Simon Reeve: A pilgrim's progress The first episode took me south, from Holy Island to Canterbury, with stops at Lincoln, Walsingham and London. Along the way, I tasted a delicious potage that nourished medieval pilgrims, and played the part of a lovelorn prince in an impromptu retelling of a Chaucerian tale next to a supermarket in the Old Kent Road. For the second journey I travelled across Europe, following parts of the Camino, perhaps the most popular long-distance walking route in the world, to the beautiful and holy city of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. From there I zipped back to the Alps, to the pass where for centuries different pilgrimage routes from northern Europe to Italy all converged, before I headed on to Rome. For the third programme I travelled from glorious Istanbul to the Holy Land and Jerusalem, the ultimate destination for a Christian pilgrim. Everywhere I went there were tales and travellers. Near Calais I met Ian Brodrick, a long-distance hiker who has spent 10 years walking thousands of miles across the continent and has trekked all the way from Britain to Jerusalem. On the Camino I met a determined American hiker who had endured an astonishing 72 operations following a horrific house fire. In Nazareth I was introduced to David, a reformed drug addict who has been on his own personal pilgrimage. He now wears biblical clothing and lives in a historically accurate recreation of a first-century village, rearing and shearing sheep. From the start, the journeys were a revelation. Like many of us, I had associated pilgrimage just with piety and blisters. But for hundreds of years a holy journey was the motivation for extraordinary adventures, in comparison with which our comfy modern travels sadly pale. Jerusalem Our medieval peasant ancestors had few opportunities for exploration, and if they left their fields they could be arrested for vagrancy. But with written permission from their bishop they could escape a life of drudgery and set off on pilgrimage across the country or continent, on magnificent quests to places of myth and legend. Imagine arriving for the first time at Lincoln cathedral as a medieval pilgrim. For decades it was the tallest building on the planet. Tired, probably ragged and hungry, you would have been confronted by a sight that made your jaw drop. I found it beautiful and awe-inspiring when arriving there on my way to Canterbury. I'm slightly ashamed to say I'd never been before. Yet for me, the cathedral is a runner-up to Ayia Sofia in Istanbul as the finest building in the world, and would surely have evoked feelings of holy wonder in our distant forebears. Pilgrimage to such places could be astonishing, enlightening, difficult and dangerous for our ancestors, with thieves and disease a constant threat. It could also involve excitement and temptation, with inns and brothels established along major pilgrimage routes. Being away from home was an opportunity for vice as well as virtue. The origins of the modern travel industry lie in pilgrimage. It is responsible for spreading thoughts, belief, culture, food and such deeply practical concepts as washing, which fell out of favour with dirty western Europeans until pilgrimage and travel to the east reminded us of the merits of an occasional bath. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem Towns were once defined by their proximity to holy sites, and shrines vied to draw pilgrims with tales of miracles and healing. Up to an astonishing 200,000 medieval pilgrims travelled to Canterbury each year, out of a national population of just 2.5 million. Pilgrimage got Britain on the move. But then and now, pilgrimage was not just the preserve of the saintly and devout. In the 800s priests were criticised for going on pilgrimage just to escape their duties. In the 13th century a French bishop complained that people were going on pilgrimage "out of mere curiosity and the love of novelty." They weren't so unlike us. The thrill of travelling in foreign lands still draws people to ancient pilgrim routes today. Some 200,000 hikers and bikers completed the Camino to Santiago last year. Ancient walking routes from Britain to Jerusalem are now being studied and mapped. Long-closed refuges and guesthouses on pilgrim routes are reopening. In Western Europe there are thought to be more than 6,000 pilgrimage sites attracting tens of millions of visitors every year. Pilgrimage is experiencing a revival. Nazareth Village, Israel In Britain, continental Europe and the Middle East, I met people trekking towards ancient shrines who claimed or confessed they had no faith, but were drawn to the journey because it combined a clear destination with history and meaning. I felt it too. At the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem I sobbed at the memory of a childhood of Christmases, and was utterly overwhelmed by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Christianity, but also the origin of so much of our