During our 2025 pilgrimage we started discussions on where to go in 2026, with pilgrims able to express a preference. After the pilgrimage, we fleshed out some of these ideas and took them to the AGM, where it was unanimously agreed that we should head north and make our way to Blackburn Cathedral, which next year is celebrating the centenary of its elevation to cathedral status. The question was then where to start the pilgrimage, a decision that was made by a democratic vote of those attending the AGM over last weekend, with the final choice getting as many votes as the other 2 combined.
And so, our 2025 Pilgrimage will start at the Roman Catholic Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough (a modern cathedral, built in 1985), pass by the ancient Ripon Cathedral (dating back to the 7th Century), and end at Blackburn Cathedral (a relatively new building on an ancient site).
The full proposed route, subject to finding appropriate accommodation, is as follows: Middlesbrough – Yarm – Croft-on-Tees – Richmond – Bedale – Ripon – Pateley Bridge – Grassington – Skipton – Barnoldswick – Clitheroe – Blackburn (bold indicates rest days).
The proposed dates for 2026 will be: gathering in Middlesbrough on 15 August, celebration day in Blackburn 29 August, travel home 30 August.
Bookings will open when the accommodation is firmed up (likely January) – subscribe to updates on our website to be the first to know.
Existing pilgrims who are interested in planning a day’s walk should contact chief route planner Aidan (by e-mail if you have it, or via Contact The Pilgrims).
Dr Anne Bailey, who walked the first 5 days of our 2025 Pilgrimage, is an academic who has published widely on topics including medieval and modern pilgrimage. Her latest offering is a 6-minute-long slideshow video presenting our pilgrimage from her perspective.
Despite the extreme heat in week 1 and some long days in week 2, the 2025 Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope successfully reached Eastbourne on 22 August, having visited every deanery in the Arundel & Brighton Diocese, plus the Cathedral, marking 50 years since our first pilgrimage.
Our hall planners had found us decent accommodation, albeit sometimes with limited facilities. The day planners had found clever routes through suburbia (both in Surrey and the south coast) and led us safely through some lovely countryside – the heathland south of Farnham and the Seven Sisters being most dramatic. We were well supported by our caterers (Penny, Hazel, Bruce & Imelda), by John in the Van, and by Clare and Fr Paul who met us on the road – so important in the heat with the risk of heatstroke. We had a good number of pilgrims, each of whom contributes something unique, and lots of day pilgrims (some from local churches, some past pilgrims). Many people came out to meet us and provide refreshments at church stops. Overall a very good pilgrimage.
So now our attention turns to next year! Gary collected suggestions for routes / destinations which were put up for voting on the rest days. These are:
Blackburn to Durham
York to Blackburn
Winchester to Ely
Blackburn to Isle of Man
Norwich
Hereford
Southampton to Canterbury
Offa’s Dyke
If you’ve not already voted, you can express your preference (up to 3 choices) by leaving a comment on this post. These will be added to the votes already recorded, and the AGM will consider the 3 front runners.
Talking of the AGM, we’ve had to move the date, so it is now on Sunday 14th September 2025 at 2pm, as a Zoom meeting. The AGM is open to ALL pilgrims, past and present. If you would like to join, and aren’t on the current committee, please let me know (comment on this post, use “contact the pilgrims”, or e-mail me directly if you have my address). I will share the Zoom link nearer the meeting.
The AGM includes looking back at this year’s pilgrimage (what went well, what we could have done better, etc). You can provide written feedback by email (if you were there you’ll have my email from messages about T shirts, diary, etc).
After the wash-up, I hand over to the new coordinator, Gary, for the discussion about next year.
Please do engage in this process it’s YOUR pilgrimage, not just the committee’s!!
Our 2025 Pilgrimage, the Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope, which visits all of the deaneries of Arundel & Brighton Diocese (and churches of all denominations along the way) is only 10 days away. The web diary is ready at https://thepilgrims.org.uk/2025 and contains details of our route, stops and timings together with downloadable information for pilgrims and followers. Those who have booked should have received this information by e-mail – if you’ve not received it, please get in touch.
