NEW ON-LINE BOOKING

You will have seen yesterday’s announcment that bookings are open for our 2024 pilgrimage. If you followed the link, you will have learnt that this year we have a new online booking form. This collects all the required information that previously went on the paper forms, but does not include the actual payment. Rather, instructions are given for how to make payment via online banking (preferred) or a good old fashioned cheque. Many thanks to our webmaster Aidan for setting all this up.

Please get your booking in early or else you might be disappointed . We are putting more effort into publicity this year to try and attract new pilgrims. Once capacity is reached, bookings will be closed.

POSTERS

We have also now released our posters for this pilgrimage: the main poster, an inkjet-printer-friendly alternative poster, and an image for social media. Please distribute these to groups you think might be interested in our pilgrimage, electronically or physically.

PUBLICITY

We have come up with the some words as a suggested entry for parish newsletters, walking group newsletters etc. The idea is to make it easy for newsletter editors; they don’t have to come up with their own words but can use the words in the following paragraph:

All are welcome to join the Heart of England Walking Pilgrimage from Worcester to Peterborough, 10th to 25th August 2024.   The route takes in Worcester, Coventry and Peterborough cathedrals, Rutland Water and much splendid countryside.  There are rest days in Warwick and Market Harborough.  The organisers are the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton ecumenical walking group who have run an annual pilgrimage since 1975 in different parts of England and Wales.  Come with us and experience walking as part of our travelling Christian community, whether for a fortnight or just an afternoon!  The cost is £350 to walk with us all the way, or £33 per night to book a shorter spell (£31 per night for 7 days or more, 25% discount for under 21s).  To find out more and book your place, visit www.thepilgrims.org.uk/book

Please send these words out to suitable newsletter editors or webmasters that you know! Feel free to adapt them to suit the particular audience.

WEBSITE CHANGES

We have introduced two categories of posts. Yesterday’s “Bookings are Open” post was a public-facing post and as such it is listed under Announcements on the home page of the website. The post that you are reading now is an internal-facing post and is not listed under Announcements; rather you have to click on Latest News to see it. This has been done to counter feedback received that our website appears to be too introspective, highlighting news that is interesting to past pilgrims but not to prospective new pilgrims. Both categories of posts continue to be emailed to all subscribers when published on the website.

THE HEART OF ENGLAND PILGRIMAGE PLANNING UPDATE

All the halls were recce’d and booked before Christmas. Congratulations and thanks to the team of Bruce, Penny, Richard and Chris. Meanwhile Bruce is claiming a day route planning record . He walked Worcester to Inkberrow in October. Is this the earliest ever? Bruce did this at risk, though, as the day had not been allocated to him yet!