15: Ancient Walks in Modern Times | Season One Finale

Andy Bull is a keen walker, journalist, and author who has written travel pieces for The Times, the Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the Mail on Sunday, and The Tablet. When he wanted to go on a pilgrimage that could be completed in a weekend and found no suitable guides were available, he realized he would have to find a route for himself. He found 20, and Pilgrim Pathways is the result.

Andy has also published two travel books on America, guides to English trails for mountain bikers, and local history books drawing on his Kentish roots. His next project is a book on Britain's Great North Road.

Patriarchal Beard Wearer, Long Distance Stroller, Yoghurt-Lover, Ice-Cream-Eliminator, Dog-Whisperer, Cow-Conversationalist, Kangal-Fodder, Mosquito-Snob, and Horsefly-Hitter are only a few of the pilgrimage related epithets that the catholic priest and part-time hermit Fr. Johannes Maria Schwarz has acquired over many miles. The Austrian-born clergyman with a PhD in Dogmatic Theology belongs to the Archdiocese of Vaduz and works on media-related projects in the German-speaking part of the world.

Following a painful divorce, Claude Tranchant set out from Australia at age 64 to begin a 100-day solo pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Along the way, she overcame loss, found empowerment, and discovered bliss.

Her best-selling book, Boots to Bliss, recalls the story from Vezelay, France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and beyond. In her new book, Boots to Freedom, Claude finds her inner happiness and emotional freedom through walks across Australia, Nepal, and once more on the Camino de Santiago in her early 70s.

Sanford ‘Sandy’ Brown is an author, community activist, long-distance walker, and ordained minister from Seattle, Washington. In 2020, Sandy joined Cicerone Press as Associate Publisher for Caminos and Pilgrimages.

After reading ‘The Pilgrimage’, by Paolo Coelho in 1992, he planned his 2008 trek on the Camino de Santiago and since then has walked over 12,000 kilometers on pilgrim trails in Europe and the US.

Sandy earned his undergraduate degree in medieval history at the University of Washington in Seattle, his MDiv at Garrett Theological Seminary, which honored him in 2006 as Distinguished Alumnus, and his doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in gender, sexuality and spirituality. He was executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and served as senior pastor of Seattle’s historic First United Methodist Church.

When he’s not walking he enjoys yoga, sailing and piano. He has two grown sons and his wife, Theresa Elliott, is a yoga master teacher.