Free Admission | No booking required
This event is part of the University of Kent’s series All roads lead to poems/All odes lead to Rome
Event enquiries: r.laurence@kent.ac.uk
Walking the start of Via Francigena
Do you want to walk like a true pilgrim? Experience the terrain, culture and feelings of mediaeval pilgrims as you take this challenging but highly enjoyable walk from Canterbury.
- 9am-3pm
- Canterbury
Walking the start of Via Francigena
Walk in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims in this 12-mile walk past the World Heritage sites of Canterbury Cathedral, Saint Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church, achieving a multisensory immersion in the historic human experience of walking long-distance to dwell on one’s hopes and fears. Pilgrims, in the present or in the past, are exposed to all weathers, often travelling along dangerous and difficult terrain, through foreign lands where they must rely on strangers for their most basic needs. The walk begins at Canterbury Cathedral and ends at Shepherdswell and is led by Julia Peters, who walked to Rome in 2015. Participants will return to Canterbury by train.
LEADER: University of Kent www.kent.ac.uk
MEET: Entrance to Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury CT1 2EH
DISTANCE: 12 miles (6 hours)
Free to attend
The route is a mixture of walking on pavements, and some rough ground. No dogs please.
For more information please visit the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership website.
Explore your local countryside around High Meadow, and stop for a social tea or coffee afterwards (please bring money to pay for the refreshments) or bring your own bottle of water.
LEADER: Melanie Wrigley, White Cliffs Countryside Partnership (01304 241806 or 07880 706990)
MEET: Triangles Community Centre, Poulton Close, Dover, CT17 OHL
DISTANCE: 1 mile (30 to 45 minutes.) Note that this activity involves a 12 mile walk over uneven terrain.