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Pilgrim Cello Blog
The pilgrimage began in Newcastle on 19 May 2025, and concluded in Carlisle seven weeks later. Read the blog as the journey unfolds here.
St. Paul’s
KennethGuess where I am? When I began this project, and started approaching the cathedrals to see if I could perform the Meditation, I didn’t dare…
Young and old
KennethI liked the little Rafay Hotel in Blackburn. The industrial fans from the takeaway downstairs made aircraft noises outside my window until about 2am, but…
Mahatma Gandhi
KennethI was nicely reminded of the Mahatma (“Great Soul”) in Chester a day or two ago, you may remember. The young woman behind the counter…
A straight road, a meandering mind
KennethThe colour of the wooden sculpture makes it hard to discern against the stone, and it’s tucked slightly out of the way, so you might…
Ups and downs
KennethThere are no ups and downs on the road from Wrexham, and before I know it I’m riding into Chester, nice and early. There are…
Passing by
KennethRiding into the centre of Birmingham I’m assailed with complicated feelings, complicated memories. The cathedral sits in its own little green space. Overlooking that green…
Destroyed by war
KennethThere are two cathedrals at Coventry, one grown at the foot of the ruins of the other. A man with an 800mm camera lens is…
A room with a view
KennethI make a lot of mistakes. Just navigating daily life demands more mental attention than I normally have available. But when I find myself cycling…
Elgar’s bicycle
KennethThis is a very strange feeling. The cello case is on my back, instead of on the bicycle. And I’m on foot. The three cathedrals…
Just keep going
Kenneth67 miles, and 3700ft of climbing, you might think, isn’t an excessive workload for a nice sunny day. The thing is, 55 of those miles,…
The Other Place
KennethIf your allegiance is to Cambridge, then Oxford is The Other Place – and vice versa. Oxford is strange. And its cathedral is unique. Christ…
Blocking the road
KennethThere wasn’t time for more than a piece of toast and a few strawberries last night before Adrian whisked me off to see a performance…
On the Level
KennethThere are the usual slow convolutions to get out of the urban area. After that it’s all on the level. When the GPS tells me…
The cost of stupidity
KennethI made a bad decision to start with. I opted for the Cycle Travel app route, when I should have used the non-busy and straight…
“Most people would complete this in 2-3 days”
KennethI was thinking of writing a rant today. There’s something I want to get off my chest. Overnight it was going round in my head,…
I’m paying for this
KennethI’m seriously worried this morning about getting on the train. So I’ve already unscrewed the rack, and made it all look as much as possible…
A cathedral, but not a cathedral
KennethThere are five young cyclists at breakfast, a couple of days into the End-to-End, Lands End to John O’Groats. They have wafer-thin lightweight bikes, and…
Tea cosies on Dartmoor
KennethIt’s a lovely sunny day. I’m sitting in a beautiful Devon garden, before breakfast, trying to feel positive about it, and not quite succeeding. I’m…
Hoping – and cheating
KennethThe Meditation on the Seven Last Words ends with the line, “You commit your spirit, hoping, hoping, for the best”. The reflection on Jesus’s assurance…
Winchester’s Lady Chapel
KennethIt promises to be a warm day. It’s muggy, but not yet sunny. I’ve had a few flat miles, and I’ve just passed a little…
Connections and reconnections
KennethLinda and Nick came from New Zealand to see me on this pilgrimage. That’s a very slight exaggeration – they had a complicated itinerary of…
The light of the world
KennethThomas is up, bright and early, to ride with me for a bit. There’s a bit of mizzle, and a bit of traffic, and a…
If there is a hell…
KennethI wrote about Canterbury yesterday, and forgot to post it. So if you are faced with two blogs today, this is the second. Sorry. I…
The mother church
KennethI don’t think there is a more magnificent cathedral in England than Canterbury, the first English cathedral, dating from early in the seventh century. And…
A Meditation; a performance
KennethWhich came first, the cello or the bike? I was asked yesterday. And the same question, more or less, today: is the bike or the…
A sporting chance
KennethI paid a quick return visit to St. Alban’s cathedral this morning, feeling guilty that I’d seen almost nothing of it last night. The visit…
Do you actually play the cello?
