Why We Walk

Available for over a year

Why is walking spiritual? Giles Fraser asks if the power of pilgrimage in it's destination, or along the pathway. Alice Sainsbury was recovering from a serious neurological illness when she slowly started to walk again. Step by step she found herself again through walking, and small pilgrimages near her home in Cornwall. It wasn't just a physical journey for her, but a spiritual one as well. She tells Giles Fraser why she walks. And Giles asks a panel of enthusiastic pilgrims from different faiths about the religious beliefs behind walking and pilgrimage. Phil McCarthy, a former GP, has founded Pilgrim Ways, promoting walking pilgrimages in England and Wales. Sr Radharamana Das is a scholar in Sanskrit and Vedic literatures and a volunteer at his local Hare Krishna temple. And Professor Raminder Kaur is the leader of a project about pilgrimage and economics at the University of Sussex. Boots laced, let's begin. Producer: Rebecca Maxted Assistant Producer: James Leesley Editor: Tim Pemberton