Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage

About Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage

Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage follows the choir and pilgrims of St. James by-the-Sea as they travel through England, visiting historic cathedrals, sacred spaces, and places shaped by centuries of music and prayer. Each episode offers a brief window into the day’s journey, the places we visit, the music we sing, and the spirit of pilgrimage that carries us from San Diego to Wells, Windsor, and beyond. Join our virtual hosts for a step by step tour.

Publisher

St. James Music Series

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 May 2026

Latest episode

11 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Jul 2026

   The Journey Begins Again

   Departure day has arrived. After months of rehearsals, planning, podcasts, packing lists, and holy spreadsheet maintenance, the UK Choral Pilgrimage finally begins. In this final pre-departure episode, Clara and Miles reflect on what it means to travel as pilgrims: leaving home, entering the ancient rhythm of daily prayer at Wells and Windsor, receiving hospitality with gratitude, and carrying the life of St. James by-the-Sea into places where prayer has been offered for centuries. Warm, funny, practical, and quietly moving, this episode is a sending for all travelers, singers and non-singers alike. Pack your rain gear, your comfortable shoes, your generosity of spirit, and possibly the right charger. The journey begins again.

2. 

   8 Jul 2026

   Windsor Unwound

   On the choir’s last full day in England, Clara and Miles head to Windsor for one final stretch of unscheduled time before Evensong at St George’s Chapel. After Monday’s castle tour, Tuesday is for wandering wisely: the Long Walk, Eton, the Thames, the Crooked House, a little Windsor legend, and just enough shopping to endanger a suitcase. Along the way, they meet Herne the Hunter, issue firm warnings about King Henry VIII Gate, and make the case for ending the pilgrimage properly: not by vanishing into luggage, but by gathering after Evensong at The Boatman for one last dinner by the river. A reflective, witty guide to the day when the journey begins to become memory.

3. 

   5 Jul 2026

   Vows, Vaults, and Scandals

   At St George’s Chapel, Windsor, royal history is never just decorative. This week, Clara and Miles step into the chapel’s stranger side: royal weddings, hidden viewing spaces, suspicious burials, unfinished tombs, chivalric disgrace, and the astonishing fact that Henry VIII’s final memorial plans did not exactly go as advertised. From Queen Victoria watching a wedding from the Catherine of Aragon closet to Harry and Meghan’s global moment, from Henry VIII and Jane Seymour beneath the Quire to Charles I’s opened coffin and the ritual degradation of a disgraced Garter knight, this episode asks what St George’s really holds. The answer: vows above, vaults below, scandals in the stalls, and centuries of history still echoing in the music.

4. 

   1 Jul 2026

   Cassocks, Chargers, and Carry-Ons

   Departure is almost here, which means it is time to pack the suitcase, find the black socks, charge every mysterious little device, and start hydrating like your upper register depends on it. In Episode 11 of Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage, Clara and Miles offer a funny, practical survival guide for the final days before the choir and pilgrims leave for England. They cover choir dress guidelines, what to pack in your carry-on, what can go in the group duffle bags, how to survive Heathrow and the first 48 hours, why USB-C is suddenly everywhere, and where to buy forgotten essentials in Wells, including Boots, Superdrug, Tesco, Waitrose, Holland & Barrett, and Peacocks. There is real advice here too: hydrate before the trip, protect your voice, do not shout through a pub evening and expect to sing beautifully the next day, pack your medication in your carry-on, and never trust checked luggage with anything essential. A cheerful, slightly cheeky pre-departure episode about packing wisely, singing well, and not arriving at Evensong sounding like a haunted kazoo.

5. 

   28 Jun 2026

   Just a Chapel?

   St George’s Chapel looks grand enough to be a cathedral, but Windsor has other ideas. In this episode, Clara and Miles begin the Windsor chapters by asking why St George’s is not a cathedral, and why “just a chapel” is doing far too much work. They unpack the difference between Wells Cathedral and the royal collegiate chapel inside Windsor Castle, exploring the College of St George, King’s Free Chapels, Royal Peculiars, secular canons, daily prayer, and the architectural leap from Wells’ early English Gothic to St George’s late Perpendicular fan vaulting. Same Evensong. Different world. And yes, Henry VIII makes an appearance.

6. 

