Harry Bucknall (born 1965) is a British writer best known for books ''In the Dolphin's Wake'' and ''Like a Tramp Like a Pilgrim''. He drew inspiration for these books from several major trips he took throughout his life. Bucknall has written for multiple newspapers and outlets, including ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'', and '' Country Life''. Bucknall was educated at the

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

and served as an officer in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

for 12 years. He is the grandson of Lt Gen Gerard Bucknall and younger brother of

James Bucknall Lieutenant General Sir James Jeffrey Corfield Bucknall, (born 29 November 1958) is a retired British Army officer and former Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. Early life Bucknall was born in 1958 and was educated at Winchester Coll ...

. After retiring Bucknall set out on a 5,500 mile journey from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

via 36 islands and every island chain in the Greek Archipelago. It included 57 sea passages on 35 ferries, four landing craft, three hydrofoils, a fishing caique and a sea plane. The story of the trip became his first book, ''In the Dolphin's Wake''. In 2012 Bucknall embarked on another trip, where he walked 1,411 miles from London to Rome following the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

, an ancient pilgrim path. The story of this journey, ''Like a Tramp Like a Pilgrim'', was published by

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

in July 2014. In December 2014, Buckall and his former army driver Jock Davis, now a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police, walked 133 miles from Dorset to London in order to raise funds for homeless former servicemen and women. A year later, they followed it up with a 335-mile walk from the Scottish borders to St Paul's Cathedral in London, following the journey made by

George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cru ...

when he marched from

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

to London enabling the Restoration of King Charles II. Their 14-day walk raised £28,000 for homeless veterans. Bucknall was admitted as a Freeman of the City of London in 2015. His new book A Road for All Seasons, telling the story of his 6,518-mile journey across the length and breadth of Britain, will be published by

Little Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

in August 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucknall, Harry English male writers British travel writers Living people 1965 births 21st-century British writers People educated at Harrow School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst