A unique weekend of pilgrimage, music and celebration honouring Dorset’s patron saint, St Wite, will take place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May 2026, ahead of Dorset Day and the feast day of St Wite on 1 June.
Centred around the ancient shrine at St Candida and the Holy Cross Church in Whitchurch Canonicorum, the festival will bring together pilgrims, visitors, musicians and local communities for a weekend rooted in heritage, healing and renewal.
Although little survives in written history, local tradition remembers St Wite as a Saxon holy woman, healer and protector who was martyred while defending her community during a Viking raid in the 9th century. Her shrine at St Candida and the Holy Cross is one of only two saintly shrines in England to have survived the Reformation undisturbed, maintaining an unbroken connection with centuries of pilgrimage in West Dorset.
The weekend will begin with a concert on Saturday evening organised by the Friends of St Candida which will feature celebrated Ukrainian pianist, Ivan Hovorun. Hovorun has performed with major European orchestras, as well as holding solo recitals at renowned venues such as St Martin-in-the-fields and St James’s Piccadilly. The repertoire for the evening at St Candida’s will include Mozart’s Sonata No. 17 in B flat major, Chopin’s Polonaise in F sharp minor as well as music by Rachmaninov and Rimsky-Korsakov.
The concert will be followed on Sunday by a guided pilgrimage from Bridport to the Shrine of St Wite. The walk starts at 1:00pm at St Mary’s in Bridport, travels through ancient hollow ways and the landscapes of Marshwood Vale and concludes at her shrine in Whitchurch Canonicorum, a place associated with healing and pilgrimage for over a thousand years. Open to everyone, regardless of faith or tradition, the pilgrimage invites participants to pause, reflect and reconnect more deeply with themselves, with nature and with others.
The weekend will come to a conclusion with the festival celebration service on Sunday 31 May, which will be led by the Rt Revd Karen Gorham, Acting Bishop of Salisbury, and will mark St Wite’s saint’s day on 1 June, also Dorset Day. Edward Morello, MP for West Dorset, Dr Helena Conibear, High Sheriff of Dorset, Cllr Philip Evans MBE, Mayor of Lyme Regis, Cllr Jonathan Bourbon, Mayor of Bridport, Major Ian Marshall from the RNLI and Cllr Simon Christopher, Dorset Council, will also be in attendance. The service will begin at 5:45pm for 6:00pm, and the congregation will be welcomed by the authentic medieval melodies of the Recorder Society, Dorset Branch; also performing with be the festival choir.
Team Vicar Revd Virginia Luckett said: “St Wite’s Festival is an invitation to step out of ordinary time and into a living tradition of pilgrimage, healing and hope. Whether walking the ancient pathways of West Dorset or joining the community at the shrine, all are welcome.”
Tickets for the Saturday evening concert can be booked at www.tickettailor.com/events/thefriendsofstcandida. The pilgrimage and celebration service are both free, however, advance booking is recommended. More information is available at St Wite's Way Pilgrimage and tickets can be booked at Buy tickets – St Wite's Way Pilgrimage.