In recognition of the Diocese of Bathurst’s grave financial position, the Palmers are moving to Dubbo where the bishop will humbly and gratefully take up the role of parish priest.

He will balance that position with his continuing duties as the Bishop of Bathurst. 

Bishop Palmer said their long walk will echo the journey made by the late Anglican Bishop Kenneth Leslie, who walked from Dubbo to Bathurst in July 1971 in order to raise money for the completion of All Saints’ Cathedral. 

His effort captured the imagination of the whole Central West, indeed the nation, earning him the title “The Bishop Who Walked”. 

While Bishop Leslie walked between the two cities as part of a fundraising effort, Bishop Palmer will make the walk as a prayerful pilgrimage to spiritually prepare for the hard road ahead in dealing with the many challenges facing the diocese.

“We are using this walk to reflect on what the new look for the diocese might be,” he said.

“We are going through a period of big change and we need to be able to look at it in a different way.”

The Bishop of Bathurst will set out from All Saints’ Cathedral following the evening service on February 1. 

His leaving will mark the end of an era. The city has been the seat of the Anglican bishop for the past 150 years. 

“What Liz and I are doing is saying to the diocese, we walk this difficult road with you,” he said.

The couple are hoping people will join with them along the way.

To avoid highway traffic as much as possible, they will leave Bathurst via the Ophir Road, follow Icely Road into Orange, and then travel along the Burrendong Way to Wellington. 

Since the Palmers will be walking 217 kilometres west at the hottest time of year, they will try to get most of their walking done in the early morning and evening when the temperatures are cooler. 

Bishop Palmer said they hope to cover more than 30km each day and anticipate the walk will take five full days. 

“It will be hot, but we’ll just drink more water and keep on walking,” he said.

“We’ve both done a lot of walking in the past.”

And indeed they have – a number of years ago the Palmers walked the 800km pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. It took them a month and had a profound impact. 

They will both be using the walking sticks that made that journey with them. In Bishop Palmer’s case, that will be his pastoral staff.

“A walk is getting from one place to another. Making a pilgrimage is doing it in a purposeful and reflective way,” Bishop Palmer said.

“For me, turning a walk into a pilgrimage means making it a time of reflection and purposeful prayer and allowing yourself to be changed by it.”