THE Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Michael Perham, will be making a pilgrimage of over 100 miles through Gloucestershire next month.

Three years ago Bishop Michael set off on a journey to mark the millennium of the county of Gloucestershire. Now he is off again and is inviting everyone to join him for part of the way.

The 2011 pilgrimage marks the completion of a reorganisation of church groupings, known as deaneries, and the planned route will pass through each of the new deaneries and take in a total of 38 churches.

The pilgrimage begins at St Peter's Church in Newnham on Severn at 8am on Friday, July 15. There will be overnight stops at Churchdown, Bishop's Cleeve, Naunton, Aldsworth, South Cerney, Minchinhampton and Cam. The pilgrimage is scheduled to finish at 1pm on Friday, July 22 at Wotton-under-Edge.

They will stop to pray at churches along the way and stay with people from church congregations.

Bishop Michael said: "A pilgrimage is a journey or search and in many ways is an essential part of our lives. For Christians, life is a journey with God and my pilgrimage is a reflection of that journey.

"As well as the spiritual significance of the walk, this pilgrimage is a wonderful way to travel around our Diocese, meeting congregations and sharing the beautiful surroundings in which we are so fortunate to live.

"I would like to invite everyone to come along and walk with me for a section of the journey, and spend time in conversation and reflection."

A full timetable of the route is available at gloucester.anglican.org