British Pilgrimage Trust and pilgrimage, in the news

The British Pilgrimage Trust, and pilgrimage, in the news

2026 News

April 2026

Financial Times: Sacred pilgrimage has journeyed to commercial boom

• Forget the image of medieval piety — it’s a very modern part of the travel industry. In 2024, the global religious tourism market — including the Camino, the Hajj and other famous pilgrimage destinations such as Lourdes and the Vatican — was valued at $286.6bn, and is expected to reach $671.9bn by 2030.

BBC: Pilgrimage The Road to Holy Island celebrity pilgrims reflect on their journey and the power of the experience - "I'd do it 500 times over"

• Seven well-known personalities of different faiths and beliefs set off on a spectacular route across the wild landscapes of North East England

March 2026

National Geographic: Why Iona in the Inner Hebrides is the ultimage modern pilgrimage

The Spectator: Britain is experiencing a pilgrimage revival

BBC News: New archbishop to walk from London to Canterbury

• The new Archbishop of Canterbury will embark on a six-day pilgrimage to prepare for her installation service.

BBC News: Archbishop says six-day pilgrimage has been a joy

BBC Radio 4: Historian Alice Loxon on the Archbishop's pilgrimage

• Historian Alice Loxton on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Installation Pilgrimage for BBC Radio 4's 'PM'

The Telegraph: The new Archbishop is making pilgrimage part of the Zeitgeist

• Alice Loxton on Sarah Mullally's historic journey

The Telegraph: Pilgrimage can change your life, even if you don't believe in God

• Catherine Pepinster tells us how modern living is always getting in the way, but taking the time to think and pray can be transformational

Church Times: Archbishop Mullally begins pilgrimage to Canterbury

Reuters: Road to Canterbury

• Church of England's new head walks ancient pilgrim route.

Westminster Abbey: The enduring power of pilgrimage

• Guy Hayward is interviewed for the Westminster Abbey website on the power of pilgrimage. "Hayward is passionate about maintaining a broad definition of pilgrimage. ‘I’m against a dogmatic approach’, he explains. The journey just needs to be made with an intention that goes beyond the purely practical. Pilgrimage is a state of mind: a journey made with an openness to transformation, and an end point that is in some way meaningful to the person making the trip."

January 2026

Church Times: Pilgrimage on the British Camino

• Dixe Wills takes his pilgrim’s passport on the St James’s Way, a reopened British section of the Camino de Santiago

National Geographic: Ready to recharge? These are the best wellness experiences in the world for 2026.

• Features the North Wales Pilgrim Way

2025 News

November, 2025

The Telegraph: How a 200-mile walk healed me

• Alice Loxton revived the great English pilgrimage to prove that faith is not a prerequisite for a spiritual journey

October, 2025

Resurgence Trust: A pilgrim's progress

• Accompanying millions of fellow travellers to the Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela gave Guy Hayward a profound new perspective on life

Geography Directions: Grief pilgrimage and social prescribing: geography of healing

• What do you do and where do you go when you grieve? Enter an unexpected yet profoundly effective resource: pilgrimage walks. Author Jaeyeon Choe learns about our bereavement pilgrimages run by BPT's Dawn Champion.

Great British Life: The 30-kilometre Odyssey Trail on the Broughton Estate

• Lisa Kjellsson walks a pilgrimage from Broughton Hall up Pendle Hill.

September, 2025

The Economist: Old routes to Britain's sacred sites are getting more traffic

• The Economist covers the resurgence in British pilgrimage

The Scarborough: Whitby and Boggle Hold youth hostels unveil free social walks for 2025 YHA Festival of Walking

• Article featuring our free YHA York pilgrimage. We are also doing walks in Lewes and Canterbury.

July, 2025

Sussex World: New pilgrimage route launched

• A new pilgrimage route has been launched by Chichester Cathedral to mark its 950th anniversary. Created in partnership with the British Pilgrimage Trust, Chichester950 Way invites walkers to follow in the footsteps of history from Selsey to the heart of Chichester. The nine-mile walking route through West Sussex’s beautiful coastal and rural landscape, is inspired by the original journey made when the Cathedral was relocated from Selsey to Chichester 950 years ago, in 1075.

