Four men left the house outside of Diss in the middle of the night in March. They each looked like travelers, and carried sacks. Only one had a Mass kit. The others had no identification. Samuel led the way. The journey to St.Michael's Abbey would have taken only about 50 hours if one could go through London, but London had to be avoided. Samuel planned on a 60 to 70 hour trip, considering the snowy weather and the long routes. The four would be going across country to the east of London and then south avoiding the A1066, A131, A12, M25, A30 and A325 as well as other motorways. They would rest at Gislingham, Haughley, Newman's Green, if necessary, and many other Catholic houses on the way. Columcille had friends from the Venerable English college in Bartholomew Green near Braintree, and at Bagshot. At Margaretting Tye, the Howards had cousins. A small clandestine convent held four nuns at Pilgrims Hatch. They could rest at those places as well. Whenever they stayed at a Catholic house, the priests would say Mass. If they stayed a few hours, they could hear confessions and baptize babies.
The two seminarians, Mark and John Serle, were brothers whose family were in Pebmarsh, so the small company could also stop there. Their walk would not include any major roads. Even though all the clergy were accustomed to walking, any trip to the Bishop at Farnborough could be dangerous. One priest two years ago had been attacked at Great Waltham by a wild boar. Thankfully, his companion was not only a priest but a former doctor, and there was a Catholic house in the area. On another trip, Samuel, with a priest now passed away, had narrowly escaped being captured by GATS outside Chelmsford. The globals still had a base there for some reason. Between Brentwood and London, no safe houses existed and the curfew was in effect in Greater London. In 2020, four priests had been hanged in the Romford Garden Suburb.
The Long Walk began....
To be continued...
