Blessed Oscar Romero Walking Pilgrimage Saturday 9th September 2017 Detailed Itinerary Come prepared The walk is mostly on gravel pathways and cycle tracks, so is pushchair friendly with the appropriate type of pushchair. All under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. Make sure you have good walking shoes, suitable clothing for the weather conditions. Have wet weather gear in case it rains and sunscreen and a hat for when it is sunny. Pilgrimage is intended to be a challenge, so we will go whatever the weather conditions on the day. Bring drinking water and a packed lunch we will stop for a packed lunch at Hilsea Lido. Joining the Pilgrimage All are welcome to join us on this pilgrimage, and you can join us at any of the stopping points as follows, noting the total walking distances to the Cathedral: 1. St Thomas Church, Emsworth, PO10 7QP (10.8 miles) - Depart 09.30 2. St Joseph s Church, Havant, PO9 1LP (8.1 miles) - Depart 10.30 3. St Thomas s Church, Bedhampton, PO9 3JG (7.2 miles) - Depart 11.15 4. Eastern Road Roundbout Car Park, PO6 1UN (5.1 miles) - Depart 12.30 5. Blue Lagoon (Hilsea Lido), Hilsea, PO2 9RP (3.3 miles) - Depart 14.30 6. Mountbatten Sports Centre, PO2 9QA (2.4 miles) - Depart 15.30 7. Stamshaw Park, PO2 8JX (1.5 miles) - Depart 16.00 8. Arrive 17.00 - St John s Cathedral, PO1 3HQ Page 1
Blessed Oscar Romero - Walking Pilgrimage Detailed Itinerary 1. From Ss Thomas Church Emsworth to St Joseph s Church, Havant - walking distance 2.7 miles We depart from Ss Thomas Church, 24 New Brighton Road, Emsworth PO10 7QP. There is free car parking available at the church, and you can leave your car all day. The church will be open before departure, where toilet facilities exist. Please be dressed and ready to leave the church at 09.30. Leaving the church, turn left and head south towards the centre of Emsworth. Stay on the left hand side of the road and continue down North Street crossing Havant Road through the subway at the roundabout. Continue to the corner next to the Coop, and cross over the road into West Street heading west. Continue into Havant Road and walk down the left hand side of the road until you reach the pelican crossing. Cross over at the pelican crossing and continue along Havant Road and follow the right hand pavement under the A27 through the underpass, and then into Emsworth Road. This pathway turns into the main road on the north side of the roundabout. Follow the pavement west along Emsworth Road, across the junction with traffic lights and towards the centre of Havant and into East Street. Follow East Street as it turns into a pedestrian precinct, and continue to the pelican crossing next to McDonalds, crossing over into West Street. Follow West Street west until you arrive at St Joseph s Church on the right hand side. There are toilet facilities in the church. Page 2
2. From St Joseph s Church, Havant to St Thomas s Church, Bedhampton - walking distance 0.9 mile We depart from St Joseph's Church, 134 West Street, Havant, PO9 1LP. There is free car parking available at the church, and you can leave your car all day. The church will be open before departure, where toilet facilities exist. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave at 10.30. Leaving the church, cross over West Street and turn right heading west. Continue down West Street, crossing the railway line at Bedhampton Station, and then turn left into Bedhampton Road. Continue along Bedhampton Road. Turn left into King s Croft Lane, and following the pavement on the right hand side of the road, continue onto the footpath on the eastern side of the park. Continue on the path, turning right at the childrens playground and across to the car park. At the end of the car park and on the right is St Thomas s Parish Church. Page 3
3. From St Thomas s Church, Bedhampton to the Eastern Road amenity car park - walking distance 2.1 miles We depart from St Thomas's Church, Bidbury Lane, Havant, PO9 3JP. There is free car park adjacent to the church (height restricted to 6 6 ), which can be accessed from Bidbury Lane and where you can leave your car all day. There will not be access to the church or to toilet facilities in this location. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave at 11.15. Leaving the church, head south across the road and into Mill Lane. Continue down Mill Lane, until it turns into a footpath on the right of a building development, and continue down and across the footbridge over the A27. At the end of the footbridge, bear left and follow the footpath down the edge of the creek and under the road bridge. Continue along the coastal path. You are now joining a cycle path keep to the left to allow cycles past. When you reach the cycle track, continue left along the cycle track, which runs alongside the A27 until you reach the large car park next to the slip road approaching the Eastern Road Roundabout. There are toilet facilities in the Holiday Inn access via the roundabout. Page 4
4. From the Eastern Road amenity car park to the Blue Lagoon (Hilsea Lido) - walking distance 1.8 miles We depart from the car park at the junction of the Eastern Road (A2030) and the A27 (PO6 1UN). To access the car park, there is a turning on the south side of the Eastern Road/A27 roundabout, and we will meet in the larger car park approximately 150m along the track. This is a free car park, and you can leave your car all day. There are no facilities at the car park. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave at 12.30. Leaving the car park, continue west along the cycle track before the end of the track you follow through a break in the concrete barrier beside the slip road to a series of traffic signals allowing you to cross over to the roundabout, to the other side of the Eastern Road, and heading south down the Eastern Road across the bridge over Portsbridge Creek. At the southern end of the bridge, after about 20m of hedgerow is a footpath off to the right, follow this footpath right and back up to the side of the creek sticking to the gravelled path, follow the footpath west until you come up to the railway bridge. At the railway bridge, the footpath bears left and under the railway bridge. At this point you can continue on the northern side of the moat (as shown on the map) or you can cross the small bridge under the railway and pick up the Hilsea Line Military Trail that passes through the woods on the southern side of the moat. Whichever you choose, continue west beside the moat until the paths meet and head up to cross Peronne Road at the end of a footbridge over the creek. Continue west on the Military Trail the other side of Peronne Road until you reach the footbridge over the A3 at Hilsea. Cross the footbridge and then turn right along the southern side of the moat until you reach another footbridge. Cross the moat and arrive at Lido, where we will stop for lunch for approximately one hour. Page 5
