Adam's 'pilgrim's progress' retraces eccentric's footsteps

Historian Adam Stout, of Frome, begins his fundraising walk next Friday from Yorkshire to Somerset – retracing the steps of an elderly 18th-century eccentric who wanted to see the Glastonbury Thorn bloom at Christmas.

And you can hear all about the epic trek from Adam on my Mysterious West podcast. As I reported last month, Adam will be raising money for the Pilgrim Reception Centre in Glastonbury, a not-for-profit venture catering for people whose spiritual paths have brought them to the town. In 1752, thousands were expected to flock to Glastonbury to see if the thorn would still blossom at the usual time. This was because 11 days had been dropped from the calendar to bring Britain into line with Europe, and many people were worried about what might happen. Up in Yorkshire, the 71-year-old John Jackson heard about this and, to see for himself, decided to walk more than 200 miles from Woodkirk, near Wakefield, to Glastonbury.

Jackson took two months to complete his walk, but Adam expects to do it in three weeks, arriving in Glastonbury on Christmas Eve, and I shall be following his "pilgrim's progress" on my page and podcast.

To sponsor Adam, contact him via email at adam.stout@virgin.net or the Pilgrim Reception Centre on 01458 835572, or alternatively email prcadmin@glastonbury-pilgrim. co.uk

■ You can also hear my podcast with Madeleine Walker, one of the world's leading animal intuitives, about her remarkable book, An Exchange of Love (O Books, £9.99), which illustrates the significance of past-life experiences to our animals' health and their owners. "We have drifted so far from our truth, the animals are here to gently nudge us back on our path of understanding," says Madeleine, who lives near Taunton, Somerset, but whose healing work takes her around the world.