Glastonbury

I entered this for a history writing contest in BC History in magazine. The somewhat hippy voice is deliberate or at least that is how it flowed out of me before editing!

Glastonbury

“And did those feet in ancient times/Walk upon England’s mountains green?”

Maybe it is a bit fanciful to think that the young Jesus was brought by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea to Cornwall and then onto to Glastonbury where Joseph was said to have thrust his staff into the ground where it took root and came to life as the Holy Thorn. But sit near that tree in the abbey grounds in the cool of the early evening and who knows you might just get a glimpse of that other world where a better life awaits.

Or wander further into the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey where you will come across a head stone for a tomb where King Arthur was reburied in 1191 in the reign of Kind Edward 1 to keep the Welsh in their place. Take another moment to pause and allow your mind to wander through the Arthurian legends and the old Welsh Mabinogion stories of a prince born to be king and born to die in battle with his son but with the promise of future resurrection when his people need him.

Further afield is the Chalice Well Gardens with its health giving waters that have attracted the attentions of a modern day Prince Charles in need of healing. Take a quiet moment at the well head and maybe you can connect the life of Arthur and his knights’ quest for the holy Grail which was said to be have been used at Jesus’ last supper.

Finally a walk up to the ruined church on top of the Tor, a vast panoramic view awaits which is today thankfully unflooded, no Avalon in sight, no mist either but take a quiet reflective moment and pay a silent tribute to the 12 early Christian monks granted 12 hydes of land to live simply and establish the first Christian Church at Glastonbury.

In all of these places around Glastonbury that are rich in history and myth I get a glimpse of a different world that might have been and who knows might still be.