Pevensey man wants to make walking ‘cool’ again with pilgrimages

Andrew Durling, who is a coordinator at Eastbourne and District Friends of the Earth, started the Eastbourne Pilgrimage Project six months ago with the aim of promoting walking.

Mr Durling said, “I was invited onto the organising group for the Eastbourne Walking Festival so I was on the committee for planning it this year and I was looking for creative ideas about how you could promote walking more generally.

“People have walked on pilgrimages for centuries and it used to be a big thing in this country.

“In the last few decades there has been a revival of pilgrimages. Especially walking on pilgrimage and it could be for any reason whatsoever. It’s not necessarily a religious reason to go and pilgrimage you could go on a pilgrimage to where your favourite author lived.”

Mr Durling, who is part of the campaign to make Eastbourne carbon neutral by 2030, has also created a walking route dedicated to author George Orwell, who was educated in the seaside town.

Mr Durling said, “There are all sorts of reasons why one can go and pilgrimage. It doesn’t have to be a religious one.

“It just makes walking more interesting and exciting because you are setting out an initiative to do something meaningful with your walk before you go so the walk becomes more focussed and more interesting as a result.

“So that is why I set up the Eastbourne Pilgrimage Project really. As a way of bringing people together to create more interesting, exciting walks locally.

“The Eastbourne Pilgrimage project is just my way of trying to contribute to the idea of making walking cool again and to try to promote the idea of walking around the local area and discovering new things about the area. Things like heritage sights, old churches, little sights and so forth.

“It also encourages people to come up with their own walking routes and to share them because obviously anybody can make up a walking route.”

Over lockdown walking has become a popular form of exercise across the nation and Mr Durling is hoping more people will adopt the hobby.

He said, “It is one of the only forms of outdoor exercise you can do that can be Covid-safe if you do it on your own or in your household bubble.

“We are lucky here because there is so much countryside that people can walk if they want and walking in nature especially is great for peoples’ mental health as well. It gives one a great appreciation and connection with nature anyway and most of the pilgrimage walks take you through spectacular countryside anyway.”

Mr Durling also opened up about how his favourite walking route helped him over the lockdown, he said, “That is what has helped me get through the pandemic really. It’s somewhere to go for a bit of peace and quiet and is a spiritual refuge during a very difficult time for everybody. I get my healthy exercise in and I get to appreciate the culture along the way.

“There are very few walks anywhere in the country where you can find so much heritage and culture in such a short space.”

Mr Durling said, “It is good for the mind as well as the body. There is something about walking which makes it easier to think and easier to contemplate as one goes along. Easier for me anyway. It highlights that spiritual aspect of walking.

“I have been quite amazed by how much interest there has been. I think people are looking for new ways of doing things especially with walking because it is something they have more time for.”

If you would like to find out more visit Eastbourne Pilgrimage Project on Facebook.