Pilgrimage

Journeys normally take us somewhere – maybe to school, work, home or even on holiday. They are often frantic and fast paced, fuelled by the desire to get somewhere… quickly!

A pilgrimage isn’t fast paced.

It is a transformational journey, fuelled by prayer and reflection. A pilgrimage takes us to a place of greater understanding of ourselves, other people, the places we travel through and God. It is a physical journey, but it’s more than that. It can be seen as a search for God (or is God really searching for us?).

Pilgrimage enables many people to experience God. No one should be excluded.

There are inclusive pilgrimages with accessible or shorter routes and provision for those with disabilities. There are also opportunities for home-based reflective engagement if you can’t travel. If you want to try a pilgrimage without walking, try this finger-labyrinth.

If you have never tried pilgrimage before, but want to give it a go, visit our partner website trypilgrimage.org.uk for resources and guidance.

People of all faiths and none are invited to these Methodist pilgrimage opportunities.

The Peak Wesley Way is a self-guided, way-marked pilgrimage through the Peak District National Park. The route is 47 miles, starting at Matlock train station and ending at Edale (also the starting point of the Pennine Way for any brave souls wishing to continue their trek!). The path connects six rural Methodist chapels – each with their own character and story – still in use as places of worship where pilgrims can stay overnight.

A Tolpuddle Pilgrim Guide traces the roots of Methodism’s commitment to social justice. The route takes a suggested six days from the New Room Bristol to Tolpuddle. Tolpuddle is the village where six agricultural workers in the 18th century famously dared to demand a living wage from their employers. They organised what is looked upon as one of the first trades unions, leading to their arrest and sentence of seven years’ transportation. Such was the outcry over this sentence that they became celebrated as the ‘Tolpuddle Martyrs’. Several of them were Methodists, inspired by their faith to make a stand for social justice.

The Alderney Pilgrim Trail is a self-guided pilgrimage in the Channel Islands, part of the wider “Island Pilgrims” project. It offers two circular routes of around two and six miles, taking walkers through some of the island’s most scenic and reflective locations. Beginning at Alderney Methodist Church, the trail passes places such as the Peace Garden, Crabby Bay, the inner harbour and Braye Beach, inviting pilgrims to pause, reflect and engage with prayer or quiet contemplation along the way.

The Equiano Way is an emerging pilgrimage route between Sheffield and Hull that honours and re-tells the story of Olaudah Equiano. Olaudah was an African Prince who was enslaved at the age of eleven. By his own education and endeavours, he bought his freedom. John Wesley – one of the founders of Methodism – was reading Equaino’s autobiography in the week before his own death. Wesley referred to it in a letter to William Wilberforce encouraging William to sustain his campaign against transatlantic slavery.