Pilgrims' Way

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"Pilgrim's Way" is also the US title of Memory Hold-the-Door by John Buchan

Pilgrims' Way near Westwell, Kent

The Pilgrims' Way is the route taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. Winchester, apart from being an ecclesiastical centre in its own right (the shrine of St Swithin), was an important regional focus and former capital of England. Becket’s shrine became the most important in the country, indeed in all of Christendom, from his canonization in 1173 until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538 and it drew pilgrims from far and wide.^[1] (A separate route, Watling Street from London to Canterbury, was followed by the storytellers in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.)

The name is somewhat misleading, as the route follows closely a pre-existing ancient trackway (500–450 BC) which ran from east to west on the southern slopes of the North Downs. The course was dictated by the natural geography: it took advantage of the contours, avoided the sticky clay of the land below but also the thinner, overlying “clay with flints” of the summits.^[1] The trackway ran the entire length of the North Downs, leading to and from Folkestone: the pilgrims turned away from it, north along the River Great Stour valley near Chilham, to reach Canterbury.

1 Route
2 Walk
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Route

On the Pilgrims' Way near Trottiscliffe, Kent

On modern Ordnance Survey maps, part of the route is shown running east from Farnham, passing to the south of Guildford, north of the village of Gomshall, north of Dorking, Reigate, Merstham, Chaldon, Godstone, Limpsfield and Westerham, through Otford, Kemsing and Wrotham, north of Trottiscliffe, towards Cuxton (where it crossed the River Medway).

South of Rochester the Pilgrims' Way travels through the villages of Burham, Boxley, Detling and continuing in a south-east direction to the north of the villages of Harrietsham and Lenham.

The route continues south-east along the top of the Downs past Charing, to Wye and then turns north to follow the River Great Stour's valley through Chilham and on to Canterbury.

[edit] Walk

For much of its length the North Downs Way parallels the old Pilgrim's Way between Winchester and Canterbury. Much of the traditional route of the Pilgrims' Way is now part of the modern road network and walkers wishing to follow it are advised to use the North Downs Way as an alternative.^[2]