Canterbury, Lourdes, Santiago and…Walsingham. Known as ‘England’s Nazareth’, this pretty little civil parish in North Norfolk is a special place for Anglican and Roman Catholic pilgrims and the most heavily visited pilgrim site in England. Unlike Chaucer’s famous pilgrimage route from London to Canterbury, which is now largely suffocated by miles of motorway and tarmac, the country lanes leading to this flourishing village haven’t changed much in almost a thousand years. Like medieval travellers, many pilgrims still walk Walsingham’s Holy Mile bare foot.

According to belief, in 1061 noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches had three visions of the Virgin Mary, and was instructed to build a replica of the Holy Family’s house in Nazareth, honouring the Annunciation. Legend suggests building problems were overcome with the help of angels. Imagine that on Grand Designs! The Holy House was wood-panelled and contained a statue of the enthroned Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus on her lap. Among its relics was a phial of the Virgin’s breast milk. A priory, whose ruins exist today, was built around the Holy House, visited by English kings after Richard II gifted his kingdom to the Blessed Mary, ensuring her eternal protection, hence England being called the ‘Dowry of Mary’.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Walsingham was a great centre of pilgrimage until Henry VIII’s split with Rome drove Catholicism into the shadows. In today’s more open society, Walsingham, meaning ‘homestead of Waels’ people’, has regained its reputation as a place of worship and welcome.