September 2023 saw me travelling north to Carlisle from where I made my way from the city’s historic cathedral to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne on the far east coast of England. Spending ten days walking, my particular aim was to explore the early Christianisation of this border area by St Aidan and St Oswald, bishop of Lindisfarne and king of Northumbria respectively, in the seventh century. Along with other northern saints, notably Cuthbert, these leading figures have left an indelible mark on the religious landscape of the north of England.
Making use of the Hadrian’s Wall long-distance trail for the first part of my peregrinatio, I then roughly followed the St Oswald’s Way route to arrive at Lindisfarne. There, I completed my trek by walking along the traditional path, marked out by tall stakes, that guides walkers and pilgrims safely across the tidal flats to Holy Island.
