Liverpool Cathedral Pilgrimage in a Day

Liverpool Cathedral Pilgrimage in a Day – 7 miles, 1 day

Linear route

From Robin Hood’s Stone

Google Map Burgundy Line on the map below

This pilgrimage is a journey from the most ancient to the most modern marks of faith in the landscape, taking in some of Liverpool’s surprising Neolithic monuments, a holy well and finally the city’s two cathedrals, Roman Catholic and Anglican standing as close neighbours in more ways than one.

The walk starts at Robin Hood’s Stone, a Bronze Age monolith carved with mysterious circular cup and ring marks rather incongruously sited in a suburban street, before moving to a related Neolithic complex called the Calder Stones, remains of a burial chamber now preserved in a greenhouse.

A few steps away stands the magnificent Allerton Oak, named English Tree of the Year in 2019 in deference to its 1,000-year history.

Moving westwards towards the centre, pilgrims can pause to reflect on the remains of Monk’s Well, a holy source once exploited as a source of income by its medieval owners, whose Latin inscription warns that a devil at the bottom of the water needs placating with a donation.

Finally the pilgrimage joins up the city’s two cathedrals, famously connected by the aptly named Hope Street in a pleasing echo of their ecumenical friendship, interrupted on our walk only by a brief detour to marvel at the wondrous architecture of the city’s Princes Road Synagogue.

Circular route‍

From Liverpool Lime Street station – 5 miles

Google Map Blue Line on the map below

In collaboration with the British Pilgrimage Trust, these routes were created by Nick Mayhew-Smith, co-author of ‘Britain’s Pilgrim Places‘.

Buy Cathedral Pilgrim Passport here.