Trail Update

I’m sure our Gathering Walk launch event was blessed by Saint Aelred because we began the day with excellent walking weather and later with fine sunshine bathing Rievaulx Abbey in glorious light and colour for our Nave Celebration Service and Launch Reception.

Everything worked out well for the planning group on the day. Reverend Mel and Churchwarden Ben started the day off at Hawnby with all aspects of our new Trail well represented: walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders. The “gathering” concept really worked as we gathered more walkers and horse riders and participants along the trail.

Coffee and cake in a busy church and around the green in Old Byland was a joyous affair where a large group of horse riders, walkers and supporters joining the Hawnby beginners. More walkers and dogs joined at Scawton so that by lunchtime, at Cold Kirby, we had quite a crowd both in the village hall and milling outside on the grass. Everyone was enjoying the day, its craic, and each other’s company, before heading down the Cleveland Way.

I don’t think I have ever felt so stirred as I was by the final gathering and processing up the Abbey of everyone, the lovely, moving Nave Service led by Reverend Mel, and the splendid launch reception that English Heritage laid on for us. It was a day magically captured for us by that amazingly talented photographer Val Mather, who was ably assisted by her husband Jim.

We should reserve very special thanks to the stunning local artists who ensured our churches had fine exhibitions to interest every visitor on the trail over the HODs Festival weekend. We are grateful to Penny Robinson and her team for the way they carried the spirit of Saint Aelred into the Pop-Up Café at All Saints, Helmsley with those wonderful aprons!

We also have Penny to thank for dressing the group of press-ganged, yet most convincing, “monks” leading our procession and standing central in the Nave singing our well-known hymns with gusto! Sheila Gillam told me that she wondered which abbey this group of Cistercian monks had come from at first but that it was strange that one of them had a dog! Thank you to our “monks’, and to our “medieval peasants’ Catherine and Mike Stallybrass (and their brilliant Regia Anglorum group) for the way they enhanced our new trail’s launch. Also a special thanks to Gareth Jenkins for his marvellous photographs of our churches, and his talented collaborator Libby Pearson on the “Voices of the Trail” project.

The planning group would like to thank all our busy helpers, supporters, and friends old and new, for ensuring we had such a successful and uplifting day. Sponsorship raised currently stands just £126.25 short of £2,000! Are we going to hit that number? Won’t it be marvellous if we do. Guidebook and Pilgrim Passport sales on the website currently totals £208. Sales took place in our churches as well so the true total figure for sales is much higher.

This website has received 3, 678 visits and we are now running short of guidebooks and pilgrim passports, so will need to have a reprint!

Save the date: Bishop Barry Hill, our new Bishop of Whitby, wants to lead a Lent Walk on the Saint Aelred’s Pilgrim Trail on Sunday 9 March 2025. He will be accompanied by Archdeacon Amanda. Please do join us. We will send you further details about this event.

George Gyte, on behalf of the SAPT Planning Team