✞ The Pilgrims Way
England Kent Pilgrimage 

The Pilgrims Way England Kent Pilgrimage on the Old Road Winchester to Canterbury . Winchester is situated in the county of Hampshire in England in the United Kingdom. On the old road nowadays known ad pilgrims way or alternatively spelled pilgrims way many pilgrims travels all the way to the shrine of the martyr Thomas Becket in the cathedral city of Canterbury in the county of Kent. Some embark on endurance pilgrimages, hiking and backpacking their way in a set amount of time. Some come for a healing pilgrimage to pay their respects to Saint Swithun who overtime became known as a " healing bishop". Others arrive for a day pilgrimage to spend time with a specific faith intention. And yet some pilgrims like myself choose a contemplative prayer approach with no specific timescale and a quiet inner waiting for God to show the way, the next step , the right time to move onward. I call this typ of of pilgrimage immersive pilgrimage. The pathways are many, it is for me the intent that counts. 

The Pilgrims Way England Kent, Real Photo Journal from my Pilgrimage Visit to Winchester Cathedral , the Old Road Trail, Walking as Pilgrim on HolyGround

✞ The Pilgrims Way England Kent Pilgrimage 

• A little bit about the way I approach my pilgrimage day. My way of doing pilgrimage I would call immersive contemplative. So I begin the morning with contemplative prayer, an ignatian imaginal discernment exercise and slowing down to face God in stillness to see if it it still the right time to proceed. 
• When I am centered and feel ready I started approaching the cathedral front entrance. There is a sense that I feel, a presence of place that I invite to lead me in the right direction as it were. Sometimes I feel drawn to circumnavigate around the whole outer church first, but the Winchester cathedral christmas market was being built and the are was quite congested. So front entrance it is and I received my pilgrims passport and credential camino stamp. 

DAY 1 - The Pilgrims Way England Kent - Old Road 

• So day one inside the cathedral started interestingly however , although I noticed it only much later when I sat down to do my Pilgrimina Journal. I had arrived at the front desk of Winchester cathedral and excitedly asked for a pilgrims passport. 
• The kind lady proceeded to stamp my official one and also was quite happy to add another stamp to my handmade Pilgrimina credential journal. 
• When I looked closer I noticed the W for Winchester was an illuminated letter style, like the Winchester bible that is kept in the cathedrals library and is currently on exibit. The smaller lettering underneath however read " St JAmes Way " and " Camino Ingles " .. ehmmm that is in the opposite direction from where I am heading, Canterbury is my destination and I failed to enquire whther they had a specific one for the ancient old road, the Pilgrims way England is known for, or so I thought. Well lesson learned and now it left me wondering whether GOD gave me a little sign here. I shall take some time to contemplate and add this questions to my contemplative prayer tonight.

• Pilgrims are being given free entrance in this cathedral which is a wonderfully inviting gesture, but I chose to pay anyway, as I am going to return several more times for my contemplative immersion and they cathedral ticket is valid for a whole year. It feels right to support the upkeep of this wonderful building anyway but I appreciated the sentiment of welcome. I imagine especially for pilgrims who are faster in their approach, to be able to go in and pay their respects and continue on their journeys is wonderful by honouring everyones chosen path. 

Entering Winchester Cathedral
as a Pilgrim on HolyGround

What does pilgrimage mean to me ? Entering Winchester Cathedral as a Pilgrim on HolyGround

• Upon entering the architecture of the cathedral is immediately awe inspiring The way might head lifts up and my eyes raise their gaze toward the light which streams in through the church stained glass windows, the way the vaulted ceilings seem to carry the sound of footsteps, it never ceases to still me. It felt right just to slowly walk anti clockwise , against the stream of tourists gathering around Jane Austens shrine space. I shall share a couple of pictures at the Winchester cathedral history page for those of you readers who might be interested in her.
• For me it was time to simply soak the athmosphere in, to quietly start noticing where there perhaps was an inner pull, where my feet entered Holyground that was meant for me. This is always a very subtle way of walking, sensing, praying and staying connected to where God is leading me. 

• I am not very versed at sacred architecture styles, so I am not sure exactly of the right cathedral parts terminology. 
• To me it is always more about feeling and sensing and following the way I am being led to walk on this HolyGround. This view had me turned around and instead of looking at the front altar I was facing the other way as if I was being gently carried from behind. 
• After this moment I continued walking the christian cross shaped cathedral, cruciform I belief and kept being drawn to the right hand side. I do not usually read information leaflets or guidebooks until much later so I am not distracted by what I might want to see but rather stay centered and wide open to Gods will. 
• A small peek inside the " Fishermans chapel " made my heart leap and I knew I would return , but for now it felt like I had to walk around the entire circumference of the cathedral before approaching Saint Swithun . St Swithin shrine to pay my prayerful respect. 

✞ The Pilgrims Way
England Kent Pilgrimage Photo Trail Log & Journaling Pages

That is all for today, day one will take a while to process and to journal about. I will add more details and share more images here as I progress . For now I appreciate your time walking virtually alongside me. 

May peace be with you, always ✞

✞ The Pilgrims Way
England Kent Pilgrimage 
Winchester Cathedral Church Kneeler Cushions 

There is an interesting history of the Winchester cathedral Church kneeler cushions which dates back to a revival of the craft in the 1930's . I wll add some photos of church kneelers commemorating the history of Winchester, patron saints Saint Swithun which I have been told is the preferred way the city of Winchester likes to spell its patron saint. an alternate variation often used in older historical literature is Saint Swithin . So whether it is St Swithun or St Swithin for you, a church kneeler cushion displayed in the choir area remembers him. He predecessor Saint Birinus has also been commemorated on a comfortable seat cushion for prayer and hymn singing. 

I particularly liked this angel design on the church kneeler cushion hidden in one of the reserved choir seats. They do seemed to get moved around however as the cathedral guide told me. I shall more over at the kneelers for church page.

All my favourite Winchester Cathedral England church kneeler cushion 

return from The Pilgrims Way England Kent Pilgrimage to Winchester Cathedral Hampshire 

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" A Pilgrims Margin"
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