WOOLER to St Cuthbert’s Cave
Saturday 21st March 2026
A personal reflection by Jim Ross
WOOLER to St Cuthbert’s Cave
Saturday 21st March 2026
A personal reflection by Jim Ross
An invitation to join a St Cuthbert's Way Pilgrimage Walk was not to be missed. On a lovely sunny March morning we were met by Fliss Barker, a Church Related Community Worker at the Wooler URC. Fliss and Jon Timms (Joint CEO, Rural Ministries) introduced us to the walk by inviting the assembled pilgrims to experience the Wooler Outdoor Labyrinth. This is a recent innovation by Wooler URC and the design of the labyrinth forms a circular path from the outside to the centre and back again. Labyrinths have been found from earliest times often carved into the bare rock and are an invitation to walk and pray as you reflect on where you are in life. After the Pilgrim’s Prayer we set off on our journey.
Experincing the Labyrinth at Wooler URC.
The Pilgrim’s Prayer
Oh God, Be for us our companion on the walk,
Our guide at the crossroads,
Our breath in our weariness,
Our protection in danger,
Our refuge on the Way,
Our shade in the heat,
Our light in the darkness,
Our consolation in our discouragements,
And our strength in our intentions.
So that with your guidance we may arrive safe and sound
at the end of the Road
enriched with grace and virtue
may we return safely to our homes filled with joy
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Wooler nestles in the foothills of the Cheviots so we climb steadily out of the river valley and onto Weetwood Bank…
St Cuthbert’s Way takes you up to Weetwood Moor – over 500ft |
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Dropping back down to cross the River Till
via the 16th Century Weetwood Bridge
Lunch break at West Horton, then onto the Devils Causeway (a Roman Road thought to pre-date Hadrian’s Wall)
Lunch break at West Horton, then onto the Devils Causeway (a Roman Road thought to pre-date Hadrian’s Wall)
A cooling dip in the Hetton Burn
One of the beautifully crafted waymarkers. Look at the detail on the carving. |
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Following farm and woodland tracks we finally arrive at St. Cuthbert’s Cave, where monks took St. Cuthbert’s body in 875AD as they fled from Viking raids on Lindisfarne. It’s also thought that he may have spent time here living as a hermit before moving to the Farne Islands, where even greater isolation allowed him to focus on prayer, and to commune with the wild creatures around him.
St Cuthbert's cave
A final Prayer.. The Path as found in Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life by Ray Simpson
God bless the path on which you go.
God bless the earth beneath your feet.
God bless your destination.
God be a smooth way before you,
A guiding star above you,
A keen eye behind you
This day, this night, and forever.
God be with you whatever you pass.
Jesus be with you whatever you climb.
Spirit be with you wherever you stay.
God be with you at each stop and each sea,
At each lying down and each rising up,
In the trough of the waves,
on the crest of the billows
each step of the journey you take.
God bless the earth beneath your feet.
God bless your destination.
God be a smooth way before you,
A guiding star above you,
A keen eye behind you
This day, this night, and forever.
God be with you whatever you pass.
Jesus be with you whatever you climb.
Spirit be with you wherever you stay.
God be with you at each stop and each sea,
At each lying down and each rising up,
In the trough of the waves,
on the crest of the billows
each step of the journey you take.