St James' Way

The St James' Way is a newly waymarked long-distance walking trail that retraces the steps of medieval pilgrims from Reading to Southampton, a total of 68 miles. It is an accredited part of the Camino Ingles (English Way), one of the routes of the world-famous Camino de Santiago in north-west Spain. From Reading, Southampton can be reached in 5 to 8 days. 

Starting off in Reading

The start of the St James' Way is officially in front of St James' Church in Reading's Abbey Quarter. Come the day before you aim to set off to visit Reading Museum, which acts as the official Pilgrims’ Office for the St James’ Way, to get your pilgrim passport stamped. You can also buy the St James' Way guidebook, Harper Collins A-Z map guide to the route and your pilgrim passport in the museum shop. 

You will also want to explore medieval Reading and its pilgrim connections such as the Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham at St Anne's Church in Caversham and the Abbey Ruins themselves as well as the new Camino mural "Las Estrellas del Camino" on Friar Street. The Reading for Modern Pilgrims map will guide you. 

Passport stamps

These are the 6 places to get your passport stamped at the start of the St James' Way in Reading (the stamps all count towards your Compostela if you are planning to finish in Santiago at any point):-

• St James Church (call ahead if possible, 0118 957 4171)
• Reading Museum (open Tues – Fri, 10am – 4pm; Sat, 10am – 5pm; closed Sun & Mon)
• Carluccio’s, The Forbury, RG1 (open Mon – Fri from 8am; Sat & Sun from 10am, earliest close is 9pm on Sun.)
• Novotel Reading Hotel, 25b Friar St, Reading RG1 1DP (close to the station)
• Ibis Reading Hotel, 25A Friar St, Reading RG1 1DP (next door to the Novotel)
• Roseate Hotel, 26 The Forbury, Reading RG1 3EJ (in the Abbey Quarter)

Accomodation and baggage carrying along the route

For ideas of walker-friendly accommodation, visit Where to Stay in Reading for Walkers. The Novotel, Ibis and Roseate are pilgrim-friendly hotels with stamps for pilgrim passports. There is also a new service, Walking.Holiday that will support you along the St James' Way, book your accommodation or carry your bags.

Resources for walkers

The Confraternity of St James have lots of advice and an online shop to help you prepare for your walk along the St James' Way (and also onto Spain). You can buy their newly updated pocket St James' Way guidebook, the new 32 page A-Z map of the route by A-Z Maps /Harper Collins, a pilgrim passport and much more. They also produce a useful list of accommodation along the route as well as a list of pubs, cafes and other locations that will stamp your passport along the route.  

How to walk the St James' Way 

A number of travel writers have produced excellent recent articles about their own journeys along the St James' Way. Visit Reading has also walked it in short stages.  

• The English Camino (August 2024) - Mark Rowe in The Ramblers Magazine, The Walk
• St James Way: The return of the UK's medieval highway - Jessica Vincent, BBC Travel
• I did the English leg of the Camino de Santiago – starting in Reading - Sarah Baxter, The Guardian
• Read our St James Way blog to find out how we walked it in stages and see photos of each leg so you have a real idea of what to expect. 

The history of the St. James' Way

Throughout the Middle Ages, Reading was recognised as a centre of pilgrimage. The focus in Reading was Reading Abbey, which possessed over 200 relics including the Hand of St James.  Reading Museum, the offical pilgrim ofice in Reading, has more information on the history.

On to Spain

Camino routes  eventually end in Santiago de Compostela in Galica, north west Spain. After the St James' Way you can walk the Camino Ingles (English Way) in Galicia, starting in Ferrol or A Coruna.It is the shortest camino in Spain to reach Santiagio. The Association of Councils of the Camino Ingles (English Way) have lots of information about how to walk the route in Spain.