Rediscovering the Two Saints Way
Running from Chester to Lichfield Cathedral and right through Stoke, the hidden pilgrimage route of Two Saints Way is back on the map, says Hannah Hiles
The ancient practice of pilgrimage is seeing a resurgence in the UK. Television series like the BBC’s Pilgrimage have introduced audiences to the transformative experience of walking these historic routes.
However, many residents of Stoke-on-Trent remain unaware that a 92-mile pilgrimage route, the Two Saints Way, runs through the heart of the city, taking walkers on a physical and spiritual journey from Chester Cathedral to Lichfield Cathedral.
But now arts organisation Festival Stoke is working to revitalise the route’s passage through the city, celebrating its historical significance and encouraging residents to embrace mindful walking. The project aims to improve signage, raise awareness and invite more people to explore the path.
The Two Saints Way, named in honour of St Werburgh and St Chad, begins in Chester and winds through the Cheshire countryside via Nantwich before entering Staffordshire at Audley. The Stoke-on-Trent section starts at Westport Lake, following the canal past Middleport Pottery before diverting into the city.
Walkers pass through Cobridge Park, Festival Park, and Hanley, via the Potteries Museum and Hanley Park. The route then leads to Stoke Minster before heading towards Trentham, Stone, across Cannock Chase and ultimately, Lichfield Cathedral and St Chad’s Well just beyond.
A Celebratory March Walk
Marg Hardcastle of Festival Stoke, who helped establish the route in 2012 alongside her friend David Pott, is leading the efforts to update the route through Stoke-on-Trent. She said: “People who are walking the route come in along the Trent and Mersey Canal and we know that many of them just carry straight on along the canal instead of coming off and going through the city.
“The opportunity to revitalise the route came up through Levelling Up funding for the visitor economy in Stoke-on-Trent. I knew this was a great chance to relaunch the Two Saints Way through the city, re-sign it and make sure it’s up to date.”
When the route was launched, there were circular discs marking the way, which showed St Chad’s cross going south and St Werburgh’s goose going north, but many have since disappeared. And although only one or two still stand, there were also wooden signposts throughout Festival Park, where the route has had to be altered slightly due to the long-term closure of the footbridge.
Festival Stoke plan to make new signposts from upcycled wooden pallets and add stickers to lampposts to guide the way. “Most people won’t notice them,” said Marg, “but you’ll see them if you are looking for them.”
The organisation is also set to host a day celebrating St Werburgh at the Potteries Museum on 22 March, which will include a walk from Middleport to the museum, activities and a talk about the Two Saints Way and the Staffordshire Hoard. A dozen people previously took part in a walk organised by Festival Stoke along the 6.5-mile Middleport to Stoke Minster stretch in November – with many catching the train back to Longport from Stoke station at the end.
Hardcastle said The Staffordshire Hoard in the museum is contemporaneous with the ‘two saints’ – when it was buried, St Chad and St Werburgh were both alive. “We didn’t realise this when we started to plan the route and it’s brilliant. We’d like to encourage people to do the walk, stop at the museum, have lunch, then carry on.”
A Spiritual Dimension
For some, the Two Saints Way has already provided profound personal experiences. Ultra-runner Sean Keeley, from Lichfield, chose to run the entire route – which normally takes walkers at least five days to complete – in a single endurance challenge as part of his journey to sobriety in November last year.
Having completed a number of tough tasks during the year, he wanted to finish with something ‘close to home and close to his heart’ – and felt the Two Saints Way was the ideal challenge after learning about it from friends.
Sean began his run in Ellesmere Port to make it a round 100 miles and officially started the Two Saints Way by touching the doors of Chester Cathedral at 1.20pm on 16 November, 2024. Supported by friends from MARA Run Club, Sean completed the challenge in 30 hours and was greeted by his family at Lichfield Cathedral.
Keeley said that while he wanted to complete the route, it was more about the journey and what he’d encounter along the way. “The whole year had been life changing. I’d been trying to go sober for a couple of years and my journey through sobriety was also a mental journey. Your body will tell you to stop but if your head is strong you can keep going. I nearly wavered a few times but I’m still sober now.|
“Doing the Two Saints Way had everything – it was emotional, it was physical, it was full of diversity. There were times where I was going over fields in the dark, knee-deep in mud, and then I would look up and the stars were so bright. It felt very symbolic.”
Keeley touched every church he passed along the route, giving the challenge a spiritual dimension that added depth to his journey. “When we got to the church at Trentham, I’d been in the dark for 12 hours and couldn’t wait for sunrise. I had four or five people with me and the vicar pulled up in his car.
“Someone told him I was doing the Two Saints Way and he invited us in, and showed us some rocks and stones in a bowl that others doing the route had left. It just felt like it was meant to be.”
Keeley carried a totem with him on his journey, a wooden Two Saints Way token given to him by his friend George Bettany, the founder of MARA Run Club, who completed the route in three days the previous year.
Inspiring Pilgrimages
Bettany, who also lives in Lichfield, is currently working on plans to help more people engage with the long-distance route. “When I was younger pilgrimage would have meant something religious, something Christian, and I wouldn’t have connected with that. But for me running in a mindful way is less about the destination and more about the journey – and that’s what a pilgrimage is.
“People used to say that if you touched the stone at St Chad’s Well at the end of the route you would be enlightened, but in fact the healing happens along the way. That’s what I’ve discovered through long-distance running.
“At MARA mindfulness and movement is what we are all about – that mix of emotional, physical and spiritual – and the Two Saints Way is the perfect route for our members.
“For anyone in Staffordshire it is a great way to connect with where you live and can be a very special experience. The GPS works well and the guidebook is brilliant.
“You can do a section of it in an afternoon and really connect to its history. The section through Stoke-on-Trent is a key part of the route because it’s central and connects everything.”
The route’s mix of rural and urban landscapes provides a unique pilgrimage experience, one that Festival Stoke hopes more people will embrace. With the planned improvements and growing awareness, Hardcastle believes the time is right for the Two Saints Way to become a more widely recognised path.
She said: “Being outdoors can be calming and soothing, and connecting with nature and creation connects with our souls. “The Two Saints Way has been under the radar for quite a while, but I feel like its time has come.”
Whether undertaken as a week-long pilgrimage, a one-day journey or a mindful afternoon walk, the Two Saints Way offers a rich historical and spiritual experience, right through the heart of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.
For more information, visit the website or Festival Stoke’s project page.
Have you ever walked the Two Saints Way? Tell us about it in the comments.
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I’ve walked two Camino routes through Spain & Portugal, but I’m eager to explore more pilgrimage options in the UK. Been thinking about this one for months!
Extremely interesting