Midland Leg is a welcoming and friendly group made up of a mixture of students and those recently moved on from their student days to pastures new. The community spirit of Midland Leg and the wider spirit of the pilgrimage as a whole means we are open and very receptive to the new walkers who join us each year for the week of Student Cross.

The leg begins each year by meeting up at the Holy Cross Priory in Leicester, only a few minutes walk from Leicester train station, making us very easy to get to from anywhere in the Midlands.

Over a week we walk nearly 120 miles carrying a cross. Our route takes us via Stamford, Wisbech, King's Lynn and eventually into Walsingham. You don't have to be very fit to walk - all you need is a well-worn pair of trainers. You don't even carry your baggage, as this goes in our support car. All that is carried is the cross between three people for a few minutes at a time. Our cross is one of the lightest of all the crosses of Student Cross.

Over the years we have developed long-lasting friendships with the parishes that we pass through on our way to Walsingham. Sharing the pilgrim experience with these parishes is, both spiritually and socially, an important part of Midland Leg. The support and encouragement we receive from them - providing warmth, shelter, food and hospitality - is much appreciated. We have also developed long-lasting friendships with the landlords of the pubs that we walk past. Their willingness to provide brief shelter for a lunch stop or by taking us in for an evening to relax and recuperate before the next day is welcome. Their ability to quench a thirst must also be commended.

We have many unique features as a leg. Our route crosses the paths of three other legs of Student Cross, giving us the opportunity to spend some time with them as we all make our way to Walsingham. Music plays a big part in carrying us along and by the end of the week everyone joins in whatever their talent (or lack of it!). Our liturgy is very important to us and is of course the focus of our Holy Week

The community that grows and develops each year on Midland Leg comes along with other things: humour, music, camaraderie, discussion, friendships and good fun to be had by all.

In 2013 Midland will be Passion Leg for Student Cross, meaning that we will lead the Passion for the whole pilgrimage when we reach Walsingham. We will be holding a preparatory weekend from 16-17 February to plan for this (for further details please contact the Leg Leader). Attendance at this weekend is not mandatory but anyone who plans to walk Midland in 2013 would be very welcome.

Midland Leg pilgrim profile