Welcome to all visitors - Tourists, Seekers and Pilgrims

A place where your mind can be idle, and forget its concerns, descend into silence, and worship in secret.— Thomas Merton

Small Pilgrim Places are:

  • Spaces for pondering, breathing, meditating, praying and ‘being’
  • Small places, not those already on the map, well-known, or that draw crowds;
  • Simple, quiet and unpretentious, with the presence of the Divine;
  • Places of worship, gardens, ruins, open spaces, holy wells, etc.;
  • Welcoming and inclusive.

The Small Pilgrim Places Network:

  • Brings together people who support the ethos of SPPs through prayer and practical support;
  • Encourages members to promote the key elements of SPPs - quiet prayer and meditation, hospitality, silence, space and simplicity not only in SPPs but also in their own personal situations;
  • Is mutually supportive, encouraging the exchange of experiences, inspiration and practicalities.

Find out more about us or view our list of small pilgrim places.

Interactive Map of Small Pilgrim Places:

Zoom in on the map to view the location of individual Places.

Today's Featured Place

Cockfield Church and Glebe Garden

Cockfield Church and Glebe Garden

800 year old stone church c 1188, extended 1864 and 1911, in quiet churchyard at east end of Cockfield village. Ancient leper window and priest’s door visible from outside. South aisle and …

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Latest News

After the National Gathering......

Saturday 29th March 2025, 9:27 AM

Today (29th March) the Core Group meet to follow up on the National Gathering held on Saturday 8th February on Zoom. There was good attendance at the NG: 24 members, from all over the UK (including, for the first time, Scotland). The theme of the Gathering was Evolution. Three core group members presented different perspectives on the evolution of SPPN, and this was followed by small-group discussion among the attending membership. In considering various aspects of potential growth and development, there was an overriding feeling across the groups that organic growth is the way the Network has evolved and should continue to evolve, and that active pursuit of growth would be counterproductive. Upholding the core values of the Network, as expressed simply and eloquently by Jim Cotter, is at the heart of our being. Depth of experience, contemplation, shelter and healing for ‘all faiths and none’ is at the heart of our Places. In this, active consolidation is growth. Ali Green’s presentation on the physical links and possibilities had been inspiring to many, as was the encouragement that she brought to forging local links and networks. This organic approach also enables emphasis on the local context of each Place, which is at the heart of its history and nature. The formal business of reports being accepted took up the last part of the meeting, which closed on a positive feeling of shared awareness and confirmation of who we are as a Network, and what we do best. The Core Group will be picking this up and working on the continuation of that feeling.

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