Did Jesus study mysticism in southwest England?

Land's End (SP TIley Photo)

Little is written in the Christian gospels about Joseph of Arimathea, a rich Jewish merchant who provided the prepared tomb for Jesus. But the apocrypha (gospels and other writings not included in the Bible as Christians know it today, but written at the same time as that which is included) and tradition suggest he was far more important to Jesus in both life and death than most people imagine. In addition, tradition also suggests that Joseph of Arimathea was instrumental in establishing the followers of Christ in England, and may, indeed, have introduced the young Jesus to druidic mystical writings on a visit to Cornwall when Jesus was a boy. (Druidic magical beliefs are usually attributed to Ireland, but England had them as well.)

If it seems difficult to credit, consider this: Although tradition says Jesus was a lowly carpenter’s son, Joseph (father of Jesus) was of the royal House of David, which was not impoverished and did raise its sons to be as well educated as possible. While moderns think of each area of the ancient world as cut off from the others, that is not true. Trade was vigorous all around the Mediterranean, and along the Atlantic cost of Europe as far as Britain, at least. The Milesians, who settled in Ireland, sailed from the coast of Spain, having settled there after leaving central Turkey. So, commerce and doubtless intellectual discourse was certainly a feature of ancient life moderns forget about.

Glastonbury Cathedral Lady Chapel (Wiki commons)

 Joseph of Arimathea is thought to have gained his wealth in the metals trade. As it happens, Cornwall, on the southwestern coast of England, has been a rich source of tin, lead and some silver for millennia. So it is not inconceivable that, as Carl McColman points out in his Complete Idiot’s Guide to Celtic Wisdom, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus with him on a trip so the boy might study with great minds. This concept is also accepted as a possibility by Britannia, a venerable (as Internet goes) travel site for England.

 
King Arthur's Grave (Wiki commons)

Still, perhaps the most suggestive part of this is that Jesus may have studied with druids in Cornwall. Indeed, mystical poet William Blake wondered as much in his hymn, Jerusalem. He wrote of Jesus and Joseph of Arimathea:

And did those feet, in ancient time,

Walk upon England's mountains green?