Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun, who has often spoken about pilgrimage, this week returned to the theme in a letter announcing his retirement next year. ‘During my time in Southwark I have very much enjoyed leading diocesan and co-leading ecumenical pilgrimages, particularly to the Holy Land,’ writes the Bishop in his letter to the diocese […]
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A special granite Camino milestone, or mouteira, has been installed in Winchester on the line of the St James’ Way. The location is outside St Bartholomew’s which is a surviving church within the once large Hyde Abbey on the edge of Winchester. The St James’ Way, from Reading Abbey to Southampton, is the first leg […]
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Southwark Cathedral church will be closed for sightseeing on Wednesday morning 15 October during the consecration service for the new bishop Kelly Betteridge. She is to be a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Winchester where her responsibilities include pastoral care churches on the Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester to Bentley. It is appropriate that the […]
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The Chevening Parkland Scheme embracing a wide area has resulted in an unexpected and very welcome improvement. The footpath running east from Chevening churchyard runs directly to a lodge on a very busy road bend. Thanks to the opening of new paths it is now possible to avoid walking along the road lacking a pavement […]
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Good news from Hollingbourne in Kent. The Dirty Habit next to the Pilgrims’ Way is due to reopen in 2026. The pub was devastated by fire in the autumn of 2022. The exterior restoration is nearing completion and in the New Year work will begin on the interior. The reopening, expected late next year around […]
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A Pilgrims Way patch is now available from the Rochester cathedral shop. The woven patch (71mm height x 53mm) is made from recycled yarn and has an easy iron-on backing. The price is £6 but purchased online there is £4.99 postage charge. Rochester Cathedral Shop is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday […]
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Sunday’s Quality Street Fair at Merstham saw large crowds on a very short stretch of the Pilgrims’ Way. The annual event with stalls is the successor to a horse fair operating under an Edward III charter. The Pilgrims’ Way runs down Quality Street which is named after the 1902 stage play Quality Street. This eventually […]
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Soon after the beginning of the Pilgrims’ Way Stage 2 at Alresford the route follows Whitehill Lane to Bishop’s Sutton. The lane is now temporarily closed due to the building of an industrial estate and a realignment of the road. The one mile walk up Whitehall Lane is replaced for now by a 1.5 miles […]
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This week Tuesday to Friday there will be haymaking in the paddock, or meadow, on the northern side of Winchester Cathedral. The site is where the Minster stood which preceded the cathedral and where St Swithun was first buried. His grave is marked. This is an experiment started recently to nurture wildflowers and re-establish the […]
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‘Of all the tears that St. Swithin does cry, St. Bartholomew will wipe them dry‘, says today’s rhyme. St Bartholomew’s Day, or Bartlemas, being 24 August is forty days after St Swithun’s Day on 15 July when the much quoted lines in Winchester are: St Swithun’s day if thou dost rainFor forty days it will […]
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