language works attributed to a woman. They are also the only surviving works by an anchoress in English. Her feast is celebrated on 13^th May.

Overview

St Luke's Way starts at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich, leaving the city along the Marriotts Way, crossing the River Wensum towards Cawston, then taking the Pilgrim Cross route to Walsingham along country lanes to the National Shrine to Our Lady at Houghton St Giles. From Walsingham the Way follows tracks and lanes to Dersingham and then crosses the Sandringham estate to King's Lynn. The Way continues alongside the Great Ouse to Wisbech, then across fenland to Spalding and Bourne. The Way uses roads and footpaths to navigate the rolling countryside of Kesteven to Grantham, then follows the Grantham canal near Belvoir Castle across farmland to Bingham, joining the Trent Valley Way at Radcliffe, to arrive at St Barnabas' Cathedral in Central Nottingham.

Essential facts:

Route length: 155.4 miles
Ascent: 1,883 ft
Peak elevation: 443 ft (the route is generally flat)
The Way can be followed using a GPX file (download below).

St Luke's Way route

SUGGESTED STAGES

Stage 1: Norwich to Cawston
Walk overview
From St John’s Cathedral the route descends to the Wensum valley to the start of Marriotts Way (1 mile), a cycle/footpath following the line of the old railway. This passes footpath/road to Costessey (5 miles) proceeding to Drayton (6.5 miles). After footbridge over ring road (8.2 miles) the route leaves the Marriotts Way to take minor roads to Felthorpe (10 miles), and Eastgate (14 miles)

Details of the walk
Distance: 13.3 miles
Approximate time taken: 6 hours walking
Ascent: 157 ft
Start: The Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Unthank Rd, Norwich, NR2 2PA
End: St Agnes Parish Church, Church Lane, Cawston, NR10 4AJ

Accessible sections: Marriotts Way in Norwich (1 mile to 3 miles) (Sustrans pedestrian/cycle path) has a good surface as far as Hellesdon Road (3 miles).The next 3 miles from Hellesdon Road as far as Drayton (6 miles) is adequate for buggies.

Shorter walk options
St John’s Cathedral via Marriotts Way cyclepath to Drayton (c 6 miles from start, eta 1400). Return options:
Retrace steps along Marriotts Way at any point or catch 28/29/X29/30A bus from The Cock, Drayton Road to Norwich or arrange pick up by car e.g. from Tesco Drayton
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 2: Cawston to Little Walsingham
Walk overview
From Cawston (with its stunning medieval church) the route follows the Pilgrim Cross route via minor roads all the way to Walsingham, following the Heydon estate (3 miles) then through the villages of Thurning (6), Hindolveston (9) Fulmodeston (12), Little Snoring (15) and Great Snoring (17) before descending into the little valley of Walsingham

Details of the walk
Distance: 17.4 miles
Approximate time taken: 7.5 hours walking
Ascent: 154 ft
Start: St Agnes Parish Church, Church Lane, Cawston, NR10 4AJ
End: The Annunciation Catholic Church, Friday Market, Little Walsingham, NR2 6DB

Accessible sections: As the route is entirely on minor roads it’s not suitable for buggies or wheelchairs.

Shorter walk options
No viable short walk options except by retracing steps along route back to Cawston (route is entirely on roads)
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 3: Little Walsingham Dersingham
Walk overview
The route gently climbs out of Walsingham to head due West along long, straight minor roads and (muddy) farm tracks via the villages of South Creake and Bircham to reach the small town of Dersingham just north of the Sandringham estate. A long day but is fairly straightforward.

Details of the walk
Distance: 18.2 miles
Approximate time taken: 7.5 hours walking
Ascent: 295 ft
Start: The Annunciation Catholic Church, Friday Market, Little Walsingham, NR2 6DB
End: St Cecilia's Catholic Church, Mountbatten Rd, Dersingham, PE31 6YE

Accessible sections: Holy Mile between Catholic and Anglican shrines in Walsingham, otherwise the route is not suitable for wheeled access). The Holy Mile follows old railway track – has a firm even surface.

