A 750-mile climate pilgrimage
Young Christians are walking across England from Truro to Glasgow to campaign for climate justice and will pass through our Diocese later this month.
Setting off outside Truro Cathedral
100s of young Christians are leading a pilgrimage which spans the length of the country – from last month’s G7 in Cornwall to COP26 in Glasgow, the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) calls on world leaders to address the climate emergency.
The pilgrims have organised a relay route which, instead of a baton, sees young activists meet to pass on the importance of urgent action to reverse climate change.
The relay set out from Truro Cathedral on 13th June, near to where the G7 met, and continues to Glasgow, where it will arrive on 31st October when COP26 will begin. World leaders are meeting in both places, and the young activists are calling on nations to take tangible steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Rachel Mander, the relay’s co-leader, said:
“We stand in solidarity with people and places that are being plunged into debt and poverty because of climate change.
“We will not let the UK government host summits on our doorstep only to hear more talk and no action.”
The relay is expected to see many young people opting for small walks or cycle rides between the stopping-points – each of which gives an exceptional opportunity for local churches to engage with young people and show solidarity with their concerns about climate change.
There are details on the YCCN website here and the outline local route is shown below.
Dates and places for the route through our Diocese:
- 19th July the party will walk from Bath to Trowbridge, across our Diocesan border from Bath & Wells.
- 20th July walk to West Lavington.
- 21st July walk to Shrewton.
- 22nd July walk to Salisbury.
- 23rd July walk from Salisbury to Broughton, across our Diocesan border into Winchester.
The route planner is here.
The remaining dioceses and dates are:
- Exeter 24th June-6th July
- Bath and Wells 7th-12th July
- Bristol 13th-17th July
- (NB: The Cardiff-Bristol route will be joining at this point having left Swansea on 3 July)
- Bath and Wells 18th-19th July
- Salisbury 20th-23rd July
- Winchester 24th-28th July
- Oxford 29th July-2nd August
- London 3rd-10th August
- (NB: Some tributary routes will be joining at this point having left Canterbury and East Anglia earlier)
- St Albans 11th-13th August
- Oxford 14th-19th August
- Coventry 20th-22nd August
- Birmingham 23rd-28th August
- Lichfield 29th August
- Derby 30th August-1st September
- Southwell and Nottingham 2nd-4th September
- Sheffield 6th-7th September
- Derby 8th September
- Manchester 9th-14th September
- Leeds 15th-18th September
- York 19th-24th September
- Leeds 25th-27th September
- York 28th-29th September
- Leeds 29th September
- Durham 30th September-3rd October
- Newcastle 4th-15th October
- (NB: The route will then leave Berwick-upon-Tweed and enter Scotland. It concludes on 31 October in Glasgow)
For more, please check the information in the Church of England Media Centre.
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