A series of hiking paths based on the supposed pilgrimage of a medieval warrior who came back to life after being executed for fighting against the English is to open in the Welsh Marches.

Named St Thomas Way, the paths meander through the long-disputed borderland, linking Hereford and Swansea.

The trails were created after Catherine Clarke, a professor of English at the University of Southampton, became fascinated by the story of William Cragh and started a project looking at the idea of modern-day pilgrims following in his footsteps and those of his party.

Clarke said it was a great tale. “And it’s a brilliant way into the strange and fascinating world of the medieval March of Wales, a historic area of land between England and Wales.”

Cragh was hanged in 1290 for rebelling against King Edward I for allegedly killing 13 men. He was executed just outside Swansea by the Norman lord, William de Briouze.

For reasons lost in the mists of time, the lord’s wife, Lady Mary, prayed to the deceased bishop of Hereford, Thomas de Cantilupe, requesting him to ask God to resurrect Cragh.

Cragh did, apparently, come back to life and set off with the De Briouzes to give thanks at the bishop’s shrine in Hereford. The story was one of those that persuaded the Vatican to make De Cantilupe a saint.

“It must have been the most awkward road trip of all time,” said Clarke, whose project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

“The route moves through the heart of the medieval March of Wales, in many ways the wild west of medieval Britain. The case of William Cragh is the archetypal Marcher story – it’s all about different cultural and ethnic identities, political tensions and rebellion.

“From a research perspective, I’m really interested in borderlands and border identities. You can still see that in the landscape and culture of this region today – in place names, ruins of castles and fortifications, and the different languages (especially Welsh and English) spoken here.”

The trail is not one continuous path but a series of individual circular walks of between 2 and 8 miles, aimed at making them more accessible and inclusive, Clarke said, adding that the walks could be linked with a bit of planning.

She said the project tapped into the resurgence of interest in pilgrimage routes, such as the Cistercian Way in Wales and the Two Saints Way in Cheshire and Staffordshire, and “old ways” of the British Isles.

“For some people, there’s a spiritual motivation to walking pilgrim paths; for others, its about recreation and renewal in a more secular sense. It also ties into the growing passion for valuing and protecting our historic natural landscapes.

“I think there’s also something particularly compelling and immediate about connecting with history through place, in the landscape. That sense of directly overlaying itineraries and footsteps of the past is really evocative.”

Locations on the route include Hereford Cathedral, where St Thomas’s shrine is still to be found, the castle at Caerphilly and the Norman church and lost medieval village at Kilpeck, Herefordshire. In Swansea, visitors can see the castle and dungeon where Cragh was held before he was hanged on Gibbet Hill.

Clarke said she particularly liked the starting-point in central Swansea which, due to second world war bombing and later redevelopment, was “not on most people’s radar as a medieval destination” – and Kilpeck. “The church has amazing12th-century Romanesque carvings of strange and fantastic creatures. It’s so quiet and peaceful today, but is also the site of a lost medieval village which had a large and bustling weekly market. We’ve created a medieval market soundscape so visitors can immerse themselves in that lost world.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The entrance to Kilpeck church. Photograph: Southampton University

The trail is being launched with a number of events at Hereford Cathedral on Saturday. Canon Chris Pullin said: “Though less well known today, St Thomas of Hereford was an important saint in the middle ages and his shrine was a major pilgrimage destination.

“We hope this new route will encourage visitors to explore his story, and to experience the benefits of pilgrimage for well-being, recreation and renewal.”