Shorter walk options
Walsingham Market Square to the Catholic National Shrine along the Holy Mile (firm even surface) c 1.5m eta 1000.
Return options: Retrace steps or
36 Bus to Walsingham or arrange pick up by car
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 4: Dersingham to Kings Lynn
Walk overview
The route leaves Dersingham on pavements then follows along the broad verged minor roads of the Sandringham Estate. Crosses the busy A149 (traffic island) and then follows footpaths and tracks to Castle Rising. Forest tracks through Ling Common, then pavements through the outskirts of Kings Lynn.

Details of the walk
Distance: 10 miles
Approximate time taken: 5 hours walking
Ascent: 125 ft
Start: St Cecilia's Catholic Church, Mountbatten Rd, Dersingham, PE31 6YE
End: Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church, N Everard St, King's Lynn, PE30 5HQ

Accessible sections: Dersingham village has a pavement route from St Cecilias to Petals tea rooms on opposite corner of village. NB Cars may be parked on pavements making access difficult.

Shorter walk options
From St Cecilias to Sandringham tea rooms (c 2 miles, eta 1100) via pavements in town and verges at side of road
Return options: Retrace steps or
35 Bus to Dersingham or arrange pick up by car
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 5: Kings Lynn to Wisbech
Walk overview
From Our Lady of the Annunciation (with its pontifical shrine) the route joins the towpath beside the Great Ouse, tarmac surface for 3km as far as the power station then a grassed track to St Germains church (medieval pew ends showing sins and sacraments). Minor roads lead through the Fens via a succession of small, long villages to Wisbech.

Details of the walk
Distance: 16 miles
Approximate time taken: 7 hours walking
Ascent: 75 ft
Start: Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Church, N Everard St, King's Lynn, PE30 5HQ
End: Our Lady & St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 69 Queens Rd. Wisbech, PE13 2PH

Accessible sections: At the start of the route there is 3km flat towpath alongside of Great Ouse past the paper factory

Shorter walk options
From Our Lady, London Road along towpath (metalled) alongside of Great Ouse past the paper factory to the power station (2 miles, eta 1045) or on grass footpath to St Germans (5 miles, eta 1200)
Return Options: Retrace steps or 46 bus from St Germans or arrange pickup by car.
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 6: Wisbech to Spalding
Walk overview
From Our Lady & St Charles Borromeo Church, the route visits the town centre before crossing the Nene and heading to the village of Leverington through park, main roads and tracks. After this the road follows minor fenland roads, quiet for the most part in a series of zig zags towards Spalding.

Details of the walk
Distance: 21 miles
Approximate time taken: 9 hours walking
Ascent: 75 ft
Start: Our Lady & St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 69 Queens Rd. Wisbech, PE13 2PH
End: The Immaculate Conception & St Norbert Catholic Church, 52 St Thomas Rd, Spalding, PE11 2XX

Accessible sections: The route is entirely on fenland minor roads, some of which are busy so is unsuitable for wheeled access.

Shorter walk options
No viable short walk options - it's a very long day, entirely on roads
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 7: Spalding to Bourne
Walk overview
The route leaves central Spalding on the pavement beside the main road, then through a housing estate to a footpath beside Vernatt’s Drain to Old Pode (3 miles). A very long, straight, minor road runs alongside Counter Drain passing LWT bird reserve (5 miles) to turning after Tounge End (7 miles). South Fen Road then leads directly to Bourne, caution - heavyweight lorries on minor road after the recycling centre (9 miles)

Details of the walk
Distance: 12
Approximate time taken: 5 hours walking
Ascent: 108
Start: The Immaculate Conception & St Norbert Catholic Church, 52 St Thomas Rd, Spalding, PE11 2XX
End: St Gilbert's Church, 3 St Gilbert's Rd, Bourne, PE10 9XB

Accessible sections: The first 1.5 miles of the route is all on pavements as far as Monks Park Primary school, although beside the main road.

Shorter walk options
Immaculate Conception & St Norbert via pavements/footpath but mostly minor roads to Willow Tree Fen (5 miles, eta 1130).
Return Options: Arrange own pickup by car.
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 8: Dyke to Grantham
Walk overview
Route leaves Dyke on footpath to Hanthorpe via Morton (2 miles). Minor roads, tracks, footpaths lead to Irnham (7.5 miles) then Ingoldsby (10.5 miles), and Ropsley (14 miles) before crossing the busy A52 and B6403 roads to follow road north of the army barracks, with an excellent view over Grantham before descent into the market town.

