2026 marks the quincentenary of William Tyndale’s masterpiece, the 1526 English New Testament. It was the first time that the whole New Testament had been translated from Greek into English and published.

From 16–17 September Margareta and Michael will be walking a 26-mile trail from Tyndale’s statue in central Bristol to the Tyndale Monument in North Nibley, Gloucestershire passing through the places he lived and worked.

We will be passing close to Fishponds and Downend, where Michael visited his grandmothers some 70 years ago, so this is also a pilgrimage in memory of them. Both encouraged their grandchildren to “search the scriptures”. We will be passing Snuff Mills where we sang "The more we are together, the happier we shall be" in the 1950s.

Tyndale famously said to a priest:

‘If God spares my life I will cause the boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost.’

Because of William Tyndale’s legacy the Bible is now freely available in our country. In Sweden 10 days ago we were celebrating the translation into Swedish, also in 1526.

We’re celebrating his core belief that the Bible is for everyone and raising £5,000 to invite more people to discover its message for themselves with Bible Society.