The Big Idea

was a pilgrimage from Monmouth Boys’ School following in the steps of St David. It took place on the weekend of 21st - 22nd June 2008.

"It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive."

Walking, talking, planning, sharing, wondering, listening, enduring - these all happen when we find ourselves journeying. All of these things happened on the pilgrimage undertaken from the Chaplaincy at Monmouth School to the ancient abbey site of Llanthony.

It was a big idea, it was a good idea, it was a bright idea.

We journeyed along on foot for two days for about thirty miles and as we made our way along the ancient Offa's Dyke pathway the silence and beauty of the created world made itself apparent. Picking our way through wooded hillsides and making our tracks across fields filled with patiently grazing cows and tall crops - some taller than the smallest members of our group - threading our way through orchards, we found ourselves following a route that had seen feet pass that way for almost a thousand years. Bird song and the smell of damp earth, the rustle of orange Gortex and the sight of vapour trails in the sky, blended ten centuries into one moment on a journey.

Older pupils led the way and waited patiently for the younger to follow or catch up, adults and boys, teachers and pupils all made equal through the undertaking of a journey. Water and biscuits were shared, rucksacks carried, smaller lighter individuals clung onto stronger ones on the windy ridge. Impatience, knowledge, explanation, personality, forgiveness, encouragement and fun. Human beings, being human, on a journey of discovery from Monmouth to Llanthony and beyond.

Revd David McGladdery, Assistant Chaplain