- 2 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01Grabbing a short break in the fresh air, away from the daily grind, is my way of recharging.
00:09A road like this forces you to take a look at your surroundings.
00:16Luckily, the North East always delivers, and Bonnie Scotland is on my doorstep.
00:23Please don't make me go back to London.
00:25The trick is finding things to do that make your heart sore.
00:33Singing is a bit like an internal spa treatment.
00:36Tony Allen Shearer, keep it together Robson, keep it together.
00:41And spending time in good company.
00:46Guys, I'm actually blushing.
00:49He said I was meeting Brian Robson.
00:53Can be a great way of bringing balance back into our lives.
00:58You smashed that.
01:00I'm not really staring Robson, I'm trusting in God.
01:03Welcome to the outdoors love.
01:05I've got three ducks there, that's very cute.
01:08Cheers.
01:08To companionship.
01:11You had a good day?
01:12The best.
01:22What a beautiful day to be in Northumberland.
01:26How is that view for a testament to nature's artistry?
01:33And where better to go on a day like today than a place I adore?
01:38The Northumberland coastline.
01:40I'm going to be spending the weekend in the company of a man whose career has been a remarkable voyage
01:46of change and creativity.
01:48And thanks to some memorable reality TV appearances, he's recently become something of a national treasure.
01:55He has been a world famous pop star.
01:59He then went from being a pop star to being a priest.
02:03He's appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
02:08I'm going to be for the next 48 hours in the company of the one and only Reverend Richard Coles.
02:18Richard has travelled by train from his home in East Sussex.
02:23This weekend I'm hoping to show him just why the beautiful Northumbrian coastline is such a special and often spiritual
02:31place.
02:33How are you lovely?
02:34I'm good, lovely to see you.
02:35You're looking well.
02:37You brought the weather with you?
02:38Of course.
02:43Are you looking forward to a bit of R&R?
02:45I'm really looking forward to a bit.
02:47But you're thinking of rest and recuperation.
02:48I'm thinking of Richard and Robson.
02:51Perfect.
02:55So, when was the last time you were in Northumberland?
02:57And do you know Northumberland?
02:59I don't know very well, Robson.
03:00I know Hexum a little bit, which I know.
03:02That's where I live.
03:03Well, I think I read some as it's your hometown.
03:05Born and bred.
03:06Born and bred.
03:07Born and bred.
03:10So, where's home for you?
03:11Where do you feel most at home?
03:13Kettering.
03:14It's a little Midland Tower where we used to make shoes.
03:17That's where I grew up.
03:18And it is...
03:18I am Kettering and Kettering is me.
03:21But I don't live in it anymore.
03:23And growing up in Kettering?
03:24Yeah.
03:24What were weekends away for Richard Coles?
03:27I'm one of those generation of kids who got a moped at 16.
03:30And that meant I could go to Northampton
03:33and sort of live the bright lights at Northampton.
03:35But I escaped as soon as I could.
03:36I was a gay teenager in Kettering and I thought if there is a liveable life for me, it's probably
03:42not going to be here right now.
03:44And I knew that it would have to be London where I would have my best chance of that.
03:48So I did and I arrived in London when I was 18 in 1980.
03:51And that was the beginning of a new life really.
03:55This is Warkworth.
03:56This is the medieval town of Wark.
03:58That's Warkworth Castle.
04:00That's beautiful.
04:01You're now in Percy Country.
04:04Oh.
04:04This is where Harry Hotspur hung out.
04:07This is a coastline filled with stunning castles and deeply spiritual places of pilgrimage and worship,
04:14which I know Richard is going to love.
04:17But first on the agenda is a bit of fun and adventure in the Coquette Estuary, here at the Port
04:23of Amble.
04:25Have you ever paddled in a Canadian canoe along the Coquette?
04:31I can say with utter confidence, and there are large periods of my life which are a little bit hazy,
04:36that I have never done that.
