Pilgrim's Progress – Long Distance Walks in Europe and the UK

An army marches on it’s stomach Napoleon Bonaparte I was amazed that more pilgrims hadn’t stayed with Jean-Philippe and Blandine Mignot over the last few years. Their hospitality was most generous and the church was well worth a visit. Ah well, their loss was my gain. Jean-Philippe had suggested that I might encounter a mobile…

Read more

When troubles come, they come not single spies but in battalions Hamlet Act IV Scene V- William Shakespeare Sometimes in life things go pear shaped. Today was one of those days. I should have been alerted when I passed a street sign saying ‘ Ruelle des Grandes Ouches’. It turned out to be a day…

Read more

You wish me to tell you why and how God should be loved. My answer is that God himself is the reason he is to be loved. Bernard of Clairvaux After yesterday I was looking forward to a relaxing day on the road. An amble over to Clairvaux to visit the medieval Abbey followed by…

Read more

It is the encounters with people that make life worth living. Guy de Maupassant There is much to be said for walking the Via Francigena in a more leisurely way. Namely having a one hour nap at lunchtime, arriving at your destination in the early afternoon, enjoying a refreshing glass of Grenadine with your host…

Read more

Let’s be ‘avin’ you! Delia Smith – 28 Feb 2005 In the 1970s and 80s, Delia Smith was a national treasure among middle England cookery enthusiasts  who eagerly awaited her weekly recipe updates in The Times and bought her cookery books by the millions. My mother was a Delia fan and consequently I spent much…

Read more

It is only one step from fanaticism to barbarism Denis Diderot I spent last night in Langres having supper with my Belgian friend, Claude, at the Le Foy Restaurant in the centre of Langres, over looked by the imposing9 statue of Denis Diderot. It felt slightly surreal to be sitting down with Claude in the…

Read more

Life is full of opportunities. The problem is to recognize them when they present themselves, and that isn’t always easy. Mine, for instance, had all the marks of a curse: ‘Beware! You run a grave risk of dying in 1993. You mustn’t fly that year. Don’t fly, not even once,’ a fortune-teller told me. Tiziano…

Read more

But I have come to realize that the true meaning of pilgrimage is to live free from any attachments, habits, prejudices. Free from physical and mental clutter. Making an outer journey is a reminder of an inner journey, and I discovered that I am always on a pilgrimage. Life is a journey. I want to…

Read more

Good food and good wine, this is heaven on earth. King Henry IV of France Every morning when I wake up I wonder how on earth I am going to fill my daily blog post. My target is to write around 1,500 words which I read somewhere is the ideal length for a blog. Since…

Read more

We Are Pilgrims On A JourneyWe Are Brothers On The RoadWe Are Here To Help Each OtherWalk The Mile And Bear The Load Brother Let Me Be Your Servant – Hymn Olivia sent me a lovely email on Sunday together with the words of a hymn (Brother Let Me Be Your Servant) that had been…

Read more