News & Events

4 March – Annual Conference in Greenwich

by admin

The Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome will hold its annual conference on 4 March, at St. Alfege Hall in Greenwich – a wonderful opportunity to hear pilgrim tales of their experiences on the Via Francigena and to learn from fellow pilgrims on how to plan your own amazing journey on this historic route.

Programme:  

1:30-2:30

Carlo Laurenzi (Chair) ‘The Francigena Britannica’

A brief history of the CPR’s development of an extension of the Francigena from London to Canterbury. Where we are in the project and an appeal for volunteers to trial the new route.

Sandy Brown – author of the three Cicerone guidebooks for the Via Francigena

The last of Sandy’s guidebooks for the Francigena, the section Canterbury to Lausanne, has just been published by Cicerone guides. Sandy travels to us from his new home in Lucca, Italy to give us some key insights into the Francigena route.

Alex Knox: ‘A Year on the Via Francigena’

In this talk, Alex will offer some advice on walking the Via in winter; he’ll discuss the pros and cons of making a journey like this in stages rather than a ‘through-walk’, and suggest why you might want to extend your Via Francigena with a walk along the Pilgrims’ Way from London or Winchester.

(Alex, 34, had to break his journey into four stages due to work commitments in 2022).

Alison Gelder and Ian Smith: ‘Stepping Out Again’

Alison and Ian, who are in their 60s, will share their experiences of walking from London to Rome in 2022, also drawing on the experience of their first walk to Rome in 2017.

(Check out Ian and Alison’s blog: How Far Can We Go )

2.30-3.30 Q&A Pilgrim Panel

Come prepared with all your planning questions for the expert pilgrim panel. This is a unique opportunity to ask planning questions directly to Sandy Brown, author of the Cicerone Francigena guidebooks.

The Francigena route has developed significantly in the past few years and we are particularly fortunate to have as panelists Alex Knox, Alison Gelder and Ian Smith who walked on the route last year and will have the most up-to-date advice.