On This Holy Island by Oliver Smith | A Slow Travel Book Review
Pilgrimages are deeply personal to each individual who embarks on one. They might be organised - a set route - travelled alone or with others, but a pilgrimage will leave a lasting impression on each and every one of its travellers. We think of pilgrimages in religious terms, such as the Camino de Santiago, but they can take many forms. In his book, On This Holy Island, Oliver Smith seeks to explore what a pilgrimage might mean to a modern British society.
A Modern Pilgrimage Reimagined
This isn’t a book about travelling towards a destination, but rather, a book about journeys. It’s a book about people - about us - as much as it is about the pilgrimages themselves. Smith challenges traditional assumptions about pilgrimages, but perhaps more importantly, what it means to be a pilgrim in a modern, fast-paced world. As many of us seek a slower, simpler and more seasonal approach to life, we can learn a lot from notions of pilgrimage Smith explores As we all journey on our own pilgrimage through life, we are constantly challenged to seek those things which mean most to us - which offer us purpose and fulfilment.
Sacred Landscapes, Ancient and New
There is certainly a spiritual dimension to this book - not in a religious sense, but in a quest for meaning. In On This Holy Island, Oliver Smith explores pilgrim paths of the past such as the Ridgeway and the causeway to Lindisfarne. These routes cross ancient landscapes offering us a ceaseless glimpse into the lives of those who came before us. But as Smith explores, modern pilgrimages can take many forms - to football stadiums and festivals to name but two.
Far from being consigned to the past, pilgrimages teach us much about the present. They deepen our awareness of place, landscape and time - but also of each other. Our identities are shaped by the ground on which we tread, and for all the ancient landmarks of the past, a modern world seeks its own sacred spaces where pilgrims can find community, solace and comfort.
Smith describes powerfully the pilgrimage to Anfield in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, when Liverpool became a three-cathedral city. Over that week in April 1989, over a million pilgrims travelled to Anfield - by train, by bus and by car - but many walking the last mile to the two-acre green sanctuary. Just like the cathedrals in its shadow, the stadium itself became a sacred and spiritual place, set aside for dignity and respect.
The Pilgrim’s Journey: Outer Path, Inner Meaning
As we move through life, we find ourselves on many journeys, each one allowing us the opportunity to create meaning and identity, and to seek something deeper in a busy, crowded world. Perhaps in the ancient landscapes of the past, we find a mirror of the present. Hilaire Belloc wrote of an instinctive need to tread in the footsteps of our ancestors. In doing so, we don’t merely step back in time, but meet our past and future selves in the present. In On This Holy Island, Smith offers a profound eulogy for what we’ve lost, but also hope for reawakening in a new age.
A Slow Living Perspective: Who This Book Will Speak To
In On This Holy Island, Smith offers a compelling case for pilgrimage in the modern world - not as a means to recreate the past, but to seek a deeper understanding of the present. Thought-provoking, rooted in history, and with a sense of nostalgic humour, Smith finds in his own pilgrimage across modern Britain so much of what we seek in a slow, simple and seasonal life. Just like the pilgrimages themselves, this is a deeply personal book - one in which all might find meaning, whether you’re a pilgrim, a walker, a historian, a traveller, or simply someone seeking a deeper purpose in life. I think these lines sum it up so well, as Smith writes:
‘I had come to see my home country in another light. Throughout my long journey I had encountered many people who said we were on the cusp of a great awakening, a new golden age. Some of them seemed deluded, dubious or daft, but in that short moment of communion between earth and sky, feeling the grass between my toes and sun on my face, I could not have disagreed with any of them.’
As we too feel the grass between our toes and the sun on our face - metaphorical or otherwise - I found this to be a deeply enriching book, full of optimism and hope in an often depressing world.
On this Holy Island: A Modern Pilgrimage Across Britain by Oliver Smith was published in paperback by Bloomsbury in 2025, ISBN 9781399409049.
I purchased this copy myself, but I do accept books for review if they are in keeping with the themes of A Life More Creative. If you would like me to consider a title, please see my Reviews Policy for more details and get in touch here.
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