Why I Want to Walk From London to Canterbury

Ever since I finished walking the Camino Francés, I have been longing for the road again.

I miss waking up each morning with one clear purpose. I miss putting on my shoes, lifting my backpack, and stepping into the unknown. I even miss the tired feet, the simple meals, and the quiet hours when there was nothing to do but walk and think.

That longing is what first made me think seriously about walking from London to Canterbury. Still, this is not just another trail I found while searching for my next adventure. Canterbury has lived in my imagination since I was a little girl.

The Canterbury Tales Captured My Imagination

I have always been fascinated by The Canterbury Tales.

The idea of a group of people traveling together and sharing stories along the way stayed with me. They were headed toward the same place, but each traveler carried a different personality, history, and point of view.

Even as a child, I understood that the stories mattered as much as the destination.

Looking back, it makes sense that the book spoke to me. I grew into a woman who loves travel, culture, and storytelling. I am always curious about the stories people carry and what they reveal when we slow down long enough to listen.

Now, I have the chance to walk toward the place that first entered my life through those pages.

I Have Been Longing for the Camino

The Camino changed how I experience travel.

Before I began, I knew I wanted adventure. I also wanted to challenge myself and make space for reflection. However, I did not understand how deeply I would fall in love with the rhythm of life on foot.

Every day had its own story. Some days brought beautiful scenery and easy conversation. Other days brought sore feet, exhaustion, heat, and the temptation to stop. Still, the road kept teaching me to take the day as it came.

I learned that strength does not always mean pushing harder. Sometimes, strength means resting. It can mean accepting help, changing the plan, or admitting that your body needs care.

Since returning home, I have missed the woman I was on the Camino. I miss her courage. I miss her curiosity. Most of all, I miss how present she felt in her own life.

You can follow more of that journey through my Camino de Santiago stories.

Walking Into a Story I Have Carried for Years

Walking from London to Canterbury brings two important parts of my life together.

One part is the little girl who became fascinated by travelers telling stories on the road. The other is the woman who walked across northern Spain and discovered how much she loved the simplicity of putting one foot in front of the other.

I could take a train from London to Canterbury and arrive quickly. However, that is not the experience I want.

I want to feel the distance. I want to watch London slowly give way to smaller communities, green spaces, and country paths. I want to experience the places between the beginning and the destination.

That slower pace is one reason I believe travel is a political act. Walking makes it harder to ignore the communities that exist beyond famous landmarks. It gives us time to notice how people live, what they value, and how history continues to shape everyday life.

The Story I Am Preparing to Tell

I have already begun preparing to tell the story of this walk with more depth than a simple day-by-day travel diary.

I have signed up for guided visits at Southwark Cathedral and Rochester Cathedral. These visits will help me understand the history of the pilgrimage, the communities connected to these churches, and the people who have moved through these spaces over the centuries.

Southwark feels like the right place to begin. It connects my journey to the world of The Canterbury Tales and to the long tradition of travelers leaving London for Canterbury. I want to stand there and think about all the people who began with their own hopes, questions, and reasons for walking.

Rochester will offer another layer of the story. I am interested in its cathedral, its history, and its place along the route. I want to learn about the people who stopped there before continuing toward Canterbury.

Then, Canterbury Cathedral will become the ending I have imagined since childhood. I want to arrive tired, curious, and fully aware of the miles behind me.

These churches are not simply buildings I plan to photograph. They are part of the story of the road. Their walls have watched people arrive with grief, faith, curiosity, fear, and hope.

My own reasons for walking are not religious. Still, I respect what pilgrimage has meant to people throughout history. I want to understand that tradition while telling the story from my own perspective as a Black and Latina woman, a mother, a cultural traveler, and a lifelong storyteller.

I will also pay attention to the food, villages, conversations, and small moments between the churches. Those details often reveal the heart of a place.

A Pilgrimage Can Be Personal

I do not believe a pilgrimage has to belong to one religion or one kind of traveler.

For me, pilgrimage begins with intention. It means stepping away from ordinary routines and creating enough quiet to hear your own thoughts.

A person may walk because of faith, grief, gratitude, curiosity, healing, or change. I am walking because I miss the Camino and because Canterbury has called to me since childhood.

The British Pilgrimage Trust shares resources for people interested in exploring pilgrimage routes across Britain. Southwark Cathedral also offers information about its connection to the Pilgrims’ Way. Meanwhile, Canterbury Cathedral welcomes modern pilgrims arriving through several routes.

Answering the Call of the Road Again

I do not want to walk from London to Canterbury because it is the longest or most difficult route I could choose.

I want to walk it because it feels personal.

It connects a childhood fascination with the woman I have become. It gives me a way to return to the rhythm I have been missing while walking into a story I have carried for most of my life.

I wrote about my growing desire for freedom and adventure in Seeking Adventure and Finding Me in 2023. This walk feels like another chapter in that same journey.

The road has been calling me again.

This time, it is leading me toward Canterbury.