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Pilgrimage Season 8 Episode 1
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00:01The spectacular landscapes of North East England.
00:05Oh, my God, look at this view!
00:08A cradle of English Christianity,
00:11from where a new faith spread throughout England and beyond.
00:16As soon as you see that cross, you know you're in good hands.
00:19It's here that seven celebrities are forging their very own pilgrimage.
00:24Wow, look at this!
00:27Among them, a pilgrim with a strong Christian faith.
00:31We do have a path that I believe God intends for us,
00:36and I think part of the journey of life is seeing if you can find it.
00:42An observant Muslim.
00:44There's a line in Frasier where he says,
00:46ethics is what we do when no one's looking.
00:48That chimes in with Islam.
00:50Everything you do should be to please Allah,
00:52and that makes you a better person.
00:54And a self-proclaimed a la carte Catholic.
00:57I take the best bits of Catholicism.
01:01I love the service and the pomp and the circumstance of it all.
01:05I believe the power of prayer.
01:08They'll trace the footprint of legendary Celtic Christian saints
01:11from the 7th century.
01:13That's the most beautiful view I've ever seen in my life.
01:16Before arriving at their final destination.
01:18The holy island of Lindisfarne.
01:20Some people think this is the holiest place in England.
01:25Over 12 days.
01:27Oh, God!
01:28There will be challenges.
01:29Oh, it is really slippery.
01:31You're like my carer.
01:33Realizations.
01:34We have very different views, don't we?
01:36And tears.
01:37For the first time, I feel like I belong somewhere.
01:41Common pilgrimage, they said.
01:43Come on, Patsy!
01:44I'm coming!
01:46But where will this journey of self-discovery take them?
01:49Great pilgrimage, everybody!
01:57The north-east of England is renowned for its national parks
02:00and dramatic scenic beauty.
02:04This vast area is criss-crossed by trails,
02:07celebrating early Christian history
02:09and the saints who dedicated their lives
02:11to bringing Christianity to a turbulent and pagan country.
02:16A faith that shaped the culture and spiritual landscape
02:19will continue to work for centuries to come.
02:24The pilgrims will meet for the first time in North Yorkshire
02:28on a coastal path just south of Whitby.
02:32Ashley Banjo, leader of the dance troupe Diversity,
02:36is first to arrive.
02:38I'm a Christian.
02:40No doubt about it.
02:42What I've wrestled with getting older
02:45is not whether I believe or not,
02:48it's what that belief means.
02:50What do I do with it?
02:52I'm first by the looks of things.
02:55Fantastic!
02:56This, for me, is just about surrendering to the journey.
02:59It's like, we're geared up, we're gear six
03:02on the faith drive sort of thing.
03:04And I'm looking forward to that.
03:05I'm looking forward to walking, thinking and reflecting.
03:09First pilgrim to join Ashley is actor Hermione Norris.
03:14I'm not as fit as I used to be.
03:16I'm 58, do you know what I mean?
03:17And that can make me feel quite vulnerable sometimes.
03:19I bet there'll be lots of fitties, you know.
03:22Oh, here's someone.
03:23Who is that?
03:25Hello, I'm Hermione.
03:27Ashley.
03:27Very nice to meet you, Ashley.
03:29I love people.
03:30If you get a group, you know, you never know what you...
03:33Oh, no!
03:34You never know what you're going to get, do you?
03:38It's a little colder up here than I thought it was going to be.
03:40I know.
03:40I'm a little higher up than you as well.
03:41Yeah, yeah.
03:42I really feel it on the old ears.
03:45On their way to meet the pilgrims are comedian Ashley Blaker
03:49and TV personality and dancer Tasha Goury.
03:54I feel like the first day at school,
03:56just like a little kid for the first time or giddy.
03:59Is that Ashley Banjo?
04:01I can hear her voice.
04:03Can I come join Diversity?
04:05If you want.
04:07Bounce your way up.
04:08Hello.
04:08Hello, I'm Hermione.
04:10How are you? I'm Ashley.
04:11Ashley.
04:12Two Ashleys.
04:13It's going to be a challenge in many ways.
