Parishioners from Our Lady and St Peter, Bridlington, went as a parish community on a pilgrimage recently to the North East for three days with the main focus being Lindisfarne (Holy Island). A full 50 seat coach was the mode of transport. Ushaw College was the accommodation address; Durham, Holy Island and Jarrow the pilgrimage venues.
An early Mass at the Parish Church got the pilgrimage off to the best of starts then to Durham Cathedral, our first ‘port of call’. Parish Priest, Fr David Grant, is well versed in church history and, in meetings held in our church hall in the weeks prior to the pilgrimage, had already given us a taste of what to see and where to see it. From Durham we went on the short drive to Ushaw College where we enjoyed good food and excellent accommodation in a beautiful rural setting, especially at this time of year. An ‘internal’ tour of the College was kindly delivered by some of the students following the evening meal.
Another early start saw us ‘en route’ to the main destination of the pilgrimage at Holy Island. Plenty to see, enjoy and learn on this English ‘Cradle of Christianity’ before the tide once more returned to link the island to the mainland. Our last act on Holy Island was to celebrate Mass at the Church of St Aidan. This was followed by the drive back to Ushaw with a stop for a very enjoyable meal at a nearby hostelry.
The last day started with Mass at Ushaw concelebrated by Fr Grant with Deacon Brian Morgan assisting. The obligatory pilgrimage photo took place at the steps of the College before the coach made its way to Jarrow for a conducted tour of Venerable Bede’s own Church of St Paul and then free time at ‘Bede’s World’ before setting off back to Bridlington where we pulled up outside the church at precisely 5pm.
The whole three days were a wonderful experience, not just for the Christian venues visited but also because of the good company that was shared among us. Great thanks are due to Leslie and Audrey Orrah who had the ‘vision’ to initiate the pilgrimage and then organise it so successfully that everything went smoothly and prayerfully.