Queen Eleanor Crosses Way
A 215-mile long-distance path beginning in Harby, Nottinghamshire, where Queen Eleanor (wife of Edward I) died, and ending at Westminster Abbey, where she is buried alongside the King. The route follows a path including all the Eleanor Crosses erected in her memory, marking the nightly resting places along the route when her body was transported to Westminster Abbey. With map, statistics, and GPX route file.
Statistics and Files
Grid Ref: SK 87995 70700
Distance: 215 miles (346 km)
Time: 80–100 hours
Duration: 12–22 days
Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps (1:25,000):
161 London South
162 Greenwich and Gravesend
173 London North
174 Epping Forest and Lee Valley
181 Chiltern Hills North, Aylesbury, Berkhamstead and Chesham
182 St Albans, Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead and Welwyn Garden City
192 Buckingham and Milton Keynes
193 Luton and Stevenage
207 Newport Pagnell and Northampton South
223 Northampton, Market Harborough, Brixworth and Pitsford
224 Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough and Rockingham Forest
234 Rutland Water, Stamford and Oakham
247 Grantham, Bottesford and Colsterworth
271 Newark on Trent, Retford, Southwell and Saxilby
272 Lincoln, Sleaford, Metheringham and Navenby
Summary
The Eleanor Crosses were a series of monuments erected to commemorate Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. Eleanor fell ill during a trip north to meet her husband, taking refuge at a manor house in the village of Harby near Lincoln, where she passed away on 28 November 1290. Following Eleanor’s death, her body was taken first to Lincoln and then on to London to be buried at Westminster Abbey.
Deep in mourning, King Edward I decreed that a memorial cross would be built wherever her body laid en route. In total, 12 Eleanor Crosses were created. The 215-mile walk visits the 16 key places associated with the procession of her body, using scenic rights of way rather than the major tracks the original procession would have followed. The 16 places include Harby (where she died), Lincoln Cathedral (where she was embalmed and her viscera, less her heart, were buried), the 12 locations where crosses were erected, Blackfriars Church in London (where her heart was kept), and Westminster Abbey (where the rest of her body was interred).