How many cathedrals in England?

May 26, 2018  Westminster to St. Paul's Cathedral via the South Bank.

I arrived at Gatwick in the morning on May 24 and travelled by train to Kenton where I took a taxi to Tony and Christine's house where I would be staying until I started my canoe trip.  Friday, May 25, was a rest day so that I could start to adjust to the new time zone.  The rest was important because on Saturday I had arranged to meet Alan Pollard, the husband of Jenny's friend since elementary school, at Westminster so that I could join him and a group of his friends and relatives to walk from Westminster to St. Paul's Cathedral.  The walk was part of his current walking project to link all of the cathedrals in England with a point on one of his many previous walks.  The map below will show you all of his past walks and his present connections to the cathedrals around England.

This part of his walk was to connect Southwark Cathedral and St. Paul's Cathedral with his 50 mile around London walk.  We all met at the statue of Boudicca in her chariot by the side of the River Thames.  There were 27 people in the group although one couple arrived late due to trouble on the rail line they were using.

After the group picture had been taken we all walked across Westminster Bridge with all of its newly installed barriers to protect the pedestrians from murderous drivers.  With such a large group and with many tourists exploring the south bank of the Thames it was obvious that keeping the group together would be impossible.  The solution was to identify three places where everybody would meet before going any further - Southwark Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the restaurant where we all were to meet for an evening meal.  The weather was perfect.  A sunny day with a cooling breeze coming from the river.  As we walked along to our first gathering point we passed by the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall, the National Theatre, the Globe Theatre and the Golden Hinde.  When we all met up at Southwark Cathedral I was joined by Andrea, the daughter of friends in Jasper, who gave me a present to bring back to Canada for her sister's 21st birthday.  We had a good but short visit before it was off again on our way to Tower Bridge

The Golden Hinde - the galleon sailed around the world by Sir Francis Drake.

The next stop was Tower Bridge where we gathered before crossing over to the Tower of London.

Alan Pollard, the intrepid walker, and three of the group by Tower Bridge with the Tower of London in the background.

When we reached St. Paul's Cathedral the group split up with some visiting the cathedral, others looking for a cool drink and me sitting in the shade on the grass with some of Alan's family.  When we went to the front of the cathedral the children had fun and worked off some energy by playing on the steps leading up to the main entrance doors.

To complete an interesting and enjoyable excursion along the Thames we all met up for a meal in a restaurant close to the cathedral.  And Alan had connected with two more English cathedrals with many friends and relatives as his support group.  Well, moral support anyway!

​How many cathedrals in England?  Forty two.