civilisation, art, music and conflict. Filming the series was a deeply moving experience, a journey that helped me to understand more about where we're from, and perhaps a little more about who we are. When I asked him what he was doing on a pilgrimage, Ricky, one of the young American students I met at the top of the Alps, said, "I've got to get some meaning in my life." It was an honest, unguarded line, expressing the desire of many and capturing the allure of the modern pilgrimage, for those of faith and those with none. Going on a pilgrimage, whether to Old Trafford, Memphis or the Holy Land, can provide a sense of purpose often lacking from life and much modern travel. So don't just leave pilgrimage to the pious. Get on the road, and head towards your own Jerusalem. Simon Reeve presents the BBC2 series Pilgrimage, which begins on December 3 at 9pm. For more information, see simonreeve.co.uk Great pilgrimages tours around the world Holy Land A sacred part of the world in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, the Holy Land draws pilgrims from around the world to its numerous religious sites. Tours for Churches (01252 391129, toursforchurches.co.uk) provides an all-inclusive 11-day Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the surrounding region, incorporating visits to such locations as Bethlehem, Nazareth and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. From £1,295pp, including meals, accommodation and flights to Tel Aviv. Lourdes The waters at the site of St Bernadette's vision of the Virgin Mary are said to have miraculous healing properties and attract pilgrims from all over the world. With a package that involves attending the International Mass in the underground basilica, a walk of the Lourdes Stations of the Cross and the opportunity to visit the famous baths, Leisure Time Travel (0151 287 8000, lourdes-pilgrim.com) offers four-, five- and eight-day pilgrimages inclusive of return flights from Manchester or Liverpool airports. From £420pp. Camino de Santiago One of the best known of all pilgrimages, this Catholic route has various different paths through Spain and France. All finish at the tomb of St James the Greater in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Utracks (0845 241 7599, utracks.com) offers a 15-day self-guided hike of the second half of the journey, beginning in León and ending at Santiago de Compostela. Meals, accommodation and luggage transfer provided. From £1,250pp. Cape Finisterre, part of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage Via Francigena Stretching from Canterbury to Rome, this medieval route is generally undertaken by those wishing to pay their respects at the tombs of St Peter and St Paul in the Vatican. Utracks" Road to Rome package (details as above) covers the last nine days of the journey through the beautiful countryside of Umbria and Lazio, beginning in Orvieto and ending in the Vatican City. Meals and accommodation provided, as well as a pilgrimage information pack. From £850pp. Kumbh Mela One of the largest religious events in the world, Kumbh Mela is the Hindu festival where thousands of pilgrims meet to achieve spiritual awakening by washing in India's holy rivers. This year's celebration takes place at the Sangram in Allahabad, the holiest of the festival's four alternating locations. Shine Gold Tours (07813 833579, shinegoldtoursindia.com) offers an 11-day tour that combines the traditional bathing ceremony with guided tours of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. From £820pp, based on two sharing and including meals, luxury accommodation and transport on arrival at Delhi. Hajj Another of the world's largest pilgrimages, which, according to tradition was first made over 4,000 years ago, Hajj is the yearly gathering at Mecca. This pilgrimage is exclusive to Muslims, owing to the Saudi Arabian government's ruling that only followers of Islam may enter the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Islam Freedom (020 7112 8819, islamfreedom.com) offers a two- or three-week package to next year's event in late September/early October. From £3,595pp, including accommodation, transport and return flights from London Heathrow to Jeddah. Additional £100 for three-week package. Connecting flights from Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen available from £90. Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer's pilgrims' route For the past two years, each April Henry Eliot, self-styled "literary walker" and co-editor of Curiocity magazine, has organised a walk from Southwark to Canterbury, recreating the fictional 1387 pilgrimage in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The small group of "pilgrims" walked 65 miles over four days and stayed in the original medieval stopover towns, such as Dartford, Rochester and Faversham. Along the way each of them told one of Chaucer's stories. For information on the walks, go to henryeliot.co.uk/portfolio/canterbury-tales/