Complex sentence: Originally started by the Patrick Maitland the 17th Earl of Lauderdale, the numbers attending rose from 30 people in the early seventies to over 2000; however, in 2008 the pilgrimage was cancelled due to lack of numbers.
Split into simpler sentences: Originally started by the Patrick Maitland the 17th Earl of Lauderdale, the numbers attending have risen from 30 people in the early seventies to over 2000. In 2008, the pilgrimage was cancelled due to lack of numbers.