Wayfarer

Love, loss and life on Britain's ancient paths

By: Phoebe Smith

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eBook | 28 March 2024

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A woman's tale of the transformative power of walking on Britain's ancient pilgrim paths.

'Phoebe Smith is a splendid writer and an inspiring traveller' Bill Bryson

Faced with turning 35 - and seeing friends settle down, get married, have kids - Phoebe Smith found herself ending a long-term relationship, considering giving up her dream job and asking herself what actually is the point of... everything?

On an assignment to walk the most famous pilgrimage in the world - the Camino de Santiago, in northern Spain - Phoebe experiences a moment of self-discovery shared by many who travel these ancient trails. And so, having spent a lifetime in solo exploration of unfamiliar places, she suddenly resolved to return to her native Britain and follow in the footsteps of generations of saints (and sinners) in the hope of 'finding herself' once more and confronting the things that scared her the most.

But what is a pilgrimage? How do you become a pilgrim? Why are so many people undertaking them now? And how do you know what you are seeking? These are the questions Phoebe grapples with as she undertakes a series of journeys - some familiar and some little-known - the length and breadth of the British Isles.

Along the way she contemplates love and loss in her life, the role of contemplation and silence in pilgrimage, and the sudden camaraderie shared endeavour brings. Until, high on a windswept cliff, she arrives at an epiphany: the ending of one trail is always the start of another.