Travel Memoir Archives - Books And Travel

A Pilgrim In The Path Of History. Solo Walking The Camino De Santiago Portuguese Coastal Route With J.F. Penn

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In September 2022, I walked the Camino de Santiago along the Portuguese Coastal route. It was around 300 kilometers from Porto in Portugal north along the coast and then inland to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, which took 14 days of back-to-back walking.

I walked alone and carried my pack with everything in it, and I organized my accommodation through Macs Adventure so I knew where I was sleeping every night. I’ve posted a day by day breakdown of the route and my gear list separately, and in this episode, I go through some of my lessons and thoughts from the Way.

JFPenn at Farolim de Felgueiras lighthouse, Porto

Show notes

How walking in the path of history puts life in perspective
If you’ve lost direction in life, pilgrimage can help
Pilgrimage proves you can do hard things, and that knowledge helps back in your daily life
A fusion of sacred and secular
The Camino is an industry — and it always has been
Your Camino, your way. Practical considerations and tips.
Why I needed these last years of walking alone across a seasonal change in my life

You’ll find additional reflections and tips in Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, out now at jfpenn.com/pilgrimage.

London. A Personal History With J.F. Penn

Podcast, Travel Memoir

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“It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London. It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent.” Henry James

London can never be contained or defined in one way. Everyone has a different perspective and experience that changes over time, and my relationship with the city has certainly evolved over the years.

My Brooke and Daniel crime thrillers are set there, and my love for the city resonates within those pages through the eyes of Jamie Brooke, but it certainly wasn’t always that way.

In this episode, I’ll talk a bit about the history and highlights of the city and how it’s played a part in my life. I can’t possibly cover it all, but I can give you a glimpse.

1997-2000 Cool Britannia. London in my early twenties
2011-2015 Literary London. A new career in my mid-thirties
2015 onwards. City of inspiration in my forties
Visiting London — places to visit and tips on making the most of it
Recommended walks and books

JFPenn at the Royal College of Surgeons, London. The inspiration for Desecration.

Transience And Permanence. Jo Frances Penn On The Sacred Steps Podcast

Religious, Travel Memoir

In October 2020, I walked the Pilgrim’s Way from London to Canterbury on my own, just before the second UK lockdown. In this interview, I discuss the pilgrimage with Kevin Donahue from Sacred Steps Podcast.

You can find more reflections in my book, Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways.

You can watch the video below or here on YouTube, you can listen here or on your favorite podcast player, and there is a transcript below with lots of links. Go to SacredStepsPodcast.com for more episodes.

Kevin: Buen Camino, Pilgrims. And welcome back to the Sacred Steps Podcast. On this show, we’re walking virtually alongside pilgrims and authors, connecting a community of pilgrims from across the globe.

I’m Kevin Donahue, pilgrim, backpacker, and author of Sacred Steps of Pilgrimage Journal. On today’s episode, we’re walking virtually alongside English author, Jo Frances Penn, a fiction writer with more than 20 titles to her credit.

Jo set out alone from her home near London during a break in the COVID lockdown to complete Britain’s Pilgrim’s Way from London Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral. An unlikely pilgrim, Jo had never before attempted a solo multi-day hike like this. Of course, Canterbury Cathedral is one of England’s most revered shrines and the pilgrim pathway to the church, called The Pilgrim’s Way, is one of my upcoming pilgrimages.

Questions To Consider On A Pilgrimage

Travel Memoir

As part of my preparation for my six-day pilgrimage on The Pilgrims’ Way from Southwark Cathedral, London to Canterbury Cathedral, I wrote down this list of questions and things to consider. I printed it out and stuck it in the front of my journal. Although I didn’t answer every question, every day, it helped to frame the journey as an inner quest as well as an outer pilgrimage.

I recommend The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred by Phil Cousineau as a way to prompt the questions that might help you.

This Too Shall Pass. Thoughts From The Pilgrims’ Way With J.F. Penn

Travel Memoir

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“Man’s real home is not a house, but the Road, and that life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.” Bruce Chatwin

In late October 2020, I walked the Pilgrims’ Way from Southwark Cathedral in London to Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, 182 km/113 miles on foot, alone, carrying my own gear… during a global pandemic.

A Roman road 2000 years ago, the route became popular for pilgrims after the martyrdom of St Thomas a Becket on 29 December 1170 at the hands of four knights of King Henry II. In literature, The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer follows a cast of colorful pilgrims on the way, and T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral dramatically captures the archbishop’s bloody end.

In this episode, published on the 850^th anniversary of the martyrdom, I’ll share the personal side of my journey. I’ve written separately about the practical side of the pilgrimage with day by day photos here.

Fernweh. Longing for escape.
Why pilgrimage?
Transience and permanence. Questions I asked myself on the way.
“Stranger, pass by that which you do not love.”
Pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone and tackling fear
Give it time to settle. The lessons of pilgrimage may not be immediately obvious.
The next step

My book, Pilgrimage, Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, featuring the Pilgrims’ Way is out now.

Pilgrimage Kickstarter Banner4 — My book, Pilgrimage, Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways, is out now

Sanctuary, Retreat, Belonging. The Importance Of Home In Difficult Times

Travel Memoir

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As I write this in the middle of March 2020, the world is gripped by the spread of coronavirus COVID19. Countries are shutting their borders, people are asked to stay indoors, shelter in place and self-quarantine inside. Restaurants, bars, gyms, schools, and other public places are closing. Airlines are on the verge of going bust or re-nationalized, the economy is struggling, and citizens are being asked to travel home.

And that’s what I want to talk about today. The concept of home and what it means, especially in difficult times. Because this is the Books and Travel Podcast, but travel may be gone from our lives for a time — and home has become the most important thing.

View from my home over the valley, Bath, Somerset, England

The dictionary definition of home is ‘the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household,’ but in this article, I ponder the aspects of an emotional home, a physical dwelling, and the country we belong to.

Travel Memoir

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