Saint Patrick’s Way: The Pilgrim walk map is a 132km (82 mile) trail connecting Armagh and Downpatrick as the two locations on the island of Ireland most closely related to Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick’s Way is suitable for leisure walking and pilgrimages. The Walk begins at the Navan Centre outside the ancient city of Armagh winding through beautiful landscapes and historic cities, to end at Saint Patrick’s final resting place at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick.

View the walk across the Borough using this interactive map link 

For those looking for places to stay along the route, view nearby accommodation here..  For a full listing of accommodation options across the whole area, click here.

Navan Centre to Armagh – 5km

As Emain Macha, Navan Fort was the ancient seat of Kings and earliest capital of Ulster. Saint Patrick is thought to have healed a local chieftain, Daire, who then gave him the site on the hill in Armagh to build his church. In Ard Macha, or Armagh, Saint Patrick established the city as a great seat of Christianity, as it remains today, and the city grew around his church. The city is rich in elegant Georgian architecture and fascinating Christian heritage. Explore Saint Patrick’s Church Of Ireland Cathedral, Saint Patrick’s RC Cathedral, Armagh County Museum, Armagh Robinson Library, 5 Vicar’s Hill and Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Scarva to Newry – 20 km

This section of your journey is via Newry Canal towpath, on mainly flat waterside paths, to the historic city of Newry. Newry Canal is the oldest summit level canal in Britain and Ireland, and opened in 1742, connecting Portadown and Newry. It once had 14 lock gates. The workers who dug the canal were known as ‘navvies’ and these men lived in camps alongside the canal as they worked.

While travelling on his mission in Ireland, Saint Patrick spent time in a place called Glen Righe, or Clanrye. Patrick planted a yew tree here above the Clanrye River that flows through Newry, as a symbol of his faith. Today, Newry city’s coat of arms shows Saint Patrick between yew trees.

Rostrevor to Newcastle – 38km

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty area, you’ll follow parts of the Ulster Way and Mourne Way, through the foothills of the mountains on spectacular terrain. CS Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, holidayed in the Mournes near Rostrevor, and the location inspired his fictional landscapes.

The summit of Slieve Donard, the highest peak in Northern Ireland, has a hermit’s cell in the Great Cairn and an oratory in the Lesser Cairn, both constructed by Saint Donard. He was the son of a local pagan chieftain and an important disciple of Saint Patrick. Donard’s conversion to Christianity is said to have been prompted by Saint Patrick bringing Donard’s bull back to life after it had been butchered.

Tyrella to Downpatrick – 16 km

The story of Christianity in Ireland began in Downpatrick and the Lecale area, where Saint Patrick brought his boat ashore on Strangford Lough. Visitors can still walk in Saint Patrick’s footsteps, from Saul Church, said to be the first ecclesiastical site in Ireland, to The Ruins of St. Tassach’s Church (near Raholp), famed as the place where Saint Patrick was given the last rites, or the holy Wells at Struell, where legend has it that Patrick sung psalms all night whilst naked! Today, these wells are more commonly known for their reputed healing powers. The spiritual centre of this section of The Pilgrim’s Walk is Down Cathedral, a place of Christian worship since the 5th century.