Members of St. Andrew’s with Castle Gate URC go on pilgrimage to Lindisfarne and NE England.
On the last Friday in September 2025, an intrepid bunch of pilgrims gathered in the church car park to travel to Northumberland. The expedition had been prompted by the Book Group’s reading of Benjamin Myers’ Cuddy, a novel tracing the response to St Cuthbert (c. 634–687), particularly in Durham where his shrine now is. The novel is so evocative of the place that we thought a visit there and to Lindisfarne would be in order, particularly for our members who had never visited.
Our first stop was Ripon, where the cathedral is dedicated to St Wilfrid, another Anglo-Saxon saint (c. 633-709/10). There is still a crypt there dating from St Wilfrid’s founding of a Benedictine house (he was a very European/Roman minded saint in contrast to the Celtic influence in Lindisfarne), and the building there is the fourth iteration of a place of worship, including some amazing Medieval wood carving. For most of us, it was a new place, but gracious in its space, welcoming without being too grand (and with some unexpected links to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland).
Restored by the visit and by tea and cake, we continued to Alnwick and our hotel. After dinner, Louise G led us in evening prayer, using an order of worship from the Northumbrian Community (https://www.northumbriacommunity.org). That first night, we found a quiet space in the dining room for this; those other diners who remained were entirely unfazed by their experience.
Saturday saw us up bright and early to travel to Lindisfarne – having checked the tides! Anne, Jean and Derek took on the challenge of following the old Pilgrim’s Route over the sands, so hopped off the bus, rolled up their trousers and set off while the rest of us bussed across the causeway.
It was a windy but clear day, and we set off in various groups to explore as we wanted. Most of us found our way to St Mary’s church, adjacent to the Priory ruins: this tiny, medieval church was set up for Harvest and for visitors, with lots of provocations for reflection on hospitality and faith, the place of Cuthbert and Aidan in welcoming strangers and working in the landscape God has provided.
Our intrepid walkers had made it across in half the recommended time, and were giddy with the achievement! We finished the day at the URC’s own St Cuthbert’s Centre, with prayers by Rev Kay B, the centre chaplain.
We were off the island in good time to beat the incoming waters. Those inclined managed to watch England lift the women’s rugby World Cup before dinner, and we finished the day with evening prayers, this time in Anne’s room as the dining room was far too busy.
Sunday was a busy day: we set off in good time to get to Waddington Street URC in Durham, where we joined their congregation for morning worship. We were warmly received, and we bring their greetings back to St Andrew’s.
After lunch in a local hostelry, we moved towards the cathedral. Unfortunately, we had chosen the day when Durham Freshers are delivered, and as a result, it wasn’t possible to get the bus to the cathedral. We all made it in the end, but it was a harder walk for some of us, true and dedicated pilgrims!
There was too much to see in Durham for the time we had available, but the cathedral building never fails to impress and several of us were able to visit St Cuthbert’s shrine. We were all able to participate in Evensong. The anthem had words drawn from Revelation, as it was the eve of the feast of St Michael and All Angels: the organ was magnificent, the choir beautiful and the level of sound had us all pressed back against our choir stalls.
The organisation of the venture was a group affair: Bob L recommended a coach company (and bought the necessary travel sweets), Alex R recommended a place for Sunday lunch, Maggie B came as first aider and Derek G provided information packs. Louise G attended to our spiritual needs, led worship, and organised the visit to the URC St Cuthbert’s Retreat Centre on Lindisfarne: her contribution as chaplain really helped us see ourselves not just sightseers but pilgrims. James B provided further information on URC churches in Durham, and Lorna R did our accounting – and they didn’t even come! All of these contributions made the trip better, and we owe them many thanks. However, all the pilgrims recognise the gratitude owed to Nicola R who did all the initial research and pulled all the planning together. Without her time, effort and organisation, the pilgrimage would never have taken place. We are also very grateful for the generous subsidies from the URC’s Discipleship Development Fund (£3000) and the Elders’ Council (£1000) which made the pilgrimage affordable.
Our takeaways? It is very good to spend time with each other with a common purpose and experience: we all got to know each other a bit better, and made new connections across the congregation and beyond (it was a joy to be joined by Natalia, who is attached this year to Trinity Lutheran Church). We learned something about early medieval Christian practice in the North-east, its evangelism and its hospitality, and its engagement with the natural world God has given us. Some of us were grateful for the time out, others for new experiences, others for different styles of worship, others for new knowledge and questions, all of us for companionship. More information can be found here: https://youtu.be/COlnGnaBZAk.
