UK - The Old Way - Southampton to Canterbury

[timr]

This walk has been mentioned in the forums before. It is a 'feeder' route to Canterbury from Southampton, with the possibility of then picking up the Via Francigena, but of course it can also be walked in its own right.

There is an (attractive) account of walking a part of it in the Guardian today.

A spiritual walk on the South Downs: the Old Way pilgrims’ route

Walking an East Sussex segment of a newly devised trail leads to encounters with art history, ancient churches and natural wonder

www.theguardian.com

 

[Elle Bieling]

I fell in love with the South Downs Way in 1984 when I first walked a small section of it. My trip from the USA to England was my first ever overseas trip. I always said that I wanted to go back and do the whole thing. I never did. Maybe now is the time!

 

[Tincatinker]

The way marking, accommodations and potential route variants on the Old Way are making this venture more feasible.

Anyone looking for a kip around the Adur valley crossing PM me.

Edited to add: The British Pilgrimage Trust have now made their on-line guide to The Old Way available for free (but do think about a supporting donation) here: https://britishpilgrimage.org/old-way-online-guide/?mc_cid=1e0b05dc24&mc_eid=e002fd513d

 

[mspath]

This walk has been mentioned in the forums before. It is a 'feeder' route to Canterbury from Southampton, with the possibility of then picking up the Via Francigena, but of course it can also be walked in its own right.

There is an (attractive) account of walking a part of it in the Guardian today.

A spiritual walk on the South Downs: the Old Way pilgrims’ route

Walking an East Sussex segment of a newly devised trail leads to encounters with art history, ancient churches and natural wonder

www.theguardian.com

timr,
Thank you for sharing the reference to this article . It is good to read/learn as Carol Donaldson, the author, wrote that "The act of pilgrimage is returning to these shores. A chance to walk with intention and to unclutter the mind."

 

[timr]

timr,
Thank you for sharing the reference to this article . It is good to read/learn as Carol Donaldson, the author, wrote that "The act of pilgrimage is returning to these shores. A chance to walk with intention and to unclutter the mind."

Yes I noted that definition, and I feel I will be quoting it again!

 

[Corned Beef]

They've revised the route to end in Canterbury. It was somewhere close to Sandwich golf course and I was stupid enough to try to find it. Not the idyllic end of a journalist.

From 2020

Hopefully no one else will make the same mistake. If anyone is thinking of doing the route, I’d suggest starting at Chichester Cathedral and finishing at Canterbury.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/where-did-you-walk-locally-in-2020.65841/post-865742

Canterbury makes more sense but they do have a medieval museum by the river in Sandwich where they are converting and old wooden Norwegian ship to mimic the kind of vessel pilgrims would use to travel to France from the River Stour there.

!! Sandwich Medieval Trust

We plan to bring together all groups and individuals in Sandwich who are interested in the late medieval period who wish to contribute to the living history of Sandwich

sandwichmedieval.org

 

[sunflowers]

Are you able to recommend a starting point (that is easily accessible by public transport) on this trail?

I would love to walk three or four days (if there is pilgrim style accommodation) that would bring me to Canterbury.
So it would be the very last sections.

I would then fly from Luton Airport to get to Lyon (and ultimately, Le Puy en Velay).
Well, that is an idea that is popping up for me at the moment.
Thank you kindly.

 

[Simperegrina]

Are you able to recommend a starting point (that is easily accessible by public transport) on this trail?

I would love to walk three or four days (if there is pilgrim style accommodation) that would bring me to Canterbury.
So it would be the very last sections.

I would then fly from Luton Airport to get to Lyon (and ultimately, Le Puy en Velay).
Well, that is an idea that is popping up for me at the moment.
Thank you kindly.

A couple of questions first:

Where will you be starting out from in the UK?

What time of the year are you walking?

What’s your ideal daily mileage?

 

[Simperegrina]

Unfortunately the UK isn’t great on pilgrim accommodation. There is the Youth Hostal Association network of hostels (inc London and Canterbury) and some privately owned bunkhouses. The British Pilgrimage Trust continues to work on a network on sanctuary places offering VERY basic shelter.

 

[Corned Beef]

If you want Canterbury to be the focus/end of your journey there are a number of options for a shorter journey.