04:37Well, I would love to do that.
04:39Well, you're going to.
04:39That's what we're going to do first this morning.
04:42I feel I need to let you know that my mastery of marine skill is quite limited.
04:50If all else fails, we've got stunt doubles.
04:53I'd love to know who mine is.
04:55You know who somebody said I look like the other day, the person I most resemble?
04:58Maureen Lipman.
05:06The Coquette Shore Base Trust is a charitable organisation created to help people of all ages and abilities get involved
05:14with water sports.
05:18Our expert guide to canoeing on the Coquette is instructor Tim Stewart.
05:23Good afternoon, welcome.
05:25Hi Richard.
05:26Good to see you.
05:26You've picked a cracking day for a canoe trip, haven't I?
05:29Yeah, it's beautiful.
05:31We're going to take the tide up the river, up towards Walkworth.
05:35So these are the canoes we'll be paddling in.
05:38These are Canadian canoes?
05:39Canadian canoes or open canoes.
05:41When was the last time you paddled anything?
05:44I can tell you when.
05:45It was a paddle board on the, just off the Kintyre Peninsula about ten years ago.
05:51I couldn't stand up.
05:53In the end they had to get someone to rescue me and they really did.
05:57I couldn't get, I got stuck.
05:59I don't think that's quite as joyous.
06:04Well that doesn't bode well.
06:06Let's just hope we don't need to summon the coast guard today.
06:12You alright there Richard?
06:14Yeah.
06:15How lovely is this?
06:17This is civilised.
06:18The beauty of the open canoe that.
06:25Nice turn Richard, I like your style.
06:27We've got this.
06:31And we've got the wind on our backs.
06:33That's really helping as well.
06:34That's good isn't it?
06:34Yeah.
06:38One thing Richard and I have in common is we both grew up in the countryside
06:42before moving further afield to pursue our dreams.
06:46In my case that led to an acting career.
06:49In Richard's it led him to pop stardom.
06:52Playing keyboards in the 80's synth duo, the communards.
07:00Did you find there was a kind of revolution in culture and experience for you
07:03when you went to London?
07:05Well yeah, I mean I'd led a very sheltered life Robson
07:07because I'm, you know, public school boy, ex chorister,
07:11came from a relatively privileged and secure background
07:14and then I met Jimmy Somerville who grew up in a tenement in Glasgow
07:18and I'd never met anyone like that.
07:21And that's why I became the unlikeliest pop star of the 1980's.
07:24I just happened to be standing next to Jimmy Somerville when he began singing.
07:27So I was just very lucky.
07:29And so were we watching, we loved your music and still do.
07:34You've got that steering off to a T now Richard.
07:39We've reached our destination of Warkworth,
07:42so it's time to turn round and head back up the estuary towards Amble.
07:50Paddle on the right Richard, paddle on the right.
07:54Hey Tim, not bad for a couple of Canadian canoeist beginners.
07:58Very good.
08:00I'm loving this.
08:01Excellent.
08:02We're now paddling against the tide and into the breeze.
08:07I'm finding it really difficult in this wind to steer.
08:11I don't know if you are Richard.
08:12I'm not really steering Robson, I'm trusting in God.
08:21Look, someone's doing a headstand on the pan on the port over there.
08:24Hooray!
08:25Hooray!
08:41Hooray!
08:41It's really, really special Robson and I think I'm going to move myself here.
08:46Very tempted.
08:48Certainly spend more time here.
08:52So Richard?
08:54Yeah?
08:54Time for you to do the headstand in the Canadian canoe.
08:57I don't want to take my glory from that guy.
09:04Well that was a wonderful way to start the weekend.
09:07But before we leave the River Cokut, there's one more very special place I want to show Richard.
09:14It's one of Northumberland's best kept secrets and somewhere I think he'll love.
09:20Have you ever heard of the Warkworth Hermitage?
09:23I haven't but I want badly to see it.