KennethEdmund was an English king, who came to a sticky end in a confrontation with some Vikings. That misfortune quickly earned him a sainthood, and…
Look East, young man
KennethI should have left earlier. But even now I’m not awake enough. I can’t get into Norwich cathedral, until I work out that the conspicuous…
One-third of the way
KennethI went to bed last night feeling sorry for myself, reciting a litany of my complaints about life. So this morning I’m reminding myself there’s…
The splendour of Ely
KennethFrom where I’m sitting I can see a good part of Ely’s Octagon. The Octagon is a lantern, like Sheffield’s only about 500 years older….
A traumatic mechanical failure
KennethWorse than a mechanical failure of the bike! The cello bow is falling apart. It’s not serious, and someone with the right skills could fix…
Colour co-ordination
KennethI stop for coffee in a place called Quorn. At first I can’t work out if that’s the name of the village, or what they…
Stairway to hell
KennethBelieve it or not, this is an official, registered, designated, approved, etc., etc, cycle track. It’s on the approach to Derby, when I am later…
Living stone
KennethIn a flippant moment I once described Newark as an insignificant town in Nottinghamshire. These days I reflect more on my own insignificance, and I…
The Artist
KennethI’m sorry there was no blog on Sunday, and then two on Monday. A glitch in the system – probably the Lincoln imp, whom I…
Angels on the ceiling
KennethI need an early start, to get to Sheffield in time for a morning service. So I’m loading the bike while the kitchen is making…
Joining the CCR Relay
KennethBradford cathedral this morning is full of bicycles. Well, not quite full, but there are lots of us, and there’s lots of bright lycra. There…
Watching the clock
KennethI’m on a bit of a deadline today. 41 miles might not sound like a lot, but I’ve got to do it all by lunchtime,…
If this is what you call a rest day…
KennethNo cycling today, other than a bit of parading through York, to the Minster and back. But I’m fielding radio interview requests from early morning…
East facing
KennethYorkshire, I’m told, is God’s own country. There’s a cartoon showing the Almighty, during COVID, leaning on a gate in the Dales. When a passing…
Difficulties in Durham
KennethDon’t look at the bunch of keys – they’re just there for scale. Look at the tiny tack. It took me nearly an hour this…
Angels in the North
KennethI nearly missed it. Trying to follow an approved cycle track beside a main road should be straightforward. But the convolutions it performs at junctions,…
A long first day
KennethMy Mam was a Geordie, though you wouldn’t know it if you met her as an adult. Like many of her generation, she emigrated to…
Martyrs in Rochester
KennethAlready I’ve learnt to savour the moment of the first sighting, and the rising excitement of approaching, the great place. England’s cathedrals are magnificent repositories…
Pilgrim Cello begins!
KennethThe journey really begins in two months’ time. Of the 42 English Anglican cathedrals, 40 have booked me in for a performance of the Meditation…
Highway Cello Blog
Here is the full Highway Cello Blog, from the beginning. So if you want you can read every post – forwards or backwards. And you can search for places, or keywords, or just make a list of all the mistakes that can be made by a cellist on a bicycle.
And if you want more, including all the back story, the music, reflections and deep insights into the meaning of life, then you need to buy the book, don’t you?
New Projects!
KennethDid you think I’d ridden my bike to the end of the earth and fallen off? Well I haven’t quite – I just thought I…
Published!
KennethIt’s here! The Highway Cello book is now available. It felt to me as though it was a slow process – a long time coming….
Shout-out for Readers
KennethLots of people said I need to get on and write the Highway Cello book. So I got on and wrote it. The first draft,…
What’s next?
