Wondering if Pilgrim Cross is for you? Nick, this year’s leader of Midland Leg, gives an alternative take on what defines the PX experience for him
Turning People into Pilgrims on Midland Leg
It’s hump day, which on the full week ‘legs’ (i.e. walking group), is Tuesday; and I could be in Mexico, judging from the mariachi band performance my chattering teeth are giving. Alas, I‘m not in Mexico, I’m in the Fens, a flat arable region in East Anglia. Highlights include Cambridge, St Mary’s Wisbech, Clenchwarton and Gedney Hill. And it’s in the Fens on this fine Tuesday that my teeth are chattering, my socks are soaked and there is absolutely no prospect of them drying before tonight. It’s classic British weather, except it isn’t, because you see…
It has never rained in the Fens.
I suspect you’ll be shocked to hear that it has never rained in the Fens; it is the breadbasket of England after all. A host of evidence is also available that directly contradicts the claim, including observations from the Met Office, anecdotal evidence from the local population, and possibly even your watchful selves. It also doesn’t fit with typical British weather patterns, and besides, even the Sahara gets some rain. But trust me, I’ve walked across the Fens five years in a row, in April, and it has never rained. And it never will.
The reason for this miracle cannot be put down to my personal insanity, or divine intervention, as much as we pray for it when we are freezing mid-way through a stretch. Rather, it is optimism taken rather too far, and my mind creating a total fabrication.
Why would my brain do such a thing?
The reason, is that for me it is necessary to have a glass so half full it is overflowing as I look upon our three days walking across the Fens from my vantage point in lovely Stamford on Palm Sunday. Because pilgrimage is a challenge, and on Midland Leg (in my humble view), it is the challenge of the 60-ish mile walk over the Fenland that turns people into Pilgrims in time for Easter. This is not to say you must walk the entire way, after all the challenge of Pilgrim Cross is not purely physical, and pilgrimage takes a multitude of forms.
To illustrate, within our group, on our 115-mile route, carrying our famously ‘light’ cross, we have:
- Walkers who walk
- Walkers who don’t walk
- Walkers who sometimes walk
- Walkers who drive
- Walkers who join us for part of the week
- Walkers with disabilities
- Walkers who like beer
- Walkers who don’t like beer
- Walkers of most Christian denominations
- Walkers who are not Christian
- Walkers of different sexualities, genders, walks of life, backgrounds
- Walkers who insist on walking most of the route in Crocs
- Walkers who think those who walk most the route in Crocs need to rethink their actions
- Walkers who want to put the cross on Strava
- Walkers who are students
- Walkers who are clergy
- Walkers experiencing financial difficulty
The list goes on, rather like the Fens. As is certainly evident, it’s an eclectic group, and you don’t need to be a marathon runner to join. However, it maybe doesn’t help you with an idea of who would benefit from a challenge such as Pilgrim Cross.
So, who is it for? Do you have to genuinely believe that the Fens is a desert?
Not quite, although that is an option.
On Midland Leg, and indeed Pilgrim Cross as a whole, the challenge is physical; but between pub singalongs, meditations, masses, meeting lots of people, long conversations, late nights and constant traffic, it is a deeply spiritual and mental challenge as well. It requires perseverance, tolerance, patience, generosity, a sense of self, the ability to know when you need to get an early night rather than singing Irish folk music with the enthusiastic patrons of whichever pub we’ve found ourselves in. It requires bravery; the bravery to think and explore topics outside your comfort zone, to contribute your ideas, to eat a fifth cheese scone (other snacks are available!). It takes character, and for many of us, a deep faith in God and Jesus, who we walk for.
All this is to say, it’s not an easy journey. However, it might be the best mental reset you have ever had. By the time we get into the Area of Outstanding Beauty that is North Norfolk I have sometimes forgotten I have a job. I am by no means a monk– I leave that to our chaplain, who is a monk– but pilgrimage is an essential part of my life. And Midland Leg is nothing without the people, literally. Over the course of the week, our eclectic group of people become Pilgrims together as we journey towards Walsingham. I believe we are the better for it and leave closer to God, ourselves and each other. Some of us also gain dubious insights about precipitation levels in East Anglia.
So, if my sense of humour has put you off, a better sense of humour can probably be found on any other leg. But if your interest is piqued at all, click on the ‘Talk to a Pilgrim’ button and ask away. Our pilgrimage will be better for having you on it, and we will do everything in our power to deliver the total spiritual experience we get to take part in every year, to you.