04:15It's definitely going to be a physical challenge.
04:18It may well be an emotional challenge.
04:21Good to see you.
04:21Yeah, good to see you.
04:22Are we going to dance our way along?
04:23Can we actually?
04:24Here we are.
04:26I love that.
04:28Next to join the pilgrims are stand-up comedian Hassan Al-Habib
04:33and radio presenter Jane Middlemiss.
04:37When I am in the North East, I always feel like I'm home.
04:42And I'm already starting to feel like I'm going to go rogue and feral very quickly.
04:47Hello.
04:47Hello.
04:48Oh.
04:49Hi.
04:51Jane and Hermione have met before through mutual friends.
04:55You are Hassan.
04:58I try and take religion seriously.
05:00It's kind of crazy that we're all on this big rock floating in space and you want to try and
05:05make sense of that.
05:06Hassan, so nice to meet you, Hermione.
05:07And if I haven't found the answer by the end of these two weeks, it will be a failure. It'll
05:12be a failure. You heard it here first.
05:16Last, but not least, is actor Patsy Kensett.
05:20This is just spectacular. I'm going to find my inner bliss through each step that I take.
05:29There's somebody coming. Is it a man?
05:31No, that's a woman.
05:33I've got earplugs and I've got my flannelette pyjamas that my son bought me for Christmas last year.
05:38Wow, that's a walk, though.
05:40This is a walk, yeah.
05:40That is a strut.
05:42I think it's another comedian.
05:44Hello, how are you?
05:45Hi.
05:46Nice to see you.
05:47Being a pilgrim, it's going to be right up my street.
05:51Nice to meet you.
05:52Hi, Ashley.
05:53Hi, Ashley.
05:56We're all together.
05:57Yep.
05:58How do we start?
05:58When do we start?
05:59We've got to get a map.
06:01And our phones, right?
06:02All the pilgrims have phones with maps and information about the route.
06:07Yep.
06:07So, before we start, I think we should do a selfie.
06:10Yes.
06:10Shall we do it?
06:11Let's do it.
06:11Let's get the smiles in now.
06:13I'll go to the back.
06:16There we go.
06:18Yes.
06:18Got it.
06:20Well done.
06:20Follow me, everyone.
06:21Let's have it.
06:22Let's do it.
06:22Pilgrimage.
06:23Pilgrims score.
06:25This is just the start.
06:27Yeah.
06:28The group are starting their unique 390km pilgrimage in North Yorkshire,
06:34on the coastal path to Whitby, picking up the way of St Hild.
06:40Travelling on foot and by bus, they'll make their way to Durham
06:43and then head north-west to Heavenfield in Northumberland,
06:46the start of St Oswald's Way.
06:50The pilgrims will explore the glorious coastline before traversing north-west
06:55to St Cuthbert's Way in the Cheviots in the Scottish borders.
06:59They'll make their way to the legendary Cuthbert's Cave
07:02before heading to Holy Island, also known as Lindisfarne, their final destination.
07:10For more than 1,000 years, the faithful have trekked across the changing tidal sands
07:15to reach this historic place of pilgrimage.
07:23It's beautiful, isn't it?
07:24Yeah.
07:25It's gorgeous.
07:26The coastal path boasts dramatic views as it heads north towards Whitby.
07:32But the pilgrims learn fast that weather in the north-east can be unpredictable.
07:37Lovely day for it.
07:39Yeah.
07:39I know, right?
07:41This is literally all my personalities in one day.
07:43Yeah.
07:46I said, yeah, a bit too convincingly. I apologise for that.
07:49You're getting steep now.
07:51Yeah. Don't look down.
07:53You OK?
07:54I'm a straggler, look.
07:56I'm holding you back.
07:58Ah.
07:59Ah, and then suddenly it stops raining.
08:02Wow.
08:02And for that.
08:03And it's a bit of when there's a rainbow.
08:05Is there?
08:06There is, look.
08:07A biblical sign.
08:09There you go.
08:09Onwards.
08:11You know what they say about coincidences.
08:13There is no such thing as a coincidence.
08:15No, it's just God showing off.
08:16Yeah.
08:17That's it.
