8th Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage Report

The last G.K. Chesterton Pilgrimage before Canon Udris hands in his report to Bishop Doyle of Northampton, on the feasibility of opening the cause for the Beatification of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, took place on Saturday 28^th July 2018.

The Pilgrimage started as always outside St George’s Anglican Church in Notting Hill, where Pilgrims

read the opening paragraph from Chesterton’s Autobiography and said the GKC prayer at 7.30am. We then walked along the Uxbridge Rd to Ealing, where we would normally stop and pray outside the abortion centre there. Because of the draconian PSPO (Buffer Zone) brought in by Ealing Council in April, which criminalises pro-life prayers, we can no longer do this, so we stopped briefly at Ealing Town Hall instead, where we were greeted by an elderly Polish woman who had come to wish us well. We then walked on to Hanwell, where we joined the canal. After walking for 5 hours, we stopped in the Malt Shovel Pub, for a quick drink and a packet of crisps, before leaving the canal to walk through the countryside and past Pinewood Studios to the Bridgettine Convent in Iver. Fr O’ Donohue was waiting there to say Mass in thanksgiving for Chesterton’s conversion. 

Mass ended with us singing Chesterton’s Hymn, “O God of Earth and Altar”. There were about 40 people in attendance for the Mass, which considering the lack of public transport, was very good. 23 of these were walking Pilgrims. After a brief lunch, we set off walking again, through Fulmer, where we stopped at the Black Horse pub and then on to Beaconsfield where GKC is buried. For the last few miles Malcolm, who has now walked the full Pilgrimage four times, and has thus clocked up over 100 miles, was leading the way. As we approached Beaconsfield, he stopped at the corner of Candlemas Lane to ensure that nobody missed the last turning into Shepherd’s Lane, where the cemetery is located (a turning that we did miss on the first walking pilgrimage!) After a few brief words at the graveside, those followers of the cult of G.K. Chesterton who were gathered, said the GKC prayer, before staggering into The White Hart Pub, which was Chesterton’s local public house.

As usual large numbers of people submitted hundreds of prayer intentions for the Pilgrims to pray for along their route.

One participant had attended previously and had walked the first half of the Pilgrimage 2 years ago with her husband. She returned with her son this year and completed the Pilgrimage in thanksgiving to Chesterton for his role in converting her husband.

The huge diversity of those taking part on this 8^th Annual G.K. Chesterton Pilgrimage was again in evidence. There were people aged from 7 to 70, a number of different races, more than a dozen nationalities, with people travelling to the Pilgrimage from Reading, Maidenhead, Berkhamsted, Northampton, Hertford, Bedford as well as from all over London.

Special thanks to Ken for driving the support minibus this year and arriving at the cemetery first, where he placed a note upon the gate (See photo) as a joke! It read “Notice to all Walkers, Sorry, closed today. Please come back another day.”

The Chesterton Library contacted us to inform us that Chesterton Manor, a new property development in Beaconsfield was having it’s Open Day on the same day as the Pilgrimage and that the property had been named in Chesterton’s honour.

Stuart walked the Pilgrimage in part to raise funds for The Good Counsel Network you can donate here; https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gkchestertonpilgrimage18 

This report has been posted on the 96th Anniversary of GK Chesterton becoming a member of the Catholic Church.