June, 2025

New York Times: Like Chaucer's Pilgrims, but with a sports car, by Nina Burleigh

• By foot, bike and MG, a writer undertakes a journey from Winchester to Canterbury, along a route taken since at least the 14th century.

Church Times: Notebook: Sarah Sands

• After finding her brother’s hand-drawn route after his sudden death, Sarah Sands reflects on how a journey can create meaning out of grief

The Catholic Herald: On pilgrimage with Guy Hayward

• On Pilgrimage With: Guy Hayward, pilgrim and performer, author and director of the British Pilgrimage Trust

May, 2025

Sight Magazine: 'Whit Walks' see a revival in the UK church parishes

• A Whit Walk revival is underway in church parishes across the UK. Over the centuries, these walks have been known variously as parish pilgrimages, beating the bounds, parish walks and Rogation Sunday walks. Whatever the name, these walks form a public expression of faith and community involvement taking place around Rogation Sunday, the fifth Sunday after Easter which marks the beginning of Jesus’ last days on Earth before Ascension and Pentecost.

Muddy Stilettos Pilgrimage trails across Cornwall to try for your next walk

• It’s National Walking Month and in Cornwall that isn’t just the coast path – for generations our ancestors have trodden ancient spiritual paths, crossing the Duchy from coast to coast. Get inspired to follow in their footsteps and try something different for your next walk.

Farnham Herald: Pilgrimage day could lead to progress for St Andrew's Farnham

• Dawn Champion from the British Pilgrimage Trust will talk about the history of the practice and why it’s becoming so popular and relevant today.

Church Times: Walking retreats: What draws the pilgrim?

• What if the destination is just as important as the journey, Anne Bailey asks

April, 2025

Church Times: How to plan a longer pilgrimage

• You have got your community really engaged with the concept of pilgrimage. Indeed, some people are so enthusiastic that they are talking about taking the next step and venturing further afield. They are asking you what you are planning next ... some solutions

National Geographic: 7 of the best pilgrimages in the UK

• While traditional religious practices may be on the decline, pilgrimages — meditative, multi-day hikes — are experiencing a resurgence. Explore the routes that are offering new, mindful journeys in our increasingly secular world.

March, 2025

National Geographic: 7 of the best pilgrimages in the UK

National Geographic: Why ancient pilgrimages are back in vogue in the UK

• Using the great outdoors as a tonic to the stresses of modern life has surged since covid, and pilgrimages — meditative, multi-day walks — are on the rise, with new routes emerging across the UK and beyond.

Kinfolk: On the revival of pilgrimage

• “It relates to the principles of the cosmos: You could say that the planets are making a pilgrimage around the sun, salmon are making a pilgrimage back to their place of birth.” Guy Hayward interviewed for this piece.

Daily Telegraph Travel: My late brother left us an imagined map of a Norfolk pilgrimage – now it’s a reality

• After finding her brother’s hand-drawn route after his sudden death, Sarah Sands reflects on how a journey can create meaning out of grief

January, 2025

Church Times: Travel and retreats: Walking with Magnus

• Is modern-day pilgrimage more than just a fad? Philip Martin heads off to Orkney to find out.

Kent Life: 25 walks for you to try across the county of Kent in 2025

• It’s free, it’s simple – and it’s a brilliant way to foster a sense of wellbeing. We’re so fortunate to have many gorgeous walks open to us in Kent. Here are 25 strolls, hikes and events, as recommended by keen Kent walkers, so you can start the new year with a spring in your step!

iNews: The UK's best pilgrimage walks, from pagan wonders to Chaucerian landscapes

• Pilgrimage paths wind across the UK, with some newly mapped routes giving hikers a different perspective on the country. Guy Hayward, from the trust, says: “Many go on pilgrimage because they have come to a crossroads in their life, and want the mood-boosting benefits.”