5. From the Blue Lagoon (Hilsea Lido) to the Mountbatten Sports Centre - walking distance 0.9 mile We depart from Hilsea Lido, PO2 9RP. To access the car park, there is a slip road from the northbound A3 approaching the Hilsea roundabout. If approaching from the A27 it is necessary to head south down the A3 from the A27 following signs towards the City Centre, then turning right and back north towards the Hilsea roundabout and off the slip road on the left marked towards the Lido. The Lido car park is a free car park, and there are toilet facilities in the splash pool area, which should be open when we are there. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave the car park at 14.30. Leaving from the southern end of the bridge over the moat, we head west to join the Pilgrim s Trail heading south along the waters edge. At the end of Horsea Lane, there is work replacing the sea defences and the footpath is closed. Follow the arrows indicating an Informal path to Alexandra Park, which heads right along a grass path round behind a terrace of houses. Keeping the wire fence on your right hand side, follow round to the northern part of Alexandra Park. Cross the park in the middle of the playing pitches to a gap in the fence on the southern side, and path straight on through the gap. The path then loops round a circular yellow brick wall until you reach the car park next to a large stand. Join the footpath the other side of the car park passing the Page 6
5-a-side pitches and come into the park in from of the entrance on the southern side of the Mountbatten Centre. We will gather in the footpath roundabout in these gardens. There are toilet facilities in the Mountbatten Centre 6. From the Mountbatten Sports Centre to Stamshaw Park - walking distance 0.9 mile We depart from the car park at the Mountbatten Centre, PO2 9QA. The centre is well signposted from the A3, Northern Parade along the northern part of Twyford Avenue. The Mountbatten Centre car park is a free car park, and you can leave your car all day. There are toilet facilities in the Centre. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave the car park at 15.30. This section of the pilgrimage, we continue to follow the Pilgrims Trail cycle path. Leaving the Mountbatten Centre park, head west to the exit onto Twyford Avenue, then follow the sign for the Pilgrim s Trail turning right next to a building site, signed to Tipner Wharf. At the end of this road, bear left on the cycle path until it reaches the end of Target Road. Turn left and head south down Target Road and at the end, turn right into Tipner Road. Follow the signs for the Pilgrim s Trail down Widley Road and then right along Jervis Road. At the end of Jervis Road you reach the northern end of Stamshaw Park, and here you turn left and follow the cycle path down the western side of the park adjacent to the M275 until you arrive at the car park. There are no toilet facilities here. Page 7
7. From Stamshaw Park to St John s Cathedral - walking distance 1.5 miles We depart from the car park at Stamshaw Park PO2 8JX. The car park can be accessed by taking a right into Ranelagh Road from the southbound A3 Twyford Avenue. It is adjacent to the Stamshaw Lake Angling Club, is a free car park, and you can leave your car all day. There are no facilities in the car park. If you are joining here, please be dressed and ready to leave the car park at 16.00. Keep the perimeter wall on your right. Keep Left as this is a shared cycle / pedestrian path. At the exit of the car park, turn right onto the footpath that runs south west, parallel to Ranelagh Road. Follow trail as it runs along next to a high wooden fence, alongside the M275. Stay on this path as the fence finishes and the path continues alongside the main road. Take underpass underneath the Rudmore Roundabout, which emerges heading west to Wharf Road. Stay on Wharf Road footway to Portsmouth International Ferry Terminal. Vigilance is required at vehicular entrance to Ferry Port. There are toilet facilities at the Ferry Terminal. Follow the marked footway along Wharf Road to pick up footway beside busy A3 road. Follow the cycle path round the roundabout and then skirts the perimeter wall of the Naval Base. At the Naval Base Unicorn Gate turn right towards the gate, and cross to the entrance of the subway under the A3. Through the underpass to the end of the path, turn right onto Bishop Crispian Way and you have reached our destination, St John's Cathedral. Page 8
Blessed Oscar Romero Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador. He was assassinated on Monday March 24th 1980 as he was celebrating Mass in the chapel of the Divine Providence cancer hospital where he lived. Thirty five years later, he was declared a martyr of the Church, killed out of hatred of the faith, and was beatified on May 23rd 2015. Romero is an inspirational figure to hundreds of millions of Catholics around the world. He didn t simply talk about the need to love your neighbour, but courageously named the injustices that plagued his country. He reminded us that Christ is found in people living in poverty, and that we cannot ignore the suffering of our brothers and sisters in need. A Future Not Our Own A prayer by Blessed Oscar Romero It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen. Page 9