Organisers have cancelled the annual pilgrimage to Glastonbury due to the burden of rising fuel costs for pilgrims.
The event has run since 1924 and is based on the legend that Joseph of Arimathea visited the town.
Mayor of Glastonbury John Coles said: “I just hope this isn’t the beginning of the end.”
Glastonbury Pilgrimage Association’s financial situation was also a factor in the decision to cancel the event.
Association chairman, the Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend John
Ford said: “We needed to consider the viability of this year’s
pilgrimage in the light of the association’s financial position and the
factors which will affect the number of pilgrims likely to attend this
year.”
He also said another religious event at Exeter Cathedral, the Walsingham
Festival in May played a part in their decision, as “the further rise
of fuel costs would make a day out for families yet more expensive”.