Ningún viaje se inicia hasta que se deja atrás toda preparada (a literal translation which might be the best until it is known what Crane was implying).

A total guess is that Crane was trying to say that the "last prearranged pillow" could be similar to saying that "all things had to be in top shape /he was preparing for all eventualities before departing on his journey".

Who knows what Crane was thinking, or how he may have come up with ‘No journey starts until the last prearranged pillow is left behind’, whether it was his own ramblings (musings) or if the quote was based on historical events?

In the Kymer tradition, "if one dies, an empty pillow is left behind as a stark reminder of their absence".
https://hyperallergic.com/304647/in-cambodia-war-widows-shar...
Piersath decided to use the pillow form for several reasons. During a wedding, it is Khmer tradition for the bride and groom to place their hands together on pillows as a monk and/or relatives tie strings or ribbons around their wrists to pray for and bless the newlyweds. This is the moment the community acknowledges and blesses the couple. Later, when the couple is married and share a bed, each has his or her own pillow.*** If one dies, an empty pillow is left behind as a stark reminder of their absence. *** Looking at these pillows, reading their stories, we can imagine many hours in bed spent crying, dreaming, and longing for these men to return, for their memories to become real once again.

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https://ruthlessramblings.wordpress.com/category/quotes-abou...
No journey starts until the last prearranged pillow is left behind.
Nicholas Crane, writer and broadcaster,
From Two Degrees West: A Walk Along England’s Meridian. 1999
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OTHER WALKING QUOTES
Not knowing where to lay my head always turns the end of the day into some sort of climax.
Nicholas Crane, writer and broadcaster,
From Two Degrees West: A Walk Along England’s Meridian. 1999
==============

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Degrees-West-English-Journey/dp/0...
What is England and who are the English? There is a line from one end of England to the other. This is the line of longitude - 2 degrees west - and it describes a cross-section through the country. The author follows this line as closely as physically possible on foot - terrain ranging from open moorland to urban back-streets. The line begins at Berwick-on-Tweed on the border with Scotland and runs south through the wilds of Northumberland and includes the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines, Birmingham suburbs, Cotswolds, Salisbury Plain, Dorset and Isle of Purbeck.

https://espowiki.com/nicholas_crane
Libros
La Guía de rutas de ciclismo de CTC en Gran Bretaña e Irlanda (con Christa Gausden, 1980)
Guía de ciclismo (Tantivy Press, anualmente 1980–86)
Ciclismo en Europa (1984)
Bicicletas hasta el Kilimanjaro (con Richard Crane, 1985)
Viaje al centro de la tierra (con Richard Crane, 1987)
Richard's Mountain Bike Book (con Charles Kelly, editado por Richard Ballantine, 1988)
Los deportes de acción de Nick Crane (1989)
Atlas Biker: Ciclismo en Marruecos. OUP (1990)
Clear Waters Rising: A Mountain Walk Across Europe (1996)
****Dos grados al oeste: un viaje en inglés (2000)****
Mercator: el hombre que mapeó el planeta (2003)
Grandes viajes británicos (2007)
Coast A Journey around our Shores (2010)
The Making of the British Landscape: From the Ice Age to the Present (2016)


https://qdoc.tips/los-caminos-de-santiago-en-galicia-f-pdf-f...
El Camino Francés. De O Cebreiro a Sarria Mi llegada en autobús desde La Coruña a Piedrafita do Cebreiro coincidió con una bajada brusca de temperaturas y unas negras nubes en el horizonte que me hicieron apretar la marcha para cubrir los 4 km. hasta el albergue de O Cebreiro en un suspiro. A mi llegada al atardecer la temperatura había bajado a 4° y una espesa niebla se apoderó de la zona, dando la sensación de que hacías un**** "sendero entre las nubes", título de un libro que os recomiendo de **Nicolas Crane**, un inglés que caminó desde Santiago hasta Estambul cruzando todas las cadenas montañosas en su camino.*** O Cebreiro es muy pequeño, pero alberga el templo de origen prerrománico más antiguo del Camino Francés, Santa María a Real do Cebreiro, el edificio del antiguo hospital de peregrinos, y un museo etnográfico en el que varias pallozas (la vivienda circular típica de Galicia en tiempos remotos) han sido restauradas.