- Time of past OR future Camino
- Past: a few. Last: Gudbrandsdalsleden. Next: TBC
I recently walked the Augustine Camino over seven days, starting on 14th Dec. So a late autumn walk with the weather conditions that one might expect at this time of year. Preparing for that on the other side of the world in a different hemisphere was interesting.
Why do this as a pilgrimage? The first reason is that the route covers three major Christian sites that encapsulate the resurrection of Christianity in Britain. It starts in Rochester, the site of the second cathedral in England, proceeds to Canterbury, site of the first English cathedral, and ends at Ramsgate, where Augustine landed on Thanet Island with his missionary team sent by Pope Gregory I to turn the Angles into angels. It is steeped in the history of English saints great and small, and talks to the struggle that both Catholic and Anglican communities have as church attendance declines. Even if you are not religious, it speaks to the journey of Christianity in England as much as a Camino de Santiago does in Spain or the St Olav's Ways do in Norway.
Doing this in late autumn is a demanding endeavour, well worth rising to the physical and mental challenges. The route does take one through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but in late autumn the trees are bare, and the ground is somewhere between damp and treacherously muddy. Woodlands and copses offer some protection from high winds, but have laid an equally treacherous surface of rotting wet leaves ready to slip away at any hint of a soft surface or even the slightest slope. Maintaining focus on both pole and foot placement is a continual challenge, and it seemed any loss of focus or momentary distraction would see a foot or pole tip start to slide.
It did rain. Mostly short squalls that lasted 10s of minutes and rarely much longer. More often it would drizzle, when I was able to avoid wearing rain pants but still needed a rain jacket. Very occasionally it was possible to walk without a jacket when it was both fine and still, but that didn't happen every day.
I had to take some care that I didn't get chilled. I carried enough nut bars to have a mid-morning snack, but this wasn't always enough, and on several days I was aware of starting to cool down. I think this might have been aggravated by the overall slow pace I was walking at. The route uses footpaths - or what passes for a footpath in Britain. At best these were relatively smooth and relatively dry woodland paths. Sometimes they were deeply rutted farm tracks heavily imprinted by rear tractor tyres. At worst one faced an otherwise featureless ploughed field where there was no sign of the path alignment, no sign of the exit point as one started and having to walk on a compass bearing. My average speed on a couple of days was under 2.5 km/hr despite walking at around 4 km/hr when I was moving.
I met some wonderful people. People took time out of their day to show me around four churches I would otherwise not have seen. St Martin's in Canterbury was the earliest, based on the private chapel built by Queen Bertha of Kent before the arrival of St Augustine. The others were St Peter's and St Paul's at Boughton, the church at the Hospital of St Nicholas at the former leper hospital in Hambledown, and the magnificent Pugin designed Gothic style Catholic Church of St Augustine in Ramsgate built in the 19th C. And there were others who took the time to be interested in why one would undertake a pilgrimage like this.
The guide I used was written by Andrew and Paula Kelly, who also organised places to stay, provided a daily text message and arranging things like a very touching blessing at Canterbury Cathedral following Evensong in the Trinity Chapel. Standing for that on the spot long occupied by a shrine to St Thomas Beckett was a special moment on this journey.
Many of you will know that it was a slightly difficult personal journey. I had my knee replaced about six months ago, and there is still some recovery to go. And I have an arthritic hip that doesn't stop me walking but can disrupt my sleep. I took the view that knowing why my body hurt would make it easier to tolerate, albeit aided by appropriate analgesia. I am now hobbling a little more than I would like, but happy to have met the challenges offered by this short but wonderful pilgrimage.
Why do this as a pilgrimage? The first reason is that the route covers three major Christian sites that encapsulate the resurrection of Christianity in Britain. It starts in Rochester, the site of the second cathedral in England, proceeds to Canterbury, site of the first English cathedral, and ends at Ramsgate, where Augustine landed on Thanet Island with his missionary team sent by Pope Gregory I to turn the Angles into angels. It is steeped in the history of English saints great and small, and talks to the struggle that both Catholic and Anglican communities have as church attendance declines. Even if you are not religious, it speaks to the journey of Christianity in England as much as a Camino de Santiago does in Spain or the St Olav's Ways do in Norway.
Doing this in late autumn is a demanding endeavour, well worth rising to the physical and mental challenges. The route does take one through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but in late autumn the trees are bare, and the ground is somewhere between damp and treacherously muddy. Woodlands and copses offer some protection from high winds, but have laid an equally treacherous surface of rotting wet leaves ready to slip away at any hint of a soft surface or even the slightest slope. Maintaining focus on both pole and foot placement is a continual challenge, and it seemed any loss of focus or momentary distraction would see a foot or pole tip start to slide.
It did rain. Mostly short squalls that lasted 10s of minutes and rarely much longer. More often it would drizzle, when I was able to avoid wearing rain pants but still needed a rain jacket. Very occasionally it was possible to walk without a jacket when it was both fine and still, but that didn't happen every day.
I had to take some care that I didn't get chilled. I carried enough nut bars to have a mid-morning snack, but this wasn't always enough, and on several days I was aware of starting to cool down. I think this might have been aggravated by the overall slow pace I was walking at. The route uses footpaths - or what passes for a footpath in Britain. At best these were relatively smooth and relatively dry woodland paths. Sometimes they were deeply rutted farm tracks heavily imprinted by rear tractor tyres. At worst one faced an otherwise featureless ploughed field where there was no sign of the path alignment, no sign of the exit point as one started and having to walk on a compass bearing. My average speed on a couple of days was under 2.5 km/hr despite walking at around 4 km/hr when I was moving.
I met some wonderful people. People took time out of their day to show me around four churches I would otherwise not have seen. St Martin's in Canterbury was the earliest, based on the private chapel built by Queen Bertha of Kent before the arrival of St Augustine. The others were St Peter's and St Paul's at Boughton, the church at the Hospital of St Nicholas at the former leper hospital in Hambledown, and the magnificent Pugin designed Gothic style Catholic Church of St Augustine in Ramsgate built in the 19th C. And there were others who took the time to be interested in why one would undertake a pilgrimage like this.
The guide I used was written by Andrew and Paula Kelly, who also organised places to stay, provided a daily text message and arranging things like a very touching blessing at Canterbury Cathedral following Evensong in the Trinity Chapel. Standing for that on the spot long occupied by a shrine to St Thomas Beckett was a special moment on this journey.
Many of you will know that it was a slightly difficult personal journey. I had my knee replaced about six months ago, and there is still some recovery to go. And I have an arthritic hip that doesn't stop me walking but can disrupt my sleep. I took the view that knowing why my body hurt would make it easier to tolerate, albeit aided by appropriate analgesia. I am now hobbling a little more than I would like, but happy to have met the challenges offered by this short but wonderful pilgrimage.
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and you seem to have avoided the sometimes treacherous stiles. Phew.
