Gower Pilgrimage Way

The Gower Pilgrimage Way project seeks to promote and interpret a 50-mile-long walking route, linking 17 historic Gower churches, and including several chapels and other Christian sacred sites along the way.  The route will run from Penclawdd in the north-east, around the peninsula, finishing at St Teilo's in Bishopston in the south-east.

The project was inspired by the long period of lockdown, when the churches were closed and empty, and yet walking grew in popularity, for reasons of physical exercise and mental health. The route will be along public rights of way, including sections of the Wales Coast Path, and will be split into 5 sections of around 10 miles.

Maps and directions, together with historical information, will be available on the churches' website, and also on printed leaflets. New interpretation panels will be installed outside the churches, to provide historical information to visitors. These will have QR Codes, providing a link to the website for more detailed information. Walkers will be able to have their 'pilgrim passports' stamped at each church, to mark their visit, as on other pilgrim routes. There will also be a cycle route, although this will be along roads (minor roads where possible) and other off-road tracks where cycling is allowed.

From the 11th to the 16th of September 2022, in conjunction with Cadw's Open Doors month, the project will celebrate the launch of the Gower Pilgrimage Way with a Pilgrimage Festival week.  This will include a guided walk along a section of the Way each day, with the churches open to visitors along the route, offering refreshments, information and activities.  Each evening, there will be a service or celebration at the church reached at the end of that day's walk. These evenings will share a pilgrimage-related theme, e.g. an illustrated talk on pilgrimage through the ages, a Celtic-style worship service and a bilingual Cymanfa Ganu.

Project details

Funding amount:
EAFRD (WG RC_RDP Wales) contribution
£7744.00
Funding source:
LEADER Local Development Fund
Area:
Swansea
Completion:
Theme:
1
Measure:
19.2

Contact:

Name:
Victoria Thomson
Telephone number:
01792636992
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Social media:

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