   24 Jun 2026

   The Pilgrim Mailbag

   Clara and Miles open the overflowing listener mailbag for a practical, funny, and surprisingly useful round of pilgrimage questions. Is this a choir tour, a vacation, or a pilgrimage? Are Evensongs concerts? Why is the Cathedral Eucharist in the nave while Evensong often happens in the quire? What is the difference between “choir” and “quire,” and why did Anglicanism decide to make that everyone’s problem? They also tackle the real mysteries: how the organist sees the conductor, what happens when the procession is ready, what books are actually in the Wells Cathedral chained library, how long it takes to get from Heathrow to Wells, where to meet the group at Terminal 5, what belongs on a packing list, and what exactly lurks on a full English breakfast plate. With departure only about two weeks away, it is time to check your passport, apply for your UK ETA, find your sensible shoes, and prepare yourself spiritually for Meeting Point South. Follow or subscribe to Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Share it with a fellow pilgrim, choir member, organist, Anglophile, or anyone who has ever wondered whether the organ voluntary is a sacred offering or a tactical window for lunch.

7. 

   21 Jun 2026

   Cathedral Eucharist: Sunday in the Nave

   This week, Clara and Miles step into the nave for the Cathedral Eucharist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zc2qM0ZuA0L9HcROYTRKH?si=Vd3djVz7TCqL3Z0RZ1jjdQ), the principal Sunday celebration of the whole cathedral community. It is the service our pilgrims may recognize most intimately, because we have been practicing much of it on Sunday mornings at St. James by-the-Sea throughout Easter: the Gospel Alleluia, the Eucharistic responses, and the shape of the liturgy itself. In this episode, we explore how the Cathedral Eucharist gathers Word, Sacrament, music, movement, and community into one great act of worship. We talk about why the service takes place in the nave, what makes it different from Evensong, and how Harold Darke’s Communion Service in E and Stephanie Martin’s Ave Verum Corpus (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zc2qM0ZuA0L9HcROYTRKH?si=Vd3djVz7TCqL3Z0RZ1jjdQ)help carry the mystery of the morning. Also featured: sensible shoes, leaflet panic, incarnational theology in the nave, and the continuing emotional support ministry of Anglican choreography. Follow the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, give us five stars, and share it with your friends, fellow travelers, and anyone who has ever whispered, “Wait, are we standing now?”

8. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Who Runs the Cathedral?

   Who actually runs a cathedral? The bishop has the chair, the dean has the Chapter, the organist has the manuals, the verger has the keys, and somewhere, someone knows exactly where the spare service sheets are hiding. In Episode 8 of Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage, Clara and Miles explore the living human machinery behind England’s great cathedrals: deans, canons, Precentors, vergers, choristers, organists, volunteers, administrators, conservators, bell ringers, flower arrangers, café staff, and the mysterious people who keep ancient buildings from becoming romantic ruins with gift shops. Along the way, they connect the dots from earlier episodes on Evensong, psalms, canticles, Wells Cathedral, cathedral towns, and what it means for the St. James choir to sing as guests in someone else’s sacred house. Educational, affectionate, and increasingly unhinged, this episode is a love letter to everyone who keeps the doors open, the candles lit, the choir rehearsed, and the procession moving in the right direction. Follow or subscribe, give us five stars, and share with a friend who understands that the person with the keys may be the most important person in the room.

9. 

   14 Jun 2026

   Anthems Across the Atlantic

   In this episode, Clara and Miles explore the anthems the St. James by-the-Sea choir will carry on pilgrimage to Wells Cathedral and St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, all by North American composers. What is the difference between a canticle and an anthem? Why does the anthem act almost like the choir’s sung sermon? And what happens when music by Carson Cooman, Moses Hogan, Healey Willan, Lee Hoiby, Morten Lauridsen, Stephanie Martin, and David Hurd enters the ancient soundworld of English cathedral worship? Anthems Across the Atlantic Playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6p5v1KafxwhcQe6VzTudMR?si=JyMhRn6eS1iwf8F0-UmaWQ)

10. 

