This was a real mixture of a day. I had to wait for the tides to be right to cross over to Holy Island via the Pilgrims Path, which wasn't until mid afternoon. So I spent the morning hanging around the camp site which after a few hours became a little tedious, I just wanted to get on with the walk.
Finally around three I started walking across the sands, it was an amazing experience, I found it quite spiritual. Walking in the footsteps of thousands of people pilgrims and the like expressing their devotion and faith found it surprisingly moving.
I think I also felt quite alone and slightly venerable and yet held in the wonder of this created world.
The water was warm and the mud soothing between my toes a real massage after walking 60 miles. The sand left my footprints behind me, a temporary testimony to my journey. It was the perfect way to finish my six day sojourn through some of the most rewarding countryside I have enjoyed.
Unfortunately the island was a bit of a disappointing experience. It was no longer the quiet alternative place I visited years ago, and to enter the priory you now have to pay. It was teaming with visitors (including me I guess !) and very much geared up for them. Even so I was a very satisfying feeling to reach the priory door and complete my own little pilgrimage in the footsteps of St Cuthbert.
16 сен 2024
