Pommie Pilgrims – 37 Cathedrals

Pommie Pilgrims walk home from Sheffield Cathedral to sound of special quarter peel of bells.

Close to the end of their marathon walking project to every one of our cathedrals, the Pommie Pilgrims, named for the sound of their village band walked home from Sheffield to their own church in the Peak District this weekend arriving to the sound of a special quarter peel of bells.

Pommie Pilgrims – on the journey back home – 37 cathedrals ticked so far

The group which set off from Derby Cathedral on Palm Sunday are in the final phase of their project to walk to all 42 Anglican Cathedrals to raise funds to upgrade All Saints Church Youlgrave. They have visited 37 of our 42 cathedrals so far, with 174 people clocking up a massive 3,720 miles – and raised over £33,000.

The pilgrims want to raise funds to make their Grade 1 Listed building – featured in Simon Jenkins’ book ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’ – more welcoming with heating, kitchen facilities and toilets.

The project has inspired a generous level of donations, which will be seed-funding for the re-ordering project -but the organisers say it is the stories and links made that will have lasting impact on their church community.

Like Billy, aged 16, who walked over 60 miles along Hadrian‘s wall from Carlisle to Newcastle. Children and grandchildren supported an older couple to complete an emotional journey from Newcastle to Durham via their childhood home.

Harriet walked and camped solo 125 miles across Dartmoor and the Cornish coast from Exeter to Truro, finding solace in God and help from strangers when she needed it.

Barbara, 86, is doing her pilgrimage virtually by walking a mile a day around the village linking Oxford and Guildford, places of meaning to her. Nick, an ex-serviceman, paid his respects at the National Memorial Arboretum en route to Lichfield to his father killed in action.

Regular holiday makers from London took young grandchildren on a mini pilgrimage to Southwark and then St Pauls.

“Our hope to connect Youlgrave with each cathedral in the country via pilgrimage is a huge challenge and feels like an impossible task, but one step at a time, together, we’ll get there.” added Revd Canon Jane Clay, chair of the Pommie Pilgrimage organising group.

To allow less intrepid villagers and visitors to the village to contribute to the pilgrimage, a labyrinth was mowed into a local meadow and was opened on World Labyrinth Day.

The Pommie Pilgrims started their walk on Palm Sunday, 24th March, and hope to have reached all 42 cathedrals by All Saints’ Day, 1st November.

Here are some short videos and photos of their pilgrimage.

 

Read more about the Pommie Pilgrims and their fabulous adventure here. And you can donate here.