LEADING HISTORIAN & PODCASTER TOM HOLLAND IS ON A PILGRIMAGE TO WILTSHIRE

Leading historian, broadcaster and podcast host Tom Holland will be the keynote speaker to open the new Athelstan Pilgrim Way – and his talk will also form part of Malmesbury’s events to celebrate the Athelstan 1100 anniversary this summer.

Tom, who published his biography ‘Athelstan’ in 2016, will be presenting his talk ‘On The Trail of the First King of England: Why Athelstan Deserves Pilgrims’ at Malmesbury Abbey at 2pm on Sunday June 3o.

His talk will be a ticket-only event and all proceeds will go towards the development and operation of the new Athelstan Pilgrim Way – Tom is the patron of the project.

He said: “It will be no secret to anyone who has listened to my podcast, The Rest Is History, that I championed Athelstan as the greatest of England’s monarchs…and I am also delighted to champion a walking route across his kingdom of Wessex that seeks to remind us of his Christian sensibility and the religious culture of his time.”

Sheona Beaumont, of the Athelstan Pilgrim Way project team, said: ‘Tom brings fantastic enthusiasm and insight to English history and its Christian heritage. We’re so excited he’s joining our pilgrimage of celebration - a celebration of churches, countryside, and faith.”

Following Tom’s talk on King Athelstan there will be an official opening of the new Athelstan Pilgrim Way, led by the Diocese of Bristol which will ultimately link 36 churches on a new 100 mile walking and cycling route across North Wiltshire.

Initially the Athelstan Pilgrim Way will link 13 walks taking in 13 churchs in 2024 with more coming on stream in 2025. The opening on June 30 will start at Malmesbury Abbey and will continue to St John The Baptist Church at Brokenborough.

Malmesbury Town Team chair, Cllr Campbell Ritchie, leads the team of volunteers who are organizing the Athelstan 1100 programme of events.

He said: “We’re thrilled that Tom is able to take time from his busy schedule to join us and celebrate not only the opening of the Athelstan Pilgrim Way but also the celebrations for Athelstan 1100. It’s an honour to welcome him and our other renowned historians including Michael Wood and the Reverend Sarah Foot.” (or similar)

Tom Holland is known globally as an accomplished and award-winning historian having published numerous books around Roman and Greek history – as well as his passion for England’s First King. His latest book is ‘Pax – War and Peace In Rome’s Golden Age’.

His podcast ‘The Rest Is History’ is just over four years old and co-hosted with fellow historian Dominic Sandbrook. It’s now the world’s most popular history podcast with well over 60 million downloads and is ranked as one of the top podcasts in the world. In the UK it’s currently ranked as the second most popular podcast across all genres.

It was in 924 AD that Athelstan, the grandson of Alfred the Great, became King of Mercia and Wessex, the first steps on his journey to becoming the first King of England. Many events are free and tickets for paid for events are already on sale with some already sold out. For details of Tom Holland’s talk visit https://www.athelstan1100.co.uk/events-ticketing/athelstan-1100-events/talk-pilgrimmage-tom-holland

For more information about the range of events taking place during the Athelstan 1100 celebrations visit https://www.athelstan1100.co.uk/events-ticketing.