Country diary: A one-man pilgrimage into some familiar hills
|
Version 0 of 1. Golden Valley, Herefordshire: I venture out with just a sleeping bag, as part of a spiritual discipline that pivots on a deep affection for our flora and fauna As a priest it’s easy to overdose on flat screens, emails and the bureaucracy of parish work. I have a good excuse to get outside though, as it is pilgrimage season. Furthermore, this part of Herefordshire – once the ancient kingdom of Ergyng – was one of the crucibles of Celtic Christianity, and it was in these hills where the students of St Dyfrig, the first Bishop of Ergyng, and other Celtic saints wandered out on their peregrinations. A common part of pilgrimage season, for me, is to sleep outdoors for the night with just a sleeping bag. And so, late that evening, I walk out across the five parishes I work in across the Golden Valley – Vowchurch, Turnastone, Peterchurch, Tyberton and, ultimately, Madley, where St Dyfrig was born. The sun has long gone down. Within minutes and in a glimmering half light, I come across a hedgehog in the tall meadow grass. I take this as a good, if prickly, omen, since Ergyng translates as “land of hedgehogs”. I sleep under a hazel tree that stands beneath the asterism of the Plough. The moon shines, the reflected light splintered by a tree line in the east. A grey heron flies over silently, silhouetted and unaware of my presence. I awake with the meadow mist peeling from the field like a wet pelt. A blackbird sounds an alarm call while a black slug perches precariously midway down my sleeping bag. I’m glad she is on the outside. Along with those old Celtic saints, my inspiration for this journey is the wilderness-walking of Elijah who was fed by ravens, and Christ who was waited upon by angels. I am hoping to learn, from the earth and the non-human community, a spiritual discipline that pivots on deep affection for the gift of meadows, woodland and the kingdom of animals. Later that day, I turn off a lane and come upon a letter box with a Royal Mail delivery note tied to it with an elastic band. The local postie has scrawled on it: “Birds nesting – do not use”. While I was immersing myself in nature for the night, a local postie was doing all they could to protect a family of birds. Fine examples of the human and animal kingdom carrying each other. Country diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian’s Country Diary, 2018-2024 (Guardian Faber) is published on 26 September; pre-order now at the guardianbookshop.com and get a 20% discount |