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The Gathering Place
- A Winter Pilgrimage Through Changing Times
- Narrated by: Mary Colwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
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Summary
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.
What listeners say about The Gathering Place
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- r n bunce
- 15-12-23
A wonderful book woven together with fascinating tales, stories and reflections
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Curlew Moon and Tooth, Beak & Claw, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this. I love it. It’s a book packed with fascinating, moving, enlightening and entertaining stories. It encapsulates a unique and unprecedented period of shared history and is reflected so well in the author’s empathetic and authentic voice.
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- Amazon Customer
- 24-02-24
A Rich Experience
First I recommend the audiobook. Originally I bought the hardback, but my reading was interrupted and delayed by unforeseen circumstances. Wishing to continue, I turned to the audiobook narrated by the author Mary Colwell, and found her very engaging. With an honesty it opened up the book’s images, her thoughts and experiences. It kept me listening as a friend wanting more might.
Secondly, ‘A Gathering Place’ has much learning within it. Mary shares her openness to people, her learning from them and from nature. She shares her knowledge, her reflections on the past, on literature, on the people she meets, on humanity itself. So the reader learns much as she/he travels with the writer.
I have read other books on pilgrimage and books on the natural world. This book stands out as one of the best in both categories. I plan to go back to my hardcopy and read parts that caught my attention and resonated with me.
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- Victoria
- 21-08-23
Wonderful thankyou!
This account of the experience of the author and narrator as she set off on the 500 mile pilgrim route across northern Spain to Santiago was beautiful to listen to. I learnt alot as there were so many other stories from her life and experience interwoven with the journey she was on. For anyone who loves nature or who is thinking about doing a long walk this is really helpful listening, highlighting both the joys and the daily challenges of the journey. So much about the physical journey but so much more about the inner journey she was on. The narration was just right.
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- Delilah Crow
- 22-04-24
Gentle & beautifully written
A gentle, beautifully written, moving and rich account of Mary’s pilgrimage spanning the Covid pandemic.
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