Andy Bull bij Bibliotrek

Andy Bull's  latest book is 'Driving the REAL Great North Road'. It tells the story of discovering the old, original road from London to Edinburgh. Once, The Great North Road was spoken of as the UK’s very own version of America’s Route 66: the Mother Road, threading its way across this green and pleasant land, linking the capitals of London and Edinburgh, taking in the great cities of York and Newcastle, numerous market towns, and countless villages whose old coaching inns now catered for a new, romantic breed: the motorist.

It's widely believed that the Great North Road is now dead: buried by the A1, with its motorway-grade stretches and ubiquitous town by-passes. In fact it's still very much alive. Because the A1 is not the Great North Road. Realignment, renumbering, re-routing and extensive upgrading have meant that it bears little relation to the original highway. No more than a quarter of the modern A1 follows the route of the true Great North Road.

So it’s still there, but heavily disguised. This book is about finding - and driving - the real old road. Another recent title is 'London to Walsingham Camino: The Pilgrimage Guide'. The book gives everything the walker needs to travel the route that was once the most popular pilgrim destination in England, eclipsed in the Christian world by just Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem. The route fell into disuse after the Reformation and, while Canterbury remained in the popular consciousness thanks to Chaucer, Walsingham became just a village in Norfolk once again. That all changed a century ago, but few of the 300,000 who go there annually walk more than the final holy mile. This book is part of an attempt to change all that.

It is my second book about pilgrimage. The first, 'Pilgrim Pathways, 1-2 day walks on Britain's Ancient Sacred Ways', is a guide to pilgrimages you can do in a weekend, with loads of day-walk options. 'Pilgrim Pathways' is designed for people - of all faiths and none - who love the idea of going on a pilgrimage, but just can't face the hundreds of miles, and days and days of walking, that most routes require. With this guide, you could make pilgrimage a regular part of your life.