A festival of walking is being planned during May along the Cornish Celtic Way.

Between May 5 and 20, a series of guided walks will take place along the route that is inspired by journeys and settlements linked with Cornwall’s Celtic saints.

The Cornish Celtic Way is a new pilgrimage route from St Germans to St Michael’s Mount that covers 125 miles in all. It includes 60 miles of the South West Peninsula Coastal Path as well as two established pilgrimage routes: The Saints’ Way and Saint Michael’s Way.

The walks will be led by different individuals, including the Revd Nigel Marns who devised this modern pilgrim route. One of the walks will provide an opportunity to learn some of the Cornish language.

On the evening of May 10, the Rt Revd Dr Christopher Goldsmith, Bishop of St Germans, will give a talk about pilgrimage at St Petroc’s Church, Bodmin. Bishop Chris has a particular interest in pilgrimage and last year walked the Cornish Celtic Way in its entirety. He has also walked the Camino de Santiago.

The first event of the festival is on May 5, when pilgrims will walk through Falmouth accompanying the granite statue of St Piran that has been carved in Cornwall and will be embarking upon a journey by boat to Brittany, France, to its ultimate destination of La Vallée des Saints. More details on this event will be available from www.cornishcelticway.co.uk closer to the time.

Walks include one from Looe to Polperro on Saturday, May 12, starting from St Nicholas Church at Looe at 10am and finishing at Polperro town car park at approximately 3pm.

On Thursday, May 17, there’s a walk from St Germans Priory (2pm) to Seaton, arriving at Seaton car park at approximately 3pm.

Drivers will be offered a lift back to the start at the ends of the walks.

The Cornish Celtic Way facilitator, Caroline Marwood, said: ‘The festival will provide an excellent opportunity to see Cornwall at its best, in the late spring, and will also tie in with Visit Cornwall’s #CornishSpringTime promotion.

‘Our Saturday walks have proved to be very popular and this will be our second walking festival where we package a series of walks together. Some people might like to do just one of them, while others might like to go on all of the guided walks and attend the evening talks, too.

‘The book of the Cornish Celtic Way has been selling very well since its launch at the beginning of February, and clearly taps into an interest people have in walking, spirituality and pilgrimage.

‘We are still also working on a network of accommodation providers who are particularly interested in putting up pilgrims.

‘Pilgrims’ needs vary enormously, from those who believe carrying their sleeping bags on their backs and sleeping on a church floor is part of the experience, to those who prefer a hotel meal and bed at the end of the day.

‘Eventually we would like to have a network of providers who offer something particular to pilgrims and who we can recommend. Again, I’d love to hear from accommodation providers who would like to get involved with this exciting project.’

For updates, people can go to the website cornishcelticway.co.uk or follow the Cornish Celtic Way Facebook group.