The Pilgrims' Way is reputedly the route taken by pilgrims to the shrine of Thomas Becket from Winchester in Hampshire to Canterbury in Kent, England. Part of the route, from London, was followed by the storytellers in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

The title is a somewhat misleading one. The route taken by the Way follows a very ancient trackway (500-450 BC) which ran from east to west at the foot of the North Downs hills. It took advantage of the contours and avoided the sticky clay of the land below. The trackway ran the entire length of the North Downs, leading to and from Folkestone: the pilgrims turned north along the River Stour valley near Chilham to reach Canterbury.

See also the North Downs Way.

External links

• A guide to the Pilgrims' Way