The outcome of the Hearts in Search of God project is for there to be a walking pilgrimage route in each of the 22 Catholic dioceses of England & Wales starting at the cathedral of the diocese and ending at a shrine within the same diocese. The Ways have all been planned and there are downloadable GPX files for them all.
The Project Lead will walk the Ways during 2023 and 2024 and once they have been walked there will be walking guidance and spiritual resources to enhance the journey. In the Documents page of this website there are downloadable pilgrim ‘passports’ and ‘testimoniums’ for pilgrims who complete the Way. The Project Lead would grateful for feedback from pilgrims who have walked the route.
All the Ways can be seen on the map in the Home page of this website.
Many churches are closed during daylight hours. If you would like to visit the churches and shrines it is best to check the parish website first. You can also email or phone the parish office to see is someone would be willing to open the church. Please be aware that many priests cover more than one church and so may live many miles away.
Getting lost is frustrating and can be dangerous. Waymarks get missed or vandalised and paths and features change. OS Maps are the traditional solution and remain much loved. You can buy maps for the areas the Ways pass through or print maps for the Ways from our downloads page.
Using a digital walking navigation app
The advantage of this is that you can see exactly where you are on your phone or GPX device. The disadvantage is that you might run out of battery, so carry maps as a backup and/or a battery charger and keep them both dry! There are several apps offering offline digital map navigation for smartphones. The Pilgrim Ways were created using Outdooractive, which will require an annual subscription which allows you to browse the latest 1:25 and 1:50 maps (and larger scales too) for all of Britain, and import the GPX routes files from www.pilgrimways.org.uk into the app. It also has a SatNav-style voice guidance system for each route. You can turn this off in your phone settings if it annoys you!
How to load a GPX route from www.pilgrimways.org.uk
1. Go to the webpage of the Way you want to walk and click on “Learn More”. This takes you to the Outdooractive page for the Way.
2. You will see route map and topography for the Way in detail.
3. You can print the Way map is various formats and also download the GPX file from this page.
4. Walking guidance and background notes and downloadable maps can be found on the Way page on www.pilgrimways.org.uk in the box below the route map.
5. If you would like to download the inner and outer way notes and walking instructions, click the “Way Guidance Information” button.
6. This will take you to a brief questionnaire and then to the Way downloads page. Select the button for the Way you want to walk.
Route updates, changes and corrections
Please let us know of any updates, changes and corrections that need to be made to the Way route directions. This is vital if the routes are to remain up to date for future pilgrims. Please click on the button below to contact the project lead. Thank you for your help!
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