08:18Well, I went by my hoots.
08:20The shop assistant said,
08:21Oh, are you doing that pilgrimage thing?
08:23Because somebody's just come before.
08:25Really?
08:26So dark hair from the north, quite small.
08:28Were you like, oh, it's Cheryl Cole.
08:30Did you think I was Cheryl?
08:31It was Cheryl.
08:32It was Cheryl Cole.
08:33Hello.
08:34You look like a pop star.
08:36You sound like you're a pop star.
08:39I last saw you probably 11, 12 years ago.
08:43That was when I was just about to go off to India.
08:47I was going to go away for a year.
08:49Yeah.
08:49So I put everything in storage.
08:51And went for five.
08:52And went for five.
08:53Of course you did.
08:54And you know, I did a bit of Buddhism.
08:55I flirted with them all, you know.
08:56Yeah, yeah.
08:57How lovely.
08:57What about you?
08:59I don't subscribe to any organised religion.
09:03I believe in love and connection and peace and tolerance and inclusivity.
09:09I respect anyone who draws comfort from organised religion, but that's not for me.
09:17I don't like dogma.
09:18Dogma?
09:18No, me neither.
09:19Not comfortable with that.
09:22Hermione's most known as an actor for her roles in Spooks and Cold Feet.
09:27But it was during drama school that she had to cope with a heart-wrenching loss.
09:32I experienced, as quite a young person, somebody taking their own life.
09:36And what happens to you after you die?
09:39You know, Christianity was you burn in hell.
09:42Catholicism, you're in purgatory.
09:44Eastern philosophies, you had to come back and sort of do life again until you'd learnt your soul's journey.
09:49And it really, really upset and bothered me because I needed for myself to find peace with it.
09:55I wouldn't describe myself in any way as defined by a particular religion.
10:01My faith is experiential.
10:03It's how I experience the love of my children, my family, relationships with people.
10:08Yeah, it does as well.
10:09I see the soul in a person's face.
10:12It's sort of that shining light in people's eyes.
10:16I experience it in art when I listen to a beautiful piece of music.
10:22And also in nature, Mother Nature, in all her glory.
10:29I couldn't have lived my life without that.
10:32I couldn't have got through without that connection.
10:37I shot an episode of Cold Feet on Lindisfarne years ago.
10:42And I recall it as somewhere that had a power to it, an energy.
10:46It was very alive spiritually to me.
10:48And I sort of feel slightly like I'm being called back there a little bit at the moment of that
10:53sort of mystical land, really.
10:56I am in the autumn of my life now.
11:00And I think life is a pilgrimage, isn't it?
11:12Yeah, careful.
11:18I ate it.
11:19Oof!
11:25So, I take you from your crucifix, so you're Christian.
11:29Yes.
11:30Definitely.
11:30So, I'm Jewish, huh?
11:32You're Jewish.
11:32I'm basically the Old Testament, actually.
11:34Yeah, you are.
11:34And you're the New Testament, actually.
11:35Yeah, exactly.
11:35That's what we are.
11:36I like that.
11:37That's how we should know ourselves.
11:40Oh, my God.
11:40Look at this view.
11:42Oh, wow.
11:43Oh, look.
11:44There's dolphins.
11:45There.
11:45Wow.
11:46Look.
11:46Oh, my gosh.
11:47There's more there, actually, as well, isn't there?
11:48There are, yeah, look.
11:49There's loads.
11:50They're dancing.
11:51They're dancing.
11:52They're so lovely.
11:52You could choreograph them, maybe.
11:54Yeah, maybe.
11:55Side them up.
11:55What could be more...
11:56Like, that's diversity.
11:57It's inter-species.
11:58Yeah.
11:59That's how diverse diversity is.
12:00Exactly.
12:01The new member.
12:01The new members are dolphins.
12:04Ashley Banjo has devoted the past 18 years of an explosive career to diversity.
12:11We first entered Britain's Got Talent when I was 19.
12:14So, at the very start of my journey into adulthood, we then get thrust into the public eye.
12:20Where do you get all your creative ideas from?
12:22You know, I was blessed.
12:24I just...
