*5.2. Ritual and the Relationship between People and the Landscape*

The case studies provide strikingly different illustrations of the relationship between people and the landscape. At Lourdes, Bernadette's visions occurred at a place outside the town, which was associated with dangerous spirits, and the Church moved quickly to domesticate the grotto and the surrounding landscape. The erection of a gothic style basilica on top of the cliff overlooking the grotto was a reminder to visitors of the Church's presence and power. By the end of the nineteenth century, sacred space had been created behind the two main gates and the surrounding walls that contained the grotto, the baths and medical bureau, a hostel for the *malades*, the esplanade and the processional avenues, and the three churches rising up to the crown of the cliff. During the 1950s, the building works within the sanctuary began again with the construction of the massive underground church, whereas later building works have extended across the river in the meadow with the construction of a hospital, conference centre and chapel, a large altar, a youth centre, and an easy access Stations of the Cross, which complemented the old hilly Stations of the Cross overlooking the sanctuary.

At first sight the landscape encountered during the walk to Avebury and the rituals performed there appeared to be very different. In contrast to the bustling town of Lourdes and its busy sanctuary, the route took us across empty fields, up to wind-swept hills, down to a winding river surrounded by trees, and along an avenue flanked by ancient stones to the Avebury henge itself. Although Avebury was a village with shops, pub, church, and busy road, the journey was devoid of other people and we were continually reminded of our relationship with nature. The rituals devised by the leaders encouraged us to engage with the immanent energy and power of material things, such as the massive stones, the spring and river, the trees and their snaking roots. Many of the participants clearly enjoyed touching and feeling the stones, listening to the sound of their voices humming inside the long barrow, drinking the water from the stream, and sitting inside the massive stone at the Avebury henge. Ours was a sensual, embodied experience in other words (see Honarpisheh 2013; Maddrell 2013; Maddrell and Scriven 2016).

Yet, care needs to be taken not to overemphasise the differences between the two pilgrimages. In both cases, the rituals were designed to engage the senses and to heighten the emotional engagement with others—not just other humans but more-than-human others such as the Host and saints at Lourdes and the stones, spring, and trees during the BPT pilgrimage. If the landscape at Lourdes has been highly domesticated, the fields, hills, and woods across which we walked towards Avebury had also been domesticated through intensive agriculture and other forms of human ordering.
