Reigate to Tatsfield (near Oxted)

Day 7 – Walked 19 miles. Yikes, that was a long way!

Enjoyable day with near perfect weather. No rain & it was never very warm. Once again, followed signs for the North Downs Way trail.

We shared the path with riders & their horses again.

Came across these Millennium Stones on our way to Merstham.

We are only able to walk exactly on some sections from the original Pilgrims Way from Medieval times. At times, we see signs saying we are on the old road where pilgrims passed for centuries,

Today, We visited two very old churches today dating back to pre-Norman Times. The first was St. Katharine’s Church which has existed for 1,400 years & still has the original baptismal font in it.

The church vicar & priests had just finished their daily meeting & welcomed us heartily. A Priest is an ordained minister who can perform sacraments while a Vicar is specifically a priest in the Church of England (Anglican Church) responsible for a parish. So, all Vicars are priests; but, not all priests are Vicars.

At the door, one priest told us the church’s history. He said it is believed that Roman ruins are under the church, so the church has ruled out any new construction or renovations requiring digging because dealing with antiquities requires too many reviews & approvals by multiple agencies. As we entered, he pointed out St Katherine over the door.

After stamping our pilgrim passport, we were greeted by the Vicar who was a woman. She was so happy we were visiting the church & kept apologizing for her appearance since she had recently gone for a swim in the nearby lake. (Brrrr)

She offered us a prayer for a safe journey & allowed us to get a picture with her.

The next place a few miles down the road in Chaldon was the Church of St. Peter & St. Paul. To see this church we knew we would add 2 extra miles to our journey; but, we felt the extra distance would be worth it to see its famous wall painting.

This church is from Saxon origin & is recorded in a 727 AD charter. The present church was started in the late 10th or early 11th century before the Norman conquest in 1066. The vividly colored wall painting is known as the “Doom Mural” because it shows the biblical Day of Judgment. It depicts the “Purgatory Ladder”, the “Tree of Knowledge” along with scenes showing heaven & hell, including the devil, other demons, & tortures for committing various sins. This painting in dark red & yellow ocher was done around 1070 making it the oldest intact wall painting in England. I I also included an index explaining the mural’s scenes

I also included a photo showing a “T” inscribed in this church’s pillar centuries ago representing Thomas Becket for whom this pilgrim trail honors.

Back on the trail, we saw one of the very few Pilgrim Way signs, a glimpse of downtown London in the distance & a historic stone house.

We also stopped at small pub called The Harrow which has some WWII history.

This 400 year old pub was the headquarters for the British Home Guard during World War II. When it was thought the ridge on which it was located may be used to defend against a possible Nazi invasion, fighting positions were built just in case. There is a map on wall showing the local defense plan. At 718 feet in altitude, it is also the highest pub along the Pilgrim Way near the trail’s highest point at 787 feet.

Compared to walking the Camino de Santiago where you meet a different pilgrim almost every hour, on this path we have basically met no pilgrims. However, today we met a family of 3 doing a small section on the route walking in the opposite direction. We enjoyed swapping stories & giving each other tips.

Our path took us up long hills,

Back down again

and across the motorway more than once.

Very late in the day, we were forced off the trail due to it being closed by private residences across whose land it normally passed which caused major backtracking & a huge detour.

The last mile was was a struggle for me; but, we finally arrived after 11 hours on the trail to our lodging which was a Days Inn. (Yes, the same as in the States.)

Happy to say we are more than half way now. Seven more days to go!