Every year on the first Monday in May our parish of the Holy Rood undertake a pilgrimage to Walsingham in Norfolk. Regarded as England’s Nazareth, it was founded in the eleventh century when Richeldis de Faverches, a local noble-woman, had a vision of the Holy House where Mary had the incarnation. It was dissolved in 1538 during the reign of Henry VIII and re-founded in the nineteenth century.

It is a very long drive, but there is something magically inspiring about the place. After mass in the Roman Catholic shrine we walked from the medieval Slipper Chapel, where pilgrims took off their shoes to walk the last mile to the old shrine. This was done whilst saying the Rosary and we then visited the Anglican shrine which is a place of real beauty and calm. Inside is a replica of the original Holy House. In my view the Anglican shrine is one of the finest modern churches in the country and certainly worth a visit.