Twenty-five pilgrims enjoyed an eight-mile walk through some of South Holderness’s finest coastal scenery on the latest South Holderness Pilgrimage.
The group set out from the 800-year-old St Nicholas’ Church at Holmpton on August Bank Holiday Monday, where refreshments were served before they headed for the cliff top and the four-mile walk to Easington.
With sunshine and a breeze behind them, the pilgrims enjoyed views across the beach and North Sea, with periods of silence to take in the surroundings as well as plenty of conversation along the way.
At the 12th-century All Saints’ Church in Easington, church members provided a three-course lunch and the group had time to explore some of the building’s history.
They also heard the story of Thomas Docherty, who is commemorated on a plaque in the church and buried in the churchyard. He died from wounds suffered during action in the First World War for which he received the Military Cross.
The pilgrims sang the hymn Blessed Assurance, which is mentioned on his memorial plaque, before continuing towards the Humber estuary.
The final part of the pilgrimage followed the estuary bank to St Helen’s Church at Skeffling.
Although the church is now closed for regular worship, it is preserved and maintained by the conservation charity Friends of Friendless Churches.
Unlike many medieval churches, which have been substantially altered and extended over the centuries, St Helen’s remains largely as it was when it was built in the 1460s.
The pilgrims ended their day there with closing prayers, appreciating what organisers described as the church’s enduring sense of peace.