What Makes a Pilgrimage Different to a Walk?

I didn't set out to create pilgrimages

If you'd asked me ten years ago whether I'd end up leading pilgrimages in Britain, I'd have laughed.

The idea hadn't even crossed my mind.

The turning point came while I was living in Thailand. I was lucky enough to take part in two Buddhist pilgrimages, each lasting around a week. They were called Dhammayatra - peace walks led by around fifty monks and followed by around 2000 people.

The entire walk was in silence. We camped in monastery grounds each night, carried everything we needed, and stopped at villages along the way where local people had prepared enormous meals for everyone taking part. The generosity was extraordinary. Every evening there would be a Dharma talk, and every day we'd simply get up and walk again.

They weren't designed to be easy. One was physically demanding, with long, hilly days. The other was intentionally exposed, with relentless heat and one day that stretched well into the night. They challenged you physically, mentally and spiritually.

They were also some of the most profound experiences of my life.

I came home looking for that feeling again

When I came back to the UK, I wanted to find another pilgrimage. Not because I wanted to recreate Thailand, but because I wanted to recreate the feeling those walks had given me.

Spending a week walking, living simply and paying attention was such a stark contrast to normal life that it made me realise how easily we get caught up in the day-to-day chaos. It stripped life back to what actually mattered. They left me with a completely different set of priorities.

I felt incredibly grateful to have experienced them, I felt humbled by them, and more than anything, I came home feeling different.

I searched for something similar in Britain, but at the time I couldn't find it.

So I decided to create it instead.

Walking with intention

People sometimes ask what makes a pilgrimage different from a walk.

For me, it comes down to intention.

You can have two people walking exactly the same route. One is out for a hike. The other is on pilgrimage. The difference isn't the landscape. It's why they're there and how they're choosing to move through it.

A hike is often about getting from A to B. A pilgrimage is about stepping away from everyday life long enough to reconnect - with yourself, with nature and with the people you're walking alongside.

Modern life doesn't create many opportunities for that. We're busy, distracted and constantly thinking about what comes next. Pilgrimage deliberately interrupts that pattern.

Slowing down changes the way we experience the world. We notice the landscape instead of simply passing through it. We have conversations we probably wouldn't have had at home. We spend long periods with our own thoughts. We remember what it feels like to simply be somewhere, rather than always trying to get somewhere else.

That's why intention matters so much. We're not walking to tick off the miles. We're walking because we've chosen to slow down, pay attention and reconnect with what matters.

Does a pilgrimage need a destination?

This is something I've thought about a lot. For a long time I wasn't sure what my answer was. Now I think a pilgrimage can exist without a sacred destination.

What makes something a pilgrimage isn't where it finishes. It's the intention you bring to it. The sacredness comes from the way you travel rather than the place you arrive.

That said, I choose routes that include places with deep historical and spiritual significance because they add a deeper layer to the experience:

• Avebury

• Tintagel

• Nine Ladies Stone Circle

  
  

These places invite us to pause. They encourage us to look beyond ourselves and remember that we're walking through landscapes that have been meaningful to people for thousands of years.

I don't think you need ancient stones to create a pilgrimage - I just happen to love what they bring to one.

Why Avebury?

I've loved Avebury since the first time I visited in 2012. The more I've returned, the more it has come to feel like home.

When I finally decided to create a pilgrimage there, everything seemed to fall into place. I found the right people at exactly the right time, and there were three women who became absolutely instrumental in making it happen. Looking back, I genuinely don't think it would have existed without all three of us. It felt like one of those rare moments where everything aligned.

That experience only reinforced what I'd already started to believe. Some places have a way of calling us back. Avebury is one of those places for me.

More than a walk

When people come on one of my pilgrimages, I'm not trying to recreate Thailand.

That would be impossible.

What I am trying to recreate is the feeling those pilgrimages gave me. The opportunity to step away from the noise of everyday life. The chance to slow down. To notice. To reconnect with nature, with other people and with yourself.

Pilgrimage isn't about escaping life.

It's about stepping out of the chaos for long enough to remember what really matters.

For me, that's what makes a pilgrimage different from a walk. It isn't the distance, the destination or even the landscape.

It's the intention you set, the attention you give, and the person you become by the time you get home.