Pilgrimages in the UK and Ireland

Understanding the legacy of our faith is a vital part of being a Christian in the 21st Century.

Canterbury Cathedral © Visit Kent

There is so much to explore on a religious or spiritual tour of the UK and Ireland. From the splendour of cathedrals which took centuries to build to The St Cuthbert Gospel - at 1300 years old, this is the oldest intact book in Europe and can be seen in London, England.

York Minster is one of the world's most magnificent cathedrals

St George's Chapel, Windsor © The Dean & Canons of Windsor

John Wesley, founder of Methodism with his brother Charles, was a fellow of Lincoln College in Oxford (pictured below). On a tailor-made tour of the UK with Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, you or your group can follow in the footsteps of the Wesleys.

Many US churches have a European heritage which has greatly influenced the Church’s ministry today and we were delighted to welcome a group from a church in Oklahoma recently, pictured in Oxford below.

Salisbury Cathedral in England is one of the finest examples of Early English architecture and has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom. Well known as the subject of paintings by famous landscape painter John Constable, the cathedral boasts the oldest working clock in the world and the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta. It is one of the finest cathedrals in Britain and is well worth including on your itinerary.

Salisbury Cathedral © Ash Mills/ashmills.com

Inside Salisbury Cathedral

St Patrick’s Way is an 82 mile (132km) pilgrimage route between the historic cities of Armagh and Downpatrick in the south of Northern Ireland. It connects key sites relating to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and passes though some of Northern Ireland’s most beautiful countryside.

Saint Patrick at Saul Church in Northern Ireland © Tourism Ireland

Strata Florida (pictured below), which translates from Latin as Vale of Flowers, is the romantic ruin of a former Cistercian abbey, founded in 1164, near Tregaron in mid Wales. This is just one of many historic religious buildings in the UK and Ireland that are fascinating to explore, as we trace the legacy of our faith.

St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, south west Wales, is one of the most important Christian centres in Britain, which can trace its history back over 15 centuries to the monastery founded on the site by St David himself. St David's shrine in the cathedral has been a place of pilgrimage since the 12th century and was once so important that two pilgrimages to St David's were equivalent to one to Rome. St David is the patron saint of Wales and St David's Cathedral is at the spiritual heart of the country.

St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales © Neil Redler

Many of the UK's archives and collections contain rare and fascinating religious documents and texts, which you may like to see on your tour or pilgrimage. Witness a copy of the first Welsh bible at Ty Mawr Wybrnant in North Wales, for example, get up close to one of the earliest fragments of a New Testament text at the John Rylands Library in Manchester, or visit Hereford Cathedral to experience the magnificent Mappa Mundi.

10th century Nevern Cross in Pembrokeshire © Neil Redler

Battle Abbey in Sussex (pictured below) is built on the site of the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066 and is one of the defining moments in British history. The ancient, partially-ruined, Benedictine abbey commemorates this tragic but significant event.

Battle Abbey in Sussex

If you would like to organise a pilgrimage, or a tour of some of the UK and Ireland's many wonderful religious and spiritual sites, please do contact us and we can put together a tailor-made itinerary to meet the needs of your group.