Who is Cuddy? 7 Days on St. Cuthbert’s Way

Walking along the Scotland/England border in the steps of St. Cuthbert

To be completely honest, when I set out for my solo hike of St. Cuthbert’s Way, I had very little knowledge of who St. Cuthbert was, or even why he had a “way.”

When chasing Hadrian last year along the Hadrian’s Wall trail, I discovered the transformative nature of solo hiking: the ability to detach from the world, set a goal for each day to reach a point a dozen or so miles away, and then experience the reward of achieving that over a pint in a town which has more history than my entire country. Repeat daily.

The hills of Northumbria.

But as usually happens on these long ways hikes, curiosity quickly set it, and following a visit to the Melrose Abbey and the start of the hike I quickly became immersed in the history of this region. It was hard to escape it, really: this border area between England and Scotland, known as the Cheviot Hills, had been contested, fought over, and bled over for hundreds of years, long before my country was even known to exist to Europeans.

And then there was this Saint, St. Cuthbert, who is now affectionately called Cuddy by locals along the trail.

Melrose Abbey

St. Cutbert’s Way traces the life history of the saint, from his start as a monk at Melrose Abbey to his eventual appointment of Bishop at the Lindisfarne Priory, located on the Holy Island just off the coast of northeast England. Over his several decades of service he established many of the foundations for Christianity in England, and was recognized for his assistance to the poor and life as a dedicated healer of the sick.

As the miles passed, and I sorted through the stories in the towns I passed through, I became aware that Cuddy and I shared some common interests: Cuddy was a wanderer who traveled by foot to places as far away as Hexam (which I had visited during my Hadrian Wall Path hike the year before) and remote areas of northern England and Scotland to teach and assist the poor. Considering too that he did this around 670 AD, when the area that was definitely less than hospitable to travelers. Yet, for me, there was considerable satisfaction that I was most likely on the same trails that Cuddy had covered over 1,300 years ago.

I was also surprised to learn that Cuddy and I shared an interested in wildlife conservation. Cuddy’s faith was based on his desire to have a deep understanding of the natural world, and he studied wildlife and nature throughout his life. These studies led him to become one of the earliest wildlife conservationists. His favorite animals were birds — especially the eider duck.

Cuddy not only tamed these birds and allowed them into religious buildings, but also placed the birds and their eggs under his protection so that they could not be harvested for food. They are now known as Cuddy ducks, which can still be seen on the Holy Island and as far away as North America.

As a wandering biologist myself, it was hard not to have a connection to Cuddy on St. Cuthbert’s Way.

Lindisfarne Priory

Looking for more on St. Cuthbert’s Way? Check out the podcast episode below about the trip, or follow me on The Long Ways Podcast’s Instagram and YouTube channels for photos and videos from the trail.

Looking for more insights on these Long Way Trails for your podcast? Drop me a message at michael@thewindelspectrum.com