As a college student, Sandy Brown developed a deep interest in European languages and history. He brought the stories and lessons he learned to his years as a United Methodist pastor in Washington State, but there was always a gnawing interest – to explore the world. He began small, leading church groups to the Holy Land, then Egypt, then Turkey and then Italy.
After walking the Camino de Santiago in 2008, Sandy was hooked on long-distance walking as a way to satisfy his appetite for adventure. Not content to enjoy trekking on his own, he shared his love of pilgrim walks by writing guidebooks, beginning with a now-classic volume on the Via di Francesco. After leading a group walking tour for another company, in 2016 he established Pilgrim Paths so he could share what he had learned. In 2022 he welcomed his sister, Rocky Nieblas-Brown, as a partner.
Sandy continues to write popular guidebooks and now he is recognized as one of the world’s foremost pilgrimage guidebook authors, with his many Cicerone guidebooks based on his more than 18,000 kilometers on pilgrim trails in Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, the UK and the US. He has received the Honor Award from the European Association of Vie Francigene, delivered the Constance Storrs Lecture in 2021 for the Confraternity of St James, and has been a frequent guest speaker for the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome. His expertise on routes makes him a storehouse of information for planning itineraries for Pilgrim Paths walking tours. In 2022 Sandy was diagnosed with a non-life threatening version of ALS/MND which has curtailed his ability to speak in public. Thanks to voice-assistive Artificial Intelligence technology he continues to present publicly, with speeches planned for 2025 in London, UK, and Vancouver, Canada. His aggressive walking and writing schedule in 2024 included two new guidebook updates, the Second Edition of his Way of St Francis guidebook, and a co-authored guidebook on the Via Francigena south of Rome.
In the meantime, Pilgrim Paths has continued its remarkable growth and in 2024 served nearly 200 pilgrims in guided and self-guided pilgrimage treks in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, France, and Italy. Contact us for more information about how we can help make your pilgrimage dream come true.
