A BUDDHIST monk from California stopped off in Kendal this month, while retracing a 1983 walk from West Sussex to Northumberland.

In a bid to meet old friends and make new ones along the way, Ajahn Amaro, 51, the abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery in California and British plant ecologist Nick Scott, 55, took to the road to walk the distance between Britain's first Buddhist monastery, Chithurst in West Sussex, and the Harnham Buddhist Monastery, near Newcastle.

The journey is being made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first time the pair followed the route, which was described in Mr Amaro 1984 book Tudong: The Long Road North.

During their travels through the English countryside, Mr Amaro and Mr Scott hope to meet up with the people they encountered last time round, one of which was Jacquetta Gomes, a member of the Buddhist Group of Kendal.

Ms Gomes described how she and fellow member John Gerrard had met Mr Amaro and Mr Scott in Old Town, between Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale, and had brought them to Kendal to share their experiences with other members of the group.

She described how it had been a very positive experience for the Buddhist Group of Kendal and added: "It is a very important walk and his book, Tudong: The Long Road North, is internationally renown."