Pre Easter Pilgrimage 2007

The Pilgrimage will be a mixture of short times of quiet reflection and fun! Pilgrimages, if the Tales Geoffrey Chaucer told are any guide, have always been mixed experiences. Stories have been told and there has been a great deal of laughter. We are planning an early start on March 31st at 8.30am from St Mary's Rectory. (If you want to leave your car there for the day there is plenty of room.)

Our first stop will be near Ross-on-Wye at a fascinating Organic Cafe which offers an interesting "retail" experience, so bring some spare cash. The first Church we will visit is one of my favourite places and it takes a great deal of finding. Patricio Church is hidden at the end of a narrow lane in the Black Mountains. There is a well at the bottom of the last hill before the Church. This well has been a place of pilgrimage for generations and I speculate that it may have been of importance even before the Church was built. We intend spending about forty five minutes here so that the peace and holiness of this place can be experienced.

From there we have a short journey to our lunch stop in "The Carpenters Arms" at Walterstone. I have a menu from which you can select your food for the meal. It would help enormously if I can send the order through a few days before so that it can be served as soon as we arrive.

After lunch we will find the former Cistercian Church at Abbey Dore. All that remains of this once vast building is the section east of the transept. Here we discover a place in which prayer has been offered for generations. You will need warm clothes here particularly. A short distance away is the Kilpeck which has been described as England's most perfect Norman church. This tiny building has some of remarkable carving around the doorways and the chancel arch.

There will be a brief stop on the way back to Kidlington and I expect that our return will be between six and seven o'clock. The cost of the day will be approximately £12 depending on numbers and the price I am charged for the transport. I suggest that we make a group donation for each Church we visit. Menus for meals are available so please ask for one.

Anthony Ellis