The Way to go…

Mark the Feast of St James with a feast of a walk.

JAMES WAS ONE of Jesus’ first apostles – a fiery preacher who would be beheaded by Herod Agrippa around AD44, but not before venturing (so goes the tale) as far as Spain to spread the gospel. So well received was he there, James (Iago in Spanish) earned patron sainthood of the country, and was returned there to be buried at a place called Compostela. Known since the ninth century as Santiago de Compostela, it’s become the terminus of the network of long-distance routes known collectively as the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St James. Today he’s remembered by thousands of pilgrims as the patron saint of sorting stuff out in your head by walking an awfully long way – a therapy we wholeheartedly recommend.

You can do it by following the whole of the 500-mile Camino Francés (the most popular itinerary, which begins at St. Jean Pied de Port in France), or you can try a 66-mile appetiser which runs from the ruins of Reading Abbey (the centre of the St James cult in England in the Middle Ages) to Southampton (from where pilgrims would have embarked on their onward journey to Spain). Or do it by setting your sights on any longer walk than normal this fine day, and letting the meditative beat of your footsteps take charge of the meandering of your thoughts.

“Today he’s remembered by thousands of pilgrims as the patron saint of sorting stuff out in your head.”

PEACEFUL PILGRIMAGE As much solitude as you want, as much companionship as you may need: that’s the Way.

HILL OF FORGIVENESS A process of pilgrims’ silhouettes mark the crest of Alto de Perdón near Pamplona.