A walking group, including four people who were once homeless, complete the first eight miles of their 450-mile trek from St Davids in west Wales to the Emmaus community in Ditchingham, near Bungay, in Norfolk.

The new pilgrim route Via Beata, or Way of Blessing, runs from St Davids to Lowestoft, through the grounds of the former convent, now home to Emmaus residents (known as companions), and the headquarters of homelessness charity Emmaus Norfolk and Waveney.

The six-week sponsored walk, which began last week, is to raise money for Emmaus to help more people out of homelessness. The group are due to finish at Ditchingham on 10 October, World Homeless Day.

The walkers include Emmaus residents Carlton, Jagger, Peter and Chloe, and Emmaus Norfolk and Waveney chief executive officer Cecile Roberts.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, who has written a book about pilgrimage, The Way under Our Feet (Books, 17 July 2020), plans to join them at the end of the walk.

He said: “Emmaus Norfolk and Waveney is a most remarkable community. . . I wish all who are joining the pilgrimage every blessing. . . a pilgrimage is not just about a destination, it’s about the stories we encounter and the places we go through on the way. A pilgrimage isn’t finished until we return home and look back and see how God has woven a web, a cloth of balm around us on the way”

To support the pilgrimage visit www.emmaus.org.uk/norfolk-waveney