About the Route
The Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way has been Inspired by the relationship between the Irish St Aidan and Welsh St. David. The route in total is 155 km and is currently being established by the British Pilgrimage Trust and partners. This is a modern pilgrimage route that is open to all and takes us back to the “Age of Saints” where great journeys were taken round the wild coasts of Brittany, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland.
Starting in Ferns, the ancient capital of Leinster, home to the smallest Cathedral in Europe ending in St Davids which is the smallest city in the UK and was a significant pilgrimage site during the medieval period.
2023 it will be the 900 year anniversary since Pope Callixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were the equivalent of one to Rome and three trips to St Davids the equivalent of one pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The route will revive the ancient links between communities in Pembrokeshire and Wexford including the shared heritage of St David and his pupil and protégé St Aidan. St David is the patron saint of Wales, commemorated in the city of St Davids where he spent much of his life, whilst St Aidan is closely associated with Wexford, in particular Ferns. With growing public interest in pilgrimage in the last thirty years, the timing is right to promote a new route that celebrates the lifelong friendship of these two significant early Christian saints.
The new route is not a solely religious pilgrimage, as historical links between the two regions go back as far as the Beaker period, and this combined sea and land route would have seen heavy footfall not just from pilgrims, but also traders and explorers.
For more information about the new pilgrim route and organisations involved: