Favorite Pilgrimage Memoir *Not* Set on the Camino Francés?

[Dave]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[JabbaPapa]

My two personal favourites are the late 4th/early 5th Century narrative of the Mother Superior Egeria from likely Galicia to the Holy Land, and the 16th Century Travel Journal of Montaigne including his devout votive and vicarious pilgrimage to Loreto and his less pious and more intellectually critical one to Rome.

 

[Dave]

Those are some deep cuts!

 

[rappahannock_rev]

There's certainly Robert Lewis Stevenson's 1879 Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Great fun! (But was he a pilgrim...?)

One I'm absolutely passionate about is Hilaire Belloc's 1902 The Path to Rome. It still astonishes me that Belloc could walk (as a pilgrim!) across the heart of Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century and never encounter an automobile!

.

 

[J Willhaus]

Tortoises in the Via de la Plata by J. Buchanan. On kindle unlimited. Read for free (US).

 

[Bradypus]

"The Crossway" by Guy Stagg. A record of an extraordinary journey mostly on foot from Canterbury to Rome, Istanbul and finally Jerusalem.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

"The Crossway" by Guy Stagg. A record of an extraordinary journey mostly on foot from Canterbury to Rome, Istanbul and finally Jerusalem.

I also read this book by Guy Staggs about a year ago after @Kanga spoke of it on thr forum. It was very unique and quite interesting.

 

[Former member 104756]

Sinning across Spain by Ailsa Piper is a memoir of her walk on thé Mozarabe. I haven’t read it but I know others who’ve enjoyed it.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Not what you're looking for but you may enjoy the book and a chance to break things up a bit: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.

You can find a preview here:

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

This winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, and listed by the New York Times as one of the best 100 non-fiction books of the century, gives timeless reflections on solitude, writing and faith amid the beautiful though sometimes brutal world of nature on the author's doorstep in Virginia's Blue...

books.google.com

 

[WildPlace]

Tortoises in the Via de la Plata by J. Buchanan. On kindle unlimited. Read for free (US).

Another vote for this I loved it!

 

[dick bird]

Tony Kevin, ´Walking the Camino, a Modern Pilgrimage´. Written in 2006 after his career as a public servant collapsed when he blew the whistle on the Australian government. He walked the Mozarabe from Granada and then the Plata/Sanabrés.

 

[C clearly]

Tony Kevin, ´Walking the Camino, a Modern Pilgrimage´

I read this before my first Camino, and it appealed to my interest in the southern routes, even though I eventually walked the Camino Frances first. I enjoyed the book a lot, although I tended to skip over his extended philosophical/sociological diversions toward the end.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

My contribution;

'The Way of 88 Temples' - Robert C Sibley
'Along the Templar Trail' - Brandon Wilson
'Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim' - Harry Bucknall
'A Sense of Direction' - Gideon Lewis-Kraus (incls the CF but not solely about it).

Sinning across Spain by Ailsa Piper is a memoir of her walk on thé Mozarabe. I haven’t read it but I know others who’ve enjoyed it.

I have read it & found it (her) annoying! The whole concept behind her walking, her obsession with her own hair colour (I wanted to hurl the book each time she said she was a blonde in Spain) & everyone she met seemed to be either a musician or able to quote passages of poetry at length...
The book was very put-downable IMHO but hey, each to their own & she did well out of it.

 

[mspath]

There's certainly Robert Lewis Stevenson's 1879 Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Great fun! (But was he a pilgrim...?)

One I'm absolutely passionate about is Hilaire Belloc's 1902 The Path to Rome. It still astonishes me that Belloc could walk (as a pilgrim!) across the heart of Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century and never encounter an automobile!

.

I always thought RLS's description of the Trappist monks, their contemplative silence and austere monastery to be particularly astute and evocative.

"A stern simplicity, heightened by the romance of the
surroundings, spoke directly to the heart. I recall the whitewashed
chapel, the hooded figures in the choir, the lights alternately occluded
and revealed, the strong manly singing, the silence that ensued, the
sight of cowled heads bowed in prayer, and then the clear trenchant
beating of the bell, breaking in to show that the last office was over
and the hour of sleep had come"

Be sure to listen for that "clear trenchant beating of the bell"
if you follow anew Stevenson's footsteps!

