Partner
The Confraternity of St James
The British St James confraternity, founded in London in 1983: it runs two hostels on the Spanish Camino, issues pilgrim passports and guidebooks, and with three English Caminos it has brought the Way of St James back to Britain.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
St James' Way England111.7 kilometers in 4–5 days from Reading Abbey, the medieval center of the cult of St. James in England, to the old pilgrim port of Southampton—flat terrain, marked in blue and yellow since 2022, passing through a Roman town, Chalk Brook, and Winchester Cathedral along the way. And it offers a real benefit: This route is the officially recognized prerequisite that allows you to begin your Camino Inglés in A Coruña.Explore this Camino- Finchale Camino Inglés55.2 kilometres in 2–3 days from the hermitage of St Godric near Durham to Gainford on the Tees — with a UNESCO cathedral, a Roman fort and Zurbarán's sons of Jacob along the way. And with a real payoff: three stamps from County Durham plus 75 kilometres from A Coruña add up to the Compostela.Explore this Camino
- St Frideswide's Way64.6 kilometres with 128 metres of ascent from Oxford to Reading, always beside the Thames: from the shrine of St Frideswide in England's smallest cathedral to the ruins of Reading Abbey, where Henry I lies buried and the Hand of St James was venerated for four hundred years. Four stages via Abingdon, Dorchester on Thames, Wallingford, the Goring Gap and Pangbourne, 24 churches along the way, opened on 26 June 2024. No waymarking of its own, no hostel network, but the Great Western Main Line almost beside you — and in Reading the connection to the St James' Way to Southampton.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
The Confraternity of Saint James (CSJ) was founded in London in 1983 and is a registered charity with an office on Blackfriars Road. It has its own library, regional groups across the country and a shop full of guidebooks to routes in Spain, Portugal, Britain and beyond.
On the Spanish Camino it is best known for two hostels: the Refugio Gaucelmo in Rabanal del Camino on the Camino Francés and the Albergue San Martín in Miraz on the Camino del Norte. And at home it has brought back something England lost in 1539: for four hundred years Reading Abbey venerated the hand of the Apostle – today the St James' Way starts there.
The association's routes
The CSJ promotes three English Caminos:
- St James' Way England – 111.7 km from Reading Abbey via Winchester to the old pilgrim port of Southampton, waymarked with its own blue-and-yellow signs since 2022
- St Frideswide's Way – 64.6 km along the Thames from Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford to Reading, opened together with the cathedral in 2024
- Finchale Camino Inglés – 55.2 km from Finchale Priory near Durham to Gainford on the Tees, run by the Friends of Finchale Camino and promoted by the CSJ
What the association does for pilgrims
The CSJ issues the pilgrim passport – £6 (approx. €7) for non-members, free for members, available online – and the official St James' Way guidebook (6th edition 2026, £12, approx. €14; as of September 2026). On top of that come guidebooks to dozens of routes on the Continent, the library and advice for first-time pilgrims.
Regional groups organise pilgrim days and meet-ups, such as the Manchester Pilgrim Day, and online the CSJ invites you to formats like the “Virtual Albergue”. If you'd like to get involved, you can volunteer as a hospitalero in the hostels in Spain.
Contact and getting involved
Website: csj.org.uk with shop, pilgrim passport, hostels and events · Based in London. You can join or donate via the website; members receive the pilgrim passport free of charge.