‘Pilgrimage’ denotes both an inner and an outer journey.  

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.  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 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 for the day.  Each pilgrimage is different but we provide food where required and hope that participants will muck in with the preparation and we share our mealtimes together.  We encourage pilgrims to abstain from alcohol for the duration of the walk.

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!

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 which is one of the industry leaders.  A qualified outdoor First Aider and carrying all the recommended insurance cover, Christine is fully qualified to provide 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.  

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.