I Am A Pilgrim

Posted bynickletjogPosted inDiary

CAMINO INGLÉS – Day 1: Monday 24 August 2026 – READING ABBEY to MORTIMER (11.5 miles)*

Raring to go! With Rachel, Karen and George in Reading, at the statue to Henry Beauclerc (Henry I), before setting off this morning on the Camino Inglés (note the scallop shells on the column – symbols of the Camino)

Maybe I am becoming a serial pilgrim, as less than three months after returning from the Camino Portugués, I now find myself back on another ancient pathway: the English section of the ancient Camino Inglés. This route, also known as St James’ Way, dates from early medieval times, on a path trodden by pilgrims from across central and southern England, banding together for reasons of security and camaraderie, as they made their way to Southampton Docks. Thereafter the travellers would journey by boat to France or northern Spain, en route to the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where, it is widely believed, lie the relics of St James. Engaging with the past, and following in the steps of the ancients is to be our adventure for the next week.

The pilgrimage routes of southern England: our proposed Camino Inglés path follows the St James’ Way (shown in purple) from Reading, via Winchester to Southampton
(Image from the CSJ Website)

The journey this time is to be very different from my previous exploits along the Caminos Francés and Portugués, as I now have some company! I have been joined by my wife Rachel and our old friends Karen and George, now kitted out with walking boots and rucksacks, having previously supported me from afar. And so, after an early start for the train to Reading, the four of us began on the tourist trail of the town’s ancient heart, before hitting the trail.

A prehistoric ‘legosaurus’ greeting at Reading Station
At St James’ Church, where we collected the first stamps for our Pilgrim Passports from the presbytery office . . .
. . . the official start of our walk
Surveying the scene . . .
. . . at the ruins of Reading Abbey, founded by Henry I in 1121 ‘for the salvation of my soul . . . and all my ancestors and successors’
The old and the new
We completed our town centre tour . . .
. . . by this mouteira of Galician granite

Sightseeing done, our attention turned to the first walking day of our pilgrimage:

The English section of the Camino Inglés begins with a route out of Reading along the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal, and then by the River Kennet itself, before turning southward across the fields and woodlands through Sulhamstead Abbots and Burghfield to Mortimer villlage

Here are the highlights of our walking day.

Leaving the town centre along the Kennet & Avon Canal . . .
. . . and then past the backs of the Victorian terraces in the suburbs
Fobney Lock, where the waters of the river have been diverted for navigation . . .
. . . and the Kennet itself (where Rachel and Karen were to spot a couple of kingfishers)
Hops on the boardwalk
Our morning walk soon rejoined the canal . . .
. . . for several miles . . .
. . . before passing under the M4 Motorway, and at last into the quiet countryside
The natural boundary of the Kennet, as we found similarly along the Thames Path, was well fortified during WW2
Parched fields, as we climbed out of the Kennet Valley and looked back over the Reading skyline
Then into the woods . . .
. . . and some dappled shade from the strong sunlight
Following the signs . . .
. . . to St Mary’s Church at Sulhamstead Abbots, where we collected another passport stamp . . .
. . . and all took a turn at tolling the bell
A final section through the mixed woodlands near Burghfield . . .
. . . before completing our day’s walk at St John the Evangelist in Mortimer

Our trek is scheduled to take six days, covering 68.5 miles across southern England, through rolling countryside, pleasant villages and the historic city of Winchester, before arriving at Southampton Docks. The story does not end at the quayside though – as the Camino Inglés picks up again from the port city of A Coruña in Galicia, for the final 75 kilometres (47 miles) of the path into Santiago de Compostela – an expedition for another day perhaps? For now our attentions are on tomorrow’s trek on our current journey, southwards from Mortimer village – so I will be back shortly with a progress report on the next stage of our Camino Inglés adventure.

At the hop!

My Blog heading today ‘I Am A Pilgrim’ reads like some kind of confession – which I guess it is. I have taken the words from the title of a song by American country-folk group The Byrds, off their 1968 album ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’: it is a traditional number re-arranged by the group’s Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, and featuring the latter on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, McGuinn on banjo, and guest John Hartford on fiddle. The song seems a fitting start to my playlist for this latest Camino pilgrimage.

* The mileage totals are per the ‘Pilgrim Guide to St James’ Way’ by the Confraternity of St James – the mileage figure indicates only the distance completed on the Camino path itself: we added more than four miles to this total today, through sightseeing, diversions (intentional and unintentional), accommodation finding, and an evening stroll – so we covered around 16 miles for the day in total. This became the pattern for the week and, for those planning a Camino (or other long walk), many such additional miles should be anticipated during the planning.

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