Pilgrimage – worshipping on foot

The speed at which Wagner covered the ground to almost reach Moscow would suggest that their 'March for Justice' wasn't on foot. Although, this one event probably drew the attention of millions in the last couple of days, there was something else going on elsewhere, that happens every year, involving thousands of worshippers travelling some distance on foot, and I am not talking about the Hajj to Mecca. No, it is Glastonbury. With approximately 200,000 worshippers flocking to a farm in northern Somerset, to participate in a rock festival where the average age of the performers is, this year, well over 55.

TV cameras show a crowd of sing-along'ers standing crushed together, swaying and jostling, to the sounds blasted out from giant speakers on either side of huge stages. Glastonbury is not the easiest place to reach by public transport, and large numbers of people do travel by private car to get there, however, owing to the size of field you need to accommodate 200,000 worshippers, everyone has to tread many thousands of steps. However, the number of Muslim worshippers making their way to Mecca for the Hajj will probably be 10 times as many as those walking between their sleeping arrangements and the stages at Glastonbury. Of course, those on their way to Mecca won't be going most of the way on foot, but it is not unusual to have to walk as much as 10 to 12 kilometres once you get to Mecca. That is a lot of steps, and a lot further than across fields in rural Somerset.

As I type this newsletter, 77 year old Debbie Harry and her band Blondie are entertaining the Glastonbury worshippers, and it is difficult for me not to be singing-along, although I am only listening via an iPad. Incredibly, much of Somerset, and nearby Devon and Dorset, have been pilgrimage destinations for hundreds of years. Glastonbury has its Tor - a destination since the Celts and the myths and legends of King Arthur. Yet, the whole countryside is peppered with with 'healing wells' to which local people would walk creating a myriad of local paths, many of which still remain today as 'rights of way'.

Christian pilgrimage was banned in England by Henry VIII, although some of it continued throughout his reign, most notably what was called the 'Pilgrimage of Grace' led by Robert Aske in 1536 also called a 'March of Justice' by some contemporaries. Some have claimed that 'The Grand Tour' of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were the first cultural pilgrimages, and of course, John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' popularised the concept of pilgrimage as an individual's life journey.

'Walking a way' is the theme of our current writing competition, so here's a chance for you to write about pilgrimage, should you choose to. I will look out for any poems or stories, that include a route to or from Glastonbury's Pyramid stage. And in mid July, we have travel writer and long distance walker, Gail Simmons, joining us for a Walking Writers' Salon, to talk about her pilgrimage along the Old Way in Southern England. And should you like to listen to another great walking writer talking about her pilgrimage, why not tune in to Raynor Winn, author of 'The Salt Path', who was Michael Barclay's guest on BBC Radio 3's Private Passions this morning.

While we are mentioning older performers, why not check out Bob Parks who entertained us recently at a Cafe on 'Cybernetic Capitalism' - the essay that he wrote and the video of the event are both accessible via the website.

Keep walking!

And thanks to Eugene Birchall, CC BY-SA 2.0, for the Wikipedia image of Glastonbury Tor.

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