“Like Rome, all roads led to Walsingham,” says Reverend Peter Doll. But, he laments, out of the village’s 300,000 annual visitors, most arrive by coach.
“Our hope is walking [will encourage a sense of the journey,” he tells me. Peter, the vice dean of Norwich Cathedral, founded the Walsingham Way in 2021. A breezy 37 miles of gentle undulation from Norwich, it’s a two- or three-day journey on foot, taking in well-signposted paths and quiet agricultural roads on the way to Walsingham. Having walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain and the Kumano Kodo in Japan – a combination that’s earned me Unesco’s “Dual Pilgrim” status – I’m keen to tick off a similarly spiritual English route.
Once a major medieval European pilgrimage destination, akin to Canterbury and Santiago de Compostela, Walsingham is known as “England’s Nazareth”. Legend tells of a visitation by the Virgin Mary in 1061, and almost all the kings and queens of the Middle Ages made pilgrimage here, right up until Henry VIII’s Reformation.
The village then fell into obscurity – until now. The Walsingham Way, which Peter describes as “like stepping out of modern life to experience something close to our medieval forbears” now counts towards a Compostela, the official certification of pilgrimage to Santiago, if combined with one of Spain’s more crowded Camino trails. And interest in pilgrimages is being spurred by the popular BBC series Pilgrimage, which, as of May, has stretched out over seven series.
My partner and I set off from the majestic Norwich Cathedral. Begun in 1096, it’s England’s most complete Romanesque cathedral, with a soaring gothic spire – added in 1480 – that strikes for the heavens.
Medieval Norwich juxtaposes medieval flint churches with colourful timber-framed houses (Photo: Ben Eley)We amble past old timber-framed manor houses and medieval churches – Norwich has the most in Europe north of the Alps – with unique East Anglian rounded flint church towers. Unlike leaving other urban centres, in Norwich the town-country transition is softer, this being the only UK city to encompass part of a National Park: The Broads. Joining a bridleway on old train tracks, urban hubbub is replaced by the flutter of painted lady butterflies and the chatter of chiffchaffs.
A watery marchland soon prevails, with shimmering pools and crystal-clear chalk river. Passing paddocks and pastures, we head deeper into the quintessentially English, gently rolling landscape.
Walkers share a tree-shaded bridleway out of Norwich (Photo: Ben Eley)Over the wooded Attlebridge Hills the crunch of pine needles gives way to the Wensum River valley. The flood plain – bone dry right now – is dotted with swans and white-tailed deer, which scatter at the sound of our feet charting centuries-old paths through the reeds.
We bed down for the night in Lenwade, a little linear village north of the trail, in an annex at the Queen of Hearts pub – a salt-of-the-earth place, popular with locals, although they do get a few walkers from the Walsingham Way. “Everyone comes for the pie and a pint of that,” says publican Ray, gesturing towards a thirst-quenching sweet mango cider.
The next day, the route takes us past swaths of native hazel, alder and oak, mainstays of this ancient land that has a palpable stillness to it. Understated little villages like Elsing come wrapped in ponds, lawns and woods, with awe-inspiring medieval churches that belie their sleepiness. St Mary’s in Elsing, All Saints in Swanton Morley, St Mary the Virgin in North Elmham – each is a treasure trove representing the pious pride of old England.
The undulating dusty track approaches the ancient village of Ringland nestled in wooded ridges (Photo: Ben Eley)Winding roads lead us past vast fields overlooked by tithe barns, pig sties, goats and mules – throwbacks to an older way of life. As the setting sun silhouettes statuesque old oaks, we arrive for the night at St Andrew’s Church in Great Ryburgh, where we’re greeted by the warden.
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“It’s the Queen Mother’s cake,” Anne Prentis says with a warm smile, offering us slices of her sweet and delicious homemade date and walnut cake as we chat over a cuppa. Having cycled all the way to Santiago de Compostela in 1987 (“before it was popular”), Anne now helps hosts a growing number of fellow pilgrims at the church, “putting hospitality at the heart of what we do”.
For those walking the Walsingham Way, St Andrew’s offers camping spots and basic camp beds in a small annex, with a kitchen and loo. On our cosy beds, we fall asleep to the twit-twoo of an owl.
The final stage of our journey is a modest 14km, or three-hour, saunter across perfect yellow fields of flowering rutabaga, leaving us time to explore Walsingham. The “Slipper Chapel”, the Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, is the penultimate roadside shrine before the “Holy Mile” – the last stretch into the town that follows in Henry VIII’s footsteps, which, according to tradition, should be walked barefoot in penance – though we decide to spare our feet and keep our shoes on.
Myth shrouds the part-survival of the former Walsingham Priory. The Anglican Shrine peeps through the trees (Photo: Ben Eley)Walsingham is a set-piece medieval pilgrim town. Once home to no fewer than 21 pubs, it now has just two (both suitably “ye olde”) and a cosy tearoom under low beams. A meander of the old Priory grounds, where once stood a recreation of the Holy House, the place where the Virgin Mary is believed to have received the Annunciation, feels spiritual amid the picturesque ruins, winding chalk stream, trees and glades.
The Anglican shrine next door is a more recent addition, built in the 1920s and 30s to revive medieval pilgrimage, but it’s just as serene. The warm candlelight, swirling incense and holy well all add to the ambience. “A lot of unhappiness is shed here,” says local guide Scilla Landale. “By walking in communion with nature, you will find calm here.”
How to get there and around
Trains run to Norwich and to King’s Lynn, 26 miles from Walsingham and connected by the Coastliner 36 scenic bus, which takes in the beautiful North Norfolk Coast National Landscape. The Wells & Walsingham Light Railway is a charming heritage train connecting Walsingham with Wells-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast.
Where to stay
The Old Cart Shed twin room at the Queen of Hearts Pub in Lenwade starts at £79 a night, B&B. queenofheartslenwade.co.uk/b-b
Tent pitches or camp beds in the new William Martin Building of St Andrew’s Church in Great Ryburgh can be arranged for those travelling the Walsingham Way. Available on request by phone or email, based on a voluntary donation. standrewsgreatryburgh.org.uk
More information
visitnorthnorfolk.com
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