Dates

Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th March 2019

Holy Places Visited

  • Former Church, Bank Side, Kingston upon Hull (exterior)
  • St. Mary, Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church, Kingston upon Hull (exterior)
  • Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Lowgate, Kingston upon Hull (exterior)
  • Hull Minster (exterior)
  • Groote Kerk [“Great Church”], Maassluis (exterior)
  • H. Lucas Kerk [“St. Luke’s Church”], Vlaardingen
  • River Hull
  • Hull Minster
  • Ferry in Dock
  • Onboard
  • Clean Energy
  • Maassluis
  • Groote Kerk [“Great Church”]
  • Allotments
  • H. Lucas Kerk [“St. Luke’s Church”]
  • Windmill in Schiedam

Distance Travelled

Approximately 47 km (29½ miles) on foot over both days, 361 km (224½ miles) by ferry from Kingston upon Hull to Europoort, Rotterdam and 570m (623 yards) on a small car ferry between Rozenburg and Maassluis.

Route

Walked around Kingston upon Hull, through the industrial areas to the north and then south again to the centre, visiting churches as I went. After visiting the impressive Hull Minster, I walked along the seafront to the ferry terminal, where I met Luke.

We boarded the ferry around 7pm and were soon cruising along the Humber Estuary and then the North Sea, reaching speeds of around 19 knots (35 km/h, 22 mph) according to my phone’s GPS. I wished the UK a silent farewell as my pilgrimage floated towards continental Europe.

The winds on deck felt gale-force, but the sea itself was calm, and we had restful sleeps. The next morning we arrived at Europoort, the ferry terminal that’s around 30 km (18½ miles) west of Rotterdam.

We disembarked and started our long walk to Schiedam, a small city west of Rotterdam. The wind battered us continually as we walked through the port’s industrial areas, at times with new wind turbines on our right and old oil refineries on our left; an interesting contrast.

Eventually, after a few hours, industrial zones made way to residential, and we walked through the towns of Rozenburg, Maasluis and Vlaardingen to Schiedam, appreciating the cycle ways, canals, dutch barges and traditional windmills as we went.

After we had checked in and popped in to central Schiedam for dinner, we had covered around 26½ km (16½ miles) that day… A new pilgrimage record!

Thanks to Luke for joining.

The carbon emissions from the boat trips have been offset. Please click here for more details.