The Art of Slowing Down

As of April 2026, it’s estimated that there are 5.79 billion social media users worldwide, outnumbering non-users by two to one. To give some context, that’s around 94.7% of the world’s population. As a society, we’re wedded to our technology, with multiple calls for our attention from the devices we use.

And yet, there seems to be something else going on, something which comes from humans’ deep need to connect with the earth, to ask if there is more to life, to be part of community and to explore their innate spirituality. The ancient practice of pilgrimage is enjoying a resurgence in the twenty-first century.

The British Isles are criss-crossed with pilgrimage routes and with each passing year, more people are using them. St Cuthbert’s Way (SCW) spans two countries and covers sixty-two miles. Founded in 1996, it begins in Melrose on the Scottish Borders and ends at Holy Island (Lindisfarne). Someone who is rapidly becoming an expert on it, and on the increasing popularity of pilgrimage, is Fliss Barker, the Church Related Community Minister at the URC in the little town of Wooler, Northumberland.

‘Wooler is known as the Gateway to the Cheviots and its position on SCW makes it ideal for a stopover and refuel for pilgrims. The town is full of tea rooms, coffee shops and accommodation, and we find that many walkers stop here for a night or two to appreciate the beautiful setting. We get lots of enquiries on the St Cuthbert’s Way Churches Together website which is a treasure trove of resources for pilgrims. Last year, we built a stone labyrinth behind the church. I offer a guided reflection and prayer to anyone who wants it, which helps people to think about their journey and to make a meaningful pause in it. It’s proved to be very popular. Rev Kay Blackwell on Holy Island offers special blessings and thanksgiving services for those who cross the causeway and there are many services for walkers available from churches along the way.’

SCW is a particularly beautiful pilgrimage, running through varied countryside. There are wide open hillsides, thick forests, road walking, level terrain and hilly. Pilgrims cross from Scotland into England, traverse the Tweed and end up walking across the sandy causeway to Lindisfarne. Wild Cheviot goats, hares, deer, seals and birds of prey are not unusual sightings along the way. The walk begins at Melrose Priory, where St Cuthbert started his ministry and ends on Holy Island where he became Bishop of Lindisfarne.

Less gruelling than many other British pilgrimages, SCW takes around five days to complete at a leisurely pace. It’s entirely possible to do it independently, although some walkers choose a guided pilgrimage. Exactly the same issues which St Cuthbert dealt with in the seventh century face the modern pilgrim today, as Fliss explains.

‘If you get to the causeway and the tide isn’t right, you can’t cross. However, you can go away to sleep as I did, then come back to walk across when the tide goes out. Many pilgrims choose to do it barefoot, as the saints did, and it is an incredibly powerful and grounding experience.’

In 2018, two and a half thousand people walked SCW. Since the recent BBC programme, “The Road to Holy Island”, numbers have risen significantly. Some are people of faith who treat it as a pilgrimage, others simply enjoy the scenery and the chance to ground themselves. In one week alone, Fliss met people from Australia, Croatia and America, aged from twenty to eighty. Some walk by themselves, others as couples, yet others in groups. Like the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims can get their passports stamped and collect a certificate – some of them are definitely there for the challenge.

‘Many parts of the walk are thin places. St Cuthbert’s Cave is on the way from Wooler to Fenwick. It suddenly appears out of the forest as you walk, surrounded by trees and completely enclosed. Walkers often report a hush and a presence as they stop there. Seventeenth and eighteenth century graffiti was carved into the rock by people who visited hundreds of years ago. Once you climb up to the top, it’s your first glimpse of Holy Island. It is a wonderfully spiritual experience.’

SCW suits those who prefer wild camping and getting back in touch with nature as well as walkers who are more wedded to their creature comforts. For older pilgrims, or those with mobility issues, there are companies who transport luggage from place to place, along with plenty of friendly bed and breakfasts and church halls for accommodation.

Fliss loves connecting with pilgrims, all of whom are walking for different reasons. ‘I met a woman recently on the walk and watched as she changed visibly from the first day to the last. She was seeking God’s discernment over whether she should become a URC minister and hoped that the pilgrimage would speak to her and encourage her.

On another walk to St Cuthbert’s Cave, Jon from Rural Ministries was with us and we had so many good conversations, discussing the various challenges and difficulties involved in ministry. When people are walking and talking together, they’re a lot more honest than they would be over coffee at church – you can see them internally processing. Having been so unsure at the start of the walk, by the end, that woman heard God saying to her, “Yes. I’m calling you to be a URC minister.”

She visited Cuthbert’s Island, just off Lindisfarne, and was prayed for. She told me that it was a moment she would remember forever and that it symbolised the end of her old life and the beginning of the new one, which she could never have predicted.

Being involved with SCW is pioneering work. You never know who you’ll meet and how they will affect you.’ Looking to the future, Fliss has recently met the Pilgrim Pastor for the Fife Way and would love to get something similar up and running for SCW. Such a person would be a pioneer, walking the route to be a praying and supportive presence.

‘I’m part of the Rural Mission Hub on Holy Island, which has led to me working with Jon and Rural Ministries, which is really exciting. Now RM is working with SCW Churches Together, and who knows what God has in store for the next year.’  

First published in MOSAIC Issue 20, September - December 2026