Sacred Walks: Pilgrimage in Britain Surges in Popularity

You don’t have to be Christian to go on a pilgrimage. Today’s pilgrims cite wellbeing, nature connection and cultural heritage as their motivations, alongside spiritual practice and religious observance, according to The British Pilgrimage Trust. Many Pagans go on pilgrimage, as Thea Prothero explained in her Pagan Portals book on the topic.

The British Pilgrimage Trust has published a list of the most-downloaded pilgrimage routes across England, Wales and Scotland. The charity’s 2025 route data shows strong demand for ancient long-distance paths and short, accessible micro-pilgrimages across Britain. Since 2014, the charity has built the largest online repository of British pilgrimage routes and places.

Pilgrimage is an ancient practice, but its renewed appeal today reflects contemporary pressures such as the pace of modern life and constant connectivity. Setting out on foot along routes shaped by centuries of use offers a deliberate contrast, creating space for reflection and attentiveness to landscape and history.

For many people, pilgrimage is often associated with routes such as the Camino de Santiago and other global traditions. The Trust’s latest data, however, points to a growing rediscovery of Britain’s own ancient pilgrimage routes, which offer deep historical and spiritual significance without the need to travel overseas.

“Historically, pilgrimage has often resurfaced at moments of social change,” says Guy Hayward, co-founder of the British Pilgrimage Trust. 

“What feels different now is that people are rediscovering pilgrimage not only as a religious practice, but also as a shared human one. It has become a way of walking with intention and care, whatever your beliefs. Britain’s churches and sacred spaces have long offered hospitality to pilgrims, and many remain open places where anyone can pause and reflect. Through networks like our charity’s Sanctuary Network, pilgrims can now sleep in churches along the way.”

Earlier YouGov research commissioned by the charity in 2025 helps explain this renewed interest. It found that while curiosity about pilgrimage is high, the biggest barrier remains the perception that pilgrimage is only for the religious. People also cited concerns about cost, time constraints and logistical complexity. In practice, many are surprised to discover that a meaningful pilgrimage can be undertaken in a single day, with minimal equipment and little or no expense.

Since its founding in 2014, the British Pilgrimage Trust has met, spoken with and guided thousands of pilgrims. In its own surveys, people most commonly cite emotional and mental wellbeing, connection with nature, spiritual curiosity, and Britain’s rich cultural heritage as their motivations. These lived experiences continue to shape the Trust’s work.

For many, the appeal of pilgrimage lies not simply in the act of walking, but in walking towards something meaningful. Across Britain, people continue to journey to places long held as significant, including holy wells and springs, ancient trees, caves and hilltops, chalk figures, boundary stones, and churches, abbeys and cathedrals. These are places shaped by people over centuries.

At a time when many people feel divided from one another, pilgrimage can offer something quietly radical: common ground. By walking alongside others, sometimes alone, sometimes in silence and sometimes in conversation, people often find it easier to listen and connect.

Britain’s most popular pilgrimage routes in 2025

To understand which pilgrimage routes people are actively considering, the Trust analysed route downloads from its website across England, Wales and Scotland. The analysis shows strong interest across a wide range of pilgrimage lengths, from short, single-day pilgrimages to longer routes walked over several days or weeks.

Across the three nations, the most-downloaded routes include shorter pilgrimages such as St Michael’s Way in Cornwall, alongside longer journeys including St James’ Way, the Pilgrims’ Way to Canterbury, the revived Old Way, the North Wales Pilgrims’ Way, and St Columba’s Way in Scotland.

While these routes are historically rooted in religious practice, they are walked today for many reasons. For many people, their significance lies not only in belief but also in what they carry as cultural inheritance, offering a way to move through landscape with intention.

Other previous related posts

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/12/author-interview-festive-reads.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/06/book-review-pilgrimage-in-japan-by-joan.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/02/ley-line-pilgrimage-to-brides-well.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/01/im-doing-pilgrimage-to-raise-money-for.html

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Source: http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/01/sacred-walks-pilgrimage-in-britain.html