 

[Former member 104756]

have read it & found it (her) annoying! The whole concept behind her walking, her obsession with her own hair colour (I wanted to hurl the book each time she said she was a blonde in Spain) & everyone she met seemed to be either a musician or able to quote passages of poetry at length...
The book was very put-downable IMHO but hey, each to their own & she did well out of it.

That’s so funny Kaz . As I said, I haven’t read it. But others have recommended it to me. Some years ago I heard a radio interview with the author and immediately knew it was not a book for me. But I thought I must have been the odd one out.

 

[C clearly]

But I thought I must have been the odd one out.

The theme of the book might have made a good magazine article or blog, but stretched to book length, it got a bit thin.

 

[Kiwi-family]

@Tassie Kaz if some northern hemisphere-ers hadn't chimed in, I would have said maybe our response is somehow on account of our antipodean location! Totally agree with you.
In terms of non-camino pilgrimages, I really enjoyed "Chasing Francis" by Ian Morgan Cron. Maybe take a look at the reviews on goodreads before committing - it may really not be to your liking!

"The Way of the 88 Temples" by Robert C. Sibley - made me want to walk it!

"Where the Feet Fall" edited by Duncan Minshall
Twenty essays, each by a different author about a walk they have taken.

Marilynne Robinson indirectly takes the idea of migration/movement in her novels "Home", "Gilead" and "Lila".

Not exactly pilgrimage per se, and not aimed at adults, but loosely related and an interesting book nonetheless:
"Refugee" by Alan Gratz

"A long walk to water" by Linda Sue Park is another novel for young people - and as C. S. Lewis said, "No book is really worth reading at age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty."

 

[Tassie Kaz]

That’s so funny Kaz . As I said, I haven’t read it. But others have recommended it to me. Some years ago I heard a radio interview with the author and immediately knew it was not a book for me. But I thought I must have been the odd one out.

I wish I'd heard that radio interview before I tested my endurance reading it! To this day when I see her name on any credits (FYI to others; Ailsa Piper is an Aussie writer, director & actress), I still groan & it clouds anything else she may do.
So fear not Jenny...you're not alone!

Edited to correct career.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

@Tassie Kaz if some northern hemisphere-ers hadn't chimed in, I would have said maybe our response is somehow on account of our antipodean location! Totally agree with you.

Could be @Kiwi-family, perhaps we're more critical of our own or the mileage (haha ) she got from it is because she's an actress & falls into the local 'celebrity' (shudder ) set?

"The Way of the 88 Temples" by Robert C. Sibley - made me want to walk it!

Excellent! Do walk it if you can...or at the very least, put it on your List of Possibilities. To this day, it is far & away my favourite walk & I still miss Japan now, some 6+ years down the track.

I'll look into the other books you listed...& maybe check a review prior...

Love the CS Lewis quote.

 

[dick bird]

Belloc was better known as a poet. I assume he wrote this on the same journeyÑ

Tarantella (1929)​

Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
And the tedding and the spreading
Of the straw for a bedding,
And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,
And the wine that tasted of tar?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
(Under the vine of the dark verandah)?
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda,
Do you remember an Inn?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
Who hadn't got a penny,
And who weren't paying any,
And the hammer at the doors and the Din?
And the Hip! Hop! Hap!
Of the clap
Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl
Of the girl gone chancing,
Glancing,
Dancing,
Backing and advancing,
Snapping of a clapper to the spin
Out and in --
And the Ting, Tong, Tang, of the Guitar.
Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?

Never more;

Miranda,

Never more.
Only the high peaks hoar:
And Aragon a torrent at the door.
No sound
In the walls of the Halls where falls
The tread
Of the feet of the dead to the ground
No sound:
But the boom
Of the far Waterfall like Doom.

Hilaire Belloc

Apparently written in Canfranc, which would have had a splendid new railway station opened just up the road. Belloc and Chesterton were mates and both had a talent for dynamic rhyming, but Belloc was probably more nuanced in his stance on social issues, and wrote much better children’s poetry, although a poem entitled ‘Matilda’ sub-titled ‘who told lies and was burnt to death’ might struggle to find a publisher nowadays.

 

[kiwi-couple]

Tarantella (1929)​

Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?

I had to learn this at school when I was very young - in a class elocution lesson!

 

[dick bird]

I had to learn this at school when I was very young - in a class elocution lesson!

I hope they weren´t trying to get rid of your Kiwi accent. There are recordings of Belloc´s voice. You´d expect to be a fruity baritone but in fact, I think you´d describe it as thin and reedy.

