Tim


strides out


on a dry day


in the eariy


stages of his


piigrimage


graph, helped Clitheroe minister Tim Thorpe com­ plete a 1,000 km pilgrim­ age across Spain. Tim, who is superintendent


T


of the Clitheroe Methodist Circuit, set off on the "Via de la Plata” , the longest route of the Camino de Santiago - the Way of St James - in February. He left Granada on the 17th


at 6 a.m. and after 14 hours completed the first of many long days on the road. Navigating his way across


a river was one of the first challenges Tim had to face. "I had seen from the plane


the problems with floods. It was the worst weather the area had experienced since 1962, with some roads being washed away," he said. "I came to a stream which


you were supposed to be able to walk across in your boots. It was only when I was three steps in that I found out using my walking pole that I was rapidly getting out of my depth." After realising the force of


F FQ m i fe^MQHLi t(Bj f t l j f


water was very strong, Tim managed to rhake his way back to the bank. "Eventually I found two


trees that had fallen across the river and I went over . them with my heart in my mouth, as I knew if I had fallen that would have been it," he said. "Once I'd crossed the


river, I then had to find my own route to the first small village. I walked between 41 and 45 km that day and was absolutely exhausted." • For the next 16 days Tim


The Way of St James


walked alone and did not see any other pilgrims until the 18th day. Staying in a wing for


pilgrims at a home for people with special needs run by the Catholic church in Alcuesar, Tim joined residents fora communion service. There he met French couple Marianne ' and Phillippe and the three became walking companions for the next 10 days. Along the route, accommo­ dation came in various forms.


"The refugios are basic hos­ tels, some of them have hot showers and others are even more basic," said Tim. On one night Tim and


his friends from across the Channel found their over­ night stay was in the local football team's changing rooms: "We were to sleep on the floor of a football chang­ ing room, but there was a match on and we had to move all our stuff and vacate until the game was over. When we got back we had to mop the floor and then found


out the players had used all the hot water!" he said. As well as the French


couple, Tim also walked with Spaniards Danny and Emilio, who had found themselves


, at a loose end due to the economic climate in their country. "People were walking


for the all sorts of different reasons. Some for religious reasons and others to experi­ ence long distance walking," .added Tim. Despite the miles to be cov­


ered and the awful weather there were moments of hu­ mour - on one wet day when they saw water pouring from a gutter, Tim and his Spanish


• friends broke into song with their own rendition of Gene Kelly's "Singin'in the Rain". Throughout his pilgrimage


Tim said he was spiritually aware of God's presence. "One day the Spaniards


broke their loaf of bread to share with me and on another occasion after we'd walked through a river I washed .


/ it Tim had


to battle through


the worst weather the area had seen


for almost half a


century


y ^ lL L O C K mill SHOP


’■Jet 8 .Opposite the .'C *


Marianne's feet without even thinking about it and Phillippe said he thought I’d probably read about that in the Bible," commented Tim. "On a day when I was


walking alone I knew I was on the right track because I saw a footprint in the mud and it was reminder to me of our Christian journey and of what has gone before. It challenged me to think about what footsteps I would leave


. for other people to follow. "If you want to, you can see


God breaking through all the time sometimes, but rarely in the spectacular with a rain­ bow for instance, but more often in the small things like a helping hand or the breaking of bread. . ,, " "It also'made me realise


that we all carry things we don’t need. I carried four oranges 30 miles and still had them at the end of the’day,


: and it made me think that we , all carry stuff we don't need whether its mentally, spiritu-


' ally or physically. "The first 17 days were very


reflective and I had to be very determined. The weather was awful and I learnt a lot about myself digging in and getting on with it." As well as travelling a


spiritual journey, Tim found the pilgrimage to be a hard


A sign of the vast distance involved


physical journey. At times if I had found a bus that would have taken me back to Clitheroe I would have got on it. Some days the walking was easy, but sometimes it was hard You were always thinking every day whatever the weather you had to do on average of 18 miles no matter how you were feeling - one day I covered 30 miles car­ rying a 301b backpack in the rain," he said. "Over the weeks I experi­


enced what it was like to be a stranger and to be isolated . and the whole journey made


me realise how important people are in my life. "What helped was finding messages that had been .


placed in my guide book and a hidden bar of chocolate that I didn't know had been


packed, as well as the photo of my daughter too. It was these little things that dem­ onstrated that people close to me cared." After walking for some six


weeks Tim finally reached his destination, Santiago. "I was really under­


whelmed," said Tim "I was expecting to


feel a sense of relief and exhilaration. I was walking with Danny and Emilio and another couple from Spain. "One of the lads was


sobbing with emotion and threw his arms around me, I


just kept thinking 'I'm here'. Initially I had no sense of achievement or exhilaration, but when I look back now I think 'blimey, I did that and it was pretty remarkable!'."


IT"


Beautiful countryside Seriously good food Cosy chilled-out country inn Mtchelin Guide 2009/10


The K ed


Afastair Sawday Special Places To Stay Guide 2008/9/10 AA Britains Best Pubs 2008/9/10 CAMRA Guide 2010


Clitheroe Road Bashall Eaves


Pump Inn


BASHALL EAVES info@theredpumpinn.co.uk ■ v.


Near Clitheroe Lancashire BB7 3DA


01254 826 227


Tim with the palm crosses he carried throughout his marathon trek


A building on the route decorated with the stone shell which is symbolic to the pilgrim­ age


he simple things in iife, like a bar of chocoiate and a poignant personal photo­


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