Road to Home 2022 Day 22: Golders Green - Southwark

26 km

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you. 

Deep peace of the shining star to you. 

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you. 

Deep peace of the heart of Mary to you. 

Deep peace of the flowing air to you. 

Deep peace of the rolling wave to you. 

Deep peace of the bright blue sky to you. 

Deep peace of the Prince of Peace to you. 

- blessing at the end of the Walk with Hope

Walking across London!!! I had been looking forward to this day immensely while trudging across all those muddy fields, dodging all that sheep and cow dung. And now the big day is finally here!!

It's lucky that I'm planning to walk all the way because the London Underground is on strike today. There were very long queues for the buses on the High Street in Golders Green when I started out, during the morning rush hour!

I walked in a straight line right across Hampstead, Rosslyn Hill and Belsize, and into Camden Town, stopping along the way for a cinnamon bun and cappuccino at Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise providing training and work experience for disadvantaged women. 

I then continued past Camden Market, trying not to get distracted by all the shops!

Camden Lock

From Camden I carried on past Euston Station, stopping in at the church of St Pancras to add the vicar's signature to my pilgrim credential. Then I walked through Russell Square, into Holborn and Aldwych, all the way to the Thames at Blackfriars Bridge! 

At Blackfriars Bridge I met up with Alison and Ian, my hosts for the next two nights: pilgrims with whom I crossed paths in France, and with whom I have since kept in touch. They were participating in a Walk with Hope organised by the Irish Chaplaincy of London, and of course I joined in! We crossed back over the bridge to Brideswell and the church of St. Bride, where the Reverend Canon Dr. Alison Joyce gave us tour and explained some of the history of this notable church. Known as the phoenix church because it has been burnt down twice - in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and in the London Blitz of 1940 - the church is dedicated to the press and to journalists, because the first mobile printing press in England was brought here in the early 1500 and set up next door by Wynkyn de Worde, establishing the first of a number of printing houses on Fleet Street, which is still associated with the press even now that the newspapers and printers no longer have their headquarters there. 

The association with writers is particularly appropriate as the great London diarist Samuel Pepys was christened in the church, and both John Milton and John Dryden were parishioners. 

A corner in St Bride's church is dedicated to journalists who go missing, are imprisoned or lose their lives for telling the truth about what they see. 

The spire of St Bride's is second in height only to St Paul's 

Accompanied by the Reverend Nagase, a Buddhist monk from the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park, beating his prayer drum along the way, the group walked up Fleet Street, past the law courts, Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square, and along the Mall, still closed off following the weekend's Jubilee festivities. 

Charing Cross 

Trafalgar Square 

Finally, we crossed St James Park to the Irish Embassy, where we were received with tea and sandwiches (as the peace walk was organised by the Irish Chaplaincy). 

The Rev. Nagase

The Walk with Hope group

The Irish Embassy (in English and Irish) 

Ian, Alison and I then walked back to their home in Southwark, crossing this time over Westminster Bridge. 

Over a delicious curry dinner we discussed pilgrimage walks past, present and future and looked at tomorrow's route out of London along the south bank of the Thames. 

And so to bed! 

Putting my feet up at last!