Holy Island, near Arran, on the beautiful west coast of Scotland, is a sacred place with a long spiritual tradition which stretches back to the early Celtic Christians. In the 6th century it was a place of prayer and solitude for teacher and mystic St Molaise. In 1992, Holy Island was adopted by the Tibetan Buddhist community following Lama Yeshe Rinpoche’s vision of an interfaith centre for peace and sanctuary from the busy modern world. The Contemplative School of the Heart has been running retreats on Holy Island for several years, and many of us have been blessed to experience the hospitality, spirit, and healing sanctuary of the island and its welcoming community.

In the spirit of gratitude and interfaith friendship, we want to support the community with a gift of 40 new chairs for the Peace Hall, which will enable retreatants to meditate and pray more comfortably. So, we are organising a sponsored pilgrims’ walk to raise funds for the new chairs. We are planning to walk the first section of the North Downs Way, the traditional pilgrim walk which leads to Canterbury. The first section starts at Farnham and takes in the scenic River Wey, Runfold Wood Nature Reserve, Puttenham Common, Loseley House, and St Catherine’s chapel. On the first day, Saturday 21st April, we are planning to walk from Farnham to Ladywell Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Godalming, and then to walk back to Farnham on Sunday 22nd, a total of approximately 22 miles. Pilgrims can opt to walk for one or both days.

In memory of St Molaise, and to support Lama Yeshe Rinpoche’s interfaith vision, the pilgrim walk is also celebrating the deepening encounter, and friendship, between the spiritual traditions of East and West and the Christian and Buddhist monasteries/convents in the UK.

For more information visit Holy Island and Contemplative School of the Heart.

(Should we raise more than is required for the chairs, the remainder will be donated to the Holy Island project general funds.)

Many thanks and pilgrim blessings!