Details of the walk
Distance: 20.6 miles
Approximate time taken: 8.5 hours walking
Ascent: 430 ft
Start: The Wishing Well Inn, 21 Main St, Dyke, PE10 0AF
End: St Mary's Catholic Church, 1 N Parade, Grantham, NG31 8AT

Accessible sections: This stage is not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies.

Shorter walk options
No viable short walk options - it's a very long day, almost entirely on roads
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 9: Grantham to Bingham
Walk overview
Route leaves Grantham on pavements, crossing bridge over A1 to footpath (2.5 miles) leading over hill and down to Grantham canal (4 miles). Towpath leads to the canalside “Duck at Woolsthorpe” pub (5 miles). Minor road then pavement into Woolsthorpe then footpath over fields to Belvoir. Short road section to Belvoir Castle car park (8 miles) (small café, toilets). Poor footpaths to Barkstone (11 miles) then very muddy track to Granby (14 miles). Footpath joins Bingham Linear Park disused railway (15.5 miles) leading to tunnel under A52 outside Bingham (17 miles).

Details of the walk
Distance: 17.1 miles
Approximate time taken: 8 hours walking
Ascent: 344 ft
Start: St Mary's Catholic Church, 1 N Parade, Grantham, NG31 8AT
End: Bingham Townhouse Hotel, 15 Market St, Bingham, NG13 8AB

Accessible sections: The start of route from Grantham is on well maintained pavements.

Shorter walk options
St Mary's Catholic Church, Grantham to The Duck at Woolsthorpe via pavements, footpaths and canal towpath (5 miles eta 1100).
Return options: Arrange own pickup by car or 9 Bus Woolsthorpe to Grantham NB very infrequent
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL
Stage 10: Bingham to Nottingham
Walk overview
Route follows pavements from Bingham to Radcliffe, with lunch stop at St Annes Radcliffe. Pavements lead to minor road / track to Holme Pierrepoint, then minor roads to path beside river Trent, crossing at Lady Bay Bridge or Trent Bridge and from there following pavements via Railway station and Nottingham Castle to St Barnabas’ Cathedral.

Details of the walk
Distance: 10.6 miles
Approximate time taken: 5.5 hours walking
Ascent: 230 ft
Start: Bingham Townhouse Hotel, 15 Market St, Bingham, NG13 8AB
Ends: St Barnabas Cathedral, N Circus St, Nottingham, NG1 5AE

Accessible sections: Radcliffe (4.5 miles) to Nottingham (12 miles): much of this route is via pavements and tracks though there is a minor road section around National Water Sports Centre between Holme Pierrepoint and the River Trent.

Shorter walk options
St Annes Radcliffe to St Barnabas’ Cathedral Nottingham (6.5 miles, start c 1300, eta c 1530-1600) Pavements and track to Holme Pierrepoint then minor road skirting National Water Sports Centre to towpath beside River Trent, then city pavements to Cathedral. Return options: arrange pickup by car or train or Bus Nottingham to Radcliffe or Bingham
THE ROUTE IN DETAIL

DOWNLOAD THE GPX FILE

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St John's Way (South) to Nottingham

By Phil McCarthy • September 15, 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: 169.4 miles Ascent: 4,669 ft - the route is mostly very flat Peak elevation: 656 ft The Way can be followed using a GPX file (download below)

