Royal Saxon Way

The Royal Saxon Way, 35 miles, 3-5 days

There are many themed walking routes across the country that have been developed to help people to explore parts of the country that are noted for particular things, both natural and historical.  

Working with the EU-funded Green Pilgrimage project, and with the Kent Downs National Landscape (formerly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - AONB) who managed the project locally for Kent County Council, the Lyminge Parish Council created The Royal Saxon Way.  This allows you to travel from coast to coast across the ridge of the North Downs, experiencing dramatically different landscape as you do so.  

The history of the area is equally rich.  The route links together 24 historic churches, including 16 active parish churches, many of which are associated with queens and princesses of the Early Medieval period.  

The aim of the route is to put you in mind of the powerful women who shaped the Kingdom of Kent in the early centuries of Christianity, in the 7th and 8th Centuries AD.

Uniquely in Britain, you can encounter shrines with relics of the original Anglo-Saxon princess saints at both ends of the route, and in Lyminge, there is a site where two Anglo-Saxon royal women were venerated.  For this reason, the route is called the “Royal Saxon Way“. The route is available on OS Maps for download as a GPX file if you are a subscriber.  

The Royal Saxon Way was created as part of a four year long project called Pathways to the Past: Exploring the legacy of Ethelburga, which was funded principally by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.  

The route was formally launched on 29 August to 1 September 2019 in an inaugural walk from Folkestone to Minster, led by the Archdeacon of Ashford.  

You can download A Secular Pilgrimage and share one couple’s very personal experience of walking the whole route.

If you enjoy the Royal Saxon Way, why not explore The Royal Kentish Camino?  You can also create your own circular walk of just over 16 miles (26km) by combining the Lyminge to Folkestone sections of both the Royal Kentish Camino and the Royal Saxon Way, which follow different routes between Folkestone and Lyminge.

We are suggesting that the two routes above plus the Royal Kentish Camino can be walked in sequence to create a single pilgrimage route in East Kent of 97 miles.  

This can start at Minster-in-Sheppey, follow the Shepherd's Isle Camino in reverse to St Martin's Canterbury, where the Royal Kentish Camino starts, then follow this to Folkestone, and then follow the Royal Saxon Way to Minster-in-Thanet.  

The only part of this route that is duplicated is the roughly 10 miles between Patrixbourne at the north end of the Elham Valley and Lyminge at the south end.  

Together, this pilgrimage of the combined three routes links together the principal foundations of the 6^th, 7^th and early 8^th Centuries by women of the Kentish royal family:

• Bertha at Canterbury
• Ethelburga at Lyminge
• Eanswythe at Folkestone
• Aebbe, Mildrith and Eadburg at Minster-in-Thanet, and
• Seaxburh at Minster-in-Sheppey.  

Directions using public transport

We have created a public transport map, which you can download as a pdf or view below, to help you plan your walk along the route in sections.  We hope this will assist you to cover the route over a number of days, facilitating return to your start point each day.

You can also download the Routecard as a pdf.

Further information about these routes can be accessed on the website of Lyminge Parish Council.