Returning to the theme, Laurie Lee´s ´As I walked out One Midsummer Morning´. Not camino, but walking in Spain at an interesting time.

 

[OZAJ]

Tony Kevin, ´Walking the Camino, a Modern Pilgrimage´. Written in 2006 after his career as a public servant collapsed when he blew the whistle on the Australian government. He walked the Mozarabe from Granada and then the Plata/Sanabrés.

This is the one that got me started. I read a review in the Sydney Morning Herald, bought it, read it and the Camino reeled me in.

Prior to reading this, I only knew about the CF and wasn't attracted because of the numbers. I had seen a short doco about the CF on tv. Interestingly, one person I met on this my first Camino told me that I should consider the CF. He thought it important. I came to agree with him.

 

[Former member 104756]

Be sure to listen for that "clear trenchant beating of the bell"
if you follow anew Stevenson's footsteps!

Lovely quote @mspath As an aside, for anyone who's interested, I highly recommend le chemin du Stevenson (The Stevenson Way). Excerpts from his book are dotted on tableaus along the Way. A beautiful and challenging path, starting in Le Puy en Velay, - spectacular scenery, delightful small towns and villages and a warm welcome from all we met along the path.

 

[Corned Beef]

Assume you wanted an English version. If so, this one fits the bill

Bifil that in that seson on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay,
Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At nyght were come into that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye
Of sondry folk, by áventure y-falle

 

[nilesite]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

“Paris to the Pyrenees” by David Downie. It’s my favorite pilgrimage memoir.

 

[Tony Lenton]

I hope they weren´t trying to get rid of your Kiwi accent. There are recordings of Belloc´s voice. You´d expect to be a fruity baritone but in fact, I think you´d describe it as thin and reedy.

Returning to the theme, Laurie Lee´s ´As I walked out One Midsummer Morning´. Not camino, but walking in Spain at an interesting time.

Again not a Camino but a great book nevertheless; The Bible in Spain by George Borrow.

 

[Sue127]

Assume you wanted an English version. If so, this one fits the bill

Had to read parts of this for English A'Level, many moons ago.

 

[MesaWalker]

"A Pilgrimage to Eternity" by Timothy Egan - Canterbury to Rome. Great writing and a compelling read.

 

[TrvlDad1]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

If you define pilgrimage broadly, consider Seven Pilars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence, Motoring With Mohammed by Eric Hansen (don’t assume the title is indicative), or Full Tilt by Durvla Murphy.

 

[antepacem]

I love The Old Ways, by Robert MacFarlane. It's gorgeous and captures the pilgrim spirit beautifully.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Dave, this IS about the Camino Frances but different. "The Way of the Gardener" by Lyndon Penner. Penner is a horticulturist. The book is a delightful education about the natural world of the Camino Frances and northern Spain. Buen Camino

 

[JohnRRogers]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” Fiction but very enjoyable.

 

[grdemedeiros]

"A Pilgrimage to Eternity" by Timothy Egan - Canterbury to Rome. Great writing and a compelling readI

Exactly the one I was going to recommend. I loved it because of the strong focus on the history of Christianity in Europe (and its outward effects via colonialism), and how Egan ties all of that into his own family's story. It's not a lightweight read: I'm usually a fast reader, but I needed time to digest each chapter before moving on to the next.

 

[grdemedeiros]

Two books I really enjoyed about North American Thru-Hikes (and hikers) are:
1. Where's the Next Shelter by Gary Sizer
2. Thirst 2600 Miles to Home by Heather Anderson

The first is set on the Appalachian Trail and highlighted (for me) the importance of trail families and support from loved ones who aren't traveling with you. The second is set on the Pacific Crest Trail and is more about the power of an individual: determination, grit, and sheer force of will.

 

[MesaWalker]

Another interesting pilgrimage read is "Walking to Canterbury" by Jerry Ellis. It is a contemporary memoir of walking from London to Canterbury. He seamlessly blends history and stories of the modern-day people he meets along the way.

 

[JabbaPapa]

“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” Fiction but very enjoyable.

I liked the film adaptation.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Two books I really enjoyed about North American Thru-Hikes (and hikers) are:
1. Where's the Next Shelter by Gary Sizer
2. Thirst 2600 Miles to Home by Heather Anderson

And then there's Wild by Cheryl Strayed, my copy of which I actually found along the Way of my 2014 (though I didn't actually read it 'til after I returned home).

