Upton Bishop St John's Walk to Jerusalem

We walked to Jerusalem in the dark, cold, dreary months of January and February of 2021 We set out on Friday 8th January. 90 pilgrims participated, some as armchair walkers, some joining at the last minute. All, like the workers in the vineyard in St Matthew's Gospel, all are equally welcome and valued.                     We had at least 23 dogs for company along the way. Some could be allowed off the lead.                                                                  Some needed to stay on the lead.                   Some found it rather tiring                                                                                                Some are old campaigners Others were full of the joys of youth. We walked, ran, cycled, rode and totted up our totals every week.     To get to Jerusalem we needed 2886 miles The route there took us via Dover through Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon. We took 4 ferries to cro

  Monday 1st March Leaving Oviedo we head for the coast road and hop along the cliff tops from beach to sandy cove, through red rooved villages more affluent than we've seen inland. We're in Santander for coffee, picking a watering hole from among the serried ranks of 20th century hotels along the waterfront. Further along the coast the cathedral of Bilbao is dedicated to St John so we feel we have to call in there. It is cool and airy, less ornate than other Spanish churches we have visited;  more reminiscent of British cathedrals, Salisbury perhaps, on the inside anyway. We stop to sample some Basque cuisine: bacalao pil pil, cod in garlic and olive oil, called pil pil for the sound the skin makes as it pops in the hot oil; alubias de Tolosa, baked beans more delicious by far than anything you'll find in a tin at Tesco. We are back among rolling hills, leaving the industrial lowlands behind us and gradually the scenery become wilder and more mountainous. We drop back to t