London to Walsingham Camino - The Pilgrimage Guide

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I plan to stay with a pilgrim who lives close to the end point of this stage. They may also have a double room available, let me know if you are interested.

She was told to build a replica of the house in Walsingham, and did so. The Holy House, initially a simple wooden structure, later richly decorated with gold and precious jewels, became a shrine and attracted pilgrims to Walsingham from all over Europe including numerous kings. St Mary’s, Houghton on the Hill (pilgrim stamp) This church, with its 1,000-year-old wall paintings, will be specially opened for us. The London to Walsingham Camino is a modern re-creation by Andy Bull of what was reputedly the most popular pilgrimage in England from London to the shrine at Walsingham in Norfolk until Henry VIII outlawed pilgrimage and the veneration of saints in 1538. From London's Church of St Magnus the Martyr next to London Bridge, with its shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, it leads to the Anglican and Catholic shrines at Walsingham in Norfolk, following footpaths and quiet lanes across the countryside east of England while visiting many towns on the way. Walsingham was England's Nazareth, where in 1061 a Walsingham noblewoman, Lady Richeldis de Faverches, claimed a vision in which the Virgin Mary transported her soul to Nazareth and showed her the house where the Holy Family once lived, and in which the Annunciation of Archangel Gabriel, foretelling Jesus's birth, occurred. She was told to build a replica of the house in Walsingham, and it became a shrine attracting pilgrims to Walsingham from Europe including numerous kings. In the Christian world it was eclipsed by just three other places: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela.The church (Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6DN), is the official start of the London to Walsingham Camino route, and will be open for us to visit the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham and stamp our pilgrim passports. Passports are available from the Confraternity of St James (csj.org.uk)

That is largely due to the fact there is no waymarked route, as there are with many other significant pilgrim paths, and no comprehensive guidebook. Holy Places listed in Britain’s Pilgrim Places book : Bury St Edmunds; Houghton-on-the-Hill; Norwich Cathedral; Little Walsingham. Please note: Partly because of restrictions relating to animal infection on a farm, we will currently have to walk along the narrow verge of an A road for two stretches, totalling about 1.5 - 2 miles. It may be that restrictions will lift by April, I am monitoring the situation. This is the only point in the 178-mile journey where this happens. I believe it to be safe, but if you are at all unsure of navigating this, you might like to arrange transport for yourself between Mundford and Hilborough.

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Andy said: ‘It would be wonderful to see what is arguably England’s most important pilgrim route re-established, with a comprehensive guidebook, pilgrim stamps in churches along the way, and perhaps ultimately a waymarked route. This guide follows a newly-resurrected route devised by the author. Divided into 13 easy to moderately-challenging stages, it’s a truly uplifting walking experience, following footpaths and quiet lanes across the glorious east of England. The official launch of the London to Walsingham Camino, and the publication of the accompanying guidebook, will take place on Saturday, 3 September 2022. I hope to gather a small band of pilgrims around me who will walk long sections (possibly all) of the route. Approximately 180 miles in all! Not only that: in the whole of the Christian world it was eclipsed by just three other places: Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela.

However, many pilgrims diverged from this route to take in Bury St Edmunds, proceeding from there via Thetford.But when I told the many people we met along the way that this was a pilgrimage I got a fair few blank looks. Yet, if I said this was a Camino, ‘like they have in Spain’, I almost always got nods of recognition. Often they knew of the film, The Way, in which a character played by Martin Sheen walks to the shrine of St James in Santiago, in honour of a son who died on the eve of his own Camino journey.

You will note that I have at least one church on the itinerary each day, where possible for either for an Anglican service, Catholic Mass or a simple blessing. Attendance at these is entirely optional. The trail leads from London to pass through Waltham Abbey, Ware, Stansted, Mountfitchet, Saffron Walden, Withersfield, Stansfield, Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Brandon, Great Cressingham, Castle Acre, Fakenham, and it ends in Walsingham. The first section routes east along the Thames heading north at Limehouse in the Lea Valley to reach Waltham Forest and includes much waterside walking. Then, from April 11 to 25, I shall walk the full route over 14 days, with a one-day rest in Bury St Edmunds, on the 18th, where a day of pilgrim events are being planned.In all, this was a wonderful climax to our two-week walk, an ecumenical day never to be forgotten, and a fitting end to a true, English Camino. Andy Bull, author of the new book on the London to Walsingham Camino answers some reflective questions about why he was inspired to write the book. I shall be staying with Jim Sollars, a member of the British Pilgrimage Trust, who lives in the village. He has two or three additional spaces. Please let me know if you’d like to stay with Jim. The London to Walsingham Camino guidebook is part of an attempt to change that: to re-establish a walking route which, while being as true to the original way as possible, takes account of the modern realities on the ground. A pilgrim path that offers a wonderful long-distance route, on footpaths and quiet lanes, across the glorious east of England. A truly pleasurable and uplifting walking experience.