As the summer months roll in, many are booking up trips and jet-setting off in favour of sunnier climes—a bid to unwind and relax, taking some much-needed rest from the stresses of everyday life, writes Amanda Connelly.
Yet while some are away to explore foreign lands, one pilgrimage group and trust are combining their efforts to offer their own spiritual retreat from the modern world, and the added opportunity of exploring more of Scotland’s rich pilgrim past.
Following in the steps of saints, monks and monarchs, people from Scotland and beyond are being invited to take part in the Whithorn Way: a long-distance walking route with breathtaking views and a fascinating insight into the Christian pilgrimage route from Glasgow to Whithorn.
Julia Muir-Watt of the Whithorn Trust said: “The route from Glasgow to Whithorn is obviously 1,500 years old, and we wanted to publicise it as a walking route. There’s an enthusiastic interdenominational group up in Glasgow and Paisley called the Whithorn Way Steering Group, and some of them come from Paisley Abbey and St Mirin’s Cathedral.
“Most of them are walkers and most are members of a church of one description or another.”
Following the successful completion of the 143-mile walk by a group of pilgrims to commemorate the 850th anniversary of Paisley Abbey, a desire to leave a legacy of the much-trod paths and to encourage others to take part saw the Whithorn Way ancient pilgrimage route reborn.
• Full story at the Scottish Catholic Observer.