Life is not hurrying on
to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past
It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you
The Bright Field by RS Thomas
With thanks to Chris
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St Cuthbert’s Way is walked …
#JobDone
The
Way bridges the national border between Scotland and England, with a 62
miles cross-border route linking:
·
Melrose in the Scottish Borders, where St.
Cuthbert started his religious life in 650AD; with
· Lindisfarne off the Northumberland Coast, his eventual resting place and his original pilgrimage shrine.
The Reverend Susan’s Statistics are in & verified:
- 16 Pilgrims; thirteen with 2 legs and three with 4
- 584 miles walked in total; like walking from Brighton to the Way’s start at Melrose … and on to Inverness !
- 61,000 feet climbed in total; the equivalent of climbing Everest … twice !
St Cuthbert’s Way had all the features that every Pilgrimage should have.
Challenge: Those who walked from Kale Water, near Morebattle up Wideopen Hill – the highest point of the Way – will long remember that challenge; and the ‘yomp’ on to the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm for dinner at 6.30 !!
Life is not hurrying on
But it seemed like it that afternoon.
A time to dig in and remember John Bunyan:
Though the hill is high, I still desire to walk up it.
I don't care how difficult it is, because I understand that it leads to the Way of life.
The Pilgrim's Progress
And then there were the intrepid Pilgrims who walked over the sands to reach Lindisfarne.
Congratulations
to Chris, David & Roger who joined me in walking every step of the Way.
It is always a real privilege be outdoors for days at a time.
I
was concerned about what the Weather might be like in the Scottish
Borders …
But
in the event we were blessed with beautifully sunny days throughout the walk.
Anoraks were only really needed on one afternoon.
Day 4 - over the hills from Kirk Yetholm to Hethpool and on to Wooler - was said to be the hottest day in the Borders since 1906.
Naturally, there was stunning Scenery.
From the Start; walking up from Melrose up to the Eildon Hills:
Through the walk; on the Scotland - England border:
To the End; looking out from Holy Island:
Plenty
of Rivers:
River Tweed
And where there are Rivers, there will be Bridges:
Old
Mertoun Bridge
And New
Crossing the River Teviot
Castles too :
Cessford Castle
As
for Accommodation, this time we were based in and around Wooler.
Walking linearly for 62 miles, we were very reliant on our Director of Logistics for dropping off & picking up. Huge thanks to Dianne !
Homildon Cottage at High Humbleton was an excellent place to stay.
It had all the Essentials …
The Wash Room
My Progressing to Domesticity online course paid dividends – I didn’t need any help switching On the washing machine.
(OK;
I did need my Director of Lavanderia Kate to show me how to turn it Off !!)
Elsewhere
on the domestic duties – and much to my disappointment – the Homildon Team steadfastly
refused to try out Division of Labour, Adam Smith’s theory from An
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations:.
Dividing the production process into
different stages enables workers to focus on specific tasks.
If workers can concentrate on one small
aspect of production, this increases overall efficiency.
Everyone stuck to each making their own sandwiches !!
This
Pilgrimage we didn’t have a Rest Day …
But we did have a Rest Evening.
Nigel organised a guided tour of Berwick on Tweed, a must-visit town.
On the one hand little has changed in centuries in this left-behind part of England.
As we looked down the main street from the city walls built over 4 centuries ago during Elizabeth I's reign, the
view painted by LS Lowry in 1935 was instantly recognisable:
On
the other hand, our guide told of sweeping changes to the local economy over
the centuries.
Who
knew that in its Golden Age in the 12th Century, Berwick was one of
only two royal burghs in Scotland, with one of the biggest ports in Britain.
For
almost 200 years, merchants took wool and yarn to Flanders, France and beyond,
with history claiming that the port generated a quarter of the equivalent tax
revenue for all of England.
But - far and away - the most important feature of Pilgrimage is the Pilgrims.
Part of this year’s Pilgrimage was to celebrate 50 years of the Fitz Economists; Class of ’71.
Though the Economics has long been forgotten, we all knew that Aristotle was absolutely right:
Without Friends:
no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.
Nicomachean Ethics
We were delighted to be joined for dinner at Homildon Cottage by Harry:
As transitory as your youth once, but is the eternity that awaits you
And
throughout the week by our Wives !!
This walk’s Pilgrims included plenty of those familiar faces from Spain and Italy.
Max's Grandma & Grandad Wells
And we welcomed those on their first Pilgrimage, including David, our first Actuary, and Richard, our first Architect.
The Yates Smiths
And our first Pilgrims with 4 legs:
Enzo, Henri &
Mylo
The Black Labs Mafia
... and the Pints at the End.
Black Bull Inn, Lowick
By journey’s end, all of us knew well that:
Pilgrimage isn't a
speed competition or a race.
Rather it's a pathway of brotherhood and universality.
Pilgrim Inscription on Triacastela church on the Camino
---
As one Pilgrimage ends, thoughts always turn to the next ones …
In 2022, there are plans to celebrate three score years and ten with a Pilgrimage in a Day in Sussex in June and then the Camino dos Faros in late September / early October.
I
hope that you will be able to come along … …
Until
then,
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
One stone from Rottingdean beach is now in the sea off Holy Island
And until we meet again,
May God hold you safe in the palm of His hand.
The Pilgrim’s Prayer
Pilgrim Ric
PS
Final Thought
High Street, Wooler
