Donate
The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Ecumenical Walking Pilgrimage was formed in 1975 when a group of young people walked the boundary of the Diocese. Each summer since then the group have organised an ecumenical walk to a place, shrine or area, exploring a particular theme or aspect of Christian heritage and faith. Speaking about the Walking Pilgrimage, group coordinator Chris Nussbaum said:
"What we rediscover, year after year, is the amazing personal and community value of going on a pilgrimage as our medieval forebears did, where the journey, walking, laughing, sharing, praying and singing is as important as the destination. We stop at a pub for lunch and in pre-Covid times sleep on the floors of churches, schools or community halls. We try to walk on footpaths not roads."
The theme for this pilgrimage is New Horizons: What sort of people do we want to be after the Pandemic?
Due to Covid-19 the group have had to postpone offering an overnight pilgrimage for now and have instead organised a series of day walks along the recently discovered “Old Way” (British Pilgrimage Trust) found on the Gough Map c.1360 that runs from Southampton to Canterbury. This August they will walk from Southampton to Rye and finish the route to Canterbury on another occasion. The dates and locations are as follows:
Saturday 14 - Southampton to Hamble
Sunday 15 - Hamble to Wickham
Monday 16 - Wickham to Havant
Tuesday 17 - Havant to Chichester
Wednesday 18 - Rest Day
Thursday 19 - Chichester to Arundel
Friday 20 - Arundel to Steyning
Saturday 21 - Steyning to Pyecombe
Sunday 22 - Pyecombe to Lewes
Monday 23 - Rest Day
Tuesday 24 - Lewes to Berwick
Wednesday 25 - Berwick to Polegate
Thursday 26 - Polegate to Penhurst
Friday 27 - Penhurst to Westfield
Saturday 28 - Westfield to Rye
The group will walk most days with a Catholic Chaplain and Anglican Clergy and start and finish with prayers. They plan two or three prayer stops and will sometimes stop for Mass or parish Eucharist along the way.