12:24So, I had to then navigate growing up in front of everybody.
12:29Millions and millions of people.
12:31I think one of the barriers that stopped me exploring faith sooner was the commitment
12:38to the person I've become to survive all of that public exposure.
12:44But I've come to learn that the journey of discovery is part of faith.
12:49If anything, the more I know, the less I realise I know.
12:52If that makes any sense.
12:55Perhaps fittingly, Diversity Studio is a converted church.
13:01I don't have a particular moment when faith was introduced to my life.
13:07My dad and his family were brought up Christian.
13:12My dad's from Nigeria.
13:14Came here when he was younger.
13:16I just remember faith and the idea of God always being there in some way.
13:23I know what faith I follow.
13:26But the pilgrimage, I think, gives me a chance to dive deeper.
13:35The pilgrims are nearing the ruins of the famous 13th century Whitby Abbey.
13:41Wow!
13:42Which earned much of its modern day popularity through the literary classic and Gothic horror novel, Dracula.
13:48You know they broke a world record there a few years ago for the greatest number of people dressed as
13:55vampires.
13:56Oh yeah, they do that.
13:58They do goth weekend.
14:00Whitby Abbey was built on top of a 7th century monastery which had filled the entire headland and became one
14:08of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world.
14:12It's here the pilgrims pick up the trail of their first northern saint, Hild.
14:18A woman from a powerful aristocratic family who converted from paganism to Celtic Christianity at 13 and became an abbess
14:27at 33.
14:28Who was in charge of the abbey originally?
14:31Hild.
14:32It was all female power.
14:35Female run by the magnificent Hild.
14:37Yeah.
14:38Girl power, yeah.
14:39Was it men and women together?
14:41Yeah.
14:41And she encouraged a lot of learning and education.
14:45She loved the great outdoors and the wilds, didn't she?
14:50She run a very tight ship though.
14:52Yeah.
14:53She was very strict.
14:54Very strict.
14:55That's one of the reasons I was actually super interested in seeing this place because it was like a real
14:59engine, like a real powerhouse to spread Christianity.
15:05In the seventh century, faith in the god of Christianity was seen as a way to salvation.
15:11Unlike paganism, it gave the promise of eternal life and could also be a source of political power.
15:19The ruling families put money into the church and into monasteries run by their own educated womenfolk, like Hild.
15:26That way they served God and also kept the lands and property under family control.
15:34Hild was so respected.
15:36In 664 AD, she was asked to host the Synod of Whitby.
15:41This meeting was pivotal for the future of the English church.
15:45It brought Celtic Christianity into line with Roman traditions, uniting them with continental Europe and tying the English church to
15:54the Roman papacy.
15:57It's so dramatic.
15:59The majesty of it all.
16:02Wow.
16:02The thing that I feel with places like this is that so many things have happened.
16:07Yes.
16:07Like for so many years, people were praying and building energy, energy, energy here.
16:12That's pretty special.
16:15I think estate agents would probably call this a fixer-upper.
16:19I think they might.
16:20Need a bit of work.
16:20They might just call it a fixer-upper, indeed.
16:23So you're a...
16:24Would you call yourself a practising Christian?
16:27Yeah, absolutely.
16:28Yeah, I'm a Christian.
16:29I've believed all my life, but really embracing my faith.
16:33It's only really been in the past couple of years.
16:37So still very much on a journey with it, you know?
16:40What about you?
16:41See, I...
16:42Yeah, see, I'm proud to be Jewish, but I don't really feel any sense that I really want to keep
16:48all the rules anymore.
16:50And 15 years, I was super, super, super doing it absolutely to its...
16:58The most you could do it.
17:00Now that is interesting.
17:02I used to go into a ritual bath every morning to cleanse myself.
17:07Wow.
17:09Studying every day.
17:1015 years?
17:1115 years.
17:12And so what?
17:14And then I finished it.
17:15Completed it, mate. Completed it.
17:17Just completed it.
17:17Judaism.
17:18Ticked that one off the list, mate.
17:20Yeah, I did.
17:21I grew up in a very traditional Jewish home where we're affiliated effectively with Orthodox Judaism,
17:28as the vast majority of Jews in this country do.
