‘Pilgrimage’ denotes both an inner and an outer journey.
- Being in nature slows us down and returns us to our own natural rhythms
- Journeying by foot allows us to appreciate things we otherwise miss
- Arriving at a shrine / holy place after a challenging journey, gives us a real sense of achievement
- Walking with a guide means you can totally relax
- Walking with a group brings up different challenges
An Outer and Inner Journey
Through Guided Pilgrimage, there is a chance for you to step out of your normal everyday life and spend some quality time in nature, walking to your destination as pilgrims have done for millennia. We undertake an outer journey together and there is every chance that an inner journey will show itself of it’s own accord as so often happens when we give ourselves time. It is recommended to simply step out with an open heart and mind and you may be surprised with what insights appear as you slow down. And if nothing does, then at least you have had a good walk!
Spiritual Health
At Guided Pilgrimage, we are not just about walking. Each evening we will have a stimulating video extract from a current spiritual leader to give us food for thought about our own spiritual approach or health. Or perhaps we will get a local speaker to meet with us and tell us about the area. Or some of our trips might even be accompanied by a spiritual leader. We also include an opportunity for stretching / meditating either pre- or post- walking (or possibly both if it has been a challenging day!).
Is It For Me?
A Guided Pilgrimage is for open-minded, relatively fit people (ie can walk the required length each day) of any faith or religion, who are up for change in their lives. People who want to give themselves some space (and a lot of fresh air) to allow new insights to appear. Nothing is guaranteed but if you don’t give yourself the opportunity, you will never know!
It is also about shared experiences. We can take much of the hardship out of the walking by transferring your luggage each day so you only have to walk with your personal provisions (small supplement payable). Each pilgrimage is different but we provide food where required and hope that participants will muck in with the preparation as we share our mealtimes together.
Accommodation is comfortable, if not luxury! We use shared dormitory style bunkhouses where possible to keep costs reasonable and be in tune with the nature of a pilgrimage. Warning, in many parts of Wales, phone signals are patchy! That said because we are on the move, you will often go in and out of phone signal areas.
If this sounds the kind of trip you would enjoy, do come and walk with us!
Chris beautifully and thoughtfully opened the mind of the students for this experimental and experiential approach to heritage and dealt in a marvellous manner with language barriers and cultural differences.
What an incredible three days walking from the woods of LLanerchaeron to the tranquil ruins of Strata Florida Monastery! Chris thank you so much for this guided pilgrimage
CURRENT PILGRIMAGES
Strata Florida
3 Days / 30 Miles (48 Kms)
Departures: 26 – 28 Apr 2020 | 12 – 14 Jul 2020 | 27 – 29 Sep 2020
Offering delightful walking through the Aeron Valley, Ceredigion, before heading up towards the rural town of Tregaron and onto the ruins of the 12th Century Cistercian Monastery at Strata Florida.
Price: £295.00 pp
(For every full pilgrimage booked, Guided Pilgrimage will give a donation to the Woodland Trust)
More Information
St David
1 Day / 6 Miles (10 Kms)
Departures: Many dates available
St David has to be one of the most impressive pilgrimage destinations in the country. Our one day pilgrimage starts inland from where we make our way via designated footpaths to the coast path for some dramatic scenery, to reach St Non’s and finally, St David.
Price: Please enquire
More Information Available Shortly
Talley to St Dogmaels
4 Days / approx 50 Miles (80 Kms)
Departures: Please enquire
A beautiful walk through some of Wales’ most stunning scenery from riverside woods through farmland to high hill views. The Teifi River (longest in Wales) has been a lifeline for generations and we follow the river valley it to reach the monastic ruins of St Dogmaels with castles and churches en route.
Price: Please enquire
More Information Available Shortly
In the planning stages:
- North Wales
- St Davids
- Tintern Abbey
- Religious Pilgrimages
- Monk's Trod
Further details will be posted here soon.
Your Own Group Pilgrimage
At Guided Pilgrimage, we are happy to design a guided walk around a destination of your choice. Just let us know your group size, preferred destination (or we can help you choose a suitable one) and walk duration and we will be happy to put something together for you and then lead your group, just as we lead our regular departures.
This might be particularly suitable for a spiritual leader or personal development coach or facilitator who wants to explore more with a group in the outdoors but does not have the required qualifications / insurance to do so. With us looking after the walk and living arrangements on the trip, the leader is able to concentrate on the rest of the content (s)he wants to convey to the group.
We can also include speakers or demonstrations from craftsmen/women en route from many walks of life to enable you to offer something uniquely different to your group. Do get in touch if this is of interest.
Our Guides
Guided Pilgrimage is the initiative of Christine Smith, who is the main guide on the pilgrimages. She is a qualified Lowland Leader with Mountain Training Association, an industry leader. A qualified outdoor First Aider and carrying all the recommended insurance cover, Christine is provides a safe outdoor experience.
She also brings to the table a wealth of other experience as a Spiritual Companion, qualified alternative health practitioner, extensive travel experience from working in the travel industry and finally a breadth of knowledge from leading groups on long distance routes in many areas of the world as well as at home for work and for personal exploration. She also has a very broad perspective on matters of a spiritual nature and how we can live the best lives in the short time that we are on this Earth.
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Trailblazer vs Regular Departure
Each Guided Pilgrimage initiates with a Trailblazer which is the first run of a particular pilgrimage with a group. For this reason, the Trailblazer is always offered at a slightly lower price as things may not always be as expected despite our best efforts. In all other ways, it is exactly the same as a Regular Departure. Having said that, all our pilgrimages have an element of ‘mucking in’. For example we will provide food for lunches and dinners but we all cook dinner or assemble our lunches together on all our trips. These sort of details will be made clearer in the joining instructions.
CONTACT US
(Please note that we will only respond to your enquiry and will not use your provided details for any other purpose.)
