THOUGHTFUL TRAVELS
Alan Cochrane ponders what it is to be a pilgrim
It is not just about religion, it is a retreat. People need a break
n interesting and possibly uplifting new pastime – in the spiritual and physical sense – appears to be attracting an increasing number of Scots. Pilgrimages.
Every year thousands of Brits take the high road to world-famous pilgrimages such as the Camino de Santiago and other routes in Spain, France and Portugal. But it now appears that there is a growing demand for such treks a lot closer to home in various parts of Scotland.
There’s the St Cuthbert’s Way, from Melrose to Lindisfarne, the Borders Abbeys Way seeks to link the 12th-century abbeys in the Borders, of which four remain in ruins, and the St Magnus Way in Orkney. The extensive early Christian heritage of Argyll is being explored in various planned pilgrimage routes. A ‘St Columba Way’, currently stretching from Tarbert in the Mull of Kintyre to Lismore – but which seems bound to finally end on Iona – is developing.
However, one of the more ambitious Scottish projects is entering its second year of fundraising and seeks to raise some £1.8 million to pay for the building of new accommodation for women visitors and for families at Pluscarden Abbey, near Elgin. This remains the only religious medieval building in the country still being used for its original purpose.
Established by King Alexander II in 1230, the abbey’s religious life was discontinued in 1560 after the Reformation. In 1897, the monastery was bought by the third Marquis of Bute, who hoped to restore the buildings to religious use but died only three years later. The property passed to Bute’s youngest son, Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart, who lacked the means to continue the restoration work.
Eventually, Lord Colum gave the property to the Benedictine monks of Prinknash Abbey, near Gloucester. In 1947 Sir Ian Lindsay drew up plans for the complete restoration of the buildings. In 1948, five monks took up residence and restoration work on the buildings commenced.
The abbey is now run by 20 full-time Benedictine monks who take part in eight daily services. The abbey has 15,000 visitors every year with around 400 staying as guests.
Last year saw what the abbey’s supporters hope will be the first of many pilgrimages to Pluscarden from Burgundy, from whence its first monks arrived in the 13th century. Forty-eight pilgrims took part, with four covering the entire 1,230-mile route in stages over 89 nights (one of them, the former commanding officer of RAF Lossiemouth, Al Monkman – yes, that’s really his name – did it with his dog).
That epic journey raised over £100,000 but, perhaps more significantly, it had a profound effect on the people taking part, according to David Broadfoot, the abbey’s development officer and one of the organisers. A former Gordon Highlander, he says that would-be pilgrims don’t have to be Catholics or, for that matter, ex-servicemen to take part. Less than half of today’s typical pilgrims are Catholics and all denominations, as well as those with no religious affiliation, take part.
‘With the ludicrous hours people are working these days, they need a break,’ he says. ‘It is not just about religion, it is a retreat. People need a break to find themselves. They talk about themselves a lot more. Mobile phones are not banned on our pilgrimages but I suppose you could say they’re discouraged as people talk about things they wouldn’t normally talk about.’
The Pluscarden fundraising appeal moves into a higher gear this autumn but the monks insist that their efforts are not just about money. Rather, they say, it is ‘giving a physical expression to the life of the gospels in the form that we are called to live it, and in particular to the way we are to share what we have with all who come here’.
A black-tie dinner is planned for October with Sir Jack Stewart-Clark donating his home, Dundas Castle in South Queensferry, as the venue. Given that the new building work at the abbey is to provide a ladies’ retreat, their theme will be ‘Remarkable Women, Extraordinary Lives’ with famous British women as guest speakers.
It’s very easy to scoff at the monastic way of life and at the physical and mental effort involved in making a pilgrimage, but I’m happy to commend all those connected with the Pluscarden effort. A more contemplative lifestyle has much to offer in the strange times in which we live at present.