Day 3: Eastbourne to St Leonards

All sensible pilgrims clean and waterproof their boots - and Bill found one!

After Mass at St Agnes', we set out east. I think it was this day that (having been left behind by the main party for some reason) a few of the faster walkers (Messrs Reeve, Evans and myself) decided we needed to make up some ground. The route out of Eastbourne involved walking on the shingle on / behind the beach, which we did with enthusiasm but perhaps without wisdom, for before the pilgrimage was over all three of us had problems with knees or ankles.

As he did in 1975 when we walked this route in the opposite direction, Bill warned us that it would not be a very interesting walk - although we follow the coast, we are generally unable to see the sea for buildings. However, we did get to see several of the Martello towers built as defences in the Napoleonic Wars.

Anyway, we reached Pevensey Bay at lunch time, and first prayed at the Catholic church of the Holy Rood.

Some wise pilgrims consulted their route notes

whilst others just soaked up the sun!

Lunch was at the Moorings, literally on the beach.

But some could not stay out of the water

and the smartest combined both...

An hour along the coast we reached Normans Bay, and perked up the trade of the ice cream seller

There followed a longish walk through Cooden and Bexhill-on-Sea, taking us to St Mary Magdalene's, where  we celebrated Benediction

and were treated to tea in the hall/

Still a couple of hours to go! Our first stop in St Leonard's was Christ Church for prayers (which seems to have escaped Bill's camera - perhaps the light was failing!) and then a final half mile to Concordia Hall (where we had stayed in 1975).