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Pilgrimage: A Spiritual & Cultural Journey

Reviewed by Alun Brookfield.

The price tag immediately tells the reader of this review that this is either a scholarly book aimed at a narrow audience of academics or a populist volume in 'coffee-table' format. The latter is the case. This is a beautifully produced book, with glossy paper and many full colour photographs and graphics, another excellent addition of Lion’s catalogue.

But why was this book written and published, I asked myself? The answer is on the dust-jacket: “The ancient spiritual practice of pilgrimage has enjoyed a remarkable revival in recent years”, so Dr Ian Bradley, Reader in Practical Theology and Church History at the University of St Andrews, and well-known as a pilgrimage and retreat leader, sets out to trace the history of pilgrimage, then identifies some of the key pilgrimage sites of contemporary experience, including many overseas, some of which were previously unknown to this reviewer, himself no stranger to pilgrimage.

The basic text and photography is enlivened by numerous delightful and thought-provoking quotations, resulting in a superb book which is ideal for both reading and dipping into.

Writing as a Welshman living in South Wales, however, I am puzzled by Bradley’s selection of saints and sites. Of course, this is not intended to be an inclusive work, but it is curious that his chapter on Wales focuses almost entirely on North and Mid Wales. St David scarcely gets a mention, although the city of St David is referred to in several places. And there is no mention at all of Illtud, Teilo, nor even of the remarkable St Paul de Leon (variously known as St Paul Aurelius or Paulinus) who, between them, and with David, established a truly astonishing number of pilgrimage sites in South Wales. There is no mention of the South Wales pilgrim’s way, only of its North Wales equivalent.

Irish readers will be delighted to find no reference to Patrick not being Irish (almost certainly Welsh or possibly Saxon), and would-be pilgrims will be helped by the travel advice offered to those wanting to visit the many sites described - sometimes at length.

If you’re interested in the concept of pilgrimage, this will get you started in the most pain-free way, but never forget that a pilgrimage, if it is to have a lasting effect on the pilgrim, should cost something more than time and money.