Imbolc Walk 2023 - 37 years and counting

 The first of February is the festival of Imbolc, the start of Spring and associated with St Brigid from Ireland, and the Goddess Bride is some pagan traditions. It seems like the earth is coming back to life, snowdrops appear, and some birds like the song thrush have started singing.

The group gathers at the White Well in Wellhouse Lane

Since its formation in November 1995 the Friends of Bride's Mound have had an annual pilgrimage on Imbolc from the White Well/Chalice Well to Bride's Mound. The tradition is even older, Serena told us a group have been making making the pilgrimage since the 1980s, for 37 years, and she has led the pilgrimage for most of that time.

Gathering at the Market Cross

 The pilgrimage is for two and a half miles, along Chilkwell Street and the back of the Abbey, down Silver Street with a pause at the Market Cross where a few people joined, down Benedict Street and on via Porchestall Drove to Cradle Bridge. 

on the embankment of the Brue, near Cradle Bridge

 

The mediaeval pilgrim route will have been across the levels along the original route of the Brue, which si why Buckton's pilgrim route joins with the Brue at Cradle Bridge to approach Bride's Hill from the west.

The stone that used to mark the site of Bride's Well, it is still a waypoint for Imbolc pilgrimage

The stone marking the old site of Bride's Well has been shifted to the north when the raised embankment was added, so it doesn't mark the original site where the Allen sisters located John Goodchild's blue bowl.

The pool with the embankment seat was still waterlogged, so we dropped down from the embankment on the other side of the hedge and proceeded to Bride's Hill in a silent pilgrimage along the low ridge. 

about 50 people in all gathered on the mound for the Imbolc celebration
On the hill, the pilgrims met up with more people for the Imbolc ceremony round a welcome fire-pit, where we honoured Bride with ceremony and song, finishing off with Serena from FoBM's primrose wine. The Glastonbury Unity Candle was brought along by its host to celebrate the inclusive ceremony.


 

Serena (L) sharing her primrose wine

Alternative pilgrim routes -

In the 1900s Alice Buckton devised a circular Brideswell Pilgrimage (see FoBM Newsletter 2018)  - changes over the last hundred years put some parts of that on heavy roads or places that are no longer, although you can trace most of it. The walk we now do is only part of Alice’s Pilgrimage Route that took in the whole of Glastonbury.

 The Glastonbury Way is a good way to see many of Glastonbury's other sacred sites.


Location: 47R6+MC Glastonbury, UK

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