North Wales Pilgrim's Way / Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru

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North Wales Pilgrim's Way / Taith Pererin Gogledd Cymru

The North Wales Pilgrim's Way is a 137-mile long distance route from Basingwerk Abbey to Bardsey Island. Please press 'About' for further info.

Follow in the footsteps of the medieval pilgrims and embark on a magical journey through the North Wales landscape. The trail takes you across tranquil lanes, majestic forests, breathtaking coastlines, and miles of mountainous moorland which shelter quaint valley villages below. The North Wales Pilgrim's Way connects many sacred sites such as churches, holy wells, standing stones and shrines that

were visited by pilgrims from far and wide. Their journey across the North Wales landscape of those times was often hard and filled with danger. The medieval pilgrims travelled in groups and followed rivers and well-known drover tracks, to arrive at inns or private dwellings that offered them hospitality and a comfortable place to stay. The modern trail takes you through the Counties of Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy and Gwynedd. If you're adventurous you may want to walk the whole trail over a period of a few weeks; or you may be thinking about walking sections of the trail at different times. Whichever way you decide to walk the trail, please plan your journey in a way that helps you experience the lovely villages and towns you'll encounter on the way. Many of them have developed Information Centres and History Hubs for visitors, and you'll find lots of great places to stay, eat and visit. The trail will be officially launched in July 2014. Great places to visit on the North Wales Pilgrim's Way after the launch include:

- Basingwerk Abbey
The official 'start' of the North Wales Pilgrim's Way, the ruins
of this amazing Abbey dissolved by Henry VIII are captivating. At the Visitor Centre you can pick up your Pilgrim's Passport
in order to collect souvenir stamps on your journey; and look
out for the lovely mural.

- The Church of St James, Holywell
Situated next to St Winifrede's Holy Well, the church features
an exhibition of their history and a digital hub which gives you
more information about the North Wales Pilgrim's Way. An
ideal starting point to your journey.

- Ss Asa and Cyndeyrn Church, Llanasa
In the centre of this pretty village, the church is open daily
and features a history exhibition. Check out the gravestone
of Gruffydd Vachan - was this Owain Glyndwr's father or is
this just a myth? See the beautiful stained glass window that
was thought to have been moved from Basingwerk Abbey
during the dissolution.

- Ss Beuno and Mary Church, Whitford
Explore the fascinating tales of two of North Wales' most
powerful families - the Mostyns and the Pennants. You can
also enjoy a hot drink in the self-service coffee shop here too!

- Church of Corpus Christi, Tremeirchion
An important place of pilgrimage during the medieval period,
visit the beautiful stone cross in the churchyard and find out
more about the stories behind the effigies - their identities
are a bit of a mystery!

- St Dyfnog's Church, Llanrhaeadr yng Nghinmeirch
This church isn't on the trail but is worth a detour:
Famous for it's fabulous 16th century Jesse Window, the
churchyard also leads to St Dyfnog's Holy Well which is
situated in a glorious spot - remember to take your camera!

- St Asaph Cathedral
Take some time to explore this beautiful Cathedral - in the
churchyard you'll find a statue dedicated to the first
translators of the Bible into Welsh. The Cathedral contains a
digital hub which gives you more information about its history
and the North Wales Pilgrim's Trail

- St Sannan's Church, Llansannan
As well as the statue of the little girl, the unusual telephone
box information point, and the lovely pilgrim's bench that
you'll encounter on your walk - you'll also find an unusual
'poetry and pilgrimage' digital exhibition in the church which
is a must for all visitors.

- Gwytherin
An important place in North Wales for pilgrims, Gwytherin
is said to be the resting place of St Winifrede and the site
of a 6th century convent.

- Llangernyw
As you walk across the trail through Hafodunos Hall, look out
for the pilgrim who will be guiding you on your way. When
you reach the village, visit St Digain's Church and the famous
yew tree, said to be the oldest tree in Wales. There is also
an exhibition inside the church - find out more about the
Sandbach family of Hafodunos, and why the 19th century
vicar of the church had so much trouble with the locals! St
Digain's Holy Well is nearby.

- St Martin's Church, Eglwysbach
This lovely church in the centre of the village was once the
subject of a royal visit! The church contains a lovely history
exhibition where you can find out more about the village and
the monks of Maenan Abbey.

- Seion Chapel, Rowen
This wonderful chapel contains a digital history hub and
exhibition. Explore the pretty village and when you reach
the top of the mountain as you continue on the trail, look
out for the bronze-age cairns, standing stones, and even
the remnants of a Roman Fort.

