All posts by: Guy Hayward

BBC Radio 4 ‘PM’ interview with BPT people to launch BBC2 TV series ‘Pilgrimage: the Road through Portugal’


To launch the BBC2 TV series “Pilgrimage: the Road through Portugal“, BBC Radio 4 PM’s Anita Anand interviewed British Pilgrimage Trust patrons Emma Bridgewater and Fiona Reynolds, and its director, Guy Hayward. They discussed how modern pilgrimage includes atheists, is about opening your mind, and doesn’t need to be religious. Emma Bridgewater happened to be […]

Updated: Old Way Online Guide


In addition to making our online resources free in general, we’ve also improved the Old Way Online Guide in particular, which has been overhauled for the first time since its launch two years ago! Pilgrims will now find their Old Way journeys are easier to plan, adaptable to their pace and preferences, putting the pilgrim […]

Making our online resources free to all pilgrims


We are a charity, and so our goal must be to make pilgrimage available for as many people as possible. Since August 2020 our Old Way Online Guide and Old Way Sanctuaries had only been available to paying subscribers. And from May this year, the same ‘paywall’ had also existed for our other Sanctuary routes […]

Press for Britain’s Sanctuary Network


Here is where we will collate any publicity about the launch of the Sanctuary Network. First up, it’s the Church Times, perhaps the core publication of potential Sanctuary providers, as it is read by local rural community members and churchwardens, vicars etc, and has a readership of 90,000 per week in print and online. Let’s […]

Launch of Britain’s Sanctuary Network


We are excited to announce the launch of Britain’s Sanctuary Network, an AirBnB-style app functionality attached to the pilgrimage routes on our website that promotes low-cost accommodation options in churches, church halls, village halls and, in the future, barns and bothies. Currently, there are three routes in Britain served by Sanctuaries – Old Way to Canterbury; Golden […]

Meet Chaucer’s Pilgrims


As you go on your contemporary pilgrimages, have a thought for your predecessors. And amongst them, the most famous of them all, Chaucer’s pilgrims! You can now see what they really looked like, because the original woodcut depictions of Chaucer’s Pilgrims published in 1483 by England’s first printer, William Caxton (whose 600th birthday is this […]

BBC TV series “Pilgrimage: Road to the Scottish Isles” on iPlayer now


Have you watched BBC Two’s latest reality TV series “Pilgrimage: Road to the Scottish Isles”? All three episodes are currently available on iPlayer. The merry band of pilgrims includes thoughtful ‘Pagan’ Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, wise Christian instagram influencer Scarlet Moffat, kind Sikh cricketer Monty Panesar, serious Muslim comedian Shazia Mirza, loving Jewish actress Louisa Clein and […]

The Walter Hilton Pilgrimage Day


THE WALTER HILTON PILGRIMAGE DAY From Thurgarton Priory to Southwell Minster Saturday March 26 Join the group or start when you like Rupert Sheldrake, one of our patrons, whose roots are in Nottinghamshire, plans to go on this one-day pilgrimage, and if you live nearby, he invites you to join him. It’s about five miles. Whether you […]

BPT chosen by Financial Times’ How to Spend It


Thanks Financial Times and their ‘How To Spend It’ team for announcing us as one of ‘five extraordinary walking holidays’ across the world. “Lately, the pilgrimage – those Celtic and early-Christian walking routes-as-rituals of yore, often evolved along ancient pagan pathways – has been experiencing a revival in popularity: slow journeys that take in wilderness, sacred sites, […]

Walking Improves Your Thinking


Walking increases creativity, both while you’re doing it (as in the scientific study below) or in the long-term, because your brain’s creativity improves from walking over time. All the research in the article linked below makes us think of the ‘set your intention’ aspect of how we distinguish a pilgrimage from a walk, and suggests […]

School Pilgrimage Podcast with Fr Graeme Rowlands


BPT’s Guy Hayward speaks with Fr Graeme Rowlands – Priest, Chairman of School Governors, Guardian of the Shrine of Walsingham, Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral – about his work in taking school children from different cultural backgrounds from the Kentish Town area of London on pilgrimage to St Paul’s Cathedral (Year 3), Westminster Abbey (Year […]