1. The Old Way - section from Section 10. Battle (a historic town) is on the main rail line from London.

2. The Old Way - section from Section 12. Rye (which is a lovely town) is on the main rail line from London. Connect to Appledore.

Old Way Online Guide - The British Pilgrimage Trust

The Online Guide has been created using the BPT’s expertise and the knowledge of our dedicated team of volunteer route testers. We are proud of this guide as it is now, but we see it as a collaborative project, which will expand and transform as more pilgrims (like you!) walk it, providing...

britishpilgrimage.org

3. The Augustine Way starting at Ramsgate. On the rail line from London

The Way of St Augustine - Explore Kent

The Way of St Augustine is approximately 17 miles long connecting the Shrine of St Augustine in Ramsgate to historic Canterbury, following in the footsteps of St Augustine. The distance of the walk is 19 miles/30.5 km.

explorekent.org

4. Rochester to Canterbury

Canterbury Trails - Rochester to Canterbury - The British Pilgrimage Trust

britishpilgrimage.org

5. Via Francigena (reverse) from Dover to Canterbury. Dover is on the line from London.

Via Francigena | Homepage

The Via Francigena is one of the oldest and most popular pilgrim itineraries in Europe. With its 3200km from Canterbury to Rome and onwards to Santa Maria di Leuca in Southern Italy, it crosses 5 different European countries.

www.viefrancigene.org

Best weather is May - September. Soil around is clay which quickly turns to mud after a few days rain.

For accommodation you could try AirBnB as there has been an explosion in provision in recent years. Tenting? See Caravan and Camping club sites. Or Youth Hostels

View all YHA accommodation in England & Wales | YHA

Discover all YHA accommodation across the length and breadth of England & Wales. Choose from urban & rural locations. Book direct with YHA for the best price.

www.yha.org.uk

 

[MikeJS]

I walked the North Downs way form Winchester to Canterbury a few years back in 2014. It was a pleasant enough walk with a clear start at Winchester cathedral. However, accommodation was hard to find and very expensive. Even then it was costing about £60 pp for bed and breakfast and there was not a lot of choice.

 

[Simperegrina]

I’ve walked the Pilgrims Way from London to Canterbury in the past couple of months. I live in London and I used trains to and from the start each day. Although I prefer thru hiking by far, accommodation options are few and expensive. For budget conscious travel for the last 3 stages of the Pilgrims Way, I’d recommend considering basing yourself at the YHA in Canterbury and using public transport to/from stages.

 

[sunflowers]

Thank you for your posts.

Oh dear, if accommodation is that pricey, it does not really seem feasible to walk for a week which was in my thinking (perhaps from Battle or Rye--as per the suggestions).

I am visiting a friend in Glastonbury and I would be traveling from there. I could walk up to 20 km per day. But no more than that.

I thought Canterbury would be close to Luton Airport (which got me pondering)> I would really love to walk into Canterbury as this Way sounds so beautiful. Perhaps a YHA stay is my option and mini walks from there?

I will check the accommodation through Sanctuary on the Pilgrimage Trust site. What exactly constitutes VERY basic? No shower? no bed (just a mattress?) or...

Many thanks
I

 

[sunflowers]

I am traveling end of July.. No worries, I truly love the heat! (and a lighter pack)

 

[Simperegrina]

Thank you for your posts.

Oh dear, if accommodation is that pricey, it does not really seem feasible to walk for a week which was in my thinking (perhaps from Battle or Rye--as per the suggestions).

I am visiting a friend in Glastonbury and I would be traveling from there. I could walk up to 20 km per day. But no more than that.

I thought Canterbury would be close to Luton Airport (which got me pondering)> I would really love to walk into Canterbury as this Way sounds so beautiful. Perhaps a YHA stay is my option and mini walks from there?

I will check the accommodation through Sanctuary on the Pilgrimage Trust site. What exactly constitutes VERY basic? No shower? no bed (just a mattress?) or...

Many thanks
I

Very very basic. Majority of them mean sleeping on the floor with no mattress provided. There’ll be a sink and a toilet, basic kitchen facilities, few will have showers. These are church halls, churches, old school houses etc.