KennethThe Theatre of Small Curiosities, Malvern One of the great things about being home is that you can get back to proper practice – lots…
Farewell to Rome
KennethAccording to the screen we are travelling at 249kph, which I calculate is 155mph, about twelve times as fast as I would normally go on…
The Diplomatic Ambassador’s Concert
KennethOn the roof of the Musei Capitolini I gave a private concert for the Mayor’s Diplomatic Ambassador. On the roof of the Musei Capitolini, in…
Taking Rome by storm
KennethThe Pantheon “Is this the first time you play at the Pantheon?” The question was aggressive. The questioner wasn’t wearing a uniform, but he had…
Forty days without a puncture
KennethPlaying in St. Peter’s Square “Are you going to play for the Pope?” Terence asked, as he snipped the hair that was a good deal…
27 miles from Rome
KennethBracciano It’s 27 miles to Rome. If the weather had been different – which I think it sometimes must be, unless all these roadsigns warning…
Smelling like the Devil
KennethBagno San Fillipo I smell like the Devil. Literally. It’s nothing to do with the heat – though more of that later. It’s a real…
Siena on a sunny Sunday
KennethSiena There’s a Conservatory of Music in Siena, along with all the better-known things like Duomos and Palazzos. The young men studying my performance with…
Meeting the Mafia
KennethSan Gimignano This is what I imagined Italy would be like – turn up in a beautiful square, play for a while, and earn enough…
Staying in a Tuscan palace
KennethClimbing a Tuscan hill, to reach a Tuscan palace. I’m staying in a palace. So I think I’ll make a weekend of it – well,…
The Ligurian coast road
KennethThe Ligurian coast I’m a short way down the hill from Norma and Marco’s lovely house in the hills above Genova, when someone calls my…
Sailing the High Seas at Genova
KennethThe galleon Neptune The Ostello Santa Maria di Castello had no single rooms. I shared a large dormitory room with Daniel, who had come from…
An old fresco
Kenneth1520 fresco in the Ostello, Alessandria I’m sitting in the shade of a prolific climber, on one side of a beautiful square in Asti. Yes,…
The Third Movement
KennethUnexpectedly back on the Via Francigena in Italy. Another day, another col. The Col Mont Cenis is not such a big one, but none of…
The top of the world
Kenneth.At the Col de l’Iseran, 9100ft Yesterday was the first day Libre, my wonderful black beautiful carbon-fibre cello, didn’t come out of her case. She…
Let the weather decide
KennethWatching the rain through the window I feel in remarkably good shape after yesterday’s 6000ft of climbing, and two hours of music. I think the…
Haute cuisine
KennethNeil cooking at 6500ft I didn’t sleep very well. I was worried about the day’s climbing, which I calculated to be 6000ft. You need a…
Friends like these
KennethMarie and Neil There’s the exhaustion of two days’ hot and hilly riding ( I’ve climbed 8000ft altogether over the last two days). And there’s…
The Sidewalk Birds
KennethLes Oiseaux de Trottoir – the Sidewalk Birds Serge sent me off early with a very good breakfast. There’s a long way to go, and…
Onwards and upwards
KennethThe first col. Given a choice between a 40mph headwind and a long slog uphill, I’m going to choose the hill. Every time. So after…
The wind in my face
KennethWhy do you need a silver chicken this size? Yesterday (I’m writing this in the morning, having gone straight to bed last night) was a…
36 degrees, and 1000 miles
KennethIn the hotel lobby. There are pros and cons to a headwind at 36 Celsius. You need quite a bit of wind to achieve any…
Arriving in Dijon
KennethReflecting. I misled you yesterday, when I wrote about the Marne Canal. I left that behind the day before – yesterday’s canal was the descriptively…
Along the canal to Langres
KennethToday is a real holiday. I’m cycling slowly along the canal which goes nearly all the way from Chaumont to Langres, counting the herons, and…
Renoir and a really stupid mistake
KennethThe bridge in Essoyes The Hotel des V. in Br. was cheap. But you wouldn’t call it cheerful. The Patron wants his guests – there…
Aix and pains
KennethSwimming in the Marne Canal I’m not in Aix, obviously, that’s way down south, and I’m only just entering Champagne country. But I think that…
