Britain did have that same religious vibe…until Henry VIII seized all the churches, closed the monasteries, started his own church, and so on.
Yeap, this is the reason we have lost centuries of "pilgrimage culture" which now the British Pilgrimage Trust is trying to revive, as per the original article.
Does Britain have anything on a similar scale? How many Marian pilgrimage sites, small or big, are there in Britain, compared to these countries? Tiny chapels and old wayward shrines*) in the form of a cross similar to the ones we see in Galicia? Relics that are still kept in churches and shown, even venerated, instead of on display in museums, compared to these countries?
It seems to me that British saints and pilgrimage sites mostly dated back to medieval times, like 6th-9th centuries. Some of these sites are still in use, although most are now in ruins, thanks to
Henry VIII which banned relics, pilgrimages, removing artworks, whitewashing stained glass windows, etc. There was history of pilgrims visiting these shrines, hoping for miracle cures. When visiting these sites, I get a little QR code to historypoints.org and when I scan it, I was surprised by the info I get, very interesting stories, traditions, etc. And now nobody knows, hardly anyone comes to visit!
A few examples:
St Cuthbert was a monk in Melrose and then bishop in Lindisfarne/Holy Island, in 7th century. When he died, he was buried in Lindisfarne. When the Vikings came to invade, his followers wanted to remove his body for safekeeping, and was surprised to find that 11 years after his death, his body was still well preserved. This started the cult around Cuthbert and miracles were attributed to him.
St Beuno in Wales, again was another monk with a large following in Wales, setting up churches. Some of his miracles were related to women getting beheaded by their rejected lovers and he reattached them - believe what you want. Then pilgrims started to come to wells attributed to him, they would bathe and then spend the night lying on top of his tomb in Clynnog Fawr and the next morning cured of their illnesses.
St Winefride was St Beuno's niece and she was one of the women decapitated and then had her head put back together by her uncle in the 7th century - the site where this happened became a holy well, the town is called Holywell, and
St Winefride's Shrine is still open, it's nicknamed the Welsh Lourdes, but I wonder how many people outside of North Wales know about this. I have come 3-4 times and each time would only see 1-2 other small groups at the shrine.
St Winefride Pilgrim Trail then followed from where her remains were buried in Shrewsbury Cathedral to Holywell. She actually died in an abbey in Gwytherin, but her remains moved to Shrewsbury to promote people to go there (this was back in the times when saints' relics were sought after).
Talking about relics, St Sannan was another saint to which there is a village and church named after - Llansannan. Originally from Ireland, he was buried in Gwytherin, but the Irish nuns claimed that he had promised them his body for burial, which would protect them and entitle them to his land. So the saint's disciples compromised by cutting off one of his thumbs and gave it to the nuns - this info I read from a poster about St Sannan inside the church in Llansannan on my Welsh Camino.
Some tiny old churches still in use:
Llangelynin Old Church, in a remote hill, to access you have to walk about 1.5 hours from the nearest village. Locals still use them for baptism, I found a gravestone from 21st century, and a priest was recently ordained there.
St Beuno's in Pistyll, much smaller than St Beuno's Church in nearby Clynnog Fawr, apparently this was where St Beuno went to hide for a quiet reflection. Church still holds monthly service, the floor is covered in rushes like old days.
On the issue of
accommodation cost on some of British pilgrimage routes:
I'm just planning mine now - for a 4-day St Cuthbert's Way, camping the first 3 days and then staying in a pub inn on the 4th day - final day! I'll be looking forward to that warm comfy bed and fluffy towel. There is temptation to wildcamp when in Scotland, and with backup campsite for hot shower and hot meal at nearby pub, esp when they're playing folk music. The campsites charge me £10 each. There are 2
hostels, 1
dog friendly, but full for the weekend, and I was enquiring about Thursday. The hostels would've been similar to what private albergues charge around £18. The splurge final night is *cough* £160 but that's shared between 2 and my friend who did the last 2 days of
Camino Frances with me is joining me as well for walking the pilgrim's causeway to Lindisfarne. Now let's hope for some Spanish weather and not Scottish weather for those 3 nights camping!!
For hostels to survive, I think they have to market themselves to groups - school trips (scouts and Duke of Edinburgh), bike touring groups, etc. which book the whole hostel. They need regular clients and the ones at the confluence of multiple trails flourish (e.g. St Cuthbert's and Penine Way). Campsites seem more flexible with drop-in walkers, although I have pre-booked anyway, don't fancy any surprises.
I wouldn't rule out church camping - on the
Welsh Camino, nearly every stage begins and ends at a parish church, and usually passes another one at midday too. A lot of them were open and some already have a little kitchen for tea/coffee with a donation jar. When a church is closed, I could ring the number on the board - either a caretaker or the parish priest himself, and sometimes they would open the church for me. I have asked them if I could leave my car for a few days. So, it won't be such a stretch I think, if I asked if I could sleep inside the church? These routes usually have an association which maintain the waymarkings and liaise with local establishments, so perhaps this is something that can be suggested.
thecritic.co.uk
My own solution for walking UK routes is to carry a very small tent or a bivvy bag. Mostly wild camping with the occasional night in hostels or a hotel. Covid-permitting I meet up once a year with a friend and walk for 10 days or so. This year I have persuaded him to try the 
but hey it is Easter Sunday and the sun is shining and beckons to go outside so just one small request: please don’t let the thread drift into what becomes “religious discussion” in the sense of the forum rules or a discussion about the practical aftermath of Brexit. It would be a shame …
- but let me return to give place to the website I quoted above.)
) , the aspiration of many people to be seen as ‘outdoor types’, even if the down jacket and/or waterproof only gets them as far as the pub, would seem to contradict your statement.
), the discipline of doing a Mountain Marathon, for instance the Lakeland one, would soon focus the mind on achieving a lightweight backpacking load. There are rules that ensure every participant carries everything necessary for a safe walk/run and overnight camp - there are many mandatory items. Despite this, I carried a lighter, smaller pack than I did for the Camino, and my camino one wasn’t heavy. Admittedly, the tent and cooking gear was shared with my walking partner. There are now far lighter alternatives available.
).
) the bus services and the train network. We could have overnight hospitality.
)