St Matthew's Way (West) to Nottingham

By Phil McCarthy • September 15, 2025

St Matthew's Way The western Pilgrimage of Hope Way from St David's Cathedral in Cardiff to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham and the Shrine of St Chad in Lichfield. Patron: St Melangell (c 7th or 8th Century) Welsh hermit, consecrated virgin and abbess. According to her hagiography, Melangell was a princess who fled an arranged marriage and became a consecrated virgin in the wilderness of Powys. She saved a hare from a prince's hunting dogs and is associated with protection of wildlife. Her feast is celebrated on 27th May. Overview: The Way starts at St David's Cathedral in Cardiff. The route soon joins the Welsh Coast Path to Newport and then Chepstow. Here the Way turns inland following the Offa's Dyke Path through the Wye Valley to Monmouth. The route follows the Wye Valley Walk to Ross-on-Wye where the Way joins the Herefordshire Trail to Ledbury. The Geopark Way and the Three Choirs Way (3CW) are followed over the Malvern Hills. After Malvern the Way continues on the 3CW until the River Severn is crossed and followed to Worcester. The Monarch's Way is followed to Droitwich Spa and then the Wychavon Way and John Corbett Way to Bromsgrove Spa. Here the Monarch's Way is regained until just before Illey the Way diverts into central Birmingham along the Illey Way. From the Cathedral of St Chad in Birmingham the Way follows the St Chad's Way , at first along canal towpaths. The Way passes through Sutton Coldfield before joining the Heart of England Way to Lichfield. The route joins the Trent & Mersey Canal towpath to Burton upon Trent and then on to Sawley. Here the Way diverts to Long Eaton and then follows the Way of Blessed Cyprian Tansi along the Broxtowe Country Trail and finally the Beeston Canal towpath to central Nottingham and the Cathedral of St Barnabas. Essential facts: Route length: 210.2 miles Ascent: 10,955 ft Peak elevation: 1,378 ft The Way can be followed using a GPX file (download button below).

St Mark's Way (North) to Nottingham

By Phil McCarthy • September 15, 2025

St Mark's Way The northern Pilgrimage of Hope Way from Leeds Cathedral to St Barnabas' Cathedral in Nottingham via St Marie's Cathedral in Sheffield and the Chapel of the Padley Martyrs. Patron: St Hilda of Whitby (c. 614 – 680) abbess and key figure in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Hilda founded and was the first abbess of the monastery at Whitby which was the venue for the Synod of Whitby in 664. She was widely recognised for her wisdom and learning and trained five bishops. Her feast is celebrated on 17th November. Overview: The Way starts at Leeds Cathedral and follows the Transpennine Trail (TPT) SE beside the Aire & Calder Navigation to Woodlesford. Here the path veers SW to re-join the TPT along a disused railway line and then the River Calder to Wakefield. The Way follows the TPT again beside the former Barnsley Canal and then along a disused railway to Wombwell. The route turns SW along the Barnsley Boundary Walk to Elsecar, and then across farmland to briefly join the Old Salt Rd, beside the A629. The Way soon joins the Sheffield Country Walk and follows this beside the Sheffield Canal to reach St Marie's Cathedral in central Sheffield. From here the Way joins the Padley Martyrs Way , leaving the city through Endcliffe Park and then climbing Houndkirk Moor to arrive at the Chapel of the Padley Martyrs. The path then follows the River Derwent to Matlock. The Way leaves the Derwent at Ambergate and turns east, through Ripley and then along the former Cromford Canal to Eastwood. Here the route joins the Robin Hood Way to Strelley where the Way veers E to Kingsbury and finally reaches St Barnabas' Cathedral, central Nottingham. Essential facts: Route length: 105.9 miles Ascent 3,750 ft: The route is mostly flat with the only significant climb on Day 4 over Houndkirk Moor Peak elevation: 1,388 ft The Way can be followed using a GPX file (download below).

The National Pilgrimage of Hope is starting!

