POSTCARD FROM KENT

Bob Barton refreshes mind, body and spirit as he follows in the footsteps of a merry band of medieval pilgrims from The Canterbury Tales

- 

This year marks the 625th anniversary of The Canterbury Tales author - and "father of English literature" - Geoffrey Chaucer's death. He penned this classic, about a merry band of medieval pilgrims telling each other stories as they journey from Southwark to Canterbury Cathedral, in the 14th century. The anniversary and a sunny weather forecast - inspired me to spend a day walking in their footsteps through the Kent countryside.

I am not one to make long pilgrimages, I have neither the patience nor the constitution so, this was one of two “mini pilgrimages” I made in the county. (I don't think you need to be religious to make a pilgrimage these days, just a determination to make a thoughtful journey to a meaningful destination.) The North Downs Way (northdownsway.co.uk), one of Britain's excellent National Trails, follows part of the ancient Pilgrims' Way from London to the birthplace of Christianity in England. So, choosing to walk part of that seemed like a good idea.

Morning found me at Charing Cross station, on a train heading in the opposite direction to weary commuters starting a busy day in the city. Unfortunately, unlike Chaucer's pilgrims, I wasn't offered a free dinner by a London innkeeper for the best story I made up. But we rattled past Southwark Cathedral (020 7367 6700, cathedral.southwark.anglican.org), from where (at the nearby Tabard Inn) Chaucer's pilgrims started their journey in 1387, so I was on the right track.