Old Stones Way - Peak District 1 Day Pilgrimage

Wander through autumn mists to stone circles, in an evocative landscape at a contemplative time of year. With Hope Walking's Faye Smith. 

9 miles

We gather to begin our pilgrimage at All Saints Church Bakewell, a treasure trove of Anglo Saxon art, where we will have chance to admire the Saxon Bakewell Cross dating to the 9^th 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 dated to the 13th century.

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.

We continue over fields and byways through the villages of Stanton and Alport along the beautiful River Bradford back into Youlgrave for our pickup to return to Bakewell by 5pm

About the Landscape: 

High on the Pennine moorlands south west of Sheffield, the rock fortress of Carl Wark stands proud, near Higger Tor, where you can see the destination of Minninglow hill, 25 miles south, resting place of prehistoric chieftains in their chambered cairns. This route takes in the old stones of the Nine Ladies, and Stanton Moor’s sacred groves that come alive on Midsummer Night with local festivities and Arbor Low, the Neolithic ‘clock’ whose massive recumbent stones are aligned to midwinter sunrise and midsummer sunset. All of these major prehistoric sites have a direct sightline to Minninglow – place and orientate yourself in the land with this visual technology, which our ancestors must have also done.

About Your Guide: 

Faye Smith is a writer, mental health advocate, and the founder of Hope Walking, an organisation leading modern-day pilgrimages for emotional and spiritual healing. After overcoming immense personal loss, she transitioned from a 15-year career running an award-winning communications consultancy to guiding others through therapeutic nature walks. She specialises in pilgrimages that use the outdoors to help people navigate life challenges. Her inspiring journey of recovery and resilience has been widely featured across BBC Radio, national press, and faith publications.

FAQ’s

What to Bring - Sensible footwear for the terrain, wet weather protection, something dry to sit on (a carrier bag is fine), water/thermos and packed lunch.  

Travel arrangements - 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.

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 Youlgrave village and returning by 5pm.

Toilet Facilities - There toilets at the beginning, middle and end of this journey. Please bring anything you might need for calls of nature in between.

Who can come? Anyone over 18 (or under 18 with parental guidance, bearing in mind the walking distance).

Is this religious? We journey around sites from Iron and Bronze Age pagan rituals to early Christian Anglo Saxon worship. Your guide is an inclusive Christian and there will be a variety of pilgrim practices including some optional faith-based ones. We operate a “Bring Your Own Beliefs” policy, where pilgrims can choose when to engage and participate. We ask that all pilgrims respect one another, whatever their beliefs.

Will I be asked to share my feelings with the group? We like to keep things light and breezy, so there will be no group emotional sharing moments, even though people may be coming for emotional reasons. If you want to share your feelings in personal conversation when walking with others that is up to you, but certainly not compulsory.

Are there fitness or access limitations? This route involves stiles, some climbs and road walking, low light levels late afternoon and conditions may be muddy underfoot. Pilgrimage is moderately intense; if you find walking all day a challenge, this type of pilgrimage may be an unsuitable activity for you right now. Unfortunately this pilgrimage is not suited for mobility-impaired people or those requiring wheeled access due to the terrain. If you have other access needs, please get in touch to discuss how we can best include your individual requirements.

Can I bring my dog? Sadly not - we can’t accommodate dogs on our guided pilgrimages. However, if you have a registered assistance dog, they are welcome.

Do you offer concessions? We offer some free or discounted places to pilgrims on certain types of income-related Universal Credit, PIP, DLA ESA , JSA etc. Contact us to find out if you qualify.

What does the price cover? This pilgrimage is a fundraiser for registered charity British Pilgrimage Trust. 20% of the ticket fee is VAT. 10% of funds raised are donated to the places we visit along the route. Around 50% of your ticket covers the costs of providing the journey, including research and route surveys. Any remaining funds support our charitable work including thousands for free resources to enable people to make their own journeys. For more details about our charitable activities, please check here.

What is your refund policy? See our full policy on cancellations, postponements and ticket transfers here: https://www.britishpilgrimage.org/resources/guided-pilgrimage-refund-policy

If you would like to make a donation to support a place for someone on low income, please click here.