York Minster Community Walkers Report for 2020

The popularity of the First Saturday Walks continued at a pace in February with twenty eight walkers turning out on a frosty day at Settrington, this high trend became the norm for eight out of the ten 2019 venues.

The Third Saturday long distance walkers have also seen an increase in numbers twelve walkers participated in walking the Six Dales Trail from crossing the dales: - Washburndale - - - - to .

Two more Pilgrimages in 2019: The first was the Peak Pilgrimage from Ilam to Monyash in March, then from Monyash to Eyam to complete the 61km pilgrimage in October. The fourteen pilgrims all received warm welcomes when visiting the churches en-route, on this “Spring and Autumn Peak District Away-days” adventure. The second was a continuation of the 2018 Pilgrimage when six of the walkers walked across Tuscany from Lucca to Siena. Four of those walkers continued the Via Francigena Pilgrimage from Viterbo through Vetralla - Capranica - Sutri - Monterosi - Campagnano di Roma - La Storta into Rome. Completing the whole distance of 255 km, culminating with a major security and interesting visit for them into the Sacristy of the Vatican to receive Certificates and Vatican Timbres.

The Walker’s Web site viewing numbers have fallen to about 80,000 a fall of twenty thousand! However the cause may be a viewer’s switch to the Walker’s (sister) Archive Photographs site which has all the same photographs that the former site has, plus also the large pilgrimage collections too, on a Full-screen format. This latter site had 51,000 viewers this year at the time of writing this report.

Thank you for your interest

A B Skeels (Walker’s Leader Coordinator)

YORK MINSTER WALKERS 283