| Saint Aldhelm | - Aldhelm was born in Wessex in 639AD
- After being educated in Canterbury, he lived with a community of monks in Malmesbury, Wiltshire where he was said to have spoken and written fluent Latin and Greek, and was able to read the Old Testament in Hebrew.
- Aldhelm excelled at playing many different musical instruments, including the harp, fiddle and pipes. He used his musical talents to draw a crowd to whom he would preach.
- In 705, Aldhelm was made Bishop of Sherborne. He founded the Abbey at Sherborne, which became his ‘Cathedral of the West’.
- On 25th May 709, just four years after his consecration, Aldhelm died. His funeral procession travelled 50 miles from Doulting in Somerset to Malmesbury and stone crosses were planted at 7-mile intervals, to mark each place where his body rested for the night.
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People gathered from across the Diocese after a week-long pilgrimage that started at Malmesbury Abbey, where St Aldhelm had been Abbot.
 | | The pilgrims reach St Aldhelms chapel |
The pilgrimage route took in churches associated with the Abbot from Bradford-on-Avon and Sherborne Abbey to St Aldhelm’s Head, near Swanage. Archbishop Rowan Williams was applauded by members of the parish of Worth Matravers as he arrived at the 12th century St Aldhelm’s chapel, at St Aldhelm’s Head, to consecrate a new stone altar. He then lead the pilgrims on the last part of their journey to Renscombe Farm for a service of thanksgiving and celebration of the life of St Aldhelm. In his address he reflected on how St Aldhelm had used music and humour to reach out to the local community.
 | | The weather wasn't always heaven sent |
He encouraged Christians following in St Aldhelm’s footsteps to be confident and express their faith: “We need to sing our song in such a way that others want to join in. We have to ask how are we going to stand in the street and get others to join in. For our faith to be renewed and revived we have to go back to our relationship with Christ and know that all that is in us is loved.” People of all ages walked many miles to meet the Archbishop and enjoy the hog roast, picnic and bouncy castle. The Bishop of Sherborne, Rt Revd Tim Thornton lead the pilgrimage. Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, he told presenter Tim Daykin about the importance of St Aldhelm as an evangelist.
 | | Pilgrims on the move |
Bishop Tim explained how the anniversary celebrations are being used as a way of bringing Christianity to the wider community: "It's inevitable that sometimes we find we only talk to other Christians - we need to make sure we are connected through friends and networks in the wider community." "It's important to remember and give thanks for what Aldhelm did. Just as Aldhelm went outside and made connections, we wanted to use it to challenge people to do at least one thing outside their church walls this year - it's about connecting with issues in local communities, listening to what people are saying and encouraging them to talk about the bigger things in life." The logistics of the pilgrimage were masterminded by Lt.Col Paddy Bartholomew aided by members of Wiltshire Army Cadet Force, Dorset police, the National Coastwatch Institute and volunteers from the local parishes.
 | | St Aldhelm |
This year is the 1300th anniversary of the founding of Sherborne Abbey by St Aldhelm as the Cathedral Church of the West Saxons, covering Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire. The pilgrimage is one of a series of events and celebrations being held across Dorset to mark the occasion. Saint Aldhelm was a teacher, evangelist and Abbot of Malmesbury, who was appointed the first Bishop of Sherborne in 705 AD - 1300 years ago this year.
According to legend, Aldhelm reputedly left the confines of his community of monks when he saw local people were disinterested - he went down to a bridge where he would sing contemporary ballads to draw a crowd, before preaching his sermon there. A new TheAldhelmWay.org.uk website has been set up as a forum and online for parishes involved in the anniversary events. | 