09:26Well that's where we're going now.
09:27It is the most extraordinary thing.
09:31I've been once before.
09:33I've a mate who's a hermit.
09:38Seriously.
09:38You've a mate who's a hermit?
09:40Yeah.
09:41She's getting on in years now so she's moved into somewhere a bit closer to civilization for many years.
09:46She lived in an old shepherd's posse and her nearest neighbour was I think 15 miles away.
09:51I lived in the monastery for a couple of years and I remember finding it quite tough at one point.
09:57The route to the Hermitage takes us back along the banks of the River Cokut.
10:05You think somewhere this beautiful Robson would be absolutely thronged with people but it's not so busy which is great.
10:12The gatekeeper to Warkworth's hidden gem is this chap, boatman Stephen Elliott.
10:18For a small fee he'll row you across the river to where the walk to the Hermitage continues.
10:25Are you good?
10:26Raring to go.
10:28Good man.
10:28Living the dream.
10:30The only means of getting there Steve.
10:34Unless you want to abseil down the cliffs you have to go by vessel.
10:37Yeah I was just going to abseil but I left my abseil row.
10:42Come on then.
10:47Come on then.
11:02Well Stephen that has to be the shortest and most beautiful boat ride I've ever been on.
11:12So there you go Richard.
11:16I've never seen anything like it.
11:19Yeah it's a bit more than a hole in the wall isn't it?
11:23It's a proper chaplain actually.
11:25You'll see when we go in.
11:29The Hermitage was created sometime around the 1400s by the first Earl of Northumberland.
11:36It's believed a priest was paid to live here and pray for the souls of the Earl and his family.
11:44Oh my goodness.
11:47Oh look at that.
11:50That's amazing.
11:57I do look at that.
12:02Carved out of the rock.
12:05Most people are expecting a cave where some down and out lived.
12:09And it's a lot grander than that.
12:14It's really very moving actually you see.
12:17I've never seen anywhere quite like this.
12:20Alright, when do I move in?
12:23It's been really great.
12:24A wonderful thing to see.
12:26A real discovery, thank you.
12:30I had a feeling Richard would love this visit to the Walkworth Hermitage.
12:34It's one of those special experiences you just don't forget.
12:39With the day drawing to a close, it's time to head further up the Northumberland coast to find our lodgings
12:45for the night.
12:47On the way, I wanted to ask Richard about another of his many careers.
12:51He's authored a series of novels about a crime-fighting vicar and written books about his own extraordinary life story
12:59and the loss of his partner David in 2019.
13:04You've written very candidly and openly about your past and loss and grief.
13:10Did you find writing a way of dealing with that?
13:13I just really wanted to do two things.
13:16One was to write down what was happening as a way of just because I thought other people might relate
13:21to it.
13:22But the other thing was I wanted to kind of hang on to David because if you're bereaved, anyone who's
13:27bereaved will tell you, you sort of feel, you're terrified that you're going to lose the person.
13:31And so you want to just grab on to what's left of them and hang on to it as tightly
13:35as you can.
13:40This is Beudel Bay Croft, a coastal farmstead just outside Bambra.
13:49We're going to be spending the night in this luxurious timber lodge, surrounded by countryside and a few friendly animals.
14:04Home for the night, Richard.
14:06Wow.
14:07Beautiful.
14:10I promise you, a room with a view.
14:12Well, I've certainly got that, haven't I?
14:13Here to greet us is owner, Alison Johnson.
14:17Hello, welcome. Well, hello.
14:19Lovely to have you stay with us.
14:21Lovely to meet you, Alison.
14:23Everything's set in here so you can just kick your shoes off, relax.
14:26So for you, what makes this place a special?
14:28It's home. It's just, I mean, Northumberland's, you're from Northumberland.
14:33Northumberland's a special place and people are lovely up here.
14:36Well, I can't argue with that.
14:41Thank you so much.
