This year’s National Heritage Open Week theme may be architecture, but Tideswell’s ‘Cathedral of the Peak’ will be offering more than a building tour this September; as new minister Rev Fiona Kouble and local guide Faye Smith have teamed up to bring guided pilgrimages to this beautiful part of the world. Fiona Stubbs reports.
GOTHIC masterpiece, St John the Baptist Church at Tideswell, is ‘mother’ to another three churches and sister to another parish church in Wormhill, all opening their doors to pilgrims and visitors alike in Heritage Week, September 12 to 21.
“We were already aware of local church communities creating some outstanding long-distance self-guided pilgrimages around the county, such as the Hope and Peak Pilgrimages and the Peak Wesleyan Way,” says Rev Fiona, and my predecessor had asked a church member who was a keen walker to create a day pilgrimage route around the five churches in Tideswell benefice a couple of years ago: Cressbrook, Litton, Miller’s Dale and Wormhill.
There wasn’t the resource to promote it, so when Faye joined the church fresh from walking the world-famous Camino to Santiago in northern Spain last autumn, they discussed the idea of formally launching the 8.5-mile pilgrimage along the same lines, with a pilgrim passport and badge of completion.
“Our wardens were all keen, so national Heritage Open Week in September this year seemed like the perfect time to launch our Parish Pilgrimage.”
Now a trained walk leader, pilgrimage guide and bereavement befriender, it’s a world away from running the busy Sheffield charity marketing and PR practice Faye founded six years ago – following the tragic deaths of her husband and daughter a few years before – a relationship breakdown and the death of her father just as the pandemic struck was the final straw for her mental health.
Faye became so unwell, she joined a unique specialist trauma recovery community in coastal Kent for a sabbatical. Initially she was to stay for six months, but due to the pandemic and the benefits, Faye stayed for over two years.
“It was the best thing I could have done,” Faye recalls.
“It was the best thing I could have done,” Faye recalls. “Alongside the psychotherapeutic trauma recovery techniques I was learning, during lockdown I discovered the healing power of long-distance walking and swimming. The result was a business I called ‘Hope Walking’, which I launched as I moved out after a lifetime living in Sheffield to the Peak District over two years ago now.”
Faye has since guided pilgrimages as diverse as the World Heritage site around Canterbury Cathedral, and the Pilgrim’s Way along the North Down. She has spoken widely in the media about the healing power of walking in nature and her grief-and-loss walks which have been featured on TV and radio, including The One Show and Woman’s Hour.
Having moved to Bakewell, this is Faye’s first Derbyshire pilgrimage. “I have called the Tideswell Pilgrimage ‘Mills and Martyrs’”, Faye explains, “because Tideswell benefice has a fascinating story connected with both the Elizabethan Padley Martyrs and the tragic treatment of the Victorian Litton orphan child millworkers – some of whom are buried in the churchyard – which many say inspired Dickens storyline for Oliver Twist.
“I always emphasise one absolutely does not need to have any particular faith to gain the proven holistic benefits of a Pilgrimage. I share a wide variety of historical, therapeutic and nature insights from buildings and trees to ancient customs… we all bring and respect our own beliefs.”
Last year, following a traumatic car accident, Faye set out solo on a 700km trek across two countries to complete the world-famous Camino Portugues from Lisbon in Portugal to Santiago in northern Spain, raising money for charity with every step. As interest in modern pilgrimage – whether for religious, spiritual or cultural reasons continues to rise, record numbers of almost half a million walked to Santiago last year and millions more visited the shrine of St James and other pilgrim sites worldwide.
Rev Fiona has herself spoken on Woman’s Hour about bereavement, and has a passion for supporting people on their journeys through and with loss.
“Saturday November 1, All Saints Day, will begin a season of Remembering in the Benefice, with all four churches open between 10am and 4pm for a pilgrimage and Day of Remembering, followed by a Memorial service on Sunday, November 2 for all who want to remember or to give thanks for loved ones, or simply be allowed to sit with their own grief.
We are also aware that weekend marks the start of International Stress Awareness Week, and bereavement is said to be the most stressful thing any of us can endure.”
“Our prayer is that our varied and beautiful churches, and the journey between them will offer pilgrims the space and opportunity to engage with life, with their hopes and dreams, with their sorrows and to encounter the joy and the peace of God that passes all understanding,” adds Rev Fiona.
Editor’s Note: More on Hope Walking and Tideswell day pilgrimages for men and women of any and no faith, on September 13 and November 1, at https://hopewalking.co.uk/ and facebook Hope Walking and Tideswell Church
How walking saved Faye…
FAYE Smith said: “My new venture, Hope Walking, has grown out of my own experience of the restorative impact of walking – as I struggled with, and eventually came to terms with, a series of challenging life circumstances.
Growing up on the edge of the stunning Peak District National Park, I always enjoyed walking in nature, but I only discovered the deeply therapeutic power of ‘walking myself well’ after my marriage broke down and I endured a succession of bereavements.
My daughter Gabi’s tragic loss came two years to the day after her father had died and the story became national news. Determined not to resort to medication, walking became an increasingly important part of my life pretty much every weekend.
Several women friends were going through their own difficult experiences: some were separating or divorced and without their children at weekends; some had other caring responsibilities; some were bereaved, some facing empty nest, menopause and health issues. One by one, they asked to join me, and my first Sunday morning women’s walking group grew and grew. As we walked, the natural environment and the rhythm of our movement would start to work its magic; we talked, sharing what we felt comfortable with; we listened and supported each other; we started to feel more resilient, able to cope and to know that we would come through safely and indeed stronger.
Time and again, walking has been the means to recovery of my own mental and physical health, enabling me to find hope, strength and a new belief in myself and in life when so much that was precious had been lost. Today you find me in the process of creating a far more sustainable, inspiring, healthy future than I could ever have imagined and bringing as many people as I can on that journey with me.”
Editor’s Note: Bereavement support links:
For parents and those widowed young available from Care for the Family https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/support-for-you/family-life/bereavement-support/bereaved-parent-support/
Faye was also supported through her husband’s death by a Cruse Bereavement Care listener. Cruse encourage walking through grief: https://www.cruse.org.uk/understanding-grief/managing-grief/walking-nature-for-grief/
YHA Festival of Walking…
THE month-long YHA Festival of Walking is also back for its fourth year from September 12-October 12, including a programme of free social walks.
There are seven, free-to-join walk starting from Peak District youth hostels during this period, including Castleton Losehill Hall on September 14; Edale on September 20; Hartington Hall on September 21; Ravenstor on September 28; Ilam on September 30; Edale (a women-only walk) on October 11 and Youlgrave on October 12.
“We know that it can be difficult for some people to find opportunities to walk, whether due to mobility challenges, a lack of knowledge, or simply not having someone to go with,” said Andrew McCoy, YHA Walks Programme Manager. “That’s why this year’s festival is about giving people a reason to start – to join a walk that’s welcoming, supportive and maybe even transformative.”
Places on all walks are limited and people must register online to join them; simply go to www.yha.org.uk/festival-of-walking
In addition to the month-long programme of guided group walks, you can also take advantage of a 20% discount on overnight accommodation at festival hostels and enjoy independent walking adventures by using their free route maps.