Medieval Heritage and Pilgrimage Walks
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Medieval Heritage and Pilgrimage Walks Cleveland Way Trail: walk the 3 miles from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire to Helmsley Castle and tread in the footsteps of medieval Pilgrims along what’s now part of the Cleveland Way Trail. Camino de Santiago/Way of St James, Spain: along with trips to the Holy Land and Rome, this is the most famous medieval pilgrimage trail of all, and the most well-travelled in medieval times, at least until the advent of Black Death. Its destination point is the spot St James is said to have been buried, in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Today Santiago is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. Read more . the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela holds a Pilgrims’ Mass every day at noon. Walk as much or as little of it as you like. Follow the famous scallop shell symbols. A popular starting point, both today and in the Middle Ages, is either Le Puy in the Massif Central, France OR the famous medieval Abbey at Cluny, near Paris. The Spanish start is from the Pyrenees, on to Roncevalles or Jaca. These routes also take in the Via Regia and/or the Camino Frances. The Portuguese way is also popular: from the Cathedrals in either Lisbon or Porto and then crossing into Falicia/Valenca. At the end of the walk you receive a stamped certifi cate, the Compostela. To achieve this you must have walked at least 100km or cycled for 200. To walk the entire route may take months. Read more . The route has inspired many TV and fi lm productions, such as Simon Reeve’s BBC2 ‘Pilgrimage’ series (2013) and The Way (2010), written and directed by Emilio Estevez, about a father completing the pilgrimage in memory of his son who died along the Way of St James. MMedievaledieval - OOnline.indbnline.indb 111111 11/28/2015/28/2015 44:06:59:06:59 PPMM 112 MEDIEVAL AFTERLIVES IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE Clarendon Way is a 24 miles of pretty villages, ancient and modern woodland, riverside and downs walks connecting the old medieval sites of Winchester and Salisbury Cathedrals. Read more . the way takes its name from Clarendon Palace, once a hunting lodge for Norman royalty. Hadrian’s Wall. This renowned cycling and walking route crosses Northern England from the Solway Firth in the west to Tynemouth in the east. The 2,000 years old path follows the ruins of the Roman wall with its forts at Housesteads, Chester and Birdeswold. It’s some 84 miles long. Though strictly speaking it’s not medieval, it has always exerted a strange imaginative power witnessed in its neomedieval events. In 2013 these ranged from a Children’s Gladiator school to a Dragon Family Fun trail in honour of St George, plus King Arthur’s Cavalry, a series of mock battles set in the time of a mythical Arthurian world. Hadrian’s Wall is a World Heritage site Mary Michael Pilgrims Way (www.marymichaelpilgrims way.org). This is a neomedieval pilgrims’ way, not an historic route but a modern one looking to connect Christian and pre Christian sites across England from Cornwall to Norfolk. The plan is to extend it as far as St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, via Brentnor, Glastonbury, Avebury with its druid stone circle, Bury St Edmunds and on to Hopton on the Norfolk Coast. Read more . Glastonbury is also a site of pagan and Druid worship, and was known as the second Rome in medieval times so compelling was it as a medieval destination point. Offa’s Dyke, Wales, all 177 glorious miles of it, goes from sea to sea. This fortifi cation, running the full length of the English-Welsh border, was built by the Anglo-Saxon King Offa who wanted it to mark the edge of his kingdom. Chepstowe Castle (the fi rst stone castle in Wales) is lovely, as is Tintern Abbey. Worth walking too for views of the Irish Sea, Snowdonia, Anglesey. Pilgrims Way is the pilgrim path from Rochester to Canterbury via the cathedral city of Winchester across the North Downs, a series of routes to the shrine of Thomas à Becket (1170). The Path is part of ancient tracks to and from Europe via Dover and other ports, and then on into Europe along the Via Francigena. In England, the main route is Winchester to Canterbury. Parts of it today are choked by traffi c but you can still access it by following the North Downs Way. Pilgrims Trail Hampshire follows the famous medieval pilgrim route from the shrine of St Swithun in Winchester Cathedral, all the155 miles to Mont St Michel, Normandy France. The English route (follow the green markers) is Winchester to Twyford to Owslebury and Bishops Waltham. Along the scenic way see