What is Pilgrimage? 

Pilgrimage is a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply for the traveller

Phil Cousineau

A pilgrimage is a journey on foot to a place of sacred or special significance.  Pilgrimage is a walk with the purpose of personal transformation.  This might be to gain a spiritual experience, to encounter God.  It might be for the purpose of gaining fresh insight into one's own life, to solve a problem or to find new direction and meaning.  It might be for the purpose of greater wellbeing of soul and mind. 

People have walked on pilgrimages since records began.  Every year more than 350,000 pilgrims arrive in Santiago de Compostela in North Western Spain and more than 250,000 on the island of Iona in Scotland.  More and more people across the world are engaging in pilgrimage walking each year and new pilgrimage routes are being created and old ones re-energised.  It is increasingly recognised that walking is good for our health.  Walking for a spiritual or transformational purpose can bring benefits which last a lifetime. 

The UK has many places of pilgrimage, such as ancient and mysterious sites from before recorded history, for example Stonehenge and Avebury.  Holy wells and springs, hilltops and mountains have drawn people to ponder and pray for centuries.  We have a rich Christian heritage with places associated with Saints or 'thin places' which have been prayed in for generations: our ancient churches, abbeys and cathedrals. 

Each new generation creates and discovers fresh centres for pilgrimage, such as the Angel of the North Sculpture in North East England.   Each of us will have locations which carry personal significance because of events which happened there or because we are inspired by them and drawn to return frequently: our own centres of pilgrimage.