They both get you to Santiago, but in very contrasting ways — No two Caminos are the same, even when you’re walking along the same path, but when I decided to walk the Camino Primitivo I didn’t know how different it would be to walking the Camino Frances. It’s not better or worse but unmistakably something else, giving the pilgrim who chooses…

Another journey told in moments — Day 1 The first day is about getting in the rhythm of walking again, and by the time I get to Penaflor, I’m sure I’m there. I’ve found my rhythm, I’m used to the feel of my pack and the swing of my walking pole, my boots fit well, my…

It’s time for me to take another long walk… — It all starts with Alfonso II of Asturias. He was Alfonso The Chaste, according to those who give monarchs those additional titles, and he was the first pilgrim to head to Santiago. Well, the first anyone bothered to note and write about, and it wasn’t Santiago then, just a little…

Snow? Snow! — Presenter, seated at desk: Good morning. Snow! Snow. Weather, snow? Woman, standing at a map: Wind. Air. North. Rain. East. (Nods) Snow. Presenter: Snow! But, snow? Woman in field! Cut to: A woman holding a microphone standing in a field. …

But if they won’t, I guess I’ll write it — I was talking recently with some friends who are still members of my former party about the sort of things I’d want to hear from the party and its leadership if I was to ever consider rejoining. …

A circuit of Ullswater for remembrance and charity — I’ve been thinking about the sponsored events we used to do at school. Swims, runs, walks, reads, rides, silences, and so many others, cropping up every few months, each one accompanied by a sponsor form on a mimeographed sheet of A4 to take home and use to wheedle as much…

The me that wrote the journal wasn’t the me that read it years later — I’ve finished the excavation draft stage of my memoir. Over the last few months I’ve produced the largest amount of words for a single project I’ve ever written in my life. …

A year when I did a lot and changed a lot in the process — That was a hell of a year, wasn’t it? …

Starting the writing process by getting it all out there — I’m writing a book. Yes Nick of course you are, those of you who’ve know me are now saying. You’ve been writing a book for as long as I’ve known you, and I’ve known you a long time. That is true, so let’s say it this way: I’m writing a…