DEVON, UK: Hare Krishna devotees will be taking to the road and walking from town to town on a Pilgrimage for Peace (or padayatra) this springtime.

Their 500-mile journey began in Totnes on Tuesday May 1, and will take in 45 towns in around the South West region, arriving at Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice on Wednesday, June 20.

A previous walk eventually carried on for seven years and took one man around Europe and the Middle East, eventually arriving in Moscow.

The idea of the walk is to raise awareness of how ancient wisdom can help people understand modern concerns, such as conflict and environmental destruction.

Spokesman Robert Edwards said: "It's said that if a bird sees a big sack of grain left on the floor in the market place, it will eat whatever little it needs to fill its own belly, but if a man sees the same sack of grain, he'll run off with the lot for himself.

"Selfishness is the cause of all of today's problems, but ancient civilisations were organised in a much more co-operative spirit."

The Hare Krishna movement, although it dates back over 5,000 years in India, was first popularised in the western world in the late 1960s by The Beatles, when devotees were a common sight on the streets with their bright orange robes and musical processions. Recently the group have become more active again in the South-West, and are now holding regular meetings around the region where they chant their famous mantra and tuck into their equally famous free veggie food, which has been the mainstay of music festival goers for generations.

The walk comes through several towns in Devon, with special events in Crediton at the Victoria Hall on Monday, May 7 at 7pm, and at Tiverton New Hall on Monday, May 14 also at 7pm.

Everyone is welcome to attend. To find out more visit www.matchlessgifts.info or call Rob on 07974-067415.