- St Celynnin's Church, Llangelynnin
One of the oldest churches in Conwy, this remote little church
is situated high on Conwy mountain above Henryd. In the
corner of the churchyard you'll find a Holy Well which was
visited by desperate parents looking to seek a cure for their
sick child. You can read all about the well and the church
on the leaflets available. There are also a number of hub sites and interesting places to explore across the trail that leads through Gwynedd - this information will be updated shortly. On this Facebook site you are welcome to post your questions about the North Wales Pilgrim's Way, and of course if you've already walked all or part of it, we'd love you to tell us about your experiences and post your photographs. You can find more information about the North Wales Pilgrim's Way by visiting the following websites:

http://www.pilgrims-way-north-wales.org/
http://www.snowdoniaheritage.info/en
(users of Google Chrome may find that they need to go into Internet Explorer to open these links directly)

So what are you waiting for? Get those walking boots on...

10/06/2024

"Life is good" especially in weather like this😁

06/06/2024

The new walkway through the 'Flash' is now officially open with a walk through by Ron Williams who was instrumental in 'getting it done' 👏

04/06/2024

Repair work being done on a section of the Pilgrims Way between Trelawnyd and St Asaph at a place known locally as The Flash. The boardwalks had rotted away so replacements was needed. Thank you to the volunteers who helped.

20/05/2024

Thought that this may be of interest for anyone fancying an extension to our Pilgrims Way route.

19/05/2024

https://www.justgiving.com/page/marie-lumb-1711448838897?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=LFCFRUK_GoodLuck&mi_u=37398453&mi_ecmp=LFCFRUK_GoodLuck

Help Marie Lumb raise money to support Maggie's Centres

17/05/2024

And so to Enlli the end of the journey
From the boat we saw the amazing bird life that lives on Enlli. Guillemots, razorbills, puffins,kittiwake and more. And the peace of Enlli was the perfect end of a wonderful pilgrimage completed in its entirety by 7 pilgrims this year.

17/05/2024

The final step of this year's with the crossing to Ynys Enlli/Bardsey Island.

15/05/2024

Day12 Nefyn to Tudweiliog via Ty Coch at Porth Dinllaen. What a wonderful day of beautiful weather and peaceful walking. Makes you realise what a beautiful country we live in! Nearly there. 😇

15/05/2024

Today on our . Not strictly on the Pilgrims Way but a pleasant diversion to Porth Dinllaen along the beach.

15/05/2024

Day11 . Trefor to Nefyn via Pistyll with the lovely old church of St Beuno's. And look at the weather compared to yesterday!

14/05/2024

Day11 . Trefor to Nefyn via St Beuno's at Pistyll. Who knew we'd get such good weather after yesterday's bad weather!

13/05/2024

Day10 -Penygroes to Trefor via St Beuno's church in Clynnog Fawr. Rainy day, but we've been lucky so far with the weather and I think 🤔 we'll be lucky again... let's hope so🤞🍀

12/05/2024

Day 9 Llanberis to Penygroes via Waunfawr. Two steep climbs and a walk across moorland & through slate. Hot & humid conditions and also the threat of thunderstorms, but thankfully never materialised. Great walk!

11/05/2024

Day 8 found us on the route from Bangor to Llanberis. Hot & humid day but a very eventful day with some glorious views of Snowdonia and a couple of lovely stops along the way provided by fellow pilgrims! 17 pilgrims enjoying the sunshine in sunny Wales 🙏

11/05/2024

Day 8 on the #2024 Pilgrimage finds us walking over the moor into Deiniolen and the vista of the Snowdon range opening up in front of you... fabulous!!

10/05/2024

Stage 7 of this year's pilgrimage took us from Aber Falls to Bangor. 16 pilgrims covered.....well at least 12 miles in such humidity but let's not complain because it was a lovely walk with great scenery and company. Roll on tomorrow's walk from Bangor!

10/05/2024

Today's pilgrimage walk up to Aber Falls

09/05/2024

Day 6 on the 2024 pilgrimage-Rowen to Abergwyngregin. Over 12 miles of sun, stunning scenery and sacred places. Fingers crossed for more of this. Halfway there now!

08/05/2024

Day 5 Llangernwy to Rowen. 13 of us set out today on another perfect day from St Digain's church Llangernwy with the ancient yew tree.
The landscape opened up before us with views of the mountains as the cloud lifted. A delightful and welcome stop at St Martin's in Eglwysbach where a wonderful choice of home baked cakes awaited us. The wonderful ladies of the parish have been welcoming us for the past 13 years. Amazing and much appreciated. A few more farmyard and fields before arriving in Rowen

08/05/2024

Day 5 of Pilgrimage 2024 and the walk into St Martin's, Eglwysbach from Llangernyw. Time for some tea & cakes before completing the day's walk across the Conwy river to Rowen. Thank you to the ladies of the parish for such lovely cakes!!

