What is a walking journey? Self-guided walks with a story at every stop

A walking journey is a self-guided walk with a beginning, a middle and an end, made by someone who knows the place.

You follow a route. At each stop there's something worth seeing and a short piece of writing about it. You check in, collect a stamp, and move on to the next. When you reach the last stop you've finished the journey, and you've got something to show for it.

That's the whole idea. This post explains how it works on Pilgrim, how it differs from the other ways of exploring a place on foot, and why we've built it around finishing.

How a Pilgrim journey works

1. Pick a journey. Every journey tells you who made it, where it starts, how far it goes, roughly how long it takes and what it costs. Some are free, some have a fixed price and some are pay what you want.
2. Walk to the first stop. The start point is always a findable place, not a pin in the middle of a road.
3. Check in. Read the stop. Some journeys include audio as well, but most of the time the stop is written to be read while you stand there and look.
4. Collect the stamp. Each check-in adds a stamp to your passport.
5. Keep going. Some journeys hold something back until you've earned it along the way.
6. Finish. Check in at the last stop to complete the journey and earn its badge.

Your check-ins are kept, so a journey you start on Saturday can be finished on Sunday.

How it's different from other ways of exploring

Compared with a guided tour

A guided tour gives you a person to ask questions and a group to walk with. You also get their start time, their pace and their route. A walking journey trades the live guide for your own time and speed. Start at 7am, stop for lunch halfway, spend twenty minutes at the stop you like and thirty seconds at the one you don't.

The best journeys are written by people who could give a guided tour. They're just not standing next to you.

Compared with a leaflet trail

Most towns have a heritage trail leaflet somewhere, and some of them are excellent. Leaflets are hard to follow on the ground, though, and they go out of date without anyone noticing. A journey can be updated when a shop closes or a mural is painted over, and you always know which stop you're at and what's next.

Compared with an audio guide

Audio is a feature of some journeys, not the point of them. The point is being there and noticing things. A good stop tells you where to look, then gives you a reason to look.

Compared with a map app

A map gets you from A to B. A journey gives you a reason to go to B, and a better way of getting there than the fastest one.

Who makes the journeys?

Journeys on Pilgrim are made by curators: local historians, tour guides, writers, artists and residents who know a patch of a city better than almost anyone. Curators choose the route, write the stops and set the price.

Alongside them, we publish journeys under the Pilgrim Editorial name. These are researched and written by our own team, and they're labelled as ours.

If you know a place well enough to show someone round, you could be a curator. We've written about how to create a self-guided walking tour if you want to see what's involved.

Why stamps and badges?

The passport is an old idea. Pilgrims walking to Santiago de Compostela have carried a credential for centuries, getting it stamped at churches and hostels along the way as proof of the journey. Closer to home, the Northern Saints Trails in the North East have their own passport, stamped at venues along the six routes.

We borrowed the idea for a simple reason. Finishing something feels good, and a record of where you've walked is worth keeping. A stamp at every stop gives the walk a rhythm. A badge at the end marks that you did the whole thing, not just the first half.

It also keeps us honest. If people aren't finishing a journey, something about it isn't working, and a curator can fix it.

What makes a good journey?

When we look at a journey, these are the things we care about most:

• A clear thread. One idea running through every stop, not a list of things that happen to be nearby.
• Stops you can see. Something in front of you at every check-in.
• Short gaps. You're never walking long without a reason.
• An ending. The last stop pays off the first, ideally somewhere you'd happily sit down afterwards.
• Honest details. Distance, time, steps, surfaces and accessibility, stated plainly.

Where can I walk one?

We're starting in the north: Newcastle and the North East, with Edinburgh and York alongside. New journeys arrive as curators join, so the map fills in over time.

If you want a sense of the kind of walk we mean, try one of our guides: the Seven Bridges walk on the Tyne, York's snickelways or the Water of Leith from Dean Village to the Shore.

Questions people ask

Are walking journeys free?

Some are. Each journey shows its price before you start: free, a fixed price or pay what you want.

How long does a walking journey take?

Most take between one and two hours at a relaxed pace, including time at the stops. Every journey lists its distance and an estimated time.

Can I do a journey with children or a pushchair?

Many journeys work well for families. Each lists its terrain and accessibility, including steps and surfaces, so you can decide before you set off.

Do I have to finish in one go?

No. Your check-ins are saved, so you can come back and finish another day.

What's the difference between a walking journey and a walking tour?

A walking tour usually means a guide leading a group. A walking journey is self-guided: you walk it on your own terms, with the curator's writing as your guide.

Find a journey

The best way to understand a walking journey is to walk one. Pick one near you, head to the first stop and look up.

Practical details checked September 2026. Things change, so check opening times and closures before you go.