On the morning of Friday 25 October, seven pilgrims gathered for the 0800 mass at St Paul's prior to setting out on the long journey to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.  The journey down was not without event: traffic ensured that it took longer than we planned, and the closure of local hostelries in Lincolnshire made for an interesting search for lunch! But we did make it to the Shrine and were directed to our accommodation.  The group took over one of the cottages in the centre of the village, and we were pleased to be at the heart of all that was going on in Walsingham that weekend.

After a good supper, we gathered at the Shrine Church for our First Visit to the Holy House - the replica of the house in Nazareth that Mary lived in, which lies at the heart of Walsingham Devotion.  We then moved to the Guild of All Souls Chapel to have a brief reflection at the beginning of the pilgrimage, followed by Compline.  After that, a few of us popped across to the Bull to take in some of the Walsingham atmosphere, and have some time to relax after a long journey.

On the Saturday, we gathered after an early Mass and Breakfast for Stations of the Cross outdoors, where we were able to meditate upon that last journey of Jesus, with our prayers focussed on the Beatitudes from Matthew's Gospel.  Feeling energetic, we braved the mile walk to the Slipper Chapel and the Roman Catholic Shrine to see the place where mediaeval pilgrims would leave their shoes before completing their journey to Walsingham barefoot.  On our return, we prayed our Intercessions in the Holy House, praying for our parish, our country, and the needs of the whole world.

Saturday afternoon brought quite a grey and wet visit to the seaside, at Wells-next-the-Sea where, as hardy northerners, we didn't let the rain put us off, but rather explored the small seaside town, and some of us were able to do some shopping!  The evening was taken up by some of the joint pilgrimage activities, the Sung Pilgrim Mass and the Procession of Our Lady and Benediction where, the rain having stopped, we were able to process around the beautiful grounds of the Shrine with the Image of Our Lady of Walsingham, singing the famous Walsingham Hymn, telling the story of the Shrine.

On the Sunday, we joined the local Parish Church of St Mary for their main Mass, and then in the afternoon were present the the Liturgy of Sprinkling from the Holy Well, together with the Healing Ministries of the Church.  The Holy Well at Walsingham was present in the vision of the Lady Richeldis where she was told to build the Holy House.  It is central to the pilgrimage experience, and Sprinkling plays an important part in the devotion at Walsingham.  

Finally, at the end of the Pilgrimage, we were able to take part in the procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, where two members of our parish were able to assist, and where Fr David was invited to preside.  Members of our group spoke of the great privilege they had experienced in taking part in the liturgy in such a prominent way.  We then parked our minibus and returned home to Adlington refreshed and renewed to proclaim the Good News of the Word-made-flesh to the people of our parish.

With thanks to Andrew Young for the photos!