<strong>Where would you go?</strong> <br><br>The Cornish Celtic Way or the Lakeland Pilgrimage, or anywhere along the west coast of Britain that is known for its temperate rainforests. I’ve chosen these two routes specifically because they both have a good selection of youth hostels, independent hostels, camping barns, bothies and, in Cornwall’s case, what we at the British Pilgrimage Trust call “sanctuaries” – churches, church halls or village halls that are available for pilgrims to sleep in for about £10 a night. Similar to the <em>albergues</em> of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a pilgrim-focused accommodation option that the UK unfortunately lacks.
<strong>Would you make any special stops?</strong> <br><br>On the Cornwall route, at the Eden Project, for the nature connection, and St Michael’s Mount, for the archangelic connection. On the Lakeland route, at the seven “natural cathedrals” – the land or rock formations designed by nature that are majestic to the point that they feel like a man-made cathedral – designated by the route designer, John Fleetwood, and at many lakes for swimming and mountain streams for drinking.
<strong>Whom would you take?</strong>
My parents, because you never know how long you have with them, and I can’t think of a better way to deepen our relationship. Aside from them, someone I want to get to know much better, who would fulfil the romance of pilgrimage.
<strong>You can transplant your favourite pub, bar or restaurant onto the route. What is it?</strong> <br><br>Chelsea Arts Club. There is always someone there who would understand pilgrimage [Ed: it was where the Catholic Herald held its 2023 Christmas dinner].
<strong>Camp under the stars, or find a church hall to sleep in?</strong>
Can’t choose between them. Ideally an actual ancient church rather than a hall, while laying my head down in a chance for maximum holiness. But one also needs the stars for perspective of our place in the cosmos. Also, sleeping under them through the night and waking at intervals to find the constellations in different positions in the sky is an important experience.
<strong>Which books would you take with you?</strong>
<em>The Gentle Art of Tramping</em> by Stephen Graham. Also, two brilliant interpretations of Dante’s <em>Divine Comedy</em>, by Mark Vernon, and the <em>Tibetan Book of the Dead</em>, by Francesca Fremantle, to provide Western and Eastern perspectives on the next pilgrimage we make from this life.
<strong>What Bible or religious verse would you ponder as you walked?</strong>
“I am the way, the truth and the life.”
<strong>What’s your go-to prayer?</strong>
Our Father; Hail Mary; the Sainte Marie chant by St Godric of Finchale (1070-1170), who had a vision of Our Lady who told him to sing it whenever he needed her aid; and the Sancte Michael Archangele chant, to words by Pope Leo XIII and music by the monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery.
<strong>What’s the singalong to keep everyone’s spirits up?</strong>
John Bunyan’s “To Be a Pilgrim” – 1,684 words, while replacing “he”, “his”, “him” with “we”, “our”, “them” for modern sensibilities and to be more catholically inclusive – and sung a lot faster than you do at school or in church, which I find more fun and vivacious.
<strong>You’re allowed one luxury in your bag. What is it? </strong>
A LifeStraw bottle for water purification on the go from wild, life-giving sources such as mountain streams.
<strong>What would you most miss about ordinary life?</strong>
Parties.<br><br><em>(Main photo: credit Emily Garthwaite.)</em>
<em>Guy Hayward is the director of the <a href="https://britishpilgrimage.org"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">British Pilgrimage Trust</mark></a> and co-author of "<mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/just-what-every-pilgrim-needs-a-607-page-guide-to-britains-sacred-places/">Britain’s Pilgrim Places</a></mark>”, published by Lifestyle Press.</em><br><br><strong>This “On Pilgrimage With” originally appeared in the March 2024 edition of the <em>Catholic Herald</em> magazine. Subscribe <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/subscribe/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a>.</strong><br>
