the story pilgrim
Discover the power of storytelling and the journey of self-discovery on life's pilgrimage. Join Darren as he walks ancient and modern pilgrim paths, unearthing the sacred stories that connect us all. From bustling cities to tranquil countryside, each episode weaves together personal reflections, ramblings, heartfelt conversations, and the rich histories of the places he explores. Whether you’re a traveller at heart, a seeker of wisdom, or someone who finds solace in nature’s embrace, this podcast offers inspiration, insight, and a deeper connection to the world around us. Tune in and walk, take a hike, alongside Darren as he navigates the paths that shape our lives and communities.
Episodes
Life coaching, personal growth, spirituality, nature, resilience, pilgrimage, self-compassion, motivation and the power of choice.
In this episode of the story pilgrim, I sit down with coach, author and speaker Sondra Harper to explore a question that sits at the heart of so many of our lives:
How do we choose who we become when life doesn't unfold as we planned?
As a wife, mother, coach and pilgrim, Sondra shares the ...
Walking, travel, mindfulness, reflection, Vancouver Washington, Mount Hood, pilgrimage, storytelling and finding presence in an increasingly busy world.
After weeks of walking with guests across Season Two, this episode takes a pause.
No actor.
No coach.
No writer.
No counsellor.
Just me.
Fresh off a full transatlantic flight and running on little sleep, I find myself in Vancouver, Washington, an often-overlook...
Longtime friend Natalie Rozon joins me in Montreal for a walk about memory, encouragement, parenthood, loss, and the conversations that quietly alter the direction of a life.
Natalie and I first met in 2000 while working aboard the cruise ship Mercury — sailing from Vancouver to Alaska. I worked in the casino; Natalie worked in guest relations. We were young, uncertain, and trying to work out who we were becomi...
In this experimental episode, I walk with William Shakespeare — or at least, a version of him shaped through artificial intelligence — exploring creativity, storytelling, and what it means to give voice to someone long gone.
Unable to find a human companion for this walk, I turned to AI — asking it to take on the character of Shakespeare as if we were walking together through the countryside, speaki...
Trainee counsellor, actor and curly associate Lucy Hill joins me for a walk on Southwick Hill to talk about therapy training, personal growth, identity, and navigating life through challenge and change.
In this episode, Lucy reflects on her journey towards becoming a therapist — the realities of counselling training, the emotional weight of working with others, and how difficult life events during that process ...
Writer, mentor, and creative writing teacher Gary Mepsted joins me for a conversation in his garden to talk about writing craft, storytelling, observation, and a life shaped by instinct rather than plan.
Expelled from school early on, Gary’s path into writing was anything but straightforward. Later gaining a Master’s in English, he has spent decades teaching others, though he avoids calling it a “ca...
Award-winning football coach Jordan Stringer joins me for a walk around Upminster to talk about resilience, grassroots football, dyspraxia, and overcoming testicular cancer at a young age.
Jordan grew up in Upminster with a deep love for football. A game that didn’t come easily to him. Living with dyspraxia meant coordination was a constant challenge, but instead of stepping away, he found another way in. A tea...
Actor, life coach, and creative entrepreneur Sascha Cooper joins me for a walk through the Seven Sisters Nature Reserve at Cuckmere Haven to talk about acting, intuition, personal growth, and the winding path of a creative life.
Raised in Devon and later studying in Plymouth before training at The Courtyard Theatre Training Company, London, Sascha has spent more than two decades building a creative life in Brighton &...
Intimacy Coach for women and embodiment practitioner Daria Lebedeva walks with me along the River Thames to talk about spirituality, healing, embodiment, and finding meaning through nature, ritual, and self-trust.
Born in Russia and raised partly in the UK from the age of ten, Daria grew up close to rivers, forests, and open ground. A childhood shaped by movement, mud, and curiosity. That early closeness to nature st...
Actor and funeral director Abi Pattenden joins me for a walk to Old Hamsey Church, where her grandparents are buried, and where memory refuses to stay still.
We walk just north of Lewes, tracing the path her grandparents took when they moved from Wales after her grandfather found work nearby as a signalman. We pass the house Abi remembers from childhood, before arriving at the churchyard that still holds her family s...
James Harkin, co-host of the hit podcast No Such Thing As A Fish and Head Researcher on BBC’s QI, joins me for a walking, and golfing, conversation about curiosity, childhood, and how a life quietly takes shape.
We met at Deane Golf Club, the course where James learned the game as a boy, and played a round while talking through his early years in Bolton, school days, falling sideways into research, and ending u...
Lagos: Between Things is a quiet walking reflection recorded on the edges of a hotel, between flights, between seasons, between certainty and whatever comes next.
There’s nothing performative about this walk. No attempt to decode Lagos or turn the city into a backdrop for insight. Instead, this episode sits in the in-between: raising the bar for the story pilgrim, wondering why connection is harder to cultivate...
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 ...
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 news...
“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 an...
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...
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 fl...
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...
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...
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...
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