07/05/2024

The route today took us through the gardens of Hafodunos Hall. Always pretty but can you imagine what they were like in their heyday!

07/05/2024

Day 4 of the 2024 pilgrimage and a tough on from Llansannan to Llangernyw via Gwytherin and Pandy Tudur. Over 13 miles covered in very warm conditions but unfortunately not clear so the mountains of Snowdonia were not on show.

06/05/2024

Day 3 on the pilgrimage. Starting from St Asaph and finishing 12 miles later in Llansannan. Cooler start than yesterday but warmed up nicely for the afternoon's walk into Bryn Rhyd y A***n. 18 of us enjoying the beauty of the Welsh countryside especially with all the wild garlic and the bluebells in the wooded areas.

05/05/2024

Our second day on the Pilgrimage from Trelawnyd to St Asaph and the sun made an appearance 🥳 A smaller group of 14 today, but undeterred we soldiered on 😁 Another great day.

04/05/2024

A poem in the 'bluebell wood' near Lloc read by one of our long time Pilgrims, Sue Last who has managed to walk every annual pilgrimage since 2011 😇

04/05/2024

First day on this year's pilgrimage from Basingwerk Abbey to Trelawnyd. Overcast but warmish day but more importantly, no rain. Long day of 13 miles covered by 25 Pilgrims. Bluebells in abundance!!

01/05/2024

The bluebells are out in the woods just in time for the 2024 Pilgrimage which starts this Saturday (May 4th) at Basingwerk Abbey. We should see them in abundance in the woods at Lloc which is on the route between Pantasaph & Maen Achwyfan.

22/04/2024

On the section of the Pilgrims Way as we make our way over the moor after leaving the old church at Llangelynnin we stop at this lovely river crossing for a break before making our way to the 'Druids' circle above Penmaenmawr. The Pilgrimage is getting ever closer!

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Website

http://www.pilgrims-way-north-wales.org/

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Videos

The new walkway through the 'Flash' is now officially open with a walk through by Ron Williams who was instrumental in 'getting it done' 👏

The final step of this year's #2024pilgrmage with the crossing to Ynys Enlli/Bardsey Island.

Today on our #2024pilgrmage . Not strictly on the Pilgrims Way but a pleasant diversion to Porth Dinllaen along the beach.

Day 8 on the #2024 Pilgrimage finds us walking over the moor into Deiniolen and the vista of the Snowdon range opening up in front of you... fabulous!!

Today's pilgrimage walk up to Aber Falls

The route today took us through the gardens of Hafodunos Hall. Always pretty but can you imagine what they were like in their heyday!

A poem in the 'bluebell wood' near Lloc read by one of our long time Pilgrims, Sue Last who has managed to walk every annual pilgrimage since 2011 😇

Another video on the Pilgrims Way, this time near Llansannan. This shows the walk up to and past the 'Watermill' at Felin Gadeg which lies on the route about 1.25 miles (2Kms) from Llansannan itself, the start of the day.

Our walk on the Pilgrim's Way yesterday from the falls at Aber to our newly installed bench which marks the halfway point of the route from Basingwerk Abbey to Aberdaron (and then Ynys Enlli)

Aber Rhaeadr Bach

From our Pilgrimage in May; walking to St Beuno's church in Pistyll for our lunchtime stop on our way to Nefyn from Trefor. Always a joy to visit this ancient place of worship kept in a manner that evokes memories of past pilgrimages.

It's only just over a month to go until our annual Pilgrimage and one of the highlights will be our walk into the mighty church of St Bueno's in Clynnog Fawr. St Beuno, descended from the royal princes of Powys, was the most celebrated of the early Christian monks of North Wales and it was he who founded the 'clas' at Clynnog Fawr in 616 and died here in about 640.

.........And once you're on the beach, an altogether better walk in to Trefor!

Between Bangor and Llanberis on the slopes of Moel y Ci near Tregarth, is a lovely wood that the Pilgrims Way passes through. I always think we're entering something from the set of The Hobbit film and expect to see elves & goblins running around! 🧝‍♀️🧙‍♂️😉

This is the river (Afon Aled) by Felin Gadeg flowing under Pont Melin-cadeg on the Pilgrims Way on the section from Llansannan to Llangernyw. Only a mile from the start it's always a lovely spot for a breather before climbing the steep (but short) lane out of the valley bottom.