Because of the close friendship between Paddy and Bruce Chatwin, this blog has often highlighted material about the controversial, but acclaimed travel writer who died of HIV in 1989. I have just come across a programme on BBC iPlayer which I hope that many of you can access (is iPlayer still restricted by geography?), as it is a short film by the great German film-maker, Werner Herzog, paying homage to Chatwin.

Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin was first shown last Saturday on BBC 2 and is now on iPlayer for the next 27 days. I hope that you find time to watch the film (85 mins long) which you can find here. iPlayer does require registration. The blurb is as follows:

When legendary writer and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was dying of Aids, his friend and collaborator Werner Herzog made a final visit to say farewell. As a parting gift, Chatwin gave Herzog the rucksack that had accompanied him around the world.

Thirty years later, carrying the rucksack, Herzog sets out on his own journey, inspired by Chatwin’s passion for the nomadic life. Along the way, Herzog uncovers stories of lost tribes, wanderers and dreamers.

He travels to South America, where Chatwin wrote In Patagonia, the book that turned him into a literary sensation, with its enigmatic tales of dinosaurs, myths and journeys to the ends of the world. In Australia, where he and Chatwin first met, Herzog explores the sacred power of the Aboriginal traditions that inspired Chatwin’s most famous book, The Songlines. And in the UK, in the beautiful landscape of the Welsh borders, he discovers the one place Chatwin called home.

Told in Herzog’s inimitable style – full of memorable characters and encounters – this is a portrait of one of the 20th century’s most charismatic writers, which also offers a revealing insight into the imagination and obsessions of one of the 20th century’s most visionary directors.

If you would like to find other Bruce Chatwin articles on the blog, take a look here.

You might like to revisit our friend Jasper Winn’s walk when he retraced Herzog’s amazing winter 500 mile walk from Munich to Paris in 1974 to save his friend’s life. Listen via the link here.