The River Fowey enters the sea on the South coast of Cornwall. The town of Fowey is the end of The Saints' Way, a route traversing Cornwall which runs from Padstow in the north. It is an ancient route used by the Celtic monks, as well as merchants who needed to avoid the treacherous waters around Land's End and travel on to France. Along the river there are numerous ancient Celtic prayer sites, often now marked by the medieval churches which were built on these sites. The monks often settled near enough to each other to travel for confession and communion. There are wonderful stories of miraculous occurrences, healings, supernatural encounters and dealings with evil forces. It's the stuff of legends but it's also the stuff of the Bible. You can drive to visit many of the sites in a single day, or linger and relish the presence of God in these 'thin' and often remote places. It's a magnificent tidal estuary, truly beautiful, with wooded banks and hidden creeks. It epitomises much of what the Celtic monks looked for when establishing a prayer community. It's on 'the edge of the world', close to nature, remote and wild. It's not hard when lingering along the river banks to imagine their days of prayerful devotion and solitude.