14:43I think we'll sleep well tonight.
14:45Thank you, Alison.
14:48My eye bags in the best room.
14:50It's Weekend Escape with Robson Green.
14:51Always the bloody star.
14:54Now it's not often you get to spend a weekend in the company of a pop star turned vicar.
15:01And I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.
15:05Lovely here, isn't it?
15:06Beautiful.
15:09That's not your dawn chorus, that's your dusk chorus.
15:12And speaking of music, see what I did there?
15:15Yeah.
15:15A little bird told me that you can play the accordion.
15:21Well, get this.
15:23I've got a mate down the road who also plays the accordion, who heard you play the accordion.
15:29So he's lent me his accordion.
15:34I'll name that tune in 10.
15:36Okay.
15:36Probably 20.
15:37No, what's that one?
15:41Amazing Grace.
15:43When I was with Jerome, we did that.
15:46It's a great song.
15:47It's a great tune.
15:48It is.
15:48It is a great tune.
15:50Speaking of hymns, do you remember this one?
15:52What key are you in?
15:54It's a D.
15:54Give me joy in my heart.
15:58Keep me sharing.
16:00Give me joy in my heart.
16:02I pray.
16:04Yes, I pray.
16:05Give me joy in my heart.
16:07Keep me sharing.
16:09Keep me sharing till the break of day.
16:14Here we go, Richard.
16:15Sing Hosanna.
16:18Sing Hosanna.
16:20Sing Hosanna to the king of sin.
16:24Sing.
16:26Sing.
16:27Sing.
16:29Sing.
16:29Sing.
16:30Sing.
16:36Mate, that has got number one written all over it.
16:40Robson and Richard.
16:43R&R.
16:44R&R.
16:44Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
16:56Yep.
16:57R&D
17:02I can't stop the inkled, I think.
17:04I'm sorry about that.
17:05Yeah.
17:05The earworm.
17:06Mm.
17:07Thanks for the tea.
17:08Cheers.
17:08Cheers.
17:09Morning.
17:10What a lovely morning it is.
17:14I've been in love with the old horse.
17:16Yeah, the pony.
17:18The old claret.
17:1935 years old.
17:21The claret's rump's going, isn't it?
17:23It's what old age does, doesn't it?
17:25As we get older, do you think our rumps will be like that?
17:28My rump has been on that for years.
17:31Yeah.
17:34Well, I know you want to stay here all day in the peace and tranquility, but I've got
17:38another north-eastern iconic landmark I need to show you.
17:41Why not?
17:42And we need to get there because time and tide wait for no man.
17:45There's a clue in that.
17:47Let's go.
17:48Let's go.
17:53What a super Sunday.
17:55Lovely Sunday.
17:57Yeah.
17:57Sunday mornings have been very different for Richard since he retired from being a vicar
18:02in 2022.
18:05Do you not miss it, waking up on a Sunday to do a service?
18:08Oh, yeah, I really do.
18:09I really do.
18:09But the compensation is I now get to, well, go to places like here and meet people.
18:20I'm going to take you to a place I'm sure you know, which is an iconic north-eastern landmark
18:27where history, nature and religion are intertwined.
18:32There's a big market.
18:38I think I can guess where we're going.
18:40I think we might be going to Holy Island.
18:43You're right, Richard.
18:44We are indeed going to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
18:48It really is a magical place, from its wonderfully preserved 16th-century castle to its ruined
18:56priory, built on one of the most important centres of early Christianity.
19:03The island remains a place of religious pilgrimage and spiritual refuge today, and is only accessible
19:09by car at low tide.
19:14You ignore the tide times on the causeway at your peril.
19:18But I do like the thought of being cut off sometimes.
19:22Yeah, as long as we can get match of the day, too.
19:24Yeah, Newcastle are playing Chelsea today.
19:26And Arsenal are playing Liverpool.
19:29This is so beautiful.
19:30I've only ever been here when it's been wintry and wet.
