A Rough Overview
The majority of the journey was along the established Pilgrim Route, the Via Francigena from Canterbury, to Rome. As the distance from St Wilfrid’s in Haywards Heath to Canterbury is small compared with the full walk (or at least that’s how I felt before I walked it!), I added on an extension from Haywards Heath to Canterbury. The Via Francigena is a route that follows the footsteps of Archbishop Sigeric, on his Pilgrimage to Rome from Canterbury. He (or rather someone else in his group) recorded the villages and towns passed through on the journey back in the year 990, in a manuscript that survives in the British Museum. The modern route passes as best it can through the towns as mentioned in the text (Cotton Manuscript Tiberius B.V.). The route is roughly a straight line across France, between Calais and Jougne; skirts the edge of lake Geneva in Switzerland, before passing over the alps at the Great St Bernard Pass (yes, the dogs), the same way Napoleon went; and finally, the route passes down the leg of Italy, across the regions of Piedmont and Tuscany, to the Vatican City in Rome. From Haywards Heath, I’m predicting it will be approximately 1500 miles, or 2400 km.
Aside from the main route, I did have to make the odd diversion for practical reasons. I flew back to the UK twice during the trip. Once to finish my degree (my masters viva voce), and once for a job interview! After both of these brief breaks, I returned to the walk where I left off.
England – (Approx. 140 km)
The walk started at St Wilfrid’s Church in Haywards Heath, heading North-East to Royal Tunbridge Wells, and further to Maidstone along the Medway Valley Walk. From Maidstone, the route follows the North Downs Way, or the old Pilgrim Trail, towards Canterbury, where the official Pilgrim Trail to Rome (the Via Francigena) begins. The final stretch in England was a day’s hike to Dover. I did take the ferry across the channel. (I didn’t fancy swimming!)
France – (Approx. 900 km)
The French part of the route was a long one, all the way from from Calais to Jougne at the Swiss border, passing through only a few major cities, including Laon, Reims, and Besançon. It also winds through the wine growing regions of Champagne, and the Jura mountains (down on the Swiss border), and narrowly misses Burgundy, by about 30 miles. Needless to say, I enjoyed sampling the local agriculture in these parts!
Switzerland – (Approx. 190 km)
The walk through Switzerland surprisingly began downhill, heading out of the Jura mountains, and towards Lausanne and Lake Geneva. I left my bag at the Abbey of SAint Maurice, to fly back to University for the final part of the degree. After returning, I climbed the Alps, passing through Martigny, Orsieres, all the way to the Great St Bernard Pass, at a maximum height of 2473 m. The pass was barely open at the time of my crossing (end of May), with plenty of snow around. Though I made the crossing, it was touch and go – and I was ready to take the safe route on a bus for a few kilometers, through the tunnel (opened in 1964).
Italy – (Approx. 1000 km)
The Italian border marks the end of ascent, and the start of a fairly steep walk down into the Aosta valley. After little more than a week, the Alps have disappeared.
The route passes just south of Milan, through Pavia, and over the rice fields of the Po valley, before climbing again into the Apennines. The route eventually descends, and passes by the Mediterranean briefly, before entering Tuscany. From here it was inland, through the cities of Siena, Radicofani, into Lazio for Viterbo, and finally to Rome.
