10 great European pilgrimages to tackle in your lifetime

"To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history," declared Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

"To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God."

While many do, as they have done for centuries, embark on these ancient routes for religious reasons, they've become well-trodden paths among tourists and keen hikers too.

Yorkshire-based photographer Derry Brabbs walked 10 of Europe's greatest pilgrimes - no quick or easy task - armed with his camera, and the resulting images and commentary make up his new book, Pilgrimage: The Great Pilgrim Routes of Britain and Europe.

Here are some highlights from all 10, taking us from Wales and the Scottish Highlands, to France, Italy and beyond.

1. Via Podiensis

Highlights: Le Puy-en-Velay was the starting point of the oldest recorded pilgrimage from France to Santiago de Compostela, made in 950 AD by Bishop Godesclac. The jewel in the crown of this shorter version through France? The Romanesque chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe, otherwise known as "the needle". It takes 268 steps to reach the pinnacle of the 280-ft volcanic rock upon which it stands. This walk also passes the magnificent 14th Century Pont Valentre, over the River Lot.

Le Puy-en-Velay to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

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2. Via De La Plata

Highlights: This 460-mile slog is long but enduringly popular and passes directly through the most dramatic surviving feature of the ruined Roman town of Caparra, a quadruple-arched gateway located just outside of the historic site and museum.

Seville to Astorga – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

3. Munchner Jakobsweg

Highlights: This route makes for an absorbing journey laced with ever-changing landscapes, enough Bavarian beer to quench the thirst of any pilgrim, and a selection of stunning church architecture - among them the jaw-dropping Pilgrimage Church of the Scourged Saviour at Wies.

Munich to Lindau – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

4. St Cuthbert's Way

Highlights: Wideopen Hill, at halfway, is the highest point on this pilgrimage. The route only opened officially in 1996, starting at Melrose Abbey in the Scottish Borders, where Saint Cuthburt spent his formative years as a monk, and ending at Holy Island, where he was buried in 687 AD.

Brabbs remarks: "Seldom has a landscape been so aptly named because with every step of the ascent the views in all direction are spectacular".

Melrose Abbey to Holy Islanda – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

5. Les Chemis Du Mont-Saint-Michel

Highlights: Aside from the iconic island of Mont Saint-Michel, where this route ends, is the unmissable basilica of Saint-Gervais, where you can see the encased skull of St Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches - a man attributed with founding the first religious community on the island during the 8th Century.

Rouen to Mont-Saint-Michel – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

6. Camino Frances

Highlights: Starting in south western France and finishing in the Spanish region of Galicia, sights to behold along the way include the ruined medieval hilltop castle and church of Nuestra Senora de Manzano, which dominates the important pilgrimage village of Castrojeriz.

Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

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7. Via di Francesco

Highlights: This religious voyage is devoted to the life of Saint Francis, and the grand, sprawling Basilica di San Francesco built in his honour is strangely at odds with his preachings of simplicity and abstinence.

La Verna to Assisi – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

8. Via Coloniensis

Highlights: The Via Coloniensis - a scenic delight which runs between two of Germany's key Roman cities - passes directly in front of the lavish Augustusburg Palace in Bruhl, just south of Cologne. This stately masterpiece is considered to have been the earliest and best example of early 18th Century Rococo architecture in Germany and was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1984.

Cologne to Trier – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

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9. Via Francigena (option one)

Highlights: This passage encompasses one of Europe's most beautiful stretches of natural scenery. The rolling mountains of Switzerland proved something of a challenge for medieval pilgrims, but the views along the way were (and still are) very rewarding.

Pontarlier to Great St Bernard Pass – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

Via Francigena (option two)

Highlights: The Great St Bernard Pass, a Swiss mountain crossing 8,100ft above sea level, has welcomed many a pilgrim over the years. The road leads to Rome.

Great St Bernard Pass to Rome – Europe's 10 best pilgrimage walks

10. St Winefride's Well, Wales

Set on a steep hillside below the Welsh town of Holywell, this has been a pilgrimage stop-off point for more than 1,300 years - probably making it the oldest in Britain. Its namesake well is devoted to 7th Century nun Saint Windefride, who according to legend was decapitated there by a spurned suitor. It’s now encased in a 16th Century chapel and is believed, according to folklore, to have magical healing properties.

Pilgrimage by Derry Brabbs, priced at £30 and published by Frances Lincoln, an imprint of The Quarto Group, is out now.