PILGRIM'S CORACLE QUEST FOR PEACE

 Ecological artist journeys 190 miles in traditional handmade craft

Ecological artist Chris Park is embarking on a unique Pilgrimage for Peace. He is single-handedly navigating a primitive coracle boat from an Oxfordshire spring to the sea, through 190 miles of Britain's water ways, carrying a magic Egg.

The voyage began on Wednesday, August 17 and will end whenever Chris reaches his destination. Chris, 32, and his strange cargo, ageless, departed from Bath House Spring in Watchfield, near the White Horse at Uffington, and travelled along the river Cole to join the Thames near Lechlade. He will then continue down the Thames to London and to the river estuary, pausing to visit various places of worship, education and art.

"Our journey seeks to integrate and unite many divided faiths and cultures," says Chris. "It celebrates water as a unifying bond between all races, creatures and creeds, nourishing all and rejecting none. The waterways pass through all kinds of communities and I hope many will be inspired to come and greet the magic Egg."

The Egg will carry the prayers, wishes and thoughts of all those who meet it at the water's edge during the voyage. At each stop, Chris will tell stories, play music and invite blessings from anyone who wishes to share them.

Coracles are prehistoric craft, made traditionally from animal skins stretched over a wooden frame. Chris has built several coracles using only primitive technologies; he made the craft for this pilgrimage from willow and horsehide, cured in salt.

"Willow represents the plant kingdom and the horsehide heralds the animal kingdom," explains Chris. "The salt is from the mineral kingdom and the journey will unite the human kingdom along the way. May the harmony of our lands be complete."

Events during the coracle voyage are likely to include visits to Lechlade; Wolvercote; the Elder Stubbs Festival in Oxford; Iffley Lock; the Global Retreat Centre at Nuneham Courtney; Abingdon Abbey; St Michael's Church, Clifton Hampden; Wittenham Clumps near Dorchester; Wallingford; Beale Park; Reading Festival; the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames; Marlow and Bourne End; Runnymede; Windsor Romney Island at Eton; Hampton Court Palace; Richmond Deer Park; Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament; London Art Galleries including Tate Modern; the South Bank; the Thames Barrier and the final offering of the Egg into the sea.

For more information on Chris's coracle adventure, including details of the route, the construction of the coracle and the concepts behind the art piece, call: Chris Park 07816591151 or Kirsten Manley 07843672630.

Chris Park practices the ancient craft of coracle paddling on the river Cole, in preparation for the Pilgrimage for Peace.

Notes

Chris Park worked with the BBC for the seven week project called Surviving the Iron Age and works extensively with schools and artistic projects all over the UK. He is a descendant of Mungo Park, the Scottish explorer, who navigated the African river Niger exactly 200 years ago. For full details of Chris's work and activities, go to www.acorneducation.com