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We offer daily services and a cultural programme of talks, events and concerts. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate
Saturday 22 August 2pm till 6pm
Come and enjoy a fun-filled day in the garden with delicious food and drinks as we celebrate summer with some Sports Day-inspired silliness!
Friday 21 August 1.10pm
Rebekah Yinuo Tan was born in August 2006 in Shanghai. Inspired to become a concert pianist after hearing Chopin’s music in a live concert when she was 7, she started taking formal piano lessons half a year later with Zijie Wu.
St James’s hosts inclusive services and a cultural programme. We seek to be a welcoming space for people to reflect, create and debate.
St James’s is a place to explore, reflect, pray, and support all who are in need. We are a Church of England parish in the Anglican Communion.
We host a year-round creative programme encompassing music, visual art and spoken word.
We offer hospitality to people going through homelessness and speak out on issues of injustice, especially concerning refugees, asylum, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ issues.
St James’s strives to advocate for earth justice and to develop deeper connections with nature.
We aim to be a place where you can belong. We have a unique history, and the beauty of our building is widely known. Our community commits to faith in action: social and environmental justice; creativity. and the arts
We strive to be a Eucharist-centred, diverse and inclusive Christian community promoting life in abundance, wellbeing and dignity for all.
St James’s Piccadilly has been at the heart of its community since 1684. We invite you to play your part in securing this historic place for generations to come.
It costs £5,000 each day to keep the doors of St James’s open to all who already need us.
A reimagined St James’s realised. A redesigned garden, courtyard and new building capacity—all fully accessible— will provide beautiful spaces for all as well as improving our environmental performance.
Whether shooting a blockbuster TV series or creating a unique corporate event, every hire at St James’s helps our works within the community.
St James's Church 197 Piccadilly London W1J 9LL
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Martha reflects on walking 290km of the Camino Frances, exploring solitude, simplicity, community and the rhythms of pilgrimage as she takes the first step towards a long-held dream of reaching Santiago de Compostela.
I’m writing this blog sitting in departures at Madrid Airport, having just finished walking roughly 290km (180 miles) of the Camino Frances, from St Jean Pied-de-Port in the French Pyrenees to Burgos in Castile. This was my first stage in realising a long held dream to walk the Camino de Santiago, which I’d first heard about as a child. I knew immediately on hearing the pilgrimage route described that this was something I wanted to do – I enjoy walking, and am fascinated by medieval social history, particularly as it relates to European Christianity.
My decision to begin my Camino this year was triggered by my thirtieth birthday, which seemed the perfect excuse to take the time to walk. I chose to walk this first stage alone, wanting to set my own pace, have space to reflect, and to a certain extent prove to myself that I could travel alone and enjoy it. I researched preparations for my journey endlessly, looking at backpacks, shoes, socks, weighing individual items and creating a spreadsheet – perhaps going a bit over the top in my planning to procrastinate more pressing work. One thing I didn’t research though was what I would see along the way, wanting to experience everything with fresh eyes.
I tried to keep my pilgrimage as simple and traditional as seemed possible in 2026; carrying my own pack, walking the traditional stages, and staying in pilgrim only hostels, known as albergues. These operate on a first come first served basis, with no booking allowed, and are very basic accommodation, providing a bunk bed in a shared dorm, shared bathrooms, and usually access to a communal kitchen and laundry area. Most of the albergues I stayed in were run by volunteer members of various societies associated with the Way of St James – as well as Spanish groups, I encountered Dutch, German, Swiss and Austrian associations. Each night I would research the way ahead tomorrow, planning for the weather and terrain, and when I arrived the next day I would search out my bed for the night. I loved the spontaneity of not having a reserved bed, reminding me of travel in Europe pre-Internet. I limited using my phone as much as possible when walking to be present in the moment – hunting down the scallop shells and yellow arrows for directions is much more fun than following a satnav anyway. This also meant leaving my headphones off, though I did allow myself to listen to 5 Beatles albums in a row on a particularly hard 29km day. It was easy to settle into the daily rhythm of early morning, walk, arrive, shower, laundry, rest, dinner, early night – the simple routine allowed my mind to focus on other thoughts.
Though I arrived at St Jean Pied-de-Port as a solo walker, I never felt alone on the road. I met a wide variety of people from all sorts of backgrounds, with a whole host of different reasons for walking. Students taking time out after graduating, retired people looking to enjoy their newfound freedom, parents taking time away from their families to focus on themselves, as well as people choosing to make a religious pilgrimage as part of their Christian faith. Most people were walking from St Jean Pied-de-Port all the way to Santiago de Compostela, though I did meet other people walking shorter sections like me. I even met several people making a much longer journey – starting from Le Puy-En-Velay in southwestern France, which is a total pilgrimage of over 1400km. People of all abilities and paces were walking; I had friends who sped ahead early in the day, arriving hours before the rest of us, and people who walked slowly and in shorter stages, listening to their own bodies’ abilities. There was an understanding that we all walked at our own pace, and while we often walked and chatted, we also felt free to express our preference to walk in silence or walk alone.
Everyone I met was open, friendly and welcoming, even if we didn’t speak the same language. Often I would meet the same people every day as we walked the same stages, settling into a familiar Camino family. One thing that I will continue to work on for my next Camino journey is my knowledge of European languages – I was glad to be able to speak both English and French on this trip, but really wished I could speak Spanish, as many of the accommodation volunteers only spoke Spanish and it would have made it easier for me to make friends with the many Spanish pilgrims I met.
Arriving in Burgos on my last day was a wonderful feeling, even if I was somewhat sad to leave my Camino family behind. I know I will head back to Spain to complete my pilgrimage in the future – I’m not yet sure when, but I’m determined to make it to Santiago.
