I haven't seen the paths in question that you are talkng about, but over the years have laid many myself.
Construction method is very dependent upon budget, intended use, and material.
My preferred method when laying for example stock bricks as shown below on some paving that I did in front of a garage, is to lay a concrete base first, then lay the bricks over a mortar bed. I would never use a compactor plate on stock bricks, as they are inherently weak when used in that way.
Digindeep has it pretty well covered though for when using purpose designed paving bricks, and possibly one of the only things that I would do differently is to use a Terram 1000 membrane underneath. It has the advantage of spreading load, and also in some respects it helps to act as a weed/root barrier. They will still find there way up the sides, but hopefully decent weed removal before starting the project should have eliminated them anyway.
I'll try and dig out some photos of brick pathways that I have constructed around and across gardens.