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There are moments in life when something you’ve quietly hoped for arrives, and then disappears before you can even hold it. In this intimate spoken reflection, I sit still for once, without footsteps or ambient sound, to explore what happens in that fragile space between joy and loss.

This filler episode isn't about walking, but about being. I am here. It's about the strange in-between, when you think you want something, prepare for it, tell yourself not to get attached, and then find yourself utterly changed by its arrival… only to watch it vanish. What follows isn’t grief, exactly. It’s something quieter. A pause. A numbness. A moment when language fails, but awareness doesn’t.

Hopefully with warmth, a little bit of wit and most certainly honesty, I reflect on how these private moments ripple through love, friendship, and creative life, how they shape the stories we tell and the people we become. There’s mention of awards and recognition, but only as backdrop; the real story lies in learning to stand still, to accept uncertainty, and to whisper, despite everything: I am here.

“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

the story pilgrim — sharing sacred stories on the pilgrimage through life.

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Broadcaster, columnist and podcast pioneer Olly Mann joins me for a heartfelt walk through Letchworth Garden City — the town that shaped his voice, his worldview, and, eventually, his marriage.

As we stroll through tree-lined streets and past Edwardian ideals, Olly reflects on growing up in Letchworth, attending St Christopher School, and his early rise as “the voice of the voice” on the school newspaper. We talk about the strange fate of childhood friendships, how meeting Helen Zaltzman at Oxford changed everything, and how he found his footing at the dawn of podcasting.

Along the way, I ask him when he’s felt heard, what’s still ahead, and whether the goldfish rumour is true.

It’s a delightful episode full of warmth, wit, and memory — and the perfect way to close Season One.

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“There are two kinds of people in this world… those who remember, and those who forget.”

At Sad Hill Cemetery in northern Spain—a once-forgotten film set brought back to life—memory takes centre stage. In this episode, I walk through Santo Domingo de Silos and into the story-soaked silence of Sad Hill, where fiction, history, and grief blur at the edges.

I meet Nick and Noah, a father and son from Belgium making a quiet pilgrimage in memory of Nick’s brother, Tim. I speak with Sergio Garcia and Raquel from the Asociación Cultural Sad Hill, who led the painstaking restoration. And I sit down with Clemente, an 82-year-old shopkeeper whose life has spanned dictatorships, revolutions—and one unforgettable Western.

This isn’t nostalgia. It’s not tourism. It’s something older. A reminder that some places—real or imagined—hold onto the stories we can’t let go.

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Amsterdam, solo travel, creative freelance work, podcasting, and a one-day pilgrimage through planes, trains, and introspection. In this milestone 50th episode, I take you with me on a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam — a city full of bridges, bikes, and bewildering signage. But I wasn’t there for sightseeing. I was there for one small, video job... that turned into something oddly reflective.

From check-in to coffee, rain to runway, this episode muses on why even the smallest journeys can carry weight. What happens when you give a whole day to a job that takes just hours? What remains after the doing is done? And why does Todd always win the final word?

Thanks for sticking with the story pilgrim for 50 episodes — sharing sacred stories on the pilgrimage through life.

buen camino, and keep listening.

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Standby duty, airport chaos, a medical emergency mid-flight, cancelled trips to Dubai, JFK and Japan, and still somehow... total silence. In this episode of the story pilgrim, Darren takes you on a journey through three days of standby with a major airline — from being called up two minutes into shift for a flight to Istanbul (complete with an in-air seizure) to sitting in the office surrounded by cancelled flights and unrealised missions.

What starts as a routine work block turns into a reflection on duty, productivity, and the strange pressure of self-imposed deadlines — all told from kitchens, gardens, and walks with Todd. It’s dry, deep, funny, and just a little existential. Waiting has never sounded this thoughtful.

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Cabin crew layover in Houston, a late-night Astros game, and no time for NASA - this episode explores the tension between long-haul travel and short-lived moments.

In episode 48 of the story pilgrim, I travel 5,000 miles to Houston… and never make it to Mission Control. With just 24 hours on the ground, I trade moon landings for breakfast, baseball, and a quiet walk to the Galleria. Along the way, I reflect on the odd rhythm of airline life - always arriving, rarely staying - and what it means to find presence in passing places.

No grand missions. No space suits. Just a few borrowed hours, a stadium full of strangers, and the reminder that sometimes, showing up is the whole story.

Buen camino, and keep listening.

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In this episode of the story pilgrim, I take a short walk with a long echo. Just one afternoon in Hamburg — and yet it felt like I crossed more than just bridges.

Hamburg: the city of canals, contradictions, and carefully run public transport. A place I’ve flown to several times as cabin crew, but never really explored with my feet — or my mic — until now.

