On a morning in early August 2019, A and I began the penultimate leg of our 60th Birthday Pilgrimage along the Hertfordshire Way. We had completed the last leg at Little Wymondley but having considered the busyness of the A602 and following the guidebook’s suggestion we asked the long-suffering Red Hyundai driver to drop…
Tag: pilgrimage
THE HERTFORDSHIRE WAY: Hare Street to Royston
Two years and three weeks since we started our 60th Birthday Pilgrimage along the Hertfordshire Way we are reaching the North Eastern corner and beginning our journey back to our starting place in St Albans. Each section of the trail has been different and rewarding in its own way and today’s 13 mile stretch from…
THE PILGRIMS’ WAY – Revisited. WATT’S GALLERY AND ARTISTS’ VILLAGE
One of the many places I hoped to revisit when undertaking my gratitude walk along the Pilgrims’ Way in 2016 was the Watts Gallery and Artists Village. I had stopped there on day 4 of my pilgrimage for a cup of tea in the café and took the time then to go slightly off-route to wander up to the Watts Memorial…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Day 3 – Bakewell to Eyam
Early on an August morn I climbed up from the beautiful town of Bakewell on my final leg of the Peak Pilgrimage. The steepness of the route for the first few miles surprised me and challenged me a little. On reaching the golf course (a difficult one to play, I imagine) I was somewhat confused…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Bakewell
Nestled alongside the River Wye Bakewell is, of course, best known for its puddings – a very sweet concoction of pastry, jam and almond paste. My memories of it will, however, be of sunflowers, eating a pizza slice whilst watching a croquet match take place on the outskirts of the cricket pitch, a super childrens’…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Day 2 – Hartington to Bakewell
A 15 and a half mile walk awaited me as I left Hartington Youth Hostel in the early hours on Day 2 of my Peak Pilgrimage walk. I put on a good pace across fields and footpaths to reach Hartington Station a couple of miles outside of the village. The route then followed the well-marked…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Day 1 – Ilam to Hartington
I read somewhere once that a love of the early morning is a sign of good mental health and if that is the case I must be in a good place as I began my walking on day one of The Peak Pilgrimage before anyone else was about on this early August morn. I had visited…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Ilam and Ilam Youth Hostel
Ilam Youth Hostel is a gem, a 17th Century Gothic Manor, hidden amongst the Derbyshire dales, alongside the River Dove. I spent the night before my pilgrimage there and was able to explore the building and grounds and partake of tea in the National Trust Tea Rooms! The settlement grew up around the site of…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: Walk from Ashbourne to Ilam
On one of the many blisteringly hot days of Summer 2018 I took the advice in the Peak Pilgrimage Guidebook and walked the five or so miles from Ashbourne to the start of the pilgrimage at Ilam. It proved to be a great decision . It got me back into the habit of walking alone away…
THE PEAK PILGRIMAGE: What to pack
When I wrote up my blogs about walking the South Downs Way and walking the Ridgeway several people contacted me to see what I packed. Both of those walks were done more or less carrying my own luggage. When I walked along the Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester to Canterbury I used a luggage option so…