the medieval church of St Andrew and ancient Owslebury village. From Bishops Waltham you can continue to Southwark and then Portsmouth for the ferry to Cherbourg. From there take the blue markers into Normandy. MMedievaledieval - OOnline.indbnline.indb 111212 11/28/2015/28/2015 44:06:59:06:59 PPMM MEDIEVAL HERITAGE AND PILGRIMAGE WALKS 113 Read more . The Mont St Michel sanctuary drew pilgrims from far and wide in medieval times, and beyond. Many used it as a stepping-off point on the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain but the cult of St Michael was widespread from the ninth century onwards. By the time of the Reformation over 600 churches in England had been dedicated to him. Pilgrims Way to Holy Island, Lindisfarne. This is the mystical, ancient route, all 1500 years of it, across the sands at low tide. Follow the clearly marked route and don’t go at dusk or on a rising tide (quicksand). The way is covered by tides two times a day. Walk or cycle the 12 miles of St Bede’s Way. The walk links the Anglo-Saxon monasteries of St Peters in Sunderland and St Pauls in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear. St Cuthbert’s Way: walk 63 miles in the footsteps of Northumberland’s patron saint. Start with his life on Holy Island and end at Melrose Abbey. After that pick up the Borders Abbey Way at Melrose Abbey, a further circular 68 mile route linking the four medieval border abbeys of Kelso, Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Melrose. Read more . St Cuthbert was born around 634 AD. He was a shepherd then a monk at Melrose. He was sent to Holy Island but later left to live on the Farne Isles as a hermit where it was said he talked to the birds. Later he was Bishop of Hexham (684AD). He died on his beloved Farne Islands. The Way of the Roses is a 170 mile national cycle and walking route. Travelling coast to coast from Morecambe in the north-west of England and east to Bridlington, the trail takes in the historic cities of Lancaster and York. St Oswald’s Way is a beautiful walk stretching from Holy Island in the north and south along the stunning coastline of Northumberland, then inland to Heavenfi elds and Hadrian’s Wall. These glorious paths, my personal favourites, link some of the sites associated with St Oswald, king in the seventh century and one of the bringers of Christianity to England. Two Saints Way, Cheshire and Staffordshire is the recently reopened 90 mile pilgrimage route from Chester Cathedral to St Chad’s Church in Lichfi eld. The walk is named after two Saxon saints who brought Christianity to Britain: St Chad and St Werburgh. Along the way see Beeston Castle and views of Midlands potteries or the Shropshire Union canal. Walsingham Way, Norfolk: Walsingham was celebrated as one of the holiest places in England and rivalled Canterbury as the most popular medieval pilgrim point, thanks to the shrine to our Lady of Walsingham. Read more . In 1061 the widow of the Lord of the Manor of Walsingham had a vision of the Virgin Mary who took her three times to a place where the angel Gabriel appeared to her. Gabriel told Richeldis to build a replica of the holy house in Walsingham. He gave a sign to say build it near twin wells but workmen were unable to construct it. Richeldis prayed for help. In the morning the chapel was found already built on this site. Medieval travellers often MMedievaledieval - OOnline.indbnline.indb 111313 11/28/2015/28/2015 44:06:59:06:59 PPMM 114 MEDIEVAL AFTERLIVES IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE came via Norwich or Kings Lynn (known as Bishops Lynn in medieval times). Today over a quarter of a million people walk part of the Walsingham Way every year. Modern pilgrims take shorter trails often beginning at Ely Cathedral, travelling through the fens to end at Little Walsingham. Along the way, visit Bromholm Priory with its relic of the holy cross; take a trip to the Shrine of Julian of Norwich; see St William’s shrine in Norwich Cathedral, St Edmunds in Bury St Edmunds or St Etheldreda’s at Ely. Via Francigena, Assisi to Rome: this famous medieval pilgrimage trail links Canterbury, England and Rome, a European route that saw hordes of travellers walking to the tombs of the Apostles in Compostela, Spain and St Peter’s Shrine in Rome, amongst other places. Named after St Francis because his home town of Assisi was the hub connecting these ancient routes. MEDIEVAL BRITISH HISTORY AND HERITAGE Sadly space precludes mention of the great heritage sites of France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere. Read here for more on history and heritage in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England and, specifi cally, north-east England.