    10 Jun 2026

    Pints, Markets, and Swans

    In Episode 6 of Follow the Journey, Clara and Miles step outside the cathedral walls for a lively guide to Wells, Somerset. From Wednesday and Saturday markets to historic pubs, Cornish pasties, Somerset cider, tea and scones, independent shops, the Bishop’s Palace, and the famous bell-ringing swans, this episode explores what to eat, drink, see, and do between rehearsals and Evensong. Come for the cathedral. Stay for the pasty. And if you hear a bell near the Bishop’s Palace, it might be a swan.

11. 

    7 Jun 2026

    Can't Get Enough Canticles

    At the heart of Evensong are two ancient songs: Mary’s Magnificat and Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis. One is bold, unsettling, and full of holy reversal. The other is quiet, luminous, and full of peace. In this episode, Clara and Miles explore why these two canticles have become the emotional center of Anglican evening worship, how composers bring their words to life, and what the Choir of St. James by-the-Sea will carry from La Jolla into the cathedral stalls of Wells and Windsor. Expect cathedral beauty, Prayer Book language, a little musical listening guide, and the usual amount of affectionate Anglican nonsense. No musical examples are played in this episode, but you can hear the canticles the choir will sing on pilgrimage on the St. James Music Series Spotify playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6za0mhyUoXFPCStoq0YFkn?si=C6Mcm1dSREqShXMfvRha_g). Follow or subscribe to Follow the Journey as we continue toward the UK Choral Pilgrimage.

12. 

    3 Jun 2026

    Anglican Chant Uncovered

    In this episode of Follow the Journey, Clara and Miles take a deep dive into Anglican chant (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UdA750PZVXmHci8vThX9h?si=arakU6BTRdKUCA382xYakw), the psalms, and the daily musical life of the cathedral tradition. They explore how ancient poetry becomes sung prayer, why cathedrals chant through the Psalter, and how Anglican chant turns English speech, harmony, breath, and cadence into something both disciplined and deeply human. Along the way, they trace the emotional arc of the psalms the Choir of St. James will sing at Wells and Windsor, from distress and bewilderment to memory, majesty, blessing, urgency, and intimate divine presence. It’s smart, funny, and full of the peculiar beauty of cathedral music, with just enough tenor-related wayfinding trouble to keep everyone honest. For the chant sound-world discussed in this episode, visit the St. James Music Series Spotify page (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UdA750PZVXmHci8vThX9h?si=arakU6BTRdKUCA382xYakw) and listen to the dedicated psalm playlist.

13. 

    31 May 2026

    Wells Cathedral: Part II

    Clara and Miles continue their lively tour through Wells Cathedral, moving beyond the first arrival into the deeper marvels of the building. From the great West Front, with its medieval statues, singing gallery, and mysterious trumpet holes, to the towers, chapels, Jesse Window, astronomical clock, Chapter House, cloisters, grotesques, Vicars’ Close, tombs, Chained Library, and High Parts, this episode explores Wells as a whole world of stone, sound, memory, and delight. Along the way, they discover medieval immersive audio, tiny jousting knights, books literally chained to the furniture, carvings with suspiciously strong opinions, and the continuing possibility that Basil the Cathedral Cat may secretly outrank everyone. It’s a funny, educational, and wonder-filled walk through one of England’s most extraordinary cathedrals as the St. James choir prepares to sing there.

14. 

    29 May 2026

    Wells Cathedral: Part I

    In this episode of Follow the Journey, Clara and Miles begin a traveler’s day at Wells Cathedral, starting just across the Cathedral Green at the Swan Hotel. From the first glimpse of the West Front to the Welcome Desk, bookstore, café, and the beloved Basil the Cathedral Cat, they introduce Wells not as a museum, but as a living place of worship, hospitality, music, and memory. Along the way, they explore the Song School, the Quire, the Nave, and the famous scissor arches, showing how each space helps shape the sound, rhythm, and life of the cathedral. It’s an educational, witty, and warmly guided walk through one of England’s most extraordinary sacred buildings as the Choir of St. James prepares for its residency there.

15. 

    25 May 2026

    The Journey Begins

    Welcome to Follow the Journey: A UK Choral Pilgrimage, a companion podcast following the choir and pilgrims of St. James by-the-Sea as they travel through England. In this opening episode, we look ahead to the places, music, services, and spirit of pilgrimage that will shape the journey from San Diego to Wells, Windsor, and beyond.

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