The Beginning and The End:

A Taster

Rising before Dawn on Monday 5th May, we will walk together from our first campsite to the headland of Carn Les Boel, the point where the Michael and Mary Lines reach land. Turning to watch the Beltane Sunrise (it is also New Moon), we will know that the rising Sun indicates our direction of travel for the forthcoming journey.

Some 500 miles further, and almost 7 weeks later, we will be nearing the East Anglian coast. We will reach our final campsite, which is a few miles inland, on the afternoon of Friday 20th June. That evening, after supper, we will make a moonlit night-walk to the cliffs at Hopton, where the Michael and Mary Lines head out to sea. There, on the shortest night of the year, we will bear vigil, and watch the Summer Solstice Sunrise over the sea. Our Walk will be complete.

Introduction

The St. Michael leyline runs from Cornwall to East Anglia, passing through such sacred sites as Burrow Mump, Glastonbury Tor and Avebury stone circle. Its existence was brought to public attention in the 1960s by the author John Michell (in ‘The View Over Atlantis’ and subsequent books), and in the 1980s the dowser Hamish Miller and writer Paul Broadhurst (‘The Sun and the Serpent’) discovered the existence of two intertwining paths of earth energy, which they named the Michael and Mary Lines.

It is an astronomical reality that the angle of the Michael Line across the country is such that it aligns with the Beltane Sunrise. With the Awakening Albion Walk starting at that time, during May and June 2008 there will be a chance to walk this route along footpaths and country lanes. Step with us into the Dreaming of Albion, feel the Song of this Land. Walk with us for some or all of the 500 miles in a spirit of pilgrimage. This is an opportunity for a celebration of the land’s beauty and sacred sites, as well as a witnessing of its wounding. It is also an exploration of community as we travel, day by day, step by step, living lightly on the land. We invite local people enroute to walk with us, and join with the day’s and evening’s activities, including talks, rituals and meditations, music and dance, story-telling and arts, as well as visiting local sacred sites.

As a group of about 20–30 people, walking 10-15 miles per day, we will be staying together overnight, camping at pre-arranged sites. Our aim is to keep the costs of the whole pilgrimage as affordable and inclusive as possible. We will have vehicles to carry our gear and support the walkers, a large yurt as communal space, and campfire cooking equipment, sharing all the crewing work collectively. Everyone will provide their own walking and camping gear including tents. It will be possible to join for all or part of the Walk, though a commitment of at least one week will be preferred.

The Beginning and The End: A Taster Acknowledgement Introduction Practical Details, Campsites, Crewing, Community Walking Traditions, Other Activities Applications, Cost Route Itinerary A Poetry Of Place: 100 Names Of Albion Graham’s Statement: Reasons For A Walking Camp, A Background Lynne’s Statement: So Many Reasons For Walking Awakening Albion; A Mythic Geography For Our Time Albion, The Wounded Being We Inhabit: A Historical Perspective Contact us Links

After the walk:

We sat down to select the best 100 photographs, from more than 1700 images of Awakening Albion supplied by the walkers. We ended up with 158 images that we all felt represented the spirit and experience of a walk we are unlikely to forget.

Love to all, Graham, Geoff and Julie
October 2008