Get your walking boots out for Way of the Monks camino from Fore to Mullingar

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The organising committee for the Walking the Way of the Monks were down at the Camino Garden outside Mullingar’s Cathedral of Christ the King on Friday morning to promote their upcoming walk from Fore to Mullingar next weekend.
Over 200 people have already registered for the pilgrim walk from Fore to Mullingar, which will take place on Saturday July 27. In Medieval times monks from Mullingar walked the ancient Spanish trail called the Camino - a distance of 800km. Don’t worry though, the walk from Fore into Mullingar won’t be quite that long - a tiny 22km in comparison.
Jimmy Marshall, a familiar sight around Mullingar on his bicycle, has already completed the trail. On Wednesday July 10 Jimmy walked from Fore Abbey to the statue of the friars in Mullingar, and his analysis is that the trail is “picturesque” and the route is flat and downhill. The walk is suitable for people with a good degree of fitness and adults who like walking.
There will be stops for refreshments every 4km along the way, so walkers need not worry about collapsing from heat exhaustion, should this glorious weather continue into next week. Hospitality and stewarding is being generously provided by people from the parishes of Collinstown, Taughmon and Mullingar.
The organisers would like to stress that it is a walk, not a race. Nobody will be timed, so there’s no medals for being the first to reach the brothers on Austin Friars Street. The walk is meant to be an enjoyable occasion. It should take the average person 5-6 hours, taking breaks into account, to complete the walk.
It is important that anyone thinking of participating should book as soon as possible. This will allow Jimmy and the committee to organise refreshments, bus transport and have enough pilgrim packs ready.
Pilgrim packs are available for €10 at the Cathedral House parish office, while bus transportation to Fore from the Cathedral on Saturday is an extra €5.
The pilgrim pack contains a passport, pilgrim trail map and a scallop shell. Scallop shells were awarded to pilgrims who completed the Camino de Santiago so those who complete the Fore walk will have a memento to commemorate their achievement.
All proceeds raised will go towards a new Camino garden in the Cathedral grounds, which is the burial site of the Mullingar Augustinian Monks. The event is all about bringing people together from near and far.