17:31Jews always think that what they're doing is the gold standard.
17:36That exactly how they do it is the right amount to do it.
17:41That is my parents, in an absolute nutshell.
17:44So that 15-year period where I became super, super observant,
17:49they thought I was completely crazy.
17:52Meshuggah, what's he doing?
17:54And now I've gone the other direction, they hate it even more.
17:58Why is he covered into twos?
18:00Why isn't he coming to synagogue?
18:02Ashley had worked as an award-winning TV producer and writer.
18:06But the job became challenging the more strictly he followed the rules of Orthodox Judaism.
18:12Firstly, I didn't own a TV.
18:15I didn't work up to a certain point on Fridays.
18:19I was going home and leaving all the other producers to work while I was at home praying and eating
18:25chicken soup.
18:26A more unusual upshot of these rules was that I didn't shake hands with anyone of the opposite sex apart
18:33from my spouse.
18:35And working in an industry like television, where everyone is not only shaking hands but hugging and kissing hello and
18:43what have you,
18:43did make for quite a few very uncomfortable meetings.
18:47So, Ashley left that world and turned to stand up.
18:52Two years ago he found out that he's neurodiverse.
18:56Looking back now through the lens of my diagnosis with autism and ADHD, I can see that my being super
19:05observant may have been a hyperfixation.
19:08A hyperfixation for many neurodivergent people like myself can really take over their brain completely.
19:16And the trouble is with all hyperfixations, once you've lost interest in it, that's it.
19:23So my tattoos are a current hyperfixation, I guess, and are quite interesting in terms of my faith.
19:30Because tattoos are strictly forbidden in Orthodox Judaism.
19:36Now I would define myself as agnostic.
19:41But surely everybody is agnostic.
19:44Because anyone who tells you that they know for sure that there is a God,
19:49or that they know for sure that there is no God, is lying.
19:53Because no one knows.
20:00It's definitely a bit cold.
20:02It is. The wind is a bit more severe.
20:05Yeah.
20:06I know you're a south end on seaboard, so you're more familiar with this, but...
20:09This is a level up from south end.
20:10It is a level up, I can imagine, yeah.
20:13With Whitby behind them, the pilgrims continue north on the coastal path, the way of St Hild.
20:19They're heading to Runswick Bay on the Jurassic coastline.
20:24Me, doing pilgrimage, I've kind of come in completely unknown to any kind of faith or religion.
20:32Well, that's beautiful, because you could, you know, come away with some, like, epiphany.
20:36I don't know if you knew, but I was born on Daphne Ray-Cocco implant.
20:40Okay.
20:41And I always believed in obstacles coming your way for you to overcome them.
20:45Right.
20:45Because you're meant to overcome them.
20:47Yes.
20:47And I really believe in that.
20:48That's why I want to do this, so I can learn from each and every one of you.
20:53Yeah.
20:53Just try and find gratitude every day, and just believe in this loving universe.
21:02And that, you know, there's not an angry God out there.
21:07I mean, I was raised Catholic.
21:09Yeah.
21:10And I went to a convent, and I call myself an a la carte Catholic.
21:14Okay.
21:15Because there are bits that I really love.
21:20I can't diss the Catholic Church.
21:24It has been a great comfort to me, but I'm a spiritual person, more than a religious person.
21:30So I'm not stuck in one thing.
21:34I'm a mixed bag.
21:37Patsy's life has been similarly varied over the years.
21:41From films such as The Great Gatsby with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.
21:45To roles in TV soaps like EastEnders and Emmerdale.
21:50High-profile marriages and divorces to rock stars Jim Kerr and then Liam Gallagher
21:55only added to her reputation as a 90s icon.
22:00Growing up, Patsy was very close to her mother.
22:03My mother was a very devout woman.
22:06You know, we had to go to Mass every Sunday.
22:09I was 22 when my mother died.
22:12I mean, she was just an angel.
22:15She's with me and in me, and I pray to her.
22:22I see white feathers all the time, which is, you know, a sign, I think, from her.
