COME WIND, COME WEATHER

Published by: Wild Goose Price: £10.99

In 2019 the author walked ‘end to end’ across the UK – taking four months or so to walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End, a 1110 mile trek across Britain.

Following in the footsteps of her husband and daughter who had already completed the challenge, she set herself the challenge after retiring from her post as a school chaplain.

The idea for this book crystallised during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when she reflected on the journey of the previous year and found there were lessons to be learned for walking pilgrims.

As pilgrimage continues to grow in popularity this handy-sized 144 page volume is not a guide to ‘how to do’ a pilgrimage, nor a diary account of the people, places and experiences found along the way.

Rather it is almost a support manual for would-be pilgrims full of encouragement but also peppered with helpful insights to ensure walkers get the most from their experience.

The first half of the book offers insights into planning and pragmatic aids to encourage would-be pilgrims, emphasising the importance of careful planning but also offering helpful extras such as prayers, establishing where you might want to walk that may be in touching distance of the planned route, legal insights (there can be differences in law over walking rights), music and daily challenges or games that can inspire, particularly when weary. Helpful areas such as diet and how to encounter other pilgrims are also addressed, along with emergency planning when the unexpected occurs or what to do when time is lost because of the unexpected.

There are also helpful tips on using mobile phone apps as a source of encouragement and creating a scrapbook as a memory of the time.

Each section in this first part of the book is short and helpful and the final item ‘Commitment’ reinforces purpose: ‘The End to End was more than a walk. It was a time and opportunity to renew and refuel myself for the next part of my life as a person of faith.’

The second part offers a guide on how to use the book and offers spiritual insights of the likely landscapes encountered along the way with helpful thoughts, prayers, references and insights designed to encourage the walker to think more deeply as they journey along the way.

For anyone planning or considering taking part in a pilgrimage, this is essential reading and a helpful companion along the way.

Lynne McNeil

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