Good Friday: Ampleforth

Alas, I don't seem to be able to upload the photographic evidence, but I arrived here at teatime yesterday at the end of my cycle pilgrimage. I biked something over 200 miles, having cheated by catching the train from Oakham to Lincoln.

I was exhausted after the first two days on the road, so did a mere 15 miles from the kind Twedells to Oakham: Leicestershire is more hilly than I imagined, so this was quite enough as it turned out. And the train enabled me to reach Lincoln in time for choral evensong in the Cathedral, definitely a highlight of my journey, particularly the Tallis Lamentations. Indeed, Lincoln as a whole I found incredibly impressive: worth a longer visit.

Altogether, it's been the most wonderful weather for the trip, which has made it as much a pleasure as a penance to choose the two-wheeled route. And now I have the privilege of a Benedictine Easter Triduum to join in - and a luxurious en suite room in one of the new school houses (a far cry from my days here).