 

[Simperegrina]

Thank you for your posts.

Oh dear, if accommodation is that pricey, it does not really seem feasible to walk for a week which was in my thinking (perhaps from Battle or Rye--as per the suggestions).

I am visiting a friend in Glastonbury and I would be traveling from there. I could walk up to 20 km per day. But no more than that.

I thought Canterbury would be close to Luton Airport (which got me pondering)> I would really love to walk into Canterbury as this Way sounds so beautiful. Perhaps a YHA stay is my option and mini walks from there?

I will check the accommodation through Sanctuary on the Pilgrimage Trust site. What exactly constitutes VERY basic? No shower? no bed (just a mattress?) or...

Many thanks
I

Canterbury to Luton Airport Parkway involves train from Canterbury to London Bridge, then change for train to Luton Airport

 

[Vacajoe]

Canterbury and Luton Airport are on opposite sides of London. Dover is the closest major transportation hub to Canterbury with ferries to France.

As for accommodations, the basic accommodations being established by the Trust are really only available right now to folks walking as a group with prior notice. There are no Spanish-style albergues for pilgrims there. When walking from Southampton to Reading to London, we utilized a variety of pubs, Airbnb, and hotels (premier Inn and Travelodge were consistently the cheapest). We spent anywhere from 40£ to 90£ a night for a room, so it’s not an inexpensive endeavor (two of us splitting the costs made it better).

 

[Waka]

A few years ago my wife and I walked from Winchester to Canterbury, a very nice pilgrimage. The only downside was the accommodation or lack of, my feeling were that it's not very well supported or organised as a recognised pilgrim route. This did not put us off the journey and we really enjoyed our two weeks. We found that fellow pilgrims were not in abundance, we only came across two others walking the route.
Any downsides on the journey were quickly put aside when we reached Canterbury, the reception to pilgrims by the Cathedral staff was exemplary.

 

[Simperegrina]

Met a family of 5 who were also walking the first stretch of the Pilgrims Way from Winchester last Sat. Met no others walking the London to Canterbury route last Dec.

Plenty of these stickers along the way from Winchester though…

 

[markie6]

Walking the North Downs Way - Trailman

West of the Medway There's a day and a bit on the greensand before you meet the chalk soon after St Martha's Hill - indeed this second day is a grand day out through the beauty of the Surrey hills. Albury Downs If there's

www.trailman.co.uk

some helpful info on trailmans site about paths in England and beyond. Not many pilgrimages but routes go close to many

I have walked the bulk of the South Downs Way, it helps as I live on the edge near the middle. There are a number of youth hostels ( YHA) my side but less so if you were to walk to Winchester. That part requires better planning and it's mostly pub b/b's

The Downs link between Shoreham and Guildford I have also walked a number of times and links the North Downs Way with its South Downs Counterpart and also crosses the Sussex border path

At least in July, you might have less of the mud that we often get stuck with

Good luck with the planning

 

[BarbaraW]

@sunflowers I'm wondering whether the British Pilgrimage Trust's one day walks to cathedrals would be of interest. Or the Glastonbury Water Way which runs from Bath to Glastonbury via Wells. These are modern routes to traditional pilgrimage destinations often linking interesting churches and features such as holy wells. For public transport information in the UK www.traveline.info is a good site.

This has been an incredibly helpful thread as I'm looking for a few days linked by public transport, to get in a pre Camino Ingles stretch before starting from A Coruña.

 

[sunflowers]

All the posts have been fantastic, thank you. When I look at the map, I can get mislead in relation to distances etc (for example, Luton airport to Canterbury).

The welcome reception given to pilgrims walking into Canterbury is so moving. How truly wonderful. I do hope this route gets the infrastructure to make it more viable in terms of accommodation. I am traveling from Australia and so I am already making an investment (worthy one!), money wise. I am wanting to walk in France and Spain (again) and my time frame, says to walk another time. I really love churches, chapels, cathedrals...and the traditions rooted in England and U.K.

What I will do is the Glastonbury Water Way route. Great!

I am now flying to Lyon from Gatwick airport. The airfares are on the rise, that is for sure, so I am planning ahead for late July. I have already booked my night in Conques at the beautiful abbey.
Thanks again, s-flowers.