Liverpool Cathedral Pilgrimage in a Day
Linear route from Robin Hood’s Stone – 7 miles. Google Map Burgundy Line. 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.
In collaboration with the British Pilgrimage Trust, these routes were created by Nick Mayhew-Smith, co-author of ‘Britain’s Pilgrim Places‘.
Click to download route/s in GPX file format for your smartphone’s map app
Instructions for using a GPX file to show you the route on your smartphone
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