19:34Look at that.
19:36So beautiful.
19:37It's the lorry, Tisley.
19:42What better way to kick off our visit to this magical island than to create our very own
19:47piece of Lindisfarne art?
19:50We're meeting Pat Tidy of Holy Island Crafts, who has found an inventive way of recycling rope
19:56discarded by the island's fishermen.
20:01Pat, how are you?
20:03I'm fine, thank you.
20:03Rob's a lovely to see you.
20:04Hello, Pat.
20:05Richard.
20:06Lovely to meet you.
20:07And you.
20:08I hope you don't mind, but I rope Richard into this.
20:10Oh, very good.
20:11Eh?
20:12Eh?
20:12Very good.
20:13You can't buy that.
20:15Pat, I love what you've got here.
20:17So where's this rope come from?
20:18That rope comes from the bottom of the North Sea out there.
20:21Oh.
20:21It's what they have the lobster pots on.
20:24When it's been in the water a year or two years, it starts to rot, so they have to replace
20:29it all.
20:29So they take it out of the water and they drop it just over the wall up there.
20:35And then I end up making things like this so that you can have nice artwork on your walls.
20:40And I'm noticing a lot of crosses here.
20:42Yeah.
20:42Are these Celtic crosses?
20:43No, they're crosses.
20:44Celtic crosses, yes.
20:49Would you like to have a try at tying some knots?
20:51Oh, yes.
20:52Can we start at elementary level, please?
20:54Elementary level.
20:58So you've got the two knots like that.
21:00Ah, OK.
21:01Yeah.
21:01And so you take that one.
21:02Uh-huh.
21:03Over that one.
21:04Uh-huh.
21:05Under that one.
21:06And through that one.
21:07And through that one.
21:09Yeah.
21:09And you keep on feeding it round.
21:11What is that knot called?
21:11That's a coin knot.
21:12Coin knot?
21:13Yeah.
21:13I think Richard's invented his own knot.
21:16That's not a knot.
21:17It's a cannot.
21:20Would you like to carry on making something that I started a bit earlier?
21:23Oh, yes.
21:24So that you've got a chance to finish it.
21:26I'd love to do that.
21:30There's one for Richard.
21:31Yeah.
21:32And there's one for Robson.
21:33So you take your rope.
21:36And you lift up this one.
21:39Yeah.
21:40Put the rope underneath there.
21:41Like that?
21:41Comes through the middle, yeah.
21:42Through the middle, yeah.
21:43Through the middle, yeah.
21:43Right, now pull until you get to the end, almost.
21:46The end of the line.
21:49Me and Richard seem to be tying ourselves in knots.
21:53But this is a lot of fun.
22:00Oh, yes.
22:02How satisfying is this, Richard?
22:05It's very satisfying.
22:09So, Pat.
22:11Yes, Robson?
22:12Were you born in Brennanholey Island?
22:13No, I wasn't.
22:14What brought you here?
22:16Was it the hedonistic lifestyle and the nightclubs?
22:19No, it wasn't that.
22:20It was the fact that I was in a very stressful job in Berkshire
22:22and wanted to move away.
22:24The opportunity arose that we could rent a house up here.
22:29So we decided to take the plunge.
22:32And for you, what makes Holy Island so special?
22:38It's the feeling you get when you're coming over the causeway.
22:43It feels to me like I'm coming home.
22:45But it's just a feeling that you get.
22:49I think we're getting that Holy Island feeling too.
22:52And our rope work is nearly done.
22:55That's looking really good, isn't it?
22:58I need to trim the ends.
22:59Right.
23:00Richard, I don't know about you, but I'm happy with that.
23:05I'm very happy with that.
23:07I'm going to take it home.
23:09Yes.
23:09And when I look at it, I'll think of the time I was with Richard Coles
23:14alongside Pat Tidy and this beautiful sitting,
23:17and we created something beautiful.
