How many of us live near special places which we have never visited?

I seem to remember visiting Lihou once, years ago on a school trip.  My step-mother also recalls only ever having been there once.  And yet it has been a special place, reached only with difficulty, for many years.  There was a priory there in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and the remains are still to be seen today.  A few visitors on pilgrimage go there, and perhaps many more because it is a nature reserve, but I bet the majority of Guernsey residents have not been there.

How many of us live near special places which we have never visited?  There is a monument at the Knoll in Camberley which many have missed out on.  And how many people say: "St Michael's - it looks lovely on the skyline, but I've never got round to visiting it."

Don't put off visiting that special place.  And be prepared for blessings along the way ....

Mini-pilgrimage to Lihou

Today I did a mini-pilgrimage to Lihou.  http://www.lihouisland.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lihou

This involved walking from my father's place in Catel through Kings Mills down to L'Eree, and then across the causeway, having checked the tide times carefully.  I passed a group of disconsolate walkers coming back; the tide had deposited a load of seaweed 10 inches thick, making it difficult to get across.  I persevered and made it across, where I came across the WI.  They were on their annual camp to spring clean Lihou House, ready for it to be used by visitors for the rest of the year.

There was a persistent drizzle all the way there, 5m, but the wind really got up when I was on the island, and the rain was horizontal.  I said midday prayer at the ruins of the old priory before heading back.  This time I was not so fortunate and stepped in seaweed and water over my ankles.  Walking back I stopped for a cup of tea and a slice of gache  http://www.goodfoodguernsey.com/recipes/traditional.aspx at Vazon where the sand racing was just finishing.

After all that, I needed a rest ...