Brian Mooney, on foot to Rome

I spent three wonderful years in Rome as a Reuters correspondent from 1977-1980 and, although I have returned to Italy many times since then, this summer I decided to make a slower, more reflective journey back to the Eternal City - on foot. It took me 75 days to walk there via London from my home in Coggeshall in Essex - a total of 2,200 km.

I have a passion for long walks. In 2000 I walked a similar distance from Walsingham in Norfolk to Santiago de Compostela, and in between I have crossed the British Isles coast to coast, walked France from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and crested the Alps from Chamonix to Zermatt. I have also climbed a few mountains. But nothing has equalled the challenge and fun of walking to Rome.

Part of the attraction was following in the footsteps of the pilgrims who have walked that way over the centuries, and the rest was the simple pleasure of watching the changing landscape and the passing seasons, and of slowing down to three miles an hour. I did the journey in relative comfort - a credit card weighs less than a tent - and stayed most of the time in bed & breakfasts and hotels.

The high point, literally, was crossing the Alps over the Grand St Bernard Pass, and the most beautiful stretch was undoubtedly Tuscany, particularly the Val d’Orcia. But the best moment of all was arriving in St Peter’s Square, from where I had reported for Reuters on three Popes - Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II.

Walking to Rome was also a way of unwinding after preparing two books for publication - editing a posthumous account by the author Frank Baines of his time as a Chindit officer in Burma under Jack Masters, and writing his biography. Both books, Chindit Affair, and Frank Baines - A Life Beyond the Sea, will be published in Spring 2011.

Meanwhile, in between PR for Indian infrastructure investor Eredene Capital PLC and work as a City of London Councilman, I am writing a book on my walk to Rome - A Long Way for a Pizza.

PHOTO: Brian Mooney arrives in Rome - in the background, the first view of St Peter's from Monte Mario.

Brian Mooney was with Reuters from 1971-2000 as a reporter and chief correspondent and in various business and management roles. In 2003, together with the late Barry Simpson, he wrote what turned out to be the last book on Reuters as an independent company - Breaking News. ■