A Muslim on a British Pilgrimage


Khalil Martin, a muslim, reflects on the pilgrim places and practices he experienced on a BPT day pilgrimage in Winchester Let’s leave aside for a moment the question why a Muslim is participating in a pilgrimage to predominantly Christian sites in and around Winchester and focus on what aspects had meaning and relevance from a […]

The Pilgrimage of a Lifetime – Peter Stanford


By Peter Stanford The ways in which we use the word pilgrimage have changed so much during my lifetime.  And yet, I realise increasingly, the core of what it articulates remains the same. It began for me at the age of 17. I was the latest in a long line at my Catholic boys’ school […]

BPT in National Geographic Traveller


Kerry Christiani (@kerryawalker) has written a brilliant article on pilgrimages around the world with a particular focus on British pilgrimage. This must have been a lot of work so we are very grateful to her and the National Geographic Traveller. If you like the sound of the work we do and want to support us, […]

BPT in Press Mar/Apr 2021


Kent Life feature on the Old Way – Jane Maltby wrote this beautiful article on the Old Way featuring the BPT’s Dawn Champion, our Old Way Project Lead. In it, you will hear about our plans for how she is making the Old Way ready for purpose. Waymarking, Sanctuary accommodation etc. It’s very exciting to […]

Old Way in Kent Life Magazine


Thank you to Kent Life Magazine and Jane Maltby for publishing this beautiful article on the Old Way featuring the BPT’s Dawn Champion, our Old Way Project Lead. In it, you will hear about our plans for how she is making the Old Way ready for purpose. Waymarking, Sanctuary accommodation etc. It’s very exciting to […]

News for BPT in Jan-Feb 2021


We’ve had several pieces of publicity over the past two months. Here’s a handy list: iNews – “Pilgrimages to plan for 2021: the long-distance hikes that will set you in the right direction” and “Steps you can take to brighten up a local walk“ Independent – “An unholy pilgrimage on the Whitby Way“ Coventry Telegraph […]

BBC News mentions BPT in “A New Love for Medieval-Style Travel”


Len Williams writes this fascinating reflection on why the ancient concept of pilgrimage works for the modern person. A rich feature combining medieval history of the Pilgrims Way to Canterbury, a global survey of other pilgrimage traditions, his own pilgrim’s experience, nature immersion, and his moment of ‘mount joy’.Article appeared in BBC News on Nov […]

Press for our new book ‘Britain’s Pilgrim Places’


Amazon Bestseller in Books Hive Top 10 Monthly Bestseller Radio 4 Interview with co-author Nick Mayhew-Smith Livestream dialogue between co-authors Nick Mayhew-Smith and Guy Hayward Saturday Guardian Travel Financial Times Telegraph The Times The Independent Country Walking Waitrose Weekend House & Garden Town & Country Catholic Herald Gasholder (London Magazine) New European

Launch of Covid-Compliant Circular Cathedral Day Pilgrim Routes


This week, the BPT and the Association of English Cathedrals (AEC) got together again, a collaboration forged for 2020 Year of Cathedrals Year of Pilgrimage, and launched new *covid-compliant circular* day pilgrim routes exploring over 27 cathedral cities and the stories that made them. Have a read of the AEC’s article, and visit our webpage showing you […]

BPT mentioned in article on ‘Radical Pilgrimage’ in Suitcase Magazine


Robbie Hodges reports in the Suitcase Magazine on the growing appeal of pilgrimages and how they can be personalised for many different purposes. Robbie interviews Guy Hayward, whom he describes as a ‘pilgrim liberal’! The main radical examples Robbie introduces are LGBTQ+ pilgrimage destinations in Brompton (Emmeline Pankhurst Grave), Rievaulx (gay icon St Aelred), Bournemouth […]

BPT in Times2 article by William Cash


Comprehensive and funny article by William Cash for Times 2 on Monday 13th January 2020, launching the cathedral pilgrimages project, mentioning the English Heritage project, and also ChoralEvensong.org. PDF embedded below, hover you cursor over the image and click the arrows to move the pages.