 

[wynrich]

The Great Westward Walk: From the Front Door to the End of the Earth, by Antxon Gonzalez Gabarain.

He does eventually end up on the Frances, but he starts from his home up north in Basque country. A different kind of camino book. It's translated into English by forum member Rebekah Scott.

Rebekah Scott's book A Furnace Full of God isn't exactly a camino memoir but is from the perspective of someone who lives on the camino (in Moratinos) and offers their home to pilgrims.

So neither are typical pilgrim memoirs but both enjoyable and inspiring.

 

[ROjeda]

"A Pilgrimage to Eternity" by Timothy Egan - Canterbury to Rome. Great writing and a compelling read.

Just begun reading it. Insightful, funny and enjoyable so far.

 

[JerryStroebele]

The Great Westward Walk by Gabarain is THE CLASSIC CAMINO MEMOIR. Buen Camino

 

[SabsP]

A modern pilgrimage.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn review – walking to freedom

This uplifting memoir, about a couple who embark on a long coastal walk after becoming homeless, was shortlisted for the 2018 Costa biography award

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sue127]

A modern pilgrimage.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn review – walking to freedom

This uplifting memoir, about a couple who embark on a long coastal walk after becoming homeless, was shortlisted for the 2018 Costa biography award

www.theguardian.com

Beautiful book. If you get the chance, listen to Saltlines, this Raynor reading extracts from her book, supported by Gigspanner. I have also heard her supported BT Peter Knight and John Spiers - magic

 

[TaijiPilgrim]

“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” Fiction but very enjoyable.

A good read. And there is a sequel.

 

[minha_alverca]

On Foot to Canterbury: A Son’s Pilgrimage by Ken Haigh

 

[kiwi-couple]

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read.

Thanks for asking @Dave. I'm loving all the replies and taking note of all the titles

 

[tjz]

It's not on pilgrimage, per se, but if you haven't read On Trails by Robert Moor, I think you will like it. I've been a walker my whole life, a wilderness hiker and backpacker for much of my life, and a pilgrim these last years, and I found it a fascinating read.

 

[SoulDesire]

My contribution;

'The Way of 88 Temples' - Robert C Sibley
'Along the Templar Trail' - Brandon Wilson
'Like a Tramp, Like a Pilgrim' - Harry Bucknall
'A Sense of Direction' - Gideon Lewis-Kraus (incls the CF but not solely about it).


I have read it & found it (her) annoying! The whole concept behind her walking, her obsession with her own hair colour (I wanted to hurl the book each time she said she was a blonde in Spain) & everyone she met seemed to be either a musician or able to quote passages of poetry at length...
The book was very put-downable IMHO but hey, each to their own & she did well out of it.

A similarly annoying book is Camino Wandering, by Tara Marlow - which is semi-fiction about Camino Frances, and frustrating for a male reader. Some women might enjoy it, but I suspect you, Tassie Kaz, might not. It's like a moving Days of Our Lives.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

There's certainly Robert Lewis Stevenson's 1879 Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Great fun! (But was he a pilgrim...?)

One I'm absolutely passionate about is Hilaire Belloc's 1902 The Path to Rome. It still astonishes me that Belloc could walk (as a pilgrim!) across the heart of Europe at the dawn of the 20th Century and never encounter an automobile!

.

Belloc wrote a (pretty bad) poem about a wild night's drinking and dancing in Canfranc pueblo, home to the new Albergue Elias Valina. When I go walking along the noisy river there, I think of him, and wonder what became of that lowdown, big-fun tavern!

EDIT: That poem, "Tarantella," is quoted above! That's Canfranc!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

As for the OP's question: Cees Nooteboom's "Roads to Santiago." It's kinda all over the place, but it's beautifully written.

 

[Karma_m]

I wish I'd heard that radio interview before I tested my endurance reading it! To this day when I see her name on any credits (FYI to others; Ailsa Piper is an Aussie actress, mainly TV), I still groan & it clouds her on-screen performance.
So fear not Jenny...you're definitely not alone!

I'm curious as to what TV shows you have seen her in of late. I don't think she has done much TV work for the past couple of decades. I think she is more involved now in writing and directing. Personally, I really enjoyed the book!

