![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/8D71053D-88AD-46A2-8D8D-13244C52DBD1/B6W6PP.jpg)
Gates of Ilam church
The gates of St Bertrams church, Ilam, Staffordshire, photo taken in the late afternoon sun. Ilam has been a place of pilgrimage since the days of St Bertram, a Saxon saint and hermit who lived here, and today there are more 'pilgrims' (in the form of tourists) than ever. The saint was a Saxon prince of Mercia who travelled to Ireland to marry an Irish princess. On their way back to Mercia she had a child and they rested in the forest here while Bertram went off to seek food. When he returned he discovered that wolves had killed both his wife and child and, broken-hearted, he lived as a hermit around here for the rest of his life.
Size: 3342px × 5015px
Location: Ilam, Staffordshire, UK
Photo credit: © Wendy Harvey / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: afternoon, bertrams, bertrands, christian, church, entrance, ilam, path, peaceful, pilgrimage, saxon, shadows, spiritual, st, staffordshire, timeless, tourism