A BISHOP will notch up a personal first today as he helps hundreds of people celebrate a religious milestone.

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds is leading walkers on the annual pilgrimage from Ripon Cathedral to Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, retracing the route taken by a group of monks who founded the abbey in 1132.

The Right Reverend John Packer is taking a four-mile route out of Ripon and through the grounds of the Studley Royal estate, before reaching the abbey.

The pilgrimage, which sets out from the West front of Ripon Cathedral at 10.45am, is expected to take about 90 minutes.

Bishop Packer said: "I am looking forward to walking with so many others from the cathedral to Fountains Abbey, following in the footsteps of those 12th Century monks.