Pilgrimage in the monks' forest

PLUSCARDEN ABBEY at Elgin, in Scotland, one of the designated churches in the Diocese of Aberdeen for this Holy Year, was the focal point of a splendid pilgrimage recently by Catholic servicemen and their families from the RAF base at Kinloss, led by their chaplain, Dom Gordon Beattie OSB, a monk of Ampleforth Abbey.
The pilgrimage was along an 8-mile trail through the forest, following the centuries old pilgrim way which used to lead to the ancient abbey of Kinloss. The pilgrim path passes through Monahghty Forest, the ancient Gaelic name which means "Monks" Forest, The youngest pilgrim was Jane Anne Mitchell, aged 4.
Pluscarden Abbey is well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity of Elgin, a town which can boast some of the finest and most exclusive Scotch whisky in the world.
Tbr. Abbey was founded in
1230 by King Alexander II, for the monks from Val des Choux, who must have missed their good Burgundy.
After the so-called Reformation, the 4th Earl of Fife did some restorations, and in fact the present day refectory was once a Presbyterian Kirk. When the 3rd Marquis of Bute took over the estate he restored the church. His third son Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart, gave the property to the Prinknash community, and monastic life was restored in 1948.
Prayer and manual work, notably market gardening and stained-glass and crafts, help to keep the Abbey going, and guests and retreatants are made most welcome. Confessions at call, Divine Office, and, of course Masses on Sundays and every day. It's a perfect place for quiet reflection.
(Photo courtesy of Giles Conacher O.S,B.)