To celebrate Rev Canon Alan Robson’s 25 years as our Agricultural Chaplain, Meryl Ward Chair of LRAC and Rosie Black are walking the full length of the Viking Way. 147 miles over 11 days between 28th April and 10th May, with friends and supporters of Alan. The walk is also the start of #GetActiveForAlan campaign where we hope the rural community can walk 1000 miles in support of Alan’s work over the last 25 years.

Alan has ‘walked’ alongside so many people within the Lincolnshire farming community, both in times of stress and hardship, and in times of celebration and joy. This walk is to show the farming community’s appreciation of everything he has done for us over those 25 years. And by so doing raise the profile of the Lincolnshire Rural and Agricultural Charity (LRAC) which is raising money to ensure that the post of Agricultural Chaplain will be filled in the future.

Chaplaincy is a partnership between the Churches and the industry or group a Chaplain serves.  Alan is a Methodist minister with his own parishes; plus, he devotes 60% of his time to his Agricultural Chaplaincy work. His chaplaincy work to date has been solely funded by the Methodist Church but this is not guaranteed for the future. As the workload increases, it is also important that we plan ahead and get in place some support for Alan.

Chaplaincy is about going out to meet people where they are, which is something Alan has done consistently over the last 25 years, whether that is on a farm, at Louth Cattle Market or many other places around the county.

When Alan was first ordained he walked from Leicester to the start of the Viking Way in Rutland and then walked the Viking Way from Oakham in the South to Barton in the North. He started as a Methodist minister in Barton on Humber, that was several years before he became Lincolnshire’s Agricultural Chaplain.

If you would like to show your support and walk with Meryl for part or all of a leg of the Viking Way please email jackie.elton@lrac.org.uk to let us know when you will be joining her and so we can keep you up to date with information. If you would like to donate to Meryl and Rosie’s fundraising in aid of LRAC, there is a Just Giving page set up for the walk. Click the button below to go to the Just Giving page. 

Viking Way 147 miles in 11 days

Meryl and Rosie’s Walking Itinerary

Meryl and Rosie will be starting at 9 am each morning, they are hoping to walk at about 2.5 to 3 miles per hour. For example 15 miles could take up to 7 hours including lunch break and other stops.

If you are planning on walking for a full day and need a lift back to the start in the Minibus please let us know before hand.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances Meryl and Rosie will be doing some extra miles on Thursday 9th May to enable them to finish on Friday around 1 pm in Oakham.

Keep up to date on Meryl’s training by following LRAC on X formerly known as Twitter @LRAChaplains or over on our Facebook page. Read more about Alan’s 25 Years as Agricultural Chaplain here.