The pilgrim way

The Rev John Carswell describes his experience travelling along Scotland’s newest pilgrim route.

WHEN you hear the word ‘pilgrimage’ what comes to mind?

Perhaps you’ve walked the Santiago de Compostella, or know someone who has? Maybe you think of mendicant friars wandering the roads of Europe in the 12th century? Or maybe you think of the new BBC programme of the same title? Whatever comes to mind, you are probably right because pilgrimage is a blank space that can be filled in many different ways, each one unique to the individual pilgrim. There is no wrong reason to take a pilgrimage.

What might surprise you to learn is that Scotland, too, is home to many ancient and modern pilgrim routes, the most recent being the newly mapped Kentigern Way, named in honour of Glasgow’s patron saint, better known as Mungo.

A contemporary of Columba in the latter half of the 6th century, Kentigern travelled widely beginning in the Strathclyde area, moving latterly through the Tweed Valley, Dumfriesshire, and the Lake District and even as far as Wales. His name is littered across the landscape in churches and holy sites bearing his name. His remains were interred at Glasgow Cathedral, where they remain today, and for hundreds of years, many made pilgrimage to Glasgow in the hope of receiving miraculous healings, signs, and wonders. Many did, making Glasgow a holy site on par with Rome itself.

1400 plus years later, Kentigern’s memory has been revived again and a pilgrimage route established in his name.

Covering much of the same ground he may well have walked, the Kentigern Way extends 150 miles from Annan to Glasgow Cathedral, passing Kentigern’s Episcopal Seat at Hoddom, then onwards via Moffat, Innerleithen, Peebles, Broughton, Biggar, Lanark, Bothwell and the Cathedral itself. The route takes advantage of existing waymarked paths and covers sections of the Annandale Way, the Southern Upland Way, the Cross Borders Drove Route, the John Buchan Way and finally the Clyde Walkway. It was developed by Bill and Christine Jack, of Bothwell, who first walked the pilgrimage in October 2021. My own journey took place this year after Easter, in the coldest, wettest April on record!

The walk took me 11 days. Six of those I camped in my tent, one night was spent in a bothy, one in a B&B, one in a manse, one at a friend’s, and because I live in Hamilton, along the Clyde Walkway, I was able to spend the last night in my own bed. There are too many stories to tell in this short essay, but I recounted many of them in daily vlogs, which can be seen at John Carswell – YouTube

The purpose of my pilgrimage was twofold, with a surprising third outcome. As a keen backpacker and hiker, I wanted to see if I could hold up to a multi-day trek, carrying everything I needed to be selfsufficient. This turned out to be the easy bit. Second, I wanted to speak to churches along the way about their willingness to open doors and hearts to future pilgrims.

I approached them with a simple question: ‘Can you provide hospitality?’ Hospitality, like pilgrimage itself, is a blank space that can be filled in any number of ways. As Jesus suggested, it might be as simple as offering a ‘cold cup of water’ (Matthew 10:42) or coffee and a biscuit or a bacon roll. It might be a warm, dry place to come out of the cold for an hour or to use the toilet. It is local knowledge about the best places of lodging or favourite restaurants or advice about trail closures or weather reports or where best to pitch a tent. It is information about local history and church activities. But hospitality can go further and include the provision of overnight lodging in a church, a community hall, or even better, in someone’s home. I was pleasantly surprised to find a number of churches and individuals outwith the church willing to offer hospitality to future pilgrims.

The most surprising experience of my pilgrimage was encountering my own vulnerability. As a pilgrim, you are forever vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather and one is quickly attuned to the changing patterns of sky and air, temperature and precipitation. Nature is unpredictable and dangerous. It is at once beautiful and terrifying, and the pilgrim does well to nurture a fearful respect for its power. Vulnerability to the natural world is compounded by vulnerability to strangers along the way, most especially by the need to ask for help. This might be as simple as asking for directions or for permission to use a toilet or fill a water bottle. It may however involve a more costly request such as: ‘May I camp in your pasture tonight?’ or even: ‘Can you put me up for the night?’ I made these requests on more than one occasion and to my very pleasant surprise, was met with a generous willingness to take me in.

This is where the pilgrim realises that they are giving as much or more than they receive. Jesus teaches us, ‘when you welcome the stranger, you are welcoming me’ (Matthew 25:35). In a sense, the pilgrim unwittingly becomes Christ incarnate, sharing the experience and stories of their life on the trail, the reasons behind their peculiar journey and radiating the strange glow of holiness that comes to those who earnestly seek the face of Christ. One’s suffering vulnerability breaks down the usual constraints of social nicety and allows the host the privilege of sharing from their largesse, whatever that may be. What begins as dependency, ends in reciprocal grace. It is not easy to humble oneself to ask for help but the knowledge of one’s radical dependency creates a suppurating wound of holiness and gratitude; a gift as simple as a cold cup of water moves one easily to tears.

It’s easy, when reflecting on the ‘lives of the saints’ to imagine that Kentigern is most important for his miraculous power, but more than likely, he was simply a man who lived with and trusted deeply in the presence of God moment by moment, each step of his long sojourn. But pilgrimage has taught me that while Kentigern might give inspiration and example, it is the lives of the ordinary saints, providing countless acts of hospitality, welcome and kindness, that carry the faith and embody the promises of the Gospel.

From these simple acts of kindness, I was blessed with multiple cups of coffee, biscuits, rolls, travel advice, toilet facilities, overnight accommodation, showers and baths, clothes washing, backpacking tips, food and drink, snooker and guitar playing, worship, walking pals, transport and even a trip to a Tibetan Monastery. Thank you to all those who gifted me along the way and for those who do so every day.

For more information, see the website about the Kentigern Way or visit the Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum, or email me at jcarswell@churchofscotland.org.uk

The Rev John Carswell will talk about his pilgrimage experience on September 16 at 7:30pm at Cadzow Parish Church, Hamilton.