Student Cross is a pilgrimage organised by and for students, young adults, and pilgrims of all ages, which has been running since 1948. Pilgrims experience Holy Week and the joy of the Resurrection as a living reality. It's a chance to celebrate Easter in a unique way.

Ten different groups, known as Legs, walk from different parts of the country across Norfolk to Walsingham. Kind-hearted parishes provide food and accommodation along the way. Each Leg carries a large wooden cross as a witness to the people they pass. To find out more about the different routes, please visit the Legs pages.

The climax of the week is in Walsingham, a centre of pilgrimage for many centuries. This is where all the Legs meet up to celebrate the Easter liturgies together over the Easter weekend, including a vibrant Paschal Party after the Easter vigil on Saturday evening.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Student Cross first started walking from London to Walsingham in 1948. It was originally a male-only Catholic pilgrimage and pilgrims had to carry all of their belongings
• Northern Leg started in 1949, leaving from Nottingham. Since then, Oxford (1962), Midland (1971), Essex (1972) and Kettering (1975) have also started, walking for the full week
• Ely Leg was started in 1996. It starts on the Wednesday and walks for three days
• The two family legs – Peg and Wells – start on the Monday. Wells Leg is the newest, having begun in 2006
• Easter Leg, which only walks on Good Friday, celebrated its 50th anniversary last year
• Women officially started walking in 1966, though, previously, there had been many occasions when they helped carry the cross while “stronger” men recovered from their blisters and other ailments
• Christians of other denominations started walking Student Cross in the 1960s. Although, Student Cross is still predominantly Catholic, hundred of fellow Christians have walked and will continue to walk on Student Cross
• Famous people to have walked Student Cross include Big Brother 2006 winner Pete Bennett (albeit as a child), novelist David Lodge and Bishop of Portsmouth Rt Rev Crispian Hollis.

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