“Stand at the crossroads and look
and ask for the ancient paths
where the good way lies; and walk in it
and find rest for your souls.”
Swainswick Walks and Pilgrim Paths
There is beautiful countryside around Swainswick. The church is close to St Aldhelm’s Way the Aquae Sulis Way and the Glastonbury Water Way and we have created a number of local pilgrim paths and walks which you’ll find below. Whether you’re a visitor, a walker or a pilgrim, you can stop off at the church and help yourself to tea and coffee. There’s a loo round the back and tables and chairs for a sit and a picnic. If you’re on bikes there are anchors for locking them near the churchyard gate and by the toilet.
Overnight Stays
Pilgrims can stay overnight in the church through the British Pilgrimage Trusts’ Sanctuary Network.
When is a walk a pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage traditionally takes you to a sacred or holy place. But you could say that any walk can be a pilgrimage if you decide to make it one. A pilgrimage on foot is simply a walk with an intention – a walk to which you have given a purpose or meaning. Pilgrimages connect us to landscapes and places and to our internal depth and spirituality. You don’t have to be religious to go on pilgrimage, but pilgrimages have been part of Christianity and other religious traditions for centuries.
You might decide to go on a pilgrimage in memory of someone or on an anniversary. You might go because you are at a crossroads in your life. You might go in gratitude or to lay down a regret. You might go in search of meaning or to deepen your relationship with God. Or you might go simply to meet whoever and whatever comes your way.
Lam Valley – Lansdown Pilgrimage
12 km (7.5 miles)/ 4-5 hours with the option of a shorter 5km route.
Ancient churches, quiet gardens and a Holy Well
This circular pilgrimage route takes you round four tiny churches in the beautiful Lam Valley on the edge of the Cotswolds. Starting at St Mary the Virgin in Swainswick, the route crosses the valley to All Saints in Woolley and St Mary Magdalene in Langridge. From there, it heads up and over Lansdown to St Mary the Virgin Charlcombe, with its peaceful garden and holy well, and back across to Swainswick.
Keynsham to Bath Abbey – 2 day pilgrimage
24 km/ 15 miles over one or two days
Ancient churches, beautiful views, a battlefield, labyrinth and iron age fort.
Day 1 follows the Monarch’s Way from Keynsham to St Mary’s Church Bitton, a holy site dating back at least to Saxon and perhaps even Roman times. From there you walk through the village of Upton Cheyney (where you could have an early stop at the Upton Inn) before heading uphill with far reaching views, to join the Cotswolds Way. The path crosses the site of the Civil War Battle of Lansdown before descending into the beautiful Lam Valley with its three tiny churches – 12th century St Mary Magdalene, hidden away below the village of Langridge; 18th century All Saints Woolley and 12th century St Mary’s Swainswick where pilgrims can spend the night.
Day 2 takes you from Swainswick up and over the iron age fort of Little Solsbury where skylarks nest in the Spring. The route continues through Bathampton Meadows on the River Avon to meet the Kennet and Avon Canal. From there, it’s a gentle walk to Sydney Gardens in Bath, then along Great Pulteney Street, across Pultney Bridge to the glorious Bath Abbey.
Bradford-on-Avon to Bath Abbey – 2 day pilgrimage
27 km or 16.5 miles over one or two days
Ancient churches, river and canal paths, an iron-age fort and a holy well
Day 1 begins at the atmospheric Anglo-Saxon church of St Laurence in Bradford-on-Avon. From there it’s a long-ish but easy walk along the River Avon and Kennett and Avon Canal, over the beautiful aqueducts at Avoncliffe and Dundas. The route leaves the canal path at Bathampton and takes you across the meadows and up and over Little Solsbury Hill (the site of an iron age fort) to reach the 12th century Swainswick Church, where you can spend the night.
Day 2 is shorter but hillier. The route takes you across the Lam Valley to the tiny 18th century church of All Saints Woolley and then along the lane to Bath’s oldest church, St Mary’s Charlcombe with its holy well. From Charlcombe, you climb up and over Lansdown, past Beckford’s tower with spectacular views and into Bath along the Cotswolds Way, passing both the Royal Crescent and the Circus before reaching Bath Abbey.
John Wood Countryside Trail
5 miles/3 – 4 hours. John Wood and the legends of Bath
This 5 mile walk in the beautiful Lam Valley delves into Bath’s legendary and architectural past. Starting at the Bladud’s Head Larkhall, it heads to the tiny 18th century church at Woolley, designed by John Wood the Younger. From there it crosses the valley to St Mary’s Church in Swainswick where John Wood and his family are buried. Finally, you climb Little Solsbury where King Bladud launched his maiden (and final) flight.
