Ruth’s Pilgrimage to the UK – Part One

Hello Everyone,

Well what a journey!  It has been a true pilgrimage that I have undertaken to the UK these past few weeks for the better part of July. I have so much to tell you all that it will take at least a couple of months of missives to cover the tales of the extraordinary energies, places and people I encountered. So rather than cram all the photos and anecdotes into one post I shall spread them out over several.

When I arrived in the UK in the first week of July I drove west to the gorgeous Regency city of Bath and explored the city and surrounds. What a truly delightful and elegant city, with surprises around every corner. 

View of Bath from the Canal
Canals in Bath

Apart from the usual tourist haunts of the great Bath Cathedral, Pump Room and The Roman Baths and the famous Jane Austen Centre, the canals of Bath and the locks system were so interesting.

The Locks in actionBath Cathedral
                                              

Magnificent stained glass window in Bath Cathedral
One of the stanined glass windows in Bath Cathedral

 

Aqua Sulis - The Roman Baths

The Famous Sally Lunns - the bun maker
Mr Darcy -aka Colin Firth -at the Jane Austen Centre, Bath

From Bath I journeyed to my spiritual home – Glastonbury, via the Nine Barrows (ancient burial mounds) in Priddy,Somerset; through the Cheddar Gorge 

Cheddar Gorge

with a brief stop at the Wookey Hole caves .  These caves are ancient and Archaeologists’ finds indicate man has lived in and around the caves for 50,000 years.

 For people in ancient times, the caves at Wookey Hole were a safe and even comfortable place to live. They were dry, easy to defend, warm in winter and cool in summer.

Legend has it that during the Dark Ages an old woman who kept a dog and some goats lived alone in the caves. Everything that went wrong in the village was blamed on her.

 

 

 

 

 

The local people believed she was a witch who cast spells and caused misfortunes. Eventually, the people sought the help of the Abbot at nearby Glastonbury Abbey.

He sent a monk called Father Bernard to exorcise the witch’s spirit. He entered the cave armed only with a bible and a candle. In the faint light Father Bernard saw the witch stooping over her cooking pot.

He tried to talk to her, but, screaming curses and casting spells, the witch fled deeper into the cave down a narrow passageway called Hell’s Ladder. The brave monk followed her and they met again in the shadowy depths of an inner cavern – her  Kitchen.

Quickly, Father Bernard scooped up a handful of water from the river, blessed it and threw it over the witch.

She turned instantly to stone and her frozen figure remains in this cavern – known as The Witch’s Kitchen – to this day.

 

 

 

 

The Celtic peoples have long lived in this area and they worshipped the earth and nature and aligned themselves to the seasons and the Goddesss energy.  To them the cave symbolised the womb and the protective darkness of the feminine essence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I travelled the last few miles to Glastonbury, I stopped briefly in the small city of Wells. Wher I once again visited the cathedral and also stpopped in at the Wells Museum to see the bones found in Wookey Hole caves – that may or may not have belonged to the Witch! ( and her goat!)

 Wells , although a very small market town in reality, qualifies as a city as it has a magnificent Cathedral ..The wells,- actually sacred springs , which gave the city its name, are the corner stone of the development of this area from prehistoric times. These natural springs can be found in the garden of the Bishop’s Palace, including the holy well of St. Andrew, which is just to the east of the Camery Garden on the south side of the present cathedral.

Wells Cathedral- flying buttresses

 

Finally, I arrived at my destination for the weekend- Glastonbury – the ancient Isle of Avalon – home to the Lady of  Lake and the Heart Chakra of the planet.

I lost no time in taking a brisk walk to the top of the Tor to enjoy the summer evening light and admire the view while absorbing the energy.       

Glastonbury Tor
At the end of this long day I felt truly alive to be “home” and looked forward to the next morning when I planned to visit my other favourite place – The Chalice Well Gardens.
My visit to the Chalice Well and gardens will be in the next post.
Until then,
Love and Blessings to you all,
Ruth

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