A PRIEST in Devon, the Revd Stuart Huntley, has raised awareness of the impact of suicide by completing the Royal Kentish Camino in memory of a friend and fellow historical re-enactor. Mr Huntley did the 24-mile walk in full medieval dress, conducting services for remembrance, prayer, and healing in nine of ten medieval churches en route.
Mr Huntley was raising money for the charity Pete’s Dragons, which supports families and individuals affected by suicide, and for the upkeep of the ten churches. He was jubilant on Monday after completing a two-day walk with “so much history in just one weekend . . . and not a single blister”. He wore hose, jacket, hood and cloak, with shoes that he had made himself, and slept overnight in the church at Elham.
‘He’s bringing light to the Dark Ages’
Three Anglo-Saxon royals — Queen Ethelburga, St Eanswythe, and St Eadburg — were the inspiration for the Camino. It begins at St Martin’s, Canterbury, recognised as the oldest church in the English-speaking world, and ends at St Mary and St Eanswythe, Folkestone, where the Kentish St Eanswythe’s relics are preserved and venerated.
Services over the two days began included holy communion and evening prayer. The terrain was familiar from Mr Huntley’s childhood, as were many of the churches. He had been christened in one and confirmed in another. Sometimes, he walked on his own, but he was joined at different stages by others, many of whom told their own stories of bereavement through suicide.
“It affects generations, not just the immediate family and friends, but children and even grandchildren,” he said. In his address at his friend Will’s funeral, he had told the mourners: “What makes suicide so much more difficult to process than we could have imagined is that none of us know what torment they were struggling with at the end: why they did what they did and and why we couldn’t have stopped this tragedy from happening.”
He describes the experience of finishing up at St Eanswythe’s as inspiring. “I’d been talking about her and realised I was pointing at her bones that were just two yards from where I was speaking,” he said. “Disparate things — the sense of authenticity, the sense of loss, the sense of community — all came together. It was just brilliant.
“Will was passionate about history and loved historic churches. The walk really celebrated his life.”
By Tuesday this week, Mr Huntley’s efforts had raised £1260.