Bookings for this year have now closed, but if you can come and meet us on the way that would be great. The route cards / website will tell you where to find us, and when. How well we keep to time does depend on the weather of course!
As ever we are still finalising arrangements here and there, so things might change a little. We’ll try to keep the website up to date!
If you’re walking with us this year, it’s time to study the Pilgrim Code, prepare your equipment, and do some final training walks.
If you’re not able to walk with us this year, please pray for us, as we will for you, and from 9 August follow our progress on the web diary.
And if you’re able to meet us along the route, we look forward to seeing you!
To mark the significance of this year’s 50th Anniversary pilgrimage we’ve decided to produce a commemorative T-shirt. We need to move quickly to ensure they are delivered before the pilgrimage, so if you’re interested please order today – final deadline is 20th July.
The logo for the t-shirt has been designed for us by the diocese, based on ideas from the pilgrimage team. It features a cross with the anchor of hope, an allusion to the hills we walk over, and orange arrows.
This logo will be printed front centre on white T-shirts.
The printers offer many choices, but we are proposing 3 options (below). Sizes are taken from the printers’ website, and each product is linked to their product description.
100% organic cotton T-Shirt in the following sizes: XS 30/32″, S 34/36″, M 38/40″, L 42/44″, XL 46/48″, 2XL 50/52″, 3XL 54/56”, 4XL 58/60”, 5XL 62/64”, 6XL 66/68”
Pricing is dependent on the number of orders, but we hope to keep it down to £15 per shirt, including VAT. Definitely not over £18 without consulting those who’ve ordered.
Ordering: If you would like to order one or more t-shirts, please e-mail t2025@thepilgrims.org.uk quoting your name and the type and size of each shirt. Payment on collection when you join the pilgrimage, but as these are made to order you are making a commitment to pay.
Deadline: In order to receive the shirts before the pilgrimage, we need to place the order on 21 July, so ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 20 JULY.
Bookings have recently opened for our 2025 Walking Pilgrimage, the Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope, taking place from 9th to 24th August 2025. Join us in celebrating 50 years of walking pilgrimages, 60 years of the Arundel & Brighton Diocese, and the Holy Year proclaimed by Pope Francis. Crossing varied terrain across Surrey and Sussex, the route visits every Deanery in the Diocese, together with churches of many denominations that we pass on the way. The pilgrimage is open to all – we already welcome pilgrims of many faiths and from around the world. You can join for a day (or less), a few days, or the whole 2 weeks. Organised entirely by volunteers, our pilgrimages are very affordable.
Our 2025 publicity material is now available to download – please share and/or print and display, and encourage your friends to consider joining us.
On 31 March, Easter Monday 1975, 25 intrepid pilgrims set out from Arundel Cathedral to “beat the bounds” of the Arundel & Brighton Diocese, marking the 1975 Holy Year and the 10th Anniversary of the creation of the Diocese. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into!
Taking place after an early Easter rather than in August as in later years, we encountered quite a lot of weather. There was snow lying on the South Downs on the first day; heavy rain most of day 3 as we traipsed across Ash Ranges; a blizzard in far East Sussex as we approached Rye. It was weather we were ill equipped for, but it didn’t dampen our spirits.
As we followed the coast West from Rye towards Brighton we started doing “Ring-a-Ring-o-Roses” at each pier we passed. I suspect this started as an attempt to keep warm as we waited for the pilgrims to regroup, but it became part of our identity. On the final day back into Arundel, Bishop Michael Bowen and his dog Jamie walked with us. As we came through Arundel Park approaching our destination, holding hands in a line across the valley, we stopped for one more “Ring-a-Ring-o-Roses”. Most of the pilgrims were still at school, a few of university age, a few older. We were delighted to see that even Bishops “all fall down”.