In Hamburg: Crossing Bridges, I wander from the calm waters of the Außenalster Lake, over the Lombardsbrücke, past the towering Rathaus, and into the wonderfully absurd and deeply moving Miniatur Wunderland — a place that somehow reduced the entire planet to model trains, tiny cafes, and one plastic goat that made me question the meaning of existence.

This episode reflects on:
 – The emotional weight of crossing bridges (both literal and personal)
 – The dry charm of German directness and design
 – Finding unexpected joy in structure, order, and the absurd
 – How a country I had no emotional connection to has slowly reshaped how I see the world
 – What we gain when we stop trying to conquer cities, and start letting them speak to us

I talk a lot about place — but what I’m really talking about is people, perception, and how we slowly rewrite ourselves through every step we take away from home.

Featured locations:
– Außenalster Lake
– Lombardsbrücke Bridge
– Hamburg Rathaus
– Miniatur Wunderland

If you’ve ever wandered a foreign city and felt something shift — even just a little — this episode is for you.

🎧 Subscribe to the story pilgrim for more poetic walking stories, unexpected reflections, and sacred moments from everyday places.

🗺️ Inspired by my 500-mile walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago and my 26 performances of Underneath the Lintel, the story pilgrim is about the stories that emerge when we walk, listen, and ask bigger questions.

🔗 Follow me on socials @thestorypilgrim | www.thestorypilgrim.com

#theStoryPilgrim #HamburgPodcast #TravelPodcast #WalkingPodcast #MiniaturWunderland #Storytelling #GermanyTravel #PilgrimagePodcast #SoloTravel #WanderingThoughts #CaminoSpirit #PodcastJourney #TravelReflection

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In this solo episode of the story pilgrim, I leave the front door of my new home in Mile Oak, East Sussex, and walk up onto the South Downs, carrying only my thoughts and a few well-worn quotes from voices that have shaped my path: Plato, A.A. Milne, Freddie Mercury, Glenn Berger, and Slavoj Žižek.

This isn’t a grand adventure episode. No faraway landscapes, no guest interviews. This one’s local. Grounded. Real. It’s about how place, routine, and the quiet hum of everyday life influence the big questions we carry.

I talk about:

• The challenge of being open while remaining private, especially as someone who creates a public-facing persona.
• The quiet but constant tug between wanderlust and rootedness.
• What it means to let emotion rise when you’ve spent years keeping it down.
• How quotes from philosophy, literature, music, and theatre still spark new reflections every time you read them on foot.

I reflect on what it means to feel at home, how things like a mortgage, a rescue dog, and a compost bin unexpectedly shape your creative life, and how the questions we ask tend to multiply the deeper we go.

👣 This episode is for you if you’re into:

• Philosophical storytelling
• Walking as a way of thinking
• Quotes that make you pause
• Slow travel and mindful reflection
• The tension between adventure and domestic life
• Real, unfiltered thoughts on creativity, identity, and adulthood

🎧 Featuring quotes and reflections from:

• Plato – “The unexamined life…”
• A.A. Milne – Quiet truths from Winnie the Pooh
• Freddie Mercury / Queen – The deep ache inside “I want to break free”
• Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger – Tracing the invisible through story
• Slavoj Žižek – On the illusion of freedom

💬 Call to Action:

If you find something in this episode that resonates, don’t keep it to yourself.
 Subscribe wherever you're listening, and share it with just one other person. Someone who might need a quiet voice in their headphones, reminding them it’s okay not to have the answers.

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If you've ever wondered what it truly feels like to walk 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago — sick, lost, exhilarated, broken open — this raw, real journey captures the private battles, quiet triumphs, and emotional unravelling that only a long road can teach.

In 2017, I set out across Spain, camera phone in hand, recording the rough edges of a pilgrimage that changed me before I even realised it had.

This episode stitches together those self-shot moments: falling ill far from help, getting lost and learning to trust again, feeling the sting of frustration as the crowds grew thicker, and facing the strange, humbling weight of reaching the end.

You'll also hear the first telling of Hendrick’s story — the 84-year-old pilgrim walking because he said God told him to — and walk with me through the last lonely miles into Santiago.

This isn’t a neat story.

It’s a threadbare one — and maybe that's the truest kind.

Follow the story pilgrim wherever you listen, and join me for a journey that's about far more than the distance.

Some journeys never end — they just keep unfolding.

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Driverless cars, the howls of sea lions, a cable car ride, Coit Tower views, and a walk through Chinatown all feature in this light-hearted San Francisco episode of the story pilgrim.

In Episode 44, Darren explores the quirky contrasts of a city where machines glide silently through the streets and the past hums loudly from every corner. This is a step away from the usual philosophical deep dives — a more playful, curious journey through hills, seals, espresso-fuelled detours, and one retro diner straight out of a George Lucas film.

Come for the self-driving ghosts, stay for the dodgy jokes and unexpected joy.