For the first time in more than 40 years, I don’t have a house key in my pocket and I’m likely to be sleeping in a different bed every night for about the next six weeks.

Much as I loved Paul Young’s cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Wherever I Lay My Hat” back in the 80’s, I never thought I’d be in a position to actually relate to the concept of not being entirely certain where I’d be sleeping from one night to the next.

The reason for my itinerancy is rather different to Marvin and Paul’s – instead of being on the roam and giving girls the eye, I’m just going on a very long walk and following the path of many thousands of others in aiming to make it from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela.

Those who have gone before me are called Pilgrims or Peregrinos and while I cannot claim a religious reason to want to walk with them, it’s a happy coincidence that I’m actually already a Pilgrim too.

Before I set out on this long walk, there’s the small matter of going to Coventry today, to cheer on my team there.

Once a Pilgrim, always a Pilgrim.