A GROUP of Christians are planning a pilgrimage from the North-East to the island of Iona in the spring.

Dr Gavin Wakefield, a tutor at Cranmer Hall Theological College, Durham, and his wife, the Reverend Fran Wakefield, will lead pilgrims to the remote Scottish island, which holds an important place in the early Christian history of Britain.

The abbey and religious community founded by Irish-born St Columba in AD563 was the birthplace of Christianity in Britain and was home to important figures in the early church in the North-East, such as St Oswald.

Today, it remains a spiritual retreat and is one of the few peaceful corners of the country in which there are no cars.

The pilgrimage will leave Durham on Easter Monday, March 28, and visit several sites in Scotland before arriving on Iona for a four-day retreat.

Pilgrims will study the lives of St Columba, St Cuthbert and the other Celtic saints before returning to the North-East for a visit to Holy Island.

For further details and a brochure, call (01274) 599622.