walking from
Cathedral and
Metropolitan Church of Christ, Canterbury
to Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome
In 2016 and 2017 I had
walked from Le Puy-en-Velay, a cathedral city on the eastern edge of the Massif
Centrale in the middle of France to Saint-Jean-pied-de-port by the border with
Spain and so onto Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. About 1,600 km. That journey, and the lead up to it, is
described at KiwiOnCamino.blogspot.com
In those two years I has
also walked Thames Path (source in Gloucestershire to London Barrier at Woolwich),
Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral and a little of the Whithorn Way
(Paisley to Ayr), the latter with my eldest son Alastair.
In August 2018 Virginia,
my eldest child, and her husband Warren Warbrick were presenting at the
Edinburgh Fringe. And, of course, I
attend a presentation.
And, of course, I had
thought about a walk to start in the following four weeks.
On finishing at
Canterbury Cathedral in August 2016, as at the Cathedral at Compostela the next
year, I stayed on for a few days to wind down after five months in Europe and
so many little adventures. While I
already knew of the 2,000 km walk from Canterbury to Rome, the spark to make a
start was lit.
A few days after
Edinburgh I arrived at a hostel in Canterbury on Saturday 25 August for two
nights. Sunday is spent immersed in the
daily cycle of services in the Cathedral and down the back of the Nero café
(with its hot points to keep my tablet alive).
On Monday, by
arrangement, I presented myself for the early morning Mass in the Crypt chapel
of the Cathedral. This was a well-attended
service, and the priest was expecting me.
I was called forward before the dismissal, blessed as a pilgrim and set
off a few minutes later. This was about
09h - for me a very late start.
In the next three week I
walked some 500 km south to Chaumont-en-haute-Marne and had many little
adventures almost every day. In all that
time and distance, I had risen to a height of 300 metres above sea level. I
write this looking out my window at hills of 400 m above sea level and about
two hours walking from the nearby harbour.
I decided on a rest for
2019. When overseas travel was allowed in
2023, returned and with 12 days walking I added more than 300 km from Besançon,
through Switzerland to the foot of the Great Saint Bernard pass, transferred to
Vercelli in Italy and stopped at Piacenza just south-west of Milan.
The pages that follow are my jottings
for each day
