Nicholas Crane is an author, geographer, cartographic expert and recipient of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s Mungo Park Medal in recognition of outstanding contributions to geographical knowledge, and of the Royal Geographical Society’s Ness Award for popularising geography and the understanding of Britain. Between 2015 and 2018, Nick was the elected President of the Royal Geographical Society.

Nick has presented many acclaimed TV series’ on BBC2, among them Map Man, Great British Journeys, Town, Britannia and Coast. He has been the lead presenter on more than 80 BBC films.

Nick’s books include Clear Waters Rising: A Mountain Walk Across Europe (Penguin, 1996), which describes his solo, 10,000-kilometre walk along the continent’s mountain watershed and was called ‘One of the liveliest and most enthralling travel books I have read for years’ by Miranda Seymour in the Sunday Times. Two Degrees West: An English Journey (Viking, 1999), described as ‘An elegant and moving snapshot of England, a beautifully written book…very funny’ by The Times, is the account of a walk from one end to the other of England, following the prime meridian. The cartographic bestseller, Mercator: The Man Who Mapped the Planet (Orion, 2002), was praised by the great Lisa Jardine as ‘A gripping and densely informative biography’. Published in 2016, The Making of the British Landscape from the Ice Age to the Present (W&N, 2016), was described by The Times as ‘Storytelling at its best’ and by the Guardian as ‘Ambitious, magnificent’. You Are Here, A Brief Guide to the World (W&N, 2018), was celebrated in the New Statesman as ‘a lifetime of thought and travel … a hymn to geography.’ Latitude (Penguin) was published by Michael Joseph in 2021 and described in the Spectator as ‘terrific’.

In The Path More Travelled (W&N, 2026), Nick’s upcoming book, he explores the hidden history of this coast-to-coast web, from prehistoric routeways walked by European migrants 12,000 years ago to pilgrim ways and coffin roads, turnpikes, towpaths and city pavements. We discover how land-grabbing Norman barons began the enclosure of our countryside, and how our beloved national parks and long-distance trails emerged from the ashes of two world wars?

Charlie Colenutt studied history at the University of Oxford, where he won the Gibbs Prize. After his undergraduate studies, he stayed in Oxford as the Amelia Jackson scholar, completing a postgraduate degree on the history of the United States. He then had a brief turn as a commercial barrister, before leaving law to work as a writer and freelance consultant. He lives on a hill near High Wycombe.

Claire Cohen is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster. She was named Women’s Editor of the Year by the prestigious British Society of Magazine Editors for her agenda-setting articles and campaigning. She regularly appears as a commentator on the BBC and national radio, as well as being an experienced public speaker. Claire has written for publications including the Telegraph, Grazia, the Evening Standard and the New Statesman, and is a proud founder member of the Ginsburg Women’s Health Board. She lives in South London with her husband and tiny cat.

BFF? (Penguin, 2023) is her first book.

Photo courtesy of Amit Lennon

Barnabas Calder is a historian of architecture specialising in British architecture since 1945. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool, and is compiling an online complete works of Sir Denys Lasdun, funded by the Graham Foundation and in collaboration with the RIBA British Architectural Library Special Collections.

Photo courtesy of Helen @ GingerheadDesign

Pete Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and still occasionally gets dewy-eyed about northern bitter. Since 1991, he has worked in London in various marketing roles, the best of which have involved advertising beer. He runs his own marketing consultancy, writes regularly for the brewing industry trade press, and appears on TV every now and then talking about beer.

Sir Chris Bryant has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001. He is the Minister of State in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. He was Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Europe and Latin America in the last Labour Government.

Prior to entering Parliament he was a priest in the Church of England, serving as a curate in High Wycombe and a youth chaplain in Peterborough diocese and then ran an educational charity, Common Purpose, before becoming Head of European Affairs at the BBC, based in Brussels.

Chris read English at Oxford before completing two further Oxford degrees in Theology (including History of the Church) as part of his preparation for ordination. A former member of the Select Committee for Culture Media and Sport, he has written biographies of Stafford Cripps and Glenda Jackson, as well as a history of Christian Socialism. He has also edited several books of essays and has written regularly for the Guardian, the Mail on Sunday and the Independent, and appeared on every major TV and radio news and current affairs programme.

Chris Bryant was the first gay MP to celebrate his civil partnership in the Palace of Westminster. He was recently described by the political sketch-writer Quentin Letts as ‘a brilliant parliamentarian’.

Photo courtesy of Robin Silas Christian Photography

Jasper Rees has been a journalist since 1988. He has written over the years for most broadsheets, but principally the Daily Telegraph, Independent, Evening Standard and The Times Saturday Magazine. He has also written for Vogue, Harper’s, Radio Times and GQ. He lives in London.

Photo courtesy of Jillian Edelstein