And that was the start of a 50-year journey, still continuing. For the many youngsters involved in those early years it was a cheap, fun holiday but also a relaxed encounter with their faith. Over the decades our demographic has evolved, but that core quality has remained. It is a religious activity, a pilgrimage, but not only for the converted. So many people, at different stages of their faith journey or even on different paths altogether, have walked with us, brought blessings to us, and been blessed by us. We often encounter pilgrims-of-old who no longer walk with us, but they always remember the pilgrimage fondly: everyone has some recollection of their time “following the orange arrows”.
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From the very start we stopped at churches of all denominations on the pilgrimage, and welcomed pilgrims whatever their background (2 girls from the Baptist Church walked that first pilgrimage). In 1981 we joined forces with Churches Together in Sussex to celebrate St Wilfrid, Apostle of Sussex, and the pilgrimage became officially ecumenical. The manifestation of ecumenism has also evolved over the years, but it’s core to our identify, even in a year when we’re celebrating our roots on Arundel & Brighton Diocese.
The years have taken us to so many places – grand cathedrals, humble chapels, urban landscapes and all kinds of countryside. Not to mention the pubs! With our visit to Rutland in 2024 we have probably visited every (traditional) English county, and many in Wales. We’ve enjoyed great hospitality, overcome some huge challenges and a couple of tragedies. We’ve become a community on the move – both literally and evolving as things change around us. But we are all pilgrims at heart, ready to stand up and sing “He who would valiant be” at the drop of a hat and to follow the orange arrows that will lead us home.
We have so much to be thankful for: the “founding Fathers” Bill Haynes, Bob Garrard and Hans Burgman; those who took up the baton when Bill needed to take a back seat; pioneers and leaders including Alan Fox, Patrick Reeve and Peter Doran (and all those who’ve taken on the Coordinator’s role); all those who worked on the support team shifting our kit, keeping us fed, watered and safe, finding accommodation and routes; the locals who have opened churches, led us in prayer, provided refreshments; and EVERY SINGLE PILGRIM who has brought their own contribution to the pilgrimage.
50 years on, we thank God for the blessings we have received and pray for the success of our 2025 pilgrimage and those to follow.
Bookings are now open for the Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope in August 2025. Celebrating 50 years of our walking pilgrimages, 60 years of the Arundel & Brighton Diocese, and the Holy Year, this pilgrimage will visit all of the deaneries of the Diocese, whilst continuing our ecumenical tradition by stopping at churches of many denominations along the way.
All are welcome to join the pilgrimage and experience walking as part of our travelling Christian community, whether for a fortnight or just an afternoon! The cost is £350 to walk with us all the way, or £33 per night to book a shorter spell (£31 per night for 7 days or more, 25% discount for under 21s). “Day Pilgrims” pay just £5.
The route covers varied terrain, including the Surrey Hills, the South Downs, and the Sussex Coast. These are our stopping points – further details are available in the booking system.
Horley (Crawley Deanery)
Reigate (Redhill Deanery)
Ashtead (Epsom Deanery)
Weybridge (Weybridge Deanery)
Frimley (Woking Deanery)
Farnham (Guildford Deanery)
Haslemere (Guildford Deanery)
Midhurst (Cathedral Deanery)
Tangmere (Cathedral Deanery)
Goring-by-Sea (Worthing Deanery)
Brighton (Brighton Deanery)
Seaford (Lewes Deanery)
Eastbourne (Eastbourne & St Leonards Deanery)
Modern health and safety considerations mean we cannot squeeze as many people into church / village halls as we used to, which makes it a bit more comfortable than previously but means that numbers may have to be limited. Therefore I would urge early booking to avoid disappointment.
This year we are hoping that parishioners of the deaneries we are passing through will come and join us for some or all of a day. In order to manage numbers we are asking day pilgrims to pre-book this year. This ensures everyone is covered by the Diocesan insurance and we can do appropriate risk assessments.
If you have questions, please address them to our bookings secretary Clare (contact details on the booking page). If you’ve not been before, Clare notes that it is often easier to chat on the phone than exchange emails. If you are thinking of coming for the first time, look at our diaries from previous years which give a good flavour of what goes on, and read the information on the booking page. Oh, “read the information on the booking page” applies to old hands too!
