The 2024 John Bradburne Pilgrimage walk will be held on Saturday 8th June 2024.

John Bradburne (1921–1979) was a reluctant hero of the Second World War, a pilgrim and a hermit, a poet and a musician, a joker and a mystic, and a theologian. After many years travelling and searching, he found the place that God wanted him to be – living alongside men and women suffering with leprosy in Mutemwa, Zimbabwe, a place he helped transform into a community of peace, joy and love.

This year John Bradburne Memorial Society will be climbing Cross Fell. This is the highest mountain in England outside the Lake District. John Bradburne climbed and wrote about it many times in his poetry. The summit is just 5 miles from Skirwith where John was born and spent his early years. We start at Kirkland church, walk to Wythwaite then up Grumply Hill to Wildboar Scar and on to the summit where we stop for lunch and prayers.

The walk is 11 miles long with 2,400 feet of ascent and will take approximately 6 hours. You will need to be fairly fit and dressed for a boggy walk with possibly a cold wind, even in June.

Before the walk, there will be a Mass held at St John the Evangelist Church, Skirwith, CA10 1RQ at 10am. All welcome to join the Mass.

There will be refreshments, talks and an exhibition on John Bradburne and the Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre in the Skirwith Village Hall after the walk.

To book your place and make your donation please visit:

www.johnbradburne.com or call Kate on 07979187498.