This was my first guided pilgrimage with the British Pilgrimage Trust. A charity that has a goal of revitalising the ancient British pilgrim routes.
My mum joined me on this walk and we met everyone at the train station, where we caught lifts from fellow pilgrims to St. Mary’s at West Stow. A quaint little church in a tiny village.
Once everyone arrived, there was tea and biscuits, giving chance to mingle and get to know each other. The guide for the BPT was Dawn.
In the chancel we all formed a circle, where Dawn explained what to expect for the day, everyone introduced themselves and had a brief history on King Edmund.
The story goes; he was captured by Vikings during a battle and then tied to a tree. The Vikings offered his freedom, if he denounced his faith; which he wouldn’t. They then filled him with arrows, but he remained steadfast to his belief.
The Vikings then beheaded him. Eventually King Edmund’s body was found by his knights, with his head missing. A wolf could be heard, beckoning the men to Edmund’s head, where the wolf had been protecting it.
They returned his head to his body, where it miraculously reattached itself. The knights brought him to where Bury St Edmunds now sits. A small chapel was built for him. Shortly afterwards miracles kept occurring for those who visited his remains, thus granting him sainthood.
Bury became a destination for pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages; and King Edmund was the patron saint of England before it was George!
We set out from St. Mary’s into the spring sunshine, cutting across the grounds of the private ‘Culford School’, pausing at a bridge over Culford Beck. The iron bridge is an early example of the change in metal work construction. Older iron bridges were built by bolting on panels and struts.
Dawn gave us a lesson on Alder trees, which are common in the area along water sources. In folklore they are a bad omen, the leafless tree, that has a dark sap gives the appearance of bleeding. Warriors in the past used to coat their shields in the sap. Theory being, their shields would bleed instead of them!
We continued on to a small church on the school grounds, that had a stamp for pilgrim passports – I left mine at my digs thinking there wouldn’t be any, having secured the cathedral stamp the day before; I grabbed a donation envelope and stamped that!
The guide talked to us about the mythology behind wolves. They are regarded as the symbol of the wild but also a noble protective creature, which is why they are featured in King Edmund’s legend.
We soon joined the river Lark where we followed the banks into Fornham; here we stopped for lunch on the grounds of Fornham All Saints. We chatted amongst ourselves, sharing our experiences from other pilgrimages.
By the time we set off, the clouds came in and the temperature dropped. The route crosses the local golf course with parakeets squawking from the trees. This was the last bit of “wild space” before entering Bury, we walked in silence to absorb our last taste of nature before civilisation.
A couple of kilometres of urban sprawl and we were on the grounds of the old abbey, where the cathedral now stands. We circled the building, some going barefoot as we passed through the doors, concluding the pilgrimage.
One of the pilgrims, works within the cathedral and she gave us a private tour about the history and pilgrim symbolism within the architecture, finishing up with a cup of tea.
We returned to our accommodation to change from our walking gear and headed into to town for some food.
The following day, we visited Ely to get the stamp from the cathedral, and what a treat that was! The building is amazing!
It dominated the skyline on approach, intricately carved mason work with a beautiful central dome tower. Walking through the nave took my breath, I was in awe. It’s now my favourite UK cathedral!
I could have spent all day admiring it, but we had to get back home.
Stu's Camino 