The Two Saints Way is a recreated pilgrimage route of 92 miles between the cathedral cities of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

and

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west ...

in Staffordshire. The two saints referenced are

St Werburgh Werburgh (also ''Wærburh'', ''Werburh'', ''Werburga'', meaning "true city"; ; c. AD 650 – 3 February 699/700) was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became the patron saint of the city of Chester in Cheshire. Her feast day is 3 February. Life Werbur ...

and

St Chad Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...

. The route partly follows the

Heart of England Way The Heart of England Way is a long-distance walk of around through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on Cannock Chase and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds linking south Staffordshire through Warwicksh ...

and is around 95% waymarked.

History

The inaugural pilgrimage took place in March 2012.

Route

Chester to Nantwich

Starting at

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to ...

and passing by the Roman amphitheatre and the pilgrim church of St John's, the route predominantly follows the

Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales. The canal lies in ...

with diversions to

Christleton Christleton is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The Shropshire Union Canal (originally Chester Canal) passes through the ...

Beeston Castle Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from t ...

, Bunbury village and St Mary's Church in

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

, and is relatively flat. This section ends at St Mary's Church in the market town of

Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...

Nantwich to Stoke-on-Trent

Farmland predominates in this section and the route becomes hillier. The route passes the Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum of Primitive MethodismMethodist Heritage Committee Annual Report 2016
accessed 23 December 2016 and the village of

Barthomley Barthomley is a village and ancient parish, and is now a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 and the 2011 census' the parish had a population of 202.

before reaching

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surroun ...

. The halfway point of the trail is

Stoke Minster Stoke Minster is the main church of St Peter ad Vincula and main church in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Which is now the main church of the wider city of Stoke-on-Trent. Name and dedication The dedication to St Peter ad Vinc ...

, which has a Saxon preaching cross.

Stoke-on-Trent to Stafford

The route follows the Trent Valley along sections of the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Mid ...

and remnants of the

Staffordshire New Forest Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands ...

at Trentham and

Tittensor Chase Tittensor village is located in Staffordshire, England, between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stone. The population as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Swynnerton. The village consists of mostly 1960s housing as well as the few remaining h ...

. It passes through the market town of

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

and the village of Burston to

Salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...

, where it turns south west over

Hopton Heath Hopton Heath, or Hoptonheath, is a hamlet in south Shropshire, England. The border with Herefordshire is close by. It lies on the border of the civil parishes of Clungunford and Hopton Castle. There is a railway station here - Hopton Heat ...

and Beacon Hill to reach

St Chad's ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

, the oldest church in the county town of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

Stafford to Lichfield

The route follows the

River Sow The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford. Course The river rises to the south of Loggerheads, near Broughton and flows south-east beside the villages of Fairoak, ...

out of Stafford and then joins the

at Milford to cross

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry ...

, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The route passes the Katyn Memorial, the Cannock Chase Visitor Centre and Castle Ring hill fort. The route then runs through farmland, passing the Cross in Hand Lane, to reach

and the pilgrim sites at the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

and St Chad's Well.

References

External links

{{Portal, Cheshire
Two Saints Way
Pilgrimage routes Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Cheshire Footpaths in Staffordshire