Cross-carrying pilgrims set off for Norfolk

Pilgrim Cross is Britain’s oldest annual pilgrimage and takes place from April 16-24, when groups of pilgrims of all ages will set out on their journeys from various parts of England in 10 groups (known as 'legs') heading for Walsingham in North Norfolk.

 

Six of the legs will walk around 120 miles during the course of the week. There are also two family legs and another two groups meeting later on, for people unable to walk the whole week.

 

Each leg will carry a life-sized wooden cross and will gather together in Walsingham on Good Friday for a unique celebration of Easter over the weekend, concluding on Sunday afternoon.

 

Chantal Noppen, national director of Student Cross 2011, says: “Pilgrimage is an intense and rewarding experience. Sometimes we need to be reminded to take a step back and remember who we are and why we are. We all need to find a way to do this and for some, this is on Student Cross, sharing the road and the journey for a while.

 

“As our pace of life seems to get faster and faster, the opportunity to breathe freely and release the pressure is invaluable. We are a diverse group of people of all ages and backgrounds from toddlers to students, priests and teachers, teenagers and retired folk.

 

“Every single person who takes part brings something different and every Student Cross is full of its own blessings, challenges, joys and surprises. Whether we regard our faith as the lynchpin to life or a peripheral thing to wonder about, Student Cross brings us together and helps us reconnect with what is important.

 

“The importance and relevance of pilgrimage today is often too easily overlooked. It’s time to think outside the box and walk this way for a while.”

 

Walsingham has been a destination of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages and, until the Reformation, was one of the biggest sites in the world. Student Cross is the longest running annual pilgrimage in Britain, beginning in 1948.