The Guardian: Pembrokeshire's wild north by train, bus and bike

• Overshadowed by St Davids and Tenby, the Welsh seaside town of Fishguard makes a great off-season base for coastal and country exploration

2024 News

December, 2024

History Today: The pilgrim as historian

• "Pilgrimage is not meant to be easy, but it remains a popular pursuit – even for non-believers."

The Telegraph: My pilgrimage across the mountains to the most beautiful church in Wales, by Oli Smith

• Oli followed St Melangell, stayed in a Shepherd's Hut offered at cost to pilgrims, and shared his experiences. "...as I headed back up the lane back into the noise of 21st-century life, I thought of all the pilgrims who came to St Melangell’s valley. Perhaps they hoped that, in that place of profound silence, the saint could not help but hear their prayers."

October, 2024

The Guardian: Nature is free, and the best kind of medicine. Is this the perfect walk for improving mental health?, by Helen Thomson

• Research suggests that our minds benefit from our encounters with aspects of nature – be it cold water and calming scents, or vivid colours and certain types of landscape

September, 2024

The Guardian: Walking the Celtic Camino: new coast path links sacred sites in Ireland and Wales

• Ancient chapels, neolithic sites, vast beaches and live music are among the highlights of a new pilgrimage route from Wexford to St Davids

The Daily Telegraph: I went on a 100-mile English pilgrimage for a king I’d barely heard of

• The 100-mile Athelstan Pilgrim Way connects 36 churches in some of the quietest corners of the Cotswolds

BBC Radio Somerset: Easter Feature interview with Guy Hayward, with Paris Troy

• What is a pilgrimage? Is it religious? How can it help us?

July, 2024

The Church Times: Pilgrimage exhibiition opens in Salisbury Museum

• This provinical museum has reopened after a £5.1m refurbishment with a central display dedicated to pilgrimage

April, 2024

The Times: Six modern pilgrimages around Britain to soothe the soul, by Gail Simmons

• You don’t need to hold religious beliefs to find great joy in walking Kent’s recently rediscovered Old Way.

March, 2024

The Telegraph: The British art of hospitality is not dead. Trust me, I'm a pilgrim, by Guy Hayward

• A passionate pilgrim recalls unexpected acts of kindness, eccentric villagers and ‘dream incubation’ in medieval churches
• Also found in The Telegraph newspaper here.

March 29, 2024

The Guardian: 10 walks through history: ancient UK pathways in stunning countryside, by Phoebe Smith

• From the John Bunyan trail to Silbury Hill, these short “pilgrimages” offer a chance to soak up myths and legends

The Guardian: Cornwall's very own Camino: walking the St Michael's Way, by Phoebe Smith

• You don’t need to do a multi-day hike to benefit from the healing powers of pilgrimage – this 14-mile route in Cornwall proves just as magical

iNews: How to do a Camino-style pilgrimage on a £50 budget, by Victoria Trott

• Pilgrimages are becoming more popular and there are alternatives for those who don't have the time or money for the famous route

The Spectator: The art of walking, by Guy Hayward

• Stone bothies, forest brooks, holy places and wild water: the joys of making pilgrimage

December 16, 2023

2023 News

Idler Magazine: Coronation Streets (PDF), by Guy Hayward

• A short written account of what to expect from the Coronation Pilgrimage in London

December, 2023

Wander Woman Podcast: I, Pilgrim, by Phoebe Smith

• Want to escape the chaos of the festive season? Join Phoebe Smith as she undertakes a micro-pilgrimage in Sussex, England, on the recently discovered Old Way

December 5, 2023

Netflix: Mysteries of the Faith

• The British Pilgrimage Trust's Guy Hayward interview for this Netflix series, broadcast on All Saints Day, a day near the Day of the Dead

November 1, 2023

Idler Magazine: Coronation Streets, by Guy Hayward

• In the first instalment of his new column, Guy Hayward takes you through the streets of London. Follow the footsteps of monarchs down the centuries
  with the Coronation Pilgrimage, a five-mile route through the capital

November/December 2023

BBC Radio 4: Interview with British Pilgrimage Trust's team to launch the series Pilgrimage

• 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.

