Past Pilgrimages
Here you will find descriptions of pilgrimages that Common Ground has facilitated since 2018. Each trip has had its unique location, book or author, theme or guiding question, and set of hikes.
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Theme: Storytelling
Walking: Challenging
Wuthering Heights: West Yorkshire, England
Theme: Imagination
Walking: Leisurely
Northanger Abbey: Bath, England
Theme: Doubt
Walking: Challenging
Anne of Green Gables: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Theme: Home
Walking: Challenging
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Cornwall, England
Theme: Escape
Walking: Challenging
A Duke by Default: Edinburgh, Scotland
Theme: Grace
Walking: Leisurely
Theme: Selflessness
Walking: Challenging
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Theme: Nature, connection, and longing
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: West Yorkshire, England
Theme: Wandering and displacement
Theme: Memory
Theme: Solitude
Miles walked: 16
Pride and Prejudice: Derbyshire, England
Theme: Transformation and compromise
Miles walked: 15
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Sussex, England
Theme: Transition
Miles walked: 27
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Pride and Prejudice: Derbyshire, England
Theme: Strength of character
Miles walked: 18
Jane Eyre: West Yorkshire Moors, England
Theme: Hope
Miles walked: 30
Frankenstein: London & Sussex, England
Theme: What makes us human?
Miles walked: 28
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Sussex, England
Theme: Love
Miles walked: 12
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All of our pilgrimages in 2020 and 2021 were postponed or converted to a virtual format (see below) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Sussex, England
Theme: Love
Miles walked: 12
Jane Eyre: West Yorkshire Moors, England
Theme: What is the home you are looking for?
Miles walked: 34
Writing as a Sacred Practice: The Berkshires, MA
Theme: What fresh ground do we want to break in our lives?
To the Lighthouse: Sussex, England
Miles walked: 35 miles
Theme: What role do we want writing to play in our lives?
Miles walked: 7
Virtual Pilgrimages
WINNIE THE POOH Virtual Pilgrimage
with Naomi westwater in march 2022
Miles Walked: invitation to walk 1 hour/day
HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE Virtual Pilgrimage
with Casper ter Kuile
Theme: Ritual
Miles Walked: invitation to walk 1 hour/day
PRIDE & PREJUDICE Virtual Pilgrimage
with Margaret H. Willison in August 2020
Miles Walked: invitation to walk 1 hour/day
“In an unprecedented time to be alive, continuing a seemingly never ending quarantine amid national and global unrest, our imaginations, libraries of all kids, and at home rituals have become instrumental passports to worlds outside of ourselves when we ourselves cannot leave. Somehow on this retreat, I felt like l went on a true pilgrimage while never leaving my home neighborhood. It was like my soul got new bed linens and a sparkler of connections from the pages of books to new humans on the other end of my screen. All I can say is thank you and when is the next?”