Early spring, as Chaucer tells us, is the start of the pilgrimage season. Thanks to an account left by Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric the Serious of his journey back from Rome in 990 after collecting his pallium from Pope John XV, the revived modern pilgrim route to Rome today officially starts in Canterbury.
Hundreds of pilgrims from across the world descend on Canterbury Cathedral each year to set out by foot or bicycle on the 2,000 km journey to re-connect with the 79 stages of Sigeric’s journey recorded in De Roma ad Usque Mare. Many of them will have arrived in London by air or train from overseas, and many others from the British Isles will have set out from their homes and made their way to Canterbury through the capital.
London is indelibly twinned with pilgrim-age to Canterbury; it was the starting point for some of the best-known pilgrims in history – the fictional characters in the Canterbury Tales.
The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome, an organisation set up in 2006 to promote walk- ing and cycling pilgrimage to Rome, became increasingly aware that there was therefore somehow a missing link in the modern Via Francigena: London needed to be put back on the pilgrim map. We wanted to offer today’s Rome-bound pilgrim more than the modest 32 km (20 miles) on British soil from Canterbury to Dover and, encouraged by feedback from members who had made the journey or were planning to do so, we worked through the Covid lockdown to find a suitable walking route that began in London.
Just as there are many roads to Rome, and indeed many braids and variants to all pilgrim routes, so there are a myriad of possible walking routes from London to Canterbury – each with their merits.
The original trail of Chaucer’s imagined pilgrims to Thomas Becket’s shrine in Canterbury follows in the main the A2, but few are bold enough to take that route today. Some seek speed and shorter distances and don’t mind marching on asphalt and contending with light traffic, while others will prefer soft ground under foot all the way – however circuitous the route – and still others may wish to avoid slogging up hills, even though eventually, as it nears the Jura and the Swiss border, the Via Francigena will become a hilly walk with three big ranges to cross.
Our optimum route was determined to some extent by the accident of a housing development along the River Medway. The developers of Peters Village on the east bank of the River Medway between Wouldham and Burham were obliged to build a new bridge across the river some eight km (five miles) south of the traditional crossings at Rochester. It is aptly named Peters Bridge.
Although this seemed to be an invitation to Rome and St Peter’s tomb, the bridge is in fact named after a former cement works, but this graceful triple-spanned structure opens the way to a more logical and walker-friendly feeder route to Canterbury.
Crossing the Medway further south means bypassing the historical stage in Rochester but it brings the very special Carmelite Friary at Aylesford into the frame for a night of traditional pilgrim hospitality.
The new link from London to Canterbury follows for the most part existing waymarked paths, and these have been threaded together into the first draft of a comprehensive guide published by the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome in spring 2023 – Francigena Britannica.
Starting from either St Paul’s or Southwark Cathedrals, the way leads out of central London as far as Greenwich along the Thames Path. Crossing Greenwich Park, the route than snakes through suburban Charlton to join the Green Chain Walk and over Plumstead Common to Bostall Woods and the ruins and extensive grounds of the former Abbey at Lesnes (1178-1534).
Rejoining the Thames Path at Erith, the way continues by the tidal river as far as the River Darent and thence to Dartford where it feeds into the Darent Valley.
The Darent Valley Path is the gateway from London, and it leads walkers through delightful countryside passing sites of Roman villas and castles to Otford and the North Downs Way which connects all the way to Canterbury.
We don’t, however, recommend following every inch of the North Downs Way. We indicate where sections that command the high ridges of the Downs can be avoided by sticking to some pleasant routes along the valley floor. We deviate from the North Downs Way just before Birling Hill to head for Upper Halling and Peters Bridge across the Medway and we also recommend that walkers leave it altogether at the village of Chilham for the more scenic and shorter Stour Valley Way which leads to the very heart of Canterbury.
The total distance of the Francigena Britannica is 136.5 km (85 miles), a four to five-day walk, and a perfect prelude to that pinnacle of pilgrim walks which traverses four countries and half a continent following in the footfall of centuries of prayer, hope and fellowship: the Via Francigena itself.
Brian Mooney is vice-chairman of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome, www.pilgrimstorome.org.uk.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.