The Gathering Place: A Winter Pilgrimage Through Changing Times

by Mary Colwell

Mary Colwell makes a 500-mile solo pilgrimage along the Camino Francés, winding through forests, mountains, farmland, industrial sprawls and places of worship, weaving her experiences of the Camino with natural history, spirituality and modern environmentalism.

Pilgrims have always walked in times of upheaval, pitching themselves against weather, hunger, thirst and sometimes pain as they tread the paths their ancestors followed before them.

In The Gathering Place , author, nature campaigner and veteran solo walker Mary Colwell undertakes a 500-mile pilgrimage along the Camino Francés in northern Spain at a unique moment in history – a time of pandemic, profound political change, and a climate and biodiversity emergency.

In a typical year, more than 300,000 people walk this route or part of it, but in between lockdowns in 2020, Mary was virtually alone. The modern world weaves in and out of the Camino's worn trackway, providing a focus for contemplation and a place where memories and experiences can gather. There are times of intense spirituality, meetings with a demon slayer, strange goings-on and magical tales, and the constant backdrop of nature with all its complexity and wonder.

In this delightful book, Mary's winter pilgrimage weaves a personal tale with a walk that millions have undertaken over the centuries. The Gathering Place is a beautiful, thoughtful and, at times, humorous journey of both body and soul.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Nature

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Lisa Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love a book about long walks and this one was really fascinating, partly because of the author's background in environmentalism, and also because she completed the walk during the worst of the COVID lockdowns.

I learned a lot about the Camino and also about the nature of pilgrimage. Highly recommended, especially for listening to as an audio book whilst you're out for a stroll.

[Janneke]

time and distance help sort what has meaning

[Wouter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gathering Place is a book about Mary Colwell walking the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela during COVID times. According to Colwell herself it is a gathering journey, not a guide. She ruminates about a myriad of items, memories, and encounters. In modernist fashion her mind is triggered by the things she hears and sees on her travel.

But here also lies a problem: sometimes her meanderings to the past take too long by presenting long journal entries of other trips to Antarctica, Papua New Guinea, and the John Muir Trail. At times those entries seemed to show more interesting journeys than the Camino Francés and at the end of Colwell’s Spanish journey I lost most of my interest.

[Julian Hector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every page has a gem woven into it, adding to the masterful experience Colwell describes walking this most famous 500+ mile pilgrimage. The premise of the book is a triple helix, a 1000 year old pilgrimage, the natural world and the authors own life experience. Full of description, courage, humour and impeccably researched history and natural history. And all of this during a time we might never see again, a pilgrimage along a trail between pandemic lockdowns. Normally walked by thousands, but in this year Colwell is alone bar a few other extraordinary people. A time of change Colwell says, with Trump appearing on the scene, and the world on a huge wobble.

[Miss A M Kulisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read Mary’s book I felt I was travelling with her along the popular pilgrims’ route, but her journey was made as winter began to bite and in the middle of Covid. The way was almost devoid of people, cafes and hotels were shut. It was often cold, wet and bleak. However Mary’s beautiful writing style, her in depth research into the history of Medieval Christianity and the myths of the Camino gives the book an almost meditative feel. The Camino faces the challenges due to climate change, depopulation of rural areas and intensive agriculture with which we are all familiar - and Mary beautifully evokes the contrast between times long gone and our contemporary world.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few books about El Camino de Santiago de Campos de Stellos but this book is unique as it covers a woman’s journey by herself on the long journey across Spain . She chooses to go on this trek during 2020 at the beginning and height of the COVID Pandemic. Her observations become more clear and significant as she walks the exhausting journey alone. Her trip has interruptions by a death in the family but she returns to complete this journey. She also notes the history of the area and her religious beliefs as she journeys on this pathway.

[Tom Brownlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gathering Place is not a guide but a companion to the Camino de Santiago. And like the ideal companion, this book is knowledgeable, articulate, thought-provoking, and occasionally quirky. There is so much to recommend about this meditative journal, and I often found myself re-reading some of the more profound or eloquent passages of Colwell’s book. Having read The Gathering Place, I have gone on to a couple of her other books - about John Muir and the plight of the threatened Curlew. Both of these have the feel of a certain type of pilgrimage, so I can see a theme here. If you enjoy this one, you are likely to warm to her other work. For me, The Gathering Place is a worthy companion.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely writing about lots of different aspects of walking a religious LDR. Makes me want to go!

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful account and discussion from Mary on her experiences walking the Camino Francés in Northern Spain; a historical Pilgrimage which ends at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, the resting place for the bones of St James the Apostle.

To me, the book is not a travel guide but a discussion of what a pilgrimage means to Mary, whether in a religious or non-religious context. One of my favourite sentences is that it is about the journey not just the destination, and I love that "Ultreia" is mentioned on the trail as a pilgrim's comment meaning "onwards".

Mary walked the Camino Francés during the Covid-19 pandemic, a time of global stasis and upheaval. She therefore had the trail virtually to herself, creating an interesting paradox with usual experience of the pilgrimage as a gathering place for many people. The lack of people on the trail led Mary to find both solitude and companionship in the few interactions she had with people, such as James and the man with the wooden staff. She also finds meaning in the history, folklore, and natural history around her, during a time where where so much meaning in the world is being stripped away.

We can all walk a Pilgrimage no matter our beliefs as long as we appreciate the journey, destination, and embrace the journey with meaning.

[Paula Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book almost a year ago, but put it aside after the first couple of chapters, because it needed more focus than I was able to give at that time. I picked it up again last week and finished it within a matter of days.

This book is a reflective description of the author’s experiences walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela through the autumn and winter of 2020. The descriptions of these experiences are intertwined with thoughtful discussions of the history of the local communities, cultures and religions, as well as moving short descriptions and diary entries of the author’s previous travels and life experiences. This is much more than a simple travelogue, and is recommended for anyone interested in a more detailed and discursive account of the experience of walking The Way of St James.

[Michael Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

An uplifting, joyous read. A journey for our times—the power of walking, reflection and the importance of finding and making time to just be. Highly recommended. Colwell’s style has a delicate beauty that reflects that same beauty in the fragile environmental contexts that form much of her interest. This is another wonderful book of the quality I’ve come to expect from Colwell, but a subject apart from her last book, Tooth and Claw, which demonstrates the author’s range. If other readers enjoy the combination of a long journey on foot and environmentalism, they’ll enjoy Colwell’s first book, Curlew Moon, in which she makes a 500-mile trip across Ireland and England to raise awareness of the plight of the curlew.

[Richard timmis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and read it in a week.
The content was factual, regarding the actual journey, but what I found interesting was the personal story of the author, which was mixed in with descriptions of various sites / characters along the route.
It all knitted well together and bought back some memories for myself, for which I am very grateful.

[Anthea Wratten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love loved this book. I am fascinated by the Camino Way hoping to walk I myself one day. Colwell’s account is wonderful. Of its time and through all time. Inspiring informative as she plots her outer and inner journey. Fascinating historical insights and reflections on Christianity in its many forms.

[Rose Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. I liked that the author added a lot of history along the way. I felt there was a lot of quoting of other writers throughout and wanted to hear more about the author, which I felt you did more in the latter part of the book. But a thoroughly enjoyable read.