By Joe Northam • August 27, 2025

Joe Northam explains how she came to be involved in the Pilgrimage of Hope. She is walking the St Matthew's Way from Cardiff to Nottingham. When I heard about the Pilgrimage of Hope, a walking Pilgrimage which will mark England and Wales with the sign of the cross, I really wanted to get involved. At that time, I didn’t imagine that I would end up being a perpetual pilgrim walking (nearly) all 210 miles of the Western route. I offered to help recce the planned route. I love walking and I was looking for an opportunity to spend time alone with God, and checking the route seemed to bring those things together. However, as soon as I met with Phil, who has planned the Pilgrimage , and voiced my enthusiasm for the project I felt that, perhaps, I could do more. I just needed a bit of flexibility to accommodate the needs of my family, and being assured of that I began to discuss with my husband just how involved I could get! The first of my preparatory walks along the route began from my neighbouring parish in Harborne back in December 2024. Nine months later we prepare to embark from Cardiff. The journey ahead feels just daunting enough that we know that God needs to lead us. By we, I mean both the team of perpetual pilgrims - Phil, Faith, Jim, Dave, Catherine and myself - and the many day pilgrims who will join us for part of the way. Our ‘ St Matthew’s Way ’ takes us from the coastal paths of Wales, through the Wye Valley and across the Malvern Hills to Worcester. Then to Birmingham and from there to Lichfield and along the canals to Nottingham. It will be beautiful, varied and deeply ingrained with Christian heritage. When we met in London in May, we as a team shared our desire to meet God on the journey, not just in the glorious cathedrals and the splendour of nature, but in other people. For myself the opportunity of spending two weeks in community with the perpetual pilgrims is a challenge and a privilege. I began my Catholic life as a part of a youth community in the Nottingham Diocese and I know that the formation and growth of a shared life is not like anything else. Each day pilgrim will become a part of this sharing, bringing a unique life experience. Some may bring a testimony of God’s call on their life, others may arrive simply interested by the concept of pilgrimage and unaware of the hand of God in their life. My prayer is that each of us finishes our journey more hopeful than we began. Something I learned at the start of this liturgical year, this year of Jubilee , is that hope is a theological virtue. My understanding is that this means that it is a ‘supernatural’ virtue rather than a ‘natural’ one, something imparted by God, rather than something we attain by a muscular effort. So when we feel hopeless, it seems to me, all that we can do is to create the conditions in which God can give us his gift. For me, openness to God never seems more possible than when I am walking. A combination of being in wild spaces, knowing that I am part of the creation and the rhythm of walking, putting one foot in front of the other strips away what distracts me like so much dross. At the start of this Jubilee Year Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to consider undertaking a pilgrimage. For me there is something special about making a pilgrimage on foot but for some people that will not be possible. However, the intentional following of God to a place of prayer is something which is open to everyone. May our encounters with him on the way give us hope and allow us to bring hope to others. Joe Northam is a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Gregory the Great, Bearwood, Birmingham. This blog was first published on the website of the Archdiocese of Birmingham . In the Archdiocese of Birmingham the Pilgrimage will include visits to St Joseph, Malvern; St George, Worcester; St Peter, Bromsgrove; St Mary, Harborne; Holy Trinity, Sutton Coldfield; Holy Cross, Lichfield and SS Mary & Modwen, Burton on Trent (between Thursday 4 and Thursday 11 September). Please pray for all those taking part.

Join the Pilgrimage of Hope final celebrations in Nottingham!

By Phil McCarthy • August 20, 2025

Join the Welcoming Liturgy and concluding Solemn Mass Whether you walk or not, come to the Cathedral on 13th September and enjoy a fitting celebration of the Jubilee Year. Meet pilgrims who arrive throughout the afternoon from 3.00 p.m. The Cathedral will be hosting Heritage Open Days with tours, a mini-pilgrimage of the building, and CAFOD’s Jubilee Icon on display. At 5.00 p.m. join Bishop Patrick in a welcoming liturgy to give thanks for the safe arrival of those who have travelled far. Having spent two weeks walking from different corners England and Wales, the four groups of pilgrims will have completed their ‘Sign of the Cross’ over the country. The Pilgrimage will culminate at 11.15 a.m. on Sunday 14 September with Solemn Mass in the Cathedral for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Refreshments are available afterwards in the Cathedral Hall. All are welcome. The Welcoming Liturgy and concluding Mass will be livestreamed here .

A Self-Guided Pilgrimage through Birmingham City Centre

By Emily Pugh • August 15, 2025

Go into the heart of Birmingham on a reflective journey created by Father Hudson’s Caritas!

Join the Pilgrimage of Hope!

By Phil McCarthy • August 4, 2025

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 London, and will bless our nations with a Sign of the Cross and with the Gospels. A small group of 'perpetual pilgrims' will walk the full distance of each Way, and day pilgrims can register to join for stages. NB Day pilgrim registration will close on 21st August 2025. Watch the short video below to find out more.

Walking Through Scripture: A Resource for Pilgrims Today

By Fleur Dorrell • August 1, 2025

'Walking through Scripture' is a free and creative new resource by Fleur Dorrell.

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 (Shorter) Day!

By Phil McCarthy • July 20, 2025

Registration for Day Pilgrims is open and on some days there are 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.