The Leeds Pilgrim Way is Ready to Walk!

Phil McCarthy • March 8, 2023

The St Wilfrid's Way

The St Wilfrid’s Way was established in 2016 by Stephen Habron and has been walked by a Diocesan group every year since on the weekend closest to the feast of St Wilfrid. It follows old paths, public bridleways and footpaths, transformed railway lines, riverside walks, and green spaces in urban areas. It is relatively flat. 


St Wilfrid became Bishop of Ripon in 658 and the Cathedral was founded in 672. As a young man he travelled to Rome and became an important advocate for the Roman tradition at the Synod of Whitby. He founded monasteries, built churches and improved the liturgy. The Ripon Cathedral Crypt is the only part of St. Wilfrid’s original Saxon church to have survived intact. This makes it one of England’s oldest Church buildings still in use. St Wilfrid was enshrined in Ripon in 710.


Resources for the inner and outer journeys as well as walking guidance and the GPX file are available from the Leeds page of this website.



LEEDS PILGRIM WAY
By Anita Tozzi September 18, 2025
This reflection on the St John's Way was given by Anita Tozzi, a perpetual pilgrim, at the Cathedral of St Barnabas on 13th September 2025.
By Terence Cavanagh September 18, 2025
This reflection on the St Luke's Way was given by Terence Cavanagh, a perpetual pilgrim, at the Cathedral of St Barnabas on 13th September 2025.
By Rowan Morton-Gledhill September 18, 2025
The St Mark's Way was the northern Way of the Pilgrimage of Hope. During the pilgrimage Rowan Morton-Gledhill wrote a blog.
By Joe Northam September 17, 2025
Joe Northam reflects that there is something frightening about getting lost, but also an appeal about being far off the beaten track yet finding a way.
By Anna Larkin September 17, 2025
This reflection on the St Mark's Way was given by Anna Larkin, a perpetual pilgrim, at the Cathedral of St Barnabas on 13th September 2025.
By Joe Northam September 17, 2025
Joe Northam decribes her experience of the first six days walking along the St Matthew's Way, the western Pilgrimage of Hope route to Nottingham.
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By Phil McCarthy September 17, 2025
In this special edition of the All Knds of Catholic podcast Theresa Alessandro speaks with pilgrims walking the Pilgrimage of Hope.
By Eddie Gilmore September 17, 2025
They say that an army marches on its stomach. Eddie Gilmore thinks the same must be true of pilgrims!
Mario Mancini, an Italian Pilgrim to England came to Merseyside in search of the 'Apostle to England
By Mario Mancini September 16, 2025
Mario Mancini, an Italian Pilgrim to England, came to Merseyside in search of the 'Apostle to England'!
By 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).