The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome - Practical Pilgrims Day

When at the Confraternity of Saint James I mentioned an interest in one day walking to Rome (which is along with the Pilgrimages to Santiago and Jerusalem one of the three most important places for Christian Pilgrimage) and was told that that Saturday (the 1st of March) the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome was having their Practical Pilgrim day (the Confraternity of Saint James runs similar days, I have never been to one but it's worth checking their website to see if one is coming up: www.csj.org.uk/ ).

The day took place in Saint James' Church on Piccadilly Circus

We had a short session on the history of the Pilgrimage and a few details of walking before hearing from someone who had recently walked the route and had pictures to show us

We took a break for dinner and I talked to a few people - many had already walked to Santiago

The question and answer session was the most useful part of the day - I found out that you can buy good maps from the Italian version of Amazon, that the Saint Bernard pass is only open for three months a year, that the shops in France are hardly ever open and most things are closed in August in Italy, that there are probably fewer bedbugs on this way than the Camino (at least for now) and you should probably allow more money per day than you would on the Camino (about 35 euros instead of 20 or so). I need to look over my notes to see what else I can tell you but it's definently worth visiting www.pilgrmstorome.org.uk/ for more information

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The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/

Symbols of the three main Christian Pilgrimages

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.

Pilgrims' Trail to Saint Michels Mont, France

I have only walked two of the Camino routes (the Frances and Portuguese) and still want to try many of the others and yet I am also finding other Pilgrimage routes that I want to walk - I did the Pilgrims' Way in the summer which starts from Winchester which is also the starting point for the Pilgrims' Trail a 155 mile route that finishes at Mont St Michel in Normandy, France. The cult of saint Michel was popular in Britain from the 9th century and the Pilgrims walking this way were called Miquelots and many Pilgrims on their way to Santiago. The route is marked by green way markers in Hampshire taking walkers from Winchester to Bishop's Waltham to Southwick and then to Portsmouth where ferries are caught to France and Way markers become blue. Tradition says that, in 709 Saint Michael the Archangel appeared to the bishop of Avranches, Saint Aubert, and told him to build a chapel in his honour on the island. The bishop obeyed and soon sent a group of monks over...

On the Camino

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