All routes in the UK It's true that there are many different Camino routes throughout Spain, Portugal and France. But remember, there are lots of routes in the UK too! Maybe you're not able to travel to Spain, you'd like to prepare before you go, or you want to keep up your walking after you've come back from Santiago - there are many forgotten pilgrim routes in the UK which offer stunning scenery and tranquillity. The British Pilgrimage Trust have a brilliant and comprehensive website full of information about the different pilgrim routes they have revived and mapped out - meaning no matter where you live, there's almost certainly a pilgrimage route down the road from you! Visit their website here for their list of routes. For those looking for the best of both worlds, it is now possible to join together a Camino in the UK, such as the St James’ Way, with the Camino Inglés from A Coruña! With the CSJ's encouragement our Camino journeys certainly haven't ended yet! The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in conjunction with Pilgrims’ Reception Office have made an exception to the rule that pilgrims must walk in Spain the last 100 km into Santiago to qualify for a Compostela certificate. The Camino Inglés (English Way) is a popular choice among British pilgrims, for its name, history and length - the route can be comfortably walked in a week. Traditionally, the start town for the route has been Ferrol, 113 km due north of Santiago. But the city of A Coruña was historically the port into which medieval pilgrims sailed from northern Europe, including the UK. With such a rich history and culture, as well as direct flights from London, it made for a much more reasonable starting point for pilgrims on this route. However, with only a 73.7 km walk from there to Santiago, it did not conform to the Spanish mainland distance rule. Following the relaxation of this rule, it is now possible to walk from A Coruña and receive the Compostela, providing that you have walked at least 26.3 km in your own country first (collecting stamps in your credencial to prove it, of course). In theory, any British pilgrim route with some link to Jacobean pilgrimage will count so long as you can find the stamps. These are the UK Camino Inglés accredited routes: St James' Way from Reading to Southampton (View link for further details) Pilgrim's Way from London or Winchester to Canterbury St Michael's Way from Lelant to St Michael's Mount The Saints' Way from Padstow to Fowey Finchale Camino Inglés from Finchale Priory to the Humber Bridge outside Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire St Andrew's Way network Walsingham Way from Norwich to Walsingham Walsingham Camino from London to Walsingham Augustine Camino from Rochester to Ramsgate St Frideswide’s Way from Oxford to Reading A Revived English Camino - Droitwich Spa to Bristol To find out the recognised distance walked in the UK on these Caminos (for when you arrive at the Santiago Pilgrims’ Reception Office to claim your distance certificate), click here, or here if using a smartphone. Caminos in the UK The CSJ are working in collaboration with Galician bodies and local groups in the UK to develop, maintain and promote these UK Caminos by providing stamps to churches and businesses along the routes, and by providing waymarking, publicity and Jacobean symbols. St James in the British Isles As part of its Aims and objectives, the CSJ undertakes and promotes research into the history of the pilgrimage, and the cult of St James in Britain. There are also many churches around the UK that are dedicated to St James the Great. CSJ Volunteers have worked hard to discover and research them for many years, and thanks to them we now have a great deal of information about churches of St James in the British Isles and about ports, routes and other pilgrimage/St James-related items. Of course the research is ongoing and we are updating and augmenting our records so that local CSJ groups or anyone interested in pilgrimage can use it to assist their own visits or local research. We are also trying to gather good quality digital images for a Flickr group – referred to here as SJITBI Flickr group – set up specifically to collect St James-related pictures from the British Isles. All you need to do is set up a Flickr account and apply to join the group. Please note some churches and other buildings may require you to get permission before taking photographs, or may restrict use of flash/tripods etc. We've made a Google Fusion Table to show what we've found so far - see below. Please note that this map is still under construction and only shows sites in the counties added to this page thus far, or sites in counties in the process of being added. Click and hold on the map to move it around, and zoom in and click on a dot marker to get more information. The markers have been placed as accurately as possible, but please report any serious errors, and please always check locations before travelling to visit any churches etc. The Church of England website is very useful for maps and contact details should you want to check location and whether a church will be open. The map key is as follows: Red dots are churches with pre-Reformation dedications to Saint James Pink dots are churches with post-Reformation dedications to Saint James Dark blue dots are churches with other dedications but art or monuments connected to Saint James Yellow dots are places of interest, which may be churches reported to have a Saint James connection or depiction which has not yet been verified, or places with historic fairs of Saint James or other pilgrimage connections Light blue dots are pilgrim ports. A day’s walking can save and transform lives. Manage Cookie Preferences