22:30Something might be not going my way or whatever,
22:33and suddenly I'll just see this pure white feather in front of me,
22:37and I believe it to be a message of reassurance.
22:42I am so blessed to be doing pilgrimage.
22:46It's something that I'm doing for myself.
22:48It's an adventure, and it's mine to have.
22:56The pilgrims are still following the coast,
22:58heading to Runswick Bay, known for its fossils.
23:02Tash, are you going to use sticks?
23:04Yeah, I've got some. They're quite good, you know.
23:07According to legend, there was a plague of snakes
23:09where Hild was building her abbey.
23:11So she turned the snakes into stone and threw them off the cliffs.
23:17In medieval times, ammonite fossils found on the beach
23:20were thought to be Hild's snake stones
23:22and have been popular finds with pilgrims ever since.
23:26I mean, it's a great trick, if you can do it.
23:28If you can do it.
23:29Do you think that actually happened?
23:31No. Do you?
23:32No, I'm not entirely convinced.
23:34I'm not buying it to Hild.
23:36No, I'm not buying it. It's a good story.
23:38Yes.
23:38And it will bring the pilgrims in.
23:41No, we know what an ammonite is, don't we?
23:43Yeah, I think so.
23:45After three kilometres, the pilgrims have Runswick Bay in sight.
23:50This is the Ammonite Beach.
23:52Yes.
23:52Wait, wait, is that how you say it?
23:55Anonite.
23:55Ammonite?
23:56Anonite.
23:57Ammonite.
23:58Do you ever know how to say it properly?
23:59Ammonite.
23:59Ammonite.
24:01Along all this coastline, people would find black ammonites
24:05that they would associate with the snakes that she had killed.
24:08That's incredible.
24:10And is that what the hit film Snakes on a Plane is based on?
24:12Is it based on the legend?
24:13No.
24:14Perhaps it's based on that legend.
24:16We should see if we can find some.
24:17Absolutely.
24:18The first one finds an ammonite snake.
24:20Just wins pilgrimage.
24:22Wins pilgrimage.
24:24I'm getting down there.
24:24Let's do it.
24:25Let's do it.
24:27Let's do it.
24:28It's getting windy.
24:29It really is.
24:31The thing is, I'm not sure...
24:33You know what one looked like.
24:34When I see it, this bit looks a little bit...
24:38I know.
24:39Now I'm going to regret only having one pole after you then, Ash.
24:42Be careful.
24:43This is slippery.
24:44Yeah, be careful here.
24:45I've got my sticks.
24:47Okay.
24:47The sticks are pretty good.
24:49I just want to sit down.
24:50My legs are killing now.
24:54Oh, God!
24:56Bro.
24:57Do we...
24:58Don't...
24:59Please don't scare me like that.
25:00My heart.
25:01I just...
25:02Honestly, I just nearly lost my footing.
25:04Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:05You go first.
25:06Okay.
25:06I'm going to hold your rucksack.
25:07Ashley Banjo saves life on BBC Pilgrimage.
25:09Look, I'm just...
25:10I'm just very...
25:11It's really slippy.
25:13After Hassan al-Habib comedian pushed Jane down the...
25:16Ashley Banjo bravely stepped in.
25:19Right, I'm going to hold on.
25:21Yeah, you're good.
25:21I don't think the sticks are helping.
25:23I was going to say, do you want me to take them from you?
25:26Yeah.
25:27Yeah.
25:29Hassan al-Habib robs Jane of poles.
25:35Finally down, the pilgrims make their way to the rocky end of the two-kilometre-long beach
25:40in search of hilled snakes.
25:42Let's look for some ammonites.
25:43Let's do it.
25:50Nothing fossil-like yet.
25:55The search continues.
25:58Absolutely zero.
26:02Ashley, you seen anything?
26:04A lot of rocks.
26:05A lot of rocks.
26:07Oh, beautiful.
26:09I knew I was.
26:12You okay?
26:12Yeah, I'm fine.
26:13I'm fine, I'm fine, thank you.
26:15Patti's rescuer is a fellow fossil hunter, Byron Blessed.
26:20The pilgrims ask him to help them with their search.
26:23Do you want to see what one looks like and how to find them?
