On This Holy Island - A Talk by Oliver Smith

Let Oliver Smith take you on a 'modern pilgrimage across Britain'

Acclaimed travel writer Oliver Smith sets out to radically reframe our idea of 'pilgrimage' in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time, from murmurs of ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century.

The overriding message is that every pilgrimage is unique and what is required is an open mind... as he puts it, “to break through the crust of the familiar to find the fantastical”. - Caroline Eden, Financial Times

He embarks on an epic adventure across sacred British landscapes - climbing into remote sea caves, sleeping inside Neolithic tombs, scaling forgotten holy mountains and once marooning himself at sea. Following holy roads to churches, cathedrals and standing stones, this evocative and enlightening travelogue explores places prehistoric, pagan and Christian, but also reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary places of pilgrimage.

The routes walked are often ancient, the pilgrims he meets are always modern. But underpinning the book is a timeless truth: that making journeys has always been a way of making meaning. So often, Oliver finds, “the unravelling of a path goes in tandem with the unravelling of the soul.”

Oliver Smith is an acclaimed travel writer working mostly for the Financial Times, The Times and Outside Magazine in the USA. For 10 years he worked for Lonely Planet Magazine. During his time there he won Travel Writer of the Year at the Travel Media Awards, was AITO Travel Writer of the Year on three occasions, and was nominated for PPA Writer of the Year.

NB: This event is in-person only and won't be streamed or recorded. It will take place in the Cathedral Library on the first floor of the Millennium Building. Doors will open at 6:15pm. Books will be available to purchase.

Please email [email protected] if you have any access requirements.