An invitation to Stroud Pilgrimage
31/05/2026
As the green shoots appear, the sun grows in the sky and the birds fill the air with their song, Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales, urges us to mark the springtime with a pilgrimage.
The thought of spending long, footsore days on the road, sleeping in ditches and being harassed by the inclement British climate may not appeal to you, but a pilgrimage doesn’t have to be like that. For the last few years the Stroud Parish Churches have undertaken a pilgrimage where you are never far from home, nearly always within sight of one of our churches and which you can join or leave whenever you like.
Our day will begin at Holy Trinity Stroud meeting at 8.30am. From where we will descend the hill to St. Laurence’s Church in the town centre where we will share a eucharist and breakfast. We will take a gentle walk along the canal listening for the whistling flight of kingfishers and perhaps even get a glimpse of a plunging otter as we make our way to St Matthew’s Church, Cainscross. Our first gradual climb will take us to the Church of The Holy Spirit at Paganhill where we will be greeted with coffee.
The work really begins on the next section where we make a pulse quickening ascent to St. John the Baptist Church at Randwick. We will pass through unsprayed meadows famed for their trilling skylarks and may be lucky enough to see the swallows hawking the damselflies over Ruscombe Pond.
At Whiteshill we will enjoy the picnic that has been weighing on our rucksack straps until now. We will take a break, enjoy some songs and be joined by some guests before the last big effort: crossing the valley to reach the high point of our day on Folley Lane. We will quickly drop through the woods to find Holy Trinity, Slad waiting to celebrate our arrival with a unique choral evensong.
A pilgrimage is an ancient Christian practice, but you don’t need to be signed up to or expressing any faith to be part of this experience. Anyone who has undertaken a pilgrimage of any length or duration will tell you, it isn’t really about the destination – it is about the journey. It’s what we learn about each other and what we realise about ourselves that makes it so special.
This unique walk through our beloved landscape will be punctuated by moments of joy, signs of God’s wonder and the fellowship of being together. Everyone who participates, or who sends us on our way praying from home, will enjoy the blessing of a day well spent and a deepening of spiritual connection with each other, the landscape and the divine.
Follow us on instagram @stroudpilgrimage to see photos on the day, check out where we are in real time and perhaps even to come and meet us.
For more information on the route / schedule please email [email protected]