Old Stones Way Pilgrimage
Your pilgrim guide Faye starting our pilgrimage in front of All Saints church, Bakewell
Wander through autumn mists to stone circles, in an evocative landscape at a contemplative time of year. A one-day 9-mile pilgrimage from the bustling market town of Bakewell in the stunning Derbyshire Peak District around sacred pagan and Christian sites, for up to twenty pilgrims of any or no faith.
Date:
Contact us for available dates
Pace: Moderate, around 2 miles per hour.
Price: £50.00 inclusive
Pilgrim Guide: Faye Smith
Walk itinerary
There is plenty of accommodation, pubs and cafés in Bakewell, which is also easily accessible by regular hourly bus from Sheffield and Chesterfield.
We gather at 9.00 am to begin our pilgrimage, setting our intentions for the day at All Saints Church in Bakewell, a treasure trove of Anglo Saxon art, where we will have chance to admire the Saxon Bakewell Cross dating to the 9th century and early medieval grave carvings discovered in the hidden crypt during the 1840s.
We will be blessed on our way to the picture-postcard village Youlgreave where we will walk the Limestone Way trail passing the Iron Age hillfort of Castle Ring to Elton. There we visit the landmark gritstone rock formation named Robin Hood’s Stride from the 14th-century legend.
Nearby is both Nine Stone Close- a four-stone circle which contains the largest stones of any Peak District Circle and Cratcliffe Tor, a rock shelter known as the Hermit’s Cave, containing a crucifix carving in the cave wall dated to the 13th century.
View looking back over Robin Hood’s Stride from Nine Stones Close stone circle
We will have our lunch in one of Birchover’s fine public houses and cross farm buildings to Stanton Moor, described by archaeologists as a sacred or ritual landscape, with literally dozens of mid Bronze Age features: burial mounds, embanked stone circles, henges and ring cairns. The most famous is the Nine Ladies and its King Stone.
Sacred sites among birch groves of Stanton Moor
We continue over fields and byways through the villages of Stanton and Alport along the beautiful River Bradford back into Youlgreave for our pickup to return to Bakewell by 5pm
Revived in body, mind and spirit, we say farewell to our journey companions and depart refreshed with some special pilgrim practices to bring peace and comfort into our everyday lives.
Nine Ladies Stone Circle
Walk Summary
Date: Coming in 2027
Description: 1-day modern pilgrimage walk starting 9.00 am, concluding around 5.00 pm
Grade: Moderate
Price: £50.00 per person, includes all church donations and guiding.
*Please bring your own lunch and drink.
Walk guide: Faye Smith
Payment: Full payment on booking please to secure minimum numbers of 6 persons- no bookings will be taken after 48 hours before the event. All monies will be returned in full should minimum numbers not be reached 48 hours before the event, or should the pilgrimage be cancelled by your guide due to dangerous weather conditions. We walk even in the wet!
What’s included:
Services of pilgrim guide throughout your walk
Pilgrim candle and scrip
Donations to churches
Please note: You are responsible for your own travel and parking costs. Please check your individual transport timings and alert your guide on arrival.
What to bring: Please bring water and a packed lunch. Dress for the weather, stout footwear and walking poles will be useful. Cash may be useful for refreshments and there are toilets at the start and end of the walk. Please bring anything you may need for calls of nature along the way.
Faith
Hope Walking Pilgrimages welcome pilgrims of all beliefs and none. Faye is an inclusive, progressive follower of Jesus, who encourages respect for everyone’s views throughout. There will be some Christian and often older Celtic practises on our pilgrimages to which all are invited to participate or not as feels comfortable.
Travelling to the route start:
We always recommend the greenest option of public transport where possible.
By train: Nearest train stations to Bakewell are Sheffield, Chesterfield, Matlock, Buxton. All have bus (20 minutes to one hour journey time) and taxi services to Bakewell, with stops five minutes’ walk from the church. You may wish to stay in or close to Bakewell, where there is a range of accommodation to suit a variety of budgets.
By car: There is plenty of pay and display in Bakewell town centre and free on-street parking on Yeld, Upper Yeld, Monyash and Stanedge Roads, all within about five minutes’ walk of the church. With the challenges of rural transport, we have arranged a community minibus seating 16 from Bakewell to our start in nearby Youlgreave village and returning by 5pm. Satnav postcode to All Saints is DE45 1WS South Church Street, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
Trains: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Buses: https://www.traveline.info/
Customer review
“I wasn’t a big walker before I met Faye. My first walk was joining her walking group for a Boxing Day stomp and boy did I love it. The nature, the views, the company and not forgetting the pit stops, were all fabulous while we shared stories and put the world to rights.
I also took time to walk quietly alone and to just breathe and observe the wonderful surroundings. Since this time we have walked all over the Peak District and UK from Lindisfarne to Canterbury, ensuring that I took time to reflect, exercise and enjoy Faye's insightful and inspiring company.”
ALEX
Why not start your journey today?