Walking to Walsingham: My Pilgrimage to England’s Nazareth

Walsingham is a special place. A sleepy English village buried deep in the north Norfolk countryside, Walsingham hums with a spiritual resonance so gentle you might mistake it for the baa of the sheep in the fields or the burble of the little river. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared here in the eleventh century. Walsingham became known as ‘England’s Nazareth’ - a place for miracles and answered prayers. Pilgrims have been coming here for centuries, but few people arrive on foot nowadays.

Karen had vaguely considered walking to Walsingham, but it seemed like an impossible dream. Then one day she saw a guidebook for a new ‘Walsingham Camino’. A plan began to form …

Over more than a year, Karen spent her free weekends walking from London to Walsingham. She followed rivers and ancient trails, traversing forests and exploring historic towns and villages. On the way she explored medieval churches, ruined abbeys and the largest turf labyrinth in the world.

This book is Karen’s pilgrimage story. With gentle humour, she recounts her joys and tears, frustrations, prayers, and big breakfasts. Join her as she slogs through mud, marvels at Anglo-Saxon art, and gets lost in a military training zone. Share her journey of discovery, encountering mad March hares, East Anglian saints, and bats in belfries. Learn about flintknappers, Roman burial mounds, and Walsingham’s two modern-day shrines. Discover the blessings of a slow walk through nature, history and faith.

The book concludes with Karen’s top tips for planning your own pilgrimage walk.