Pommie Pilgrims walking all 42 cathedrals to take on Winchester to Salisbury

Thursday, 19 September 2024 06:00

Pilgrims walking to all 42 Anglican Cathedrals are taking on the 26 miles between Winchester and Salisbury Cathedrals over the next two days, aiming to raise funds for their local church in Derbyshire.

Helen and Ian Knight from Youlgrave are walking from Winchester Cathedral to Salisbury Cathedral this week. They will depart Winchester at 09:30 on Thursday, September 19, and arrive at Salisbury by 16:00 the following day.

The Pommie Pilgrims (named for the sound of the village band) are walking to all 42 Anglican Cathedrals to raise money for toilets, kitchen facilities and a warm space for their 12th-century church.

The Pommie Pilgrimage is creating a unique network of footsteps linking Youlgrave with all forty-two Anglican Cathedrals in England. The walkers plan to raise £42,000 towards All Saints’ renovations, which is still being researched. The total raised is well over £30,000 – slightly ahead of the target of £1,000 per cathedral!

“We really didn’t know where to start with the huge task of modernising our church, so we went for a walk and had a think!” Kate Heath, pilgrim and avid walker who has walked the whole of the English coast path over the last three years.

“Our hope to connect Youlgrave with each Cathedral in the country via pilgrimage is a huge challenge and feels like an impossible task, but one step at a time, together, we’ll get there.!

Rev Canon Jane Clay, chair of the Pommie Pilgrimage organising group, added, "We’re not expecting to raise this amount of money by being sponsored a penny a mile, but if you’re able to spend more than a penny for our loos, please do get in touch.”

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