Released 31.03.23

The Conversation

In this episode, Sophy and Gail discuss her new book, Between the Chalk and the Sea: A Journey on Foot Into the Past. — a gently lyrical English journey following a 250-mile pilgrimage route from Southampton to Canterbury.

It’s a simple route that becomes a nuanced odyssey, with Gail’s writing an important contribution to a revival in the lost art of pilgrimage. They talk about the various surprises the book reveals — including the typical response to a solo female traveller, from early proponents, including the radical mystic, Margery Kempe, and the ‘gat-toothed’ Wife of Bath.

They discuss how pilgrimage — defined as the intention to go to a place in a mindful way — can be secular or religious, short or ‘a year and a day’ (if you were gone that long in the Middle Ages, it was assumed you were dead). A walking pilgrimage, they agree, is an integral part of the human experience — and part of our genetic inclination for thousands of years.

Gail’s book, Between the Chalk and the Sea: A Journey on Foot Into the Past is published by Headline Publishing Group.