The Whithorn Way

Experience a journey like no other on a pilgrimage route from one of Scotland’s finest religious sites, to one of its oldest. The Whithorn Way links the magnificent Glasgow Cathedral to historic Whithorn Priory and the Solway Firth Coast and offers a walk through the country’s religious past amongst the varied scenery of southwest Scotland.

As a pilgrimage route, the Whithorn Way links many spiritual and religious sites as it connects the industrial Central Belt to the beautiful landscapes and coast of the South Machars.

The 143-mile-long Whithorn Way begins in the heart of Scotland’s largest city at Glasgow Cathedral, before following the River Clyde to historic Govan, where shipbuilding and Dark Age heritage coexist, then to Paisley Abbey, through the rolling lush countryside of Renfrewshire and on to the Firth of Clyde and the breezy Ayrshire coast.

The route then weaves inland, through the heart of Robert Burns country, via the village of Barrhill and thence into Dumfries & Galloway via Glenluce Abbey to the 11th Century Whithorn Priory. This is where, as medieval lives of the saint tell us, the Gospel was introduced to Scotland by St Ninian in the fifth century and which remains a place of worship today.

The Whithorn Way then continues beyond Whithorn itself, via Rispain Iron Age Fort and to the Solway Firth coast at Luce Bay, passing St. Ninian’s Cave and St. Ninian’s Chapel and ending on the coast near the harbourside village of Isle of Whithorn with its superb views across the Irish Sea towards the Isle of Man.