30/04/26 - Beating the Bounds for Beltane

One Day Early Beltane, May Day and Rogationtide: Blessing the BoundsCome May, there are maypoles, May Kings and Queens, Jacks in the Green and Obby Osses. Less known is the fact that the Church long ago instituted Rogation Days, when villagers would “beat the bounds” of their parish, walking in procession to the edges of their land and praying for its fertility. It was part ritual, part communal memory, part good excuse for a walk. At the British Pilgrimage Trust, we revived this tradition with our Rogation Sunday campaign. It remains a wonderful excuse to make pilgrimage entirely local: simply walk the perimeter of where you live. You may be surprised how boundary lines trace forgotten footpaths, streams and hedgerows, linking the whole parish and creating belonging.May 1st marks the day of my next pilgrimage walk for Beltane. Finding a walk that follows a parish boundary is relatively easy. The Ramblers promote several and I liked the look of Walk 26, in Powick.So where are the rest…