A wooden footpath sign post for St Michael's Way pilgrim route near St Ives Cornwall South West England UK GB
St Michael's Way is a mile walking route between Lelant, near St Ives, and St Michael's Mount, near Penzance. Due to its historical significance St Michael's Way is the only footpath in Britain that is part of a designated European Cultural Route. The historical significance of St Michael's Way lies in the fact that it is part of a network of pilgrim routes that lead to St James' Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain, one of the three most important sites of Christian pilgrimage in the world. The route, which dates back to pre-historic times (10000 BC to 410 AD), is thought to have been used by pilgrims and missionaries who arrived from Ireland or Wales and chose to abandon their ships and walk across the peninsula from Lelant to Marazion, rather than navigating the treacherous waters around Land's End. These early missionaries, who are now commemorated as saints in place names throughout the county, are thought to have been instrumental in Cornwall's rapid conversion to the Christian faith. Their trail was largely forgotten until, in 1987, the Council of Europe decided to promote the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela as a European cultural symbol. The English section of the route was developed by Cornwall County Council with the assistance of a local group, Bredereth Sen Jago (Cornish Pilgrims of St James) and the Cornish Bureau for European Relations. St Michael's Way officially opened in 2004. St Michael himself, after whom the route was named, was the patron saint of high places. In folklore he is portrayed as a dragon slayer, like his god-brother, St George, and it is suggested that this symbolism grew out of the fact that many pre-Christian sacred sites were on high ground; the ‘dragons' that St Michael slayed were, perhaps, the last vestiges of the old religion.
Size: 2677px × 4016px
Location: St. Ives, Cornwall, England, UK
Photo credit: © John Keates / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: britain, compostela, cornwall, cultural, de, designated, england, european, footpath, gb, ives, lelant, michael, michaels, northern, part, pilgrim, post, route, route., saint, santiago, sign, south, spain, st, uk, west, wooden
