WHILE on holiday in Northern Spain recently, I visited the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela. Since the Middle Age the burial place of St James has been a place of pilgrimage.

The cathedral was crowded with tourists but there were also many genuine pilgrims there, praying in the chapels, placing their fingers in the carved Jesse Tree at the entrance, walking around the stations of the cathedral and hugging the great statue of St James above the ornate altar. For many, it was obviously a place of deep religious experience.

In all religions, there are places where people feel closer to the Divine. Throughout history, people have journeyed to such places, often through great difficulty and danger and have had their faith strengthened, or their illnesses cured. We live in a more sceptical age; but thousands of people still travel to these holy places in search of peace of mind, wholeness of body or an experience of God. And many find it.

I have never felt the presence of God in any of the major places of pilgrimage I have visited, like Lourdes or Canterbury or Santiago de Compostela. Perhaps I am put off by the ornate buildings, the crowds of people, the souvenir shops. But I have often felt my spirit lifted by great natural beauty while on holiday, in the Alps, on the Greek islands, on the North Yorkshire Moors, on the Scottish island of Iona.

Perhaps it is partly the whole process of getting away from our normal routine, from the place which we call home, that opens us up to God.

As you go on holiday at this time, I hope you find that your holiday journey will become such a spiritual pilgrimage.