Bishop leads walkers on his final Boxing Day Pilgrimage

By The Newsroom
Published 27th Dec 2013, 00:01 BST
Walkers joined the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, John Packer, yesterday as he led his final Boxing Day Pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey before retiring.

The walk, which follows in the footsteps of a group of Cistercian monks who first walked from Ripon to Fountains on December 26, 1132, and founded the abbey, has for many years been described by the Bishop as one of the highlights of his year.

“For me, the Boxing Day Pilgrimage has always been one of the highlights of the year, though more so on a crisp winter morning than if it is pouring with rain,” says the Bishop.

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