It’s a special day at Winchester this week.

Thursday 15 July is St Swithun’s Day when choral evensong and the procession to the shrine will be broadcast online from Winchester Cathedral at 5.30pm.

The body of St Swithun was until the Reformation in Winchester Cathedral.

However, pilgrims from Winchester would have found St Swithun’s head at Canterbury. The precious relic survived the Reformation having been taken to Évreux Cathedral in Normandy where it remains.

The custom of wondering if St Swithun’s Day will be followed by forty days of rain or sunshine takes us to St Bartholomew’s Day on Tuesday 24 August. A good period for a slow walk to Canterbury.