1. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, Wrexham to Hope Parish Church – 6.8 miles    

After leaving Wrexham the route is through quiet countryside, mainly following the Wat’s Dyke Way. There is a route diversion which includes a short stretch beside a busy road, but there is pavement. Wrexham Cathedral can be reached by foot from Wrexham railway and bus stations. There are plenty of pubs, cafés, restaurants and some accommodation in Wrexham. There are pubs at Cefn-y-Bedd, Caergwrle and Hope and a small supermarket at Hope. There are railway stations at Cefn-y-Bedd and Caergwrle and Hope. There is a bus from Buckley to Wrexham passing through the 3 villages on the route. 

2. Hope Parish Church to the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley – 4.9 miles 

The route is along quiet lanes and paths through farmland. There are cafés, shops and pubs in Buckley. There is a railway station at Penyffordd and buses from Buckley to Mold and Wrexham. There are bus stops by the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. 

3. The Church of our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley to the A55 North Wales Expressway – 7.3 miles 

The route is urban until New Brighton, then over gently rolling farmland. There is a hotel at New Brighton and a pub at Sychdyn. 

4. The A55 North Wales Expressway to the National Shrine of St Winefride, Holywell – 6.1 miles 

After some quiet lanes the route follows a spectacular section of Wat’s Dyke, then across farmland to reach Holywell. There are no facilities enroute. In Holywell there are cafés, pubs and large supermarkets. The Bridgettine Sisters runs St Winefride’s Guest House, which is located between the Shrine and central Holywell. There are buses from Holywell to the railway station at Flint and to and from Basingwerk Abbey. 

Public transport links 

Trains: 

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

Coaches: 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

Buses:  

https://www.traveline.info/ 

https://www.traveline.cymru/

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 Our Lady of Sorrows, Wrexham 

From 1824 Mass was celebrated at Wrexham in a house in Market Street and later in Cutler’s Entry. In 1828 a chapel was built in King Street at the expense of Richard Thompson, a member of an English family of ironmasters who had moved from Wigan to help develop the coal and iron industries. When the congregation became too large for the chapel, Thompson provided funds for the building of the present church. E. W. Pugin was appointed as architect for the church and presbytery in 1857 at the age of 23, making it one of his earliest commissions. In 1898 the Diocese of Menevia was created with Wrexham as the episcopal seat, and Our Lady of Sorrows was consecrated as pro-cathedral in 1907. In 1957 a northwest porch and sacristies were added, and further alterations and additions followed in 1966. The tower has been rebuilt twice due to mining subsidence. Since 1987 the building has been the Cathedral of the Diocese of Wrexham. It houses the shrine of St Richard Gwynn, who was executed for his faith on 15 October 1584 and is one of Forty Martyrs of England and Wales canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970. 

The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley

Land for the first Catholic church at Buckley was acquired in the early 1890s. The church opened in 1893 and was initially served by clergy from Mold. The presbytery was built by Fr Pochard, a Frenchman, who was parish priest from 1906 to 1929. Following the expansion of Buckley in the 1960s & 70s, the church became too small, and a new site was found on Jubilee Road. Building started in January 1999 and the church opened early the following year. The old church now serves as a centre for Bible Christians. The church provides a dignified setting for the liturgy and has a spacious parish hall.    

The Church of St Winefride, Holywell

For a long time the care of the shrine and parish were shared by the Jesuits and the secular clergy and services were held in two inns that stood on what became the site of the church. In 1808 a chapel was opened at Ye Olde Star Inn, as it was then known. This was remodelled in 1832-33 to serve as a presbytery when the present neo-classical church was built. In 1909 the building was enlarged and re-orientated through 180° so that the entrance was from Well St. The Lady Chapel, baptistery and shrine were added in 1911. 

The National Shrine of St Winefride, Holywell 

St Winefride’s Well is believed to be the only British shrine that has a history of uninterrupted pilgrimage from the Middle Ages, through the period of Catholic persecution, to the present day. St Winefride was a C7 Christian martyr who, according to legend, was decapitated by a lustful prince and then miraculously restored to life. The well is said to have sprung up where her head hit the ground. The first reference to Holywell as a place of pilgrimage is 1115. The well was granted to the Benedictine monks of Basingwerk Abbey in 1246, who held it until the suppression of the monasteries. Construction of the crypt is attributed to Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII. After the Reformation several attempts were made by the authorities to prevent Catholic pilgrimage to the well, but devotions continued. From the C18 the well attracted secular visitors because of the belief that the well-water had natural healing properties due to its mineral content. Two bathhouses were built in 1869. In 1917, the well dried up because of local mining operations and water had to be diverted from a new underground source. In 2023 Holywell was accorded the status of a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales. 

Basingwerk Abbey, Holywell 

The abbey was part of a network of Cistercian settlements which once dotted Wales. It was founded in 1131 and extensively remodelled in the C13. This abbey came to hold land in Derbyshire. After the suppression of the monasteries in 1536 the abbey’s assets were plundered and sold and the site abandoned. Today the ruins are managed by Cadw – the national Welsh heritage agency. The oldest part of the abbey is the C12 chapter house, with remains of the benches where monks sat for daily readings. The most impressive surviving room is the monks’ dining hall. Basingwerk Abbey is the starting point for the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way that stretches along the Llŷn Peninsula to Bardsey Island, the ‘Island of 20,000 Saints’. 

Prayer of St. Winefride 

O blessed Winefride, 

pure virgin and glorious martyr,

so especially chosen, so divinely graced

and so wonderfully restored from death to life!

Hope of all that fly unto you

with full confidence and humility!

We, though, unworthy, yet your devoted pilgrims, 

make our petitions to you.

Sanctuary of piety, look upon us with patient eyes;

receive our prayers, accept our offerings,

and present our supplications at the throne of mercy,

that through thy powerful intercessions

God may be pleased to bless our pilgrimage,

and to grant our requests and desires;

through Christ our Lord.

Amen.