 

[dick bird]

Belloc wrote a (pretty bad) poem about a wild night's drinking and dancing in Canfranc pueblo, home to the new Albergue Elias Valina. When I go walking along the noisy river there, I think of him, and wonder what became of that lowdown, big-fun tavern!

See post 20. Belloc wasn´t the world´s greatest poet, but his ´Child´s Cautionary Tales´ are masterpieces of black humour (e.g. Matilda, who told lies and was burnt to death, and Jim, who was eaten by a lion) and you could argue that Raold Dahl shamelessly ripped him off with his take on Goldilocks (´then go upstairs´, the old bear said, ´your breakfast is open the bed, but as it´s inside mademoiselle, you´ll have to eat her up as well) and Little Red Riding Hood.

 

[Tassie Kaz]

I'm curious as to what TV shows you have seen her in of late. I don't think she has done much TV work for the past couple of decades. I think she is more involved now in writing and directing. Personally, I really enjoyed the book!

Interesting...I thought I'd seen Ailsa in a mini-series recently but when I googled her, yep...as you state, nothing much comes up.
Also her face was not the one I was expecting to see & didn't think she was in that age bracket either. I'm wondering now who I was thinking of!
I'll edit my post to reflect Ailsa's occupations but it doesn't change what I think of the book or the associated groan with mention of her name...& still anything else with her is clouded for me.
Glad you enjoyed the book & as I said upthread, each to their own, she did well out of it so many others sit in your camp...I'm just not one of them!
Happy trails..& reading.

Edited to add about mistaken identity.

 

[Karma_m]

All good… maybe you were thinking of Isla fisher?

 

[Tassie Kaz]

All good… maybe you were thinking of Isla fisher?

Ooo..no...I love her! I can see the face in my mind so if I figure it out, I'll post.

A complete derailment from the original topic...apologies @Dave; but hopefully you have enough book titles to satisfy your query!

 

[Dave]

Ooo..no...I love her! I can see the face in my mind so if I figure it out, I'll post.

A complete derailment from the original topic...apologies @Dave; but hopefully you have enough book titles to satisfy your query!

I'm well stocked! Thanks to all for the suggestions. And what's the point in having a long thread on the forum without at least three substantial tangents?

 

[tbcan]

Dave, this IS about the Camino Frances but different. "The Way of the Gardener" by Lyndon Penner. Penner is a horticulturist. The book is a delightful education about the natural world of the Camino Frances and northern Spain. Buen Camino

I wholeheartedly agree with this recommendation! I was astounded at the wealth of information provided in this small volume!

 

[Bowmanfamily36]

We have enjoyed fiction especially “Two Steps Forward” by Graeme Simsion and his wife Anne Buist. It made us start our walk in Le Puy. Also the Harold Fry book is a particularly thoughtful read.

 

[Hennie]

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning
Laurie Lee

 

[dkrez]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

Hello!

For those still looking for a non-Frances memoir, I have a Canadian treat published in 2022 about walking the Norte during August 2021. Current and engaging.

Reigniting a Creative Life On the Camino De Santiago: Toward Beauty by Dennis Garnhum

https://calgaryherald.com/entertain...director-finds-purpose-on-pilgrimage-in-spain

Check it out on Amazon... I've made it easy

https://www.amazon.ca/Toward-Beauty-Reigniting-Creative-Santiago/dp/1778265308?tag=santiagodec0b-20

 

[Lea Page]

I walked the Via Francigena recently. I have an unconventional memoir:
https://www.amazon.com/Between-Path-Way-1000-Journal/dp/B0CCCHQ5J2?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[Lea Page]

I also liked The Salt Path, by Raynor Winn

 

[LiesbethSA]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some new pilgrimage books to read. What are your favorite memoirs or other pilgrimage books that are not set on the Camino Francés?

Thanks,
Dave

I buy kindle books , keep it in a cloud library and read it with a kindle app. Sommer on my cellphone! Wont go on any long hike (RSA, ESP, FRA)
“without:
Backpacking with the Saints, BeldenC Lane;
The Solace of Fierce Landscapes Belden C Lane;
The Soul of a Pilgrim, Christine W Painter;
The Art of Pilgrimage, Phil Cousineau;
Along the Templar Trail, Brandon Wilson;
Ecological Intelligence; Ian McCullum
and some poems (translated) by Spanish poet Antonio Machafdo, and Afrikaans poet Breytsn Breytenbach.
“Like poetry, pilgrimage is beyond time and space”!!!