April 18, 2023

2022 News

BBC2: Pilgrimage: Road to the Scottish Isles

• Seven celebrities of differing faiths and beliefs set out in search of St Columba, an Irish monk born 1,500 years ago who helped spread Christianity from Ireland to Scotland.
• A heartfelt exploration within a group of people discovering what pilgrimage can do to dissolve tribal barriers.

April 12, 2022

Financial Times: Five extraordinary walking holidays, by Maria Shollenbarger

• Features The British Pilgrimage Trust, Guy Hayward, Dawn Champion and the route championed by the BPT, The Old Way from Southampton to Canterbury

February 13, 2022

2021 News

Schools Pilgrimage Podcast: Guy Hayward interviews Fr Graeme Rowlands, Canon of St Paul's Cathedral

• Fr Graeme Rowlands talks 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, Westminster Abbey, Walsingham and St Albans Cathedral

December 26, 2021

The Guardian: Silent hike, holy hike, a thoughtful country walk in Sussex to ease the soul, by Phoebe Smith

• As Christmas approaches, a new micro-pilgrimage is offered for those wanting to walk in complete silence.

December 22, 2021

BBC1 Sunday Morning Live: Pilgrimage and The Old Way (video)

• Guy Hayward is interviewed for BBC1's Sunday Morning Live, a wellbeing, ethics and multi-faith programme, speaking about pilgrimage in general, and the Old Way to Canterbury in particular.

November 15, 2021

Sacred Steps: Rediscovering our pilgrimage tradition (video)

• Guy Hayward is interviewed on pilgrimage routes and the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of walking these ancient paths

August 18, 2021

Discover Cathedrals: Launch of pilgrim pioneers

• Launch of a program to ask visitors on foot to test walk the routes leading to every one of our Cathedrals

August 13, 2021

The Telegraph: 20 great summer outings to tempt you Eastwards (PDF)

• St Peter's Way and The British Pilgrimage Trust is featured in this article of activities to do in the summer

August 2021

BBC Midlands Today News: Ley Lines 100th Anniversary Pilgrimages (video)

• BBC Midlands Today TV feature on BPT's guided pilgrimage on 30 June 2021 from Arthur's Stone to Dore Abbey along the River Dore, 100 years to the day after Alfred Watkins had his revelation about ley lines in the Herefordshire landscape. In association with Visit Herefordshire.

July 8, 2021

The Guardian: Midsummer mystery on a walk in Herefordshire's Twin Valleys, by Kevin Rushby

• A new long-distance trail links ley lines, neolithic stones aligned for today’s summer solstice, churches and delectable views to the Black Mountain

June 21, 2021

BBC2: Songs of Praise on Durham Pilgrimage

• The Rev Canon Kate Bottley heads off to the north east of England to join pilgrims on one of six walking routes to Durham Cathedral and to hear about the many ways the experience can enrich people’s lives.

June 13, 2021

The Guardian: A gap year for the grounded: 15 ideas for young British travellers, by Phoebe Smith

• The British Pilgrimage Trust and The Old Way is featured in this article to give young people ideas for fun and exciting trips

June 12 2021

The Catholic Herald: A martyr for all seasons (PDF), by Guy Hayward

• Guy Hayward reviews the exhibition 'Thomas Becket: Murder and the Making of a Saint' at the British Museum

May 25, 2021

Worcester News: Worcestershire's most 'instagrammable' walking routes, by Sarah McGee

• Article includes a feature on Worcester Cathedral Pilgrimage in a Day on the British Pilgrimage Trust's website

May 27, 2021

National Geographic Traveller: Journeys with a purpose (PDF), by Kerry Walker

• Already increasingly popular with solo and non-religious travellers, pilgrim routes offer a chance to find inner peace and reconnect with the world post-Covid

April, 2021

Kent Life Magazine: New life for old ways (PDF), by Jane Maltby

• British Pilgrimage Trust's Dawn Champion is profiled for this article about The Old Way

April 2021

Magnifissance: Bringing back the pilgrimage, Courtney John and Jared Pearman. Chinese text by Cherry Chen

