About

A Pilgrim way of 37 miles of waymarked path from Norwich and the Broads National Park to Walsingham and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, through the heart of Norfolk.

Norwich to Walsingham – 37 miles, 3 days. Starting at Norwich Cathedral you will come upon the Shrine of St Julian, a female mystic of great literary influence, embedded within a city of thirty medieval churches. In the county of Walsingham, there is evidence of a powerful female spirituality not only related to Mary but also St Anne, St Margaret, St Catherine, St Birgitte of Sweden and the writer Margery Kempe. Much of the route to Walsingham passes through the valley of the River Wensum, offering beautiful views. Around the Snoring villages are feilds of grain and huge skies before heading into the wooded valley of the Stiffkey. 

As you come into Walsingham, remote churches are in plentiful supply as you approach the Catholic Slipper Chapel, from where you can walk the last mile barefoot to Little Walsingham village which, although little, it is an impressive sight with the ruins of the great shrine of Walsingham Abbey and the deeply revered Anglican and Catholic Shrines. 

See the route here.

About The Walsingham Way:

The Walsingham Way is a community and ecumenical partnership enabled by Norwich Cathedral, part of their contribution to the European Green Pilgrimage Network. The heart of the project is a safe to walk pilgrim path – on green lanes and footpaths – from Norwich to Walsingham. Established in 1061, the Holy House and Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was to become medieval England’s premier pilgrim destination, drawing pilgrims from far and wide. Many on their way to Walsingham passed through Norwich, second only in population and importance to London. Suppressed at the Reformation, the Holy House, Shrine and pilgrimages were re-established in 20th Century. Today, the imperative of developing low carbon tourism and renewed interest in walking pilgrimages combine to makes the Walsingham Way a project for our time.

Pilgrims can extend their Walsingham Way experience by a further 38 miles, if they set out from Great Yarmouth on the Wherryman’s Way. Alternatively, the Great Yarmouth to Norwich leg can be walked as a pilgrim route in its own right – tracing Christianity’s journey from 7th Century mission stations by the seaside, to the modern cathedral city Mother Julian called home.