Spaces for pondering, meditating, praying and ‘being’: 10 of Britain’s best small pilgrimage sites

Remote churches, peace monuments and Celtic-style hillside etchings make for a meditative – and free – new year pilgrimage

If the holiday period has left you in need of some calm, the Small Pilgrim Places Network might have the answer. Founded by the late Reverend Jim Cotter, the network consists of meditative places, gardens, holy wells, ruins, churches and open spaces in England and Wales that are “small, simple, welcoming and inclusive”. The network’s online directory lists more than 70 places, from an ancient church carved from a quarry crag to woodland sanctuaries and tiny labyrinths. Here are 10 favourites: all are free to visit and most are open to the public, although in some cases advance notice is required.