• Sacred routes in Europe and around the world are on the rebound thanks to a new breed of devotees
• Article interviews British Pilgrimage Trust's Dr Guy Hayward

2021

The Telegraph: The rise of 'churchwalking': how Covid prompted a mini pilgrimage boom, by Peter Stanford

• With everywhere shut – in particular, the pubs – the countryside church has become the new go-to destination for weekend ramblers

April 30, 2021

The Daily Mail: Walk away your worries, by Dominic Midgley

• Why the Easter weekend is the perfect time to start planning a holy hike — and any of these enlightened trails might just change your life
• The article goes on to describe the Camino, The Jesus Trail, and St Cuthbert's Way

April 3, 2021

The Guardian View: On 'post-Christian' Britain: a spiritual enigma, Opinion, Religion

• The majority of us do not belong to any religion. But for most, atheism is not an option either

March 28, 2021

The Guardian: Secular pilgrims: why ancient trails still pack a spiritual punch, by Peter Stanford

• Where kings and abbots walked, tourists now follow. Are these increasingly popular trips just another holiday or are we getting more religious?

March 28, 2021

iNews: The Northern Saints Trails offer a chance for reflective hiking challenge after lockdown, by David Atkinson

• The six long-distance walking trails trace ancient pilgrimage routes with Durham as a visitor hub
• Take a look at the Northern Saints trails on this site

March 9, 2021

Graduate Theological: The 28th annual reading of the sacred texts, by Kathryn Barush

• Pro Kate Barush covers in this lecture the use of song as a relic on pilgrimage, which she experienced with The British Pilgrimage Trust

March 11, 2021

School House Magazine: Walking with intent, by Guy Hayward

• Dr Guy Hayward opens the door to the magic on your child's doorstep as he guides us through some of the best pilgrimage routes in the UK

Spring / Summer 2021

Religion News Service: Intention can turn any lockdown walk into pilgrimage, urges British Pilgrimage Trust, by Emily McFarlan Miller

• Pilgrimage is about traveling, about being a stranger in a strange land, according to the director of the British Pilgrimage Trust. The pandemic flips that on its head.

March 9, 2021

The Independent: An unholy pilgrimage on the Whitby Way, by Daniel Stables

• You don't have to be a believer to have a transcendent experience on this Yorkshire walking route

March 4, 2021

SWLondoner: Why our new pastime of lockdown walking should be a habit for life, by Grace Duncan

• Guy Hayward is interviewed for this article about the value of walking

February 15, 2021

The Guardian: How intention turns a walk into a pilgrimage, plus five British pilgrim trails, by Guy Hayward

• A feature piece focused on The British Pilgrimage Trust, the book Pilgrim Places, and the benefits of structuring a walk around a purpose that is 'determined by your heart'.'

January 13, 2021

iNews: Pilgrimages to plan for 2021: the long-distance hikes that will set you in the right direction, by Lucy Gillmore

• The modern pilgrimage is the original walking holiday. It’s also good for your physical and mental health - enlightenment optional

January 4, 2021

2020 News

The Guardian: How 2020 became the year of the walker, by Alan Franks

• First we could only go out for an hour a day, so relished that escape. As the year wore on, walking came to represent life, liberty and health, both physical and mental`

December 18, 2020

Financial Times: Pilgrim for the day in the Malvern Hills, by Pamela Goodman

• Interest in pilgrimages is soaring — even among the non-religious. In this article, the author walks with Guy Hayward of the British Pilgrimage Trust

December 16, 2020

BBC Travel: A new love for medieval-style travel, by Len Williams

• Pilgrimages are back in fashion. But given that we live in a largely secular society, why do people choose to still choose to follow these ancient routes?
• 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’.

November 26, 2020

The Guardian: In troubled times, a ritual walk can clear the mind and soothe the soul, by Catherine Fairweather

• A pilgrimage is healing because it encourages you to savour the moment. It satisfies our hankering for “slow” over instant gratification, and offers an alternative, drug-free route to emotional and physical wellbeing.

October 31, 2020

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