23:19You did indeed.
23:20Well, that was lovely, Thor.
23:21And I will have this on the wall by my kitchen door,
23:23and I'll see it every time we go in.
23:24Every time we go in and out.
23:25Yeah.
23:26And I'll think, where the hell did that come from?
23:33Pat, thank you so much.
23:34That was a real pleasure.
23:36Genuine, a real pleasure.
23:37Thank you, Pat.
23:38Thank you, Richard.
23:38That's pretty simple.
23:42The sun is about to set, but our weekend escape isn't over.
23:46As the saying goes, leave nothing but memories,
23:50take nothing but photographs.
23:52And we're about to do exactly that.
23:56Originally from Yorkshire,
23:58Emma Rotherer now runs photography walks here on the island.
24:02Richard.
24:03Hi.
24:03Emma, what have you got planned for me and Richard this evening?
24:06So this evening, we're going to be doing a photography workshop
24:09in the wonderful Lindisfarne Priory.
24:13We'd better hurry up, because fast falls the eventide.
24:17Like it.
24:18You might say.
24:18So would you like to lead the way, Emma?
24:20Fast falls the eventide.
24:22Get you.
24:28Wow.
24:32How beautiful is this?
24:34This has to be a photographer's paradise, yeah?
24:37Most definitely, yes.
24:39It was actually Holy Island that got me started on landscape photography.
24:44So I worked in advertising before.
24:47I came here, fell in love with the island and its landscape,
24:51and the rest is history, so to speak.
24:54So I've been photographing here for 23 years.
25:00Well, let's see if we can capture the beauty of Lindisfarne Priory with our cameras.
25:06There you go, Richard.
25:09Thanks very much.
25:11Great.
25:12Look what we got here.
25:15Lovely camera.
25:16I like the way it points forwards.
25:17It's good.
25:18It's got lots of buttons.
25:20I'll throw it back down.
25:23I'm really...
25:24Let me just switch it on.
25:29Something tells me Richard's new to this.
25:33We've got the golden hour starting now,
25:35so the sun's behind us.
25:37It's lighting up the redstone of the Priory.
25:54If we go further back here,
25:56we can actually see Lindisfarne Castle just there through the whole...
26:01Through there?
26:01Yes.
26:02So would you like to have a go at shooting that?
26:06Well, will you look at that?
26:08So if you imagine, if you come further back,
26:11and we can actually line it up,
26:13bang in the middle of the gap there.
26:19Shall we focus on the castle there, Matt?
26:21Yes.
26:27And look at the way the light that strikes the back of that
26:31commemorative cross up there.
26:32It's like this lovely pinky gold,
26:34which you only get this time of night, I guess.
26:36Yes.
26:37It's beautiful golden hour light.
26:38It's beautiful.
26:39It is stunning.
26:46The end of the walk
26:48brings us to one of the island's most extraordinary views.
27:02I love the way the sun's just bouncing off the water here.
27:06Look at that.
27:09Now the tide is going out.
27:11Can you see we're starting to get a few seals on the sandbag?
27:14Oh, yeah.
27:15I thought they were rocks, but no, they're moving.
27:19Richard, come and have a look at this.
27:20Shall we look?
27:25Look at that.
27:26Oh, yeah.
27:32Brilliant.
27:33I'm loving that.
27:37Have you had a lovely weekend, Richard?
27:39Yeah.
27:39Is it a weekend you never wanted to end?
27:42I don't want it to end, actually.
27:43If it's got to end, and it has, with the sunset at Holy Island,
27:47you couldn't really ask for a more perfect ending, could you?
27:50Absolutely.
27:51Thank you, Emma, for reminding us how beautiful this part of the world is.
27:55Yeah, for helping us to see it in a new way.
27:58Aw.
27:59Richard, let's get you home.
28:01I don't want to go home.
28:03You have to.
28:07Yes, my tag will go off if I'm not past the security.
Comments