Northern Saints in Holy Place: A Pilgrims' Guide to North East England

Discover the storied landscapes, remarkable people, and enduring faith of North East England.

From windswept Holy Island to the soaring stones of Durham Cathedral, Northern Saints in Holy Places invites you on a compelling nine-day pilgrimage through one of Britain's most spiritually rich regions. Along the way you will meet beloved figures such as Aidan, Cuthbert, Bede, and Oswald, as well as courageous women and reformers - Ebba, Grace Darling, Josephine Butler - whose lives of faith and action continue to inspire across the centuries.

Blending vivid storytelling with meticulous historical insight, this guide brings to life more than 1,400 years of Christian heritage, offering a tapestry of saints, scholars, missionaries, and social pioneers whose stories are rooted in the hills, coasts, cities, and sacred places of the North East. Each chapter weaves together biography, place, prayer, and practical guidance, making this book equally valuable for travellers, pilgrims, and readers exploring from home.

Whether you follow the carefully designed pilgrimage routes - from St Cuthbert's Way to the Northern Saints Trails - or dip into chapters reflecting on particular people and places, you will find yourself drawn into a landscape where past and present meet, and where ordinary lives reveal extraordinary faith.

Gavin Wakefield is a priest in the Diocese of Durham, seeking to support the ministry of the local church through leading worship, teaching, mentoring, spiritual direction, writing and encouraging pilgrimage. His previous roles include parish ministry and teaching roles in four dioceses.