The Celtic Way is a connecting path two fascinating lands like Ireland and Wales, an inner journey that winds through history, spirituality and nature. Walking the Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way means leaving modernity behind to dive into an ancient world, where every step resonates with the echo of the past. It is a return to the roots, a way to reconnect with the land, with ourselves and with the history that preceded us.
The journey begins in the south-east of Ireland, in Ferns, at the holy well of Maedoc, a place that exudes mystic charm. Among the green Irish hills, spirituality still seems to breathe, rooted in the millenary traditions of the Celtic people, and the pilgrim who ventures on this route will soon discover that it is not a simple excursion: each stage of the journey is a piece of a story complex and fascinating, made up of saints, warriors, and common people who have left their mark on these lands.
The pilgrimage along the Celtic Path has its roots in distant times, where Christian religiosity and ancestral cults have alternated and mixed over the centuries. Walking among these landscapes, you perceive the presence of the past, which still lives in legends and stories handed down from generation to generation. Saint Aidan, one of the protagonists of this tradition, has long been venerated for his alleged sanctity and great wisdom linked to nature: the bees, which he brought with him, were a symbol of lifeorder and harmony in a world that sought to understand the forces of nature and integrate them into daily life. The Brehon Laws, ancient Irish laws, were so advanced that they even regulated beekeeping, a detail that reminds us how deeply linked humans were to their environment.
Leaving the Irish coast, the pilgrim continues towards Pembrokeshire, Wales. Here, the ferry that leads to Fishguard represents a symbolic passage: from the land of Ireland, marked by legends, you land in Wales, where nature and history merge in a primordial spectacle. The Pembrokeshire cliffs are a unique visual and sensorial experience: the sea crashing against the rocks, the wind blowing wildly, the vastness of the landscape that seems to sweep away all thoughts. It is a place that invites reflection, that forces you to deal with the immensity of nature and the smallness of the human being in front of it.
Among the most beautiful points of the walk is Strumble Head, a wild cliff overlooking the ocean. At this place the pilgrim finds himself alone with the sound of the sea and the call of the sea birds: it is a moment of solitude that may seem frightening, but which in reality offers a precious opportunity for introspection, given that the landscape seems made specifically for reflect on the fragility of man and the power of the natural forces that surround him. Every stone, every path seems to carry a story with it, and those who walk on it cannot help but feel part of a larger narrative.
At Whitesands Bay, another pivotal moment awaits the traveler, who will soon discover a place imbued with historical and spiritual significance. According to legend, this is where St Patrick felt the call to return to Ireland to spread Christianity. The sea that laps the coast seems to bring back time, and sometimes the waves rediscover ancient human remains, skeletons of a distant past that remind us how much these lands have witnessed lives in search of redemption and peace.
The journey ends in St Davids, in an atmosphere of peace and contemplation. The cathedral of St David’s which stands majestically here represents the point of arrival, even if it is curiously inclined, a detail which symbolizes the precariousness of human life. That slight inclination is a warning: even the grandest works are subject to transience and instability. The cathedral itself, built on fragile ground, reminds the pilgrim that life is like a journey: made of uncertain steps, but always directed towards a destination.
Don’t want to miss our news?