The angel Rafael
KennethThe angel Rafael French pronunciation can be tricky. It’s sixty miles to Reims if you go straight, and I’ve nowhere to stay when I get…
War graves and foie gras
KennethFirst World War cemetery. It’s warm in the sun, and cool in the shade. The Roman road goes straight and true, through fields of potatoes,…
Pig’s snout, and a broken bike
KennethThe main square in Arras There are 150 seats in the basement restaurant of the Diocesan House, and five are set for breakfast. The other…
James Bond in Marrakech
KennethRashid and Munir outside their restaurant in Bruay. I had to prove my bona fides as a pilgrim today. We’re talking the Roman Catholic Church…
Second Movement – en France
KennethWaving to the White Cliffs The white cliffs of Dover, backdrop to the ferry port, and a thousand Polish lorries. There’s a red line through…
A miracle in Canterbury
KennethTwo cellos, two bicycles! From here there’s a proper pilgrim route to Rome, the Via Francigena. So everyone understands the concept of an arduous journey…
Beautiful places, rude places
KennethRead the road name! I suppose I have my fair share of prejudices. Some of them I think are fully justified, like my aversion to…
Cold, dark and wet
KennethFive hundred years old? You can guage the age of an oak tree, by measuring its girth. The Woodland Trust has a handy table on…
Eros, Grade 6 violin, and a house concert
KennethEros and Libre When it’s a choice between certain injury and likely death, you have to choose the injury, don’t you? I was riding down…
Nice people, old haunts, and a Nasty place
KennethA Nasty place! Buntingford – of course – has proper bunting for Her Majesty. Outside the almshouses it’s all real knitted (or is it crochet…
Next to Her Majesty
KennethNotices on Westmill Curch door Next to Her Majesty I had to get up early after the Jubilee Madeira. Rutherfords Punting had heard about my…
Oliver Cromwell, a speed camera, and a proper Roman road.
KennethBusking at the feet of Oliver Cromwell I upset a speed camera today. Being told off by a speed camera when you’re on a bicycle…
All roads lead to Rome
Kenneth“Ermine Street Roman Road” So this is what a Roman road looks like? “What have the Romans ever done for us?” seems like a very…
Gainsborough
KennethWith a bike, in the church I was brought up not to wear a hat in church, so wheeling a bicycle across the beautifully tiled…
Music, dancing, and Vikings
KennethA pop-up concert by York Minster I’m playing my cello in an occasionally sunny spot in York. When the sun comes out it’s warm and…
Not everything goes according to plan
KennethAn appreciative audience Yesterday was a day of mistakes and failures, and general panic. But with a wonderfully restorative ending. I planned a short ride…
Blown away
KennethJervaulx Abbey Blown away Literally. I was blown off the bike. Over the top of the Yorkshire Dales the wind was – I’m guessing –…
NO PUBLIC ACCESS OR RIGHT OF WAY
Kenneth“Do not follow satnav” In this part of Cumbria you see lots of little roads with warning signs like “Lorries: do not follow satnav”. Well,…
Bikerphoto
KennethMeet my friend Steve. Meet my friend Steve. I met him at the very beginning of this adventure, and he has an adventure of his own…
Weights and Measures
KennethStopping for a coffee on the way home Cyclists are interested in numbers – every bit as much as accountants are. The numbers, of course,…
A poem for Ukraine
KennethReady for a training run up Hartside I’ve been writing poetry, instead of getting on with the serious business of fitness training. Maybe it’s a…
Someone needs to get a grip here…
KennethThe Heath Robinson cello rack I’ve just had a birthday, which must mean it’s now less than two months until I set off. My age…
A measure of progress
KennethArtwork for the Highway Cello album 3½ months since this mad venture assaulted my mind. 3½ months until I have to pack my cello onto…
An old green bike, and other preparations
Kenneth
On the naming of cellos, and other complications
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A Luis and Clark carbon fibre cello
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