Franciscans arrived in Canterbury 800 years ago in the wake of St Thomas Becket’s murder. Their hidden garden survives off the main street carrying the Pilgrims’ Way to the Cathedral. An early supporter of the newly arrived Franciscans was Archdeacon Simon Langton, brother of Archbishop Stephen Langton who negotiated Magna Carta and presided over the […]

Sandhole Barn on the edge of Snodland is the latest overnight stop to have a stamp for pilgrim passports. One night accommodation at the barn can be available to pilgrims booking ahead. This is not bed and breakfast but a comfortable stop with a food welcome pack. A grocer’s open late is nearby. The best […]

The latest reprint with updates of the guide Walking The Pilgrims’ Way is now available. Among the changes and additions are directions for those wishing to begin their walk from London at St George’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark. St George’s Cathedral, which holds a relic of St Thomas of Canterbury, has the national shrine […]

Those starting out on the Pilgrims’ Way today 14 February can find a special association with St Valentine in both Winchester and Southwark. On the edge of Winchester, the PW passes through Hyde Abbey where the head of St Valentine was to be found in the church. This most important relic had been given by […]

On 13 February 1525 Abbot William Tysehurst surrendered Lesnes Abbey to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s chaplain and secretary William Burbank. It was almost exactly twelve years since Tysehurst’s installation. However, the abbey fell just within the Diocese of Rochester whose bishop John Fisher had an uneasy relationship with the cardinal. Fisher (the martyr St John Fisher) […]

The memorial service for former Dean of Canterbury Robert Willis is to be at Salisbury Cathedral on Candlemas, Sunday 2 February at 3pm. Tickets are not required and all are welcome at the service which will take the form of choral evensong with an address by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The service will […]

This year 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. The author was born on 16 December 1775 and many anniversary celebrations are planned during this year and on the actual birthday 16 December. All along the Pilgrims’ Way there are places associated with Jane Austen but she does not mention the existence of […]

After St Thomas Becket yesterday we have St James the Great today. Both are our pilgrim saints. St James’s shell has become the universal pilgrim badge familiar on both the Camino and Pilgrims’ Way. Today 30 December is the Translation of St James recalling the arrival of St James’s body in Galicia having been brought […]

Sunday 29 December is the 854th anniversary of Thomas Becket’s murder during vespers in Canterbury Cathedral. On Sunday the saint will be remembered at the 5.30pm evensong which is being streamed live via the Canterbury Cathedral website. The clergy move to the Martyrdom during the service for readings from T.S Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral […]

The former Dean of Canterbury Robert Willis has died suddenly whilst in the USA. During the first two decades of this century he welcomed many pilgrims who had walked to Canterbury. He also prayed at Thomas Becket’s shrine site with others setting out south to Rome and Santiago. Many more were touched by his daily […]