26:25Please.
26:26Are they inside rocks, Byron?
26:28They are inside rocks.
26:30Here's one here, look.
26:31I've already split open, look.
26:32Oh!
26:32Wow!
26:34Look at that.
26:35That's brilliant.
26:37Wow.
26:38Byron, can I ask a question about the ammonites?
26:42Ammonites.
26:43Did they have heads?
26:45They didn't have heads as such.
26:46They would be this way up on the seabed.
26:49Yeah.
26:49Okay.
26:49And they would have tentacles that came out here.
26:52Ah!
26:52More like an octopus that had a hard shell at its back.
26:55And that's all that's remained in, is just the hard shell.
26:59They've got evidence of these being sold to pilgrims in medieval times,
27:03before the scientific knowledge found that these were actually ammonites.
27:06So this is called Hildoceros Lusitanicum.
27:09Oh, wow!
27:10Yeah, let's go and have a look.
27:11Armed with more information, the pilgrims search again.
27:21I'm trying to break it open to see if there's a hidden impression.
27:27Oh!
27:28Byron, is this...?
27:29No, it's got something on there, but it's not.
27:32Let's have a look.
27:33Look, you've got the remains of the ammonite there, look.
27:36It's just underneath the rock.
27:38It might run underneath that rock, but it might start crumbling away.
27:43And if it's the first one you've ever found, we don't want to break it, do we?
27:45No.
27:46So that's the ammonite sticking out.
27:48Yeah.
27:48180 million years old.
27:49Wow!
27:50180 million years old.
27:52Yeah.
27:52Incredible, isn't it?
27:52That's been mad, isn't it?
27:53Yeah.
27:54If you imagine Earth time as your arm...
27:57Yeah.
27:57..and humans have only been around for the last parts of your fingernail...
28:00And look how much damage we've done in that time.
28:03Absolutely.
28:06Come on, let's get you the Nobel Prize for that.
28:08That's beautiful.
28:11No worries.
28:13That's 180 million years old.
28:16Quite humbling, isn't it?
28:17It makes me feel a bit sick.
28:19I know that's really weird.
28:20But when I...
28:21I don't know what that is.
28:22But it is sort of this kind of landscape where there's so much kind of like just about to come
28:29to the top.
28:30And that people come because they know they'll find something and it's all...
28:34I don't know why.
28:34I don't know why it makes me feel sick, but it does.
28:40Yeah.
28:41As the heavens open, it's time for the pilgrims to move on, to find their overnight accommodation.
28:47They leave the coast and the changeable weather and head north-west to the sun and a farm in County
28:54Durham.
28:57We made it.
28:58We made it.
28:59Almost.
29:00It is very beautiful.
29:02What do you think we'll be staying in?
29:04Something?
29:04Hopefully something comfortable and big enough for me to fit.
29:06I was literally about to say that.
29:09We're not staying in a barn, are we?
29:11Yeah, we are.
29:12What, like Jesus?
29:13We're looking for a woman called Sarah.
29:15It's a seven star resort, you know.
29:17Do you think that's Sarah?
29:18Welcome to Woodcroft.
29:20Oh, thank you.
29:21Nice to see you all.
29:22Are you looking for your accommodation?
29:23Yes, yes.
29:24Just a little bit further up the lane.
29:25Uh-huh.
29:25And on the left, it's first left.
29:28Thank you very much.
29:28Enjoy, I hope you have a lovely stay.
29:30Thank you very much.
29:31First left.
29:32First left, yes.
29:36Oh, this is nice.
29:38Aww.
29:38I've got a feeling we're not staying in a house.
29:42Could be anything.
29:44Oh, wow!
29:47Oh, my gosh!
29:48This is so sweet!
29:50Little pods.
29:51I've always wanted to stay in a little pod.
29:53I have.
29:53I've always wanted to stay somewhere like this.
29:56Are we all in that?
29:57I want to see inside.
29:58Oh, my God, look!
29:59Oh, my God, look!
30:00Quick!
30:01Are we all going to fit?
30:02Oh, my God!
30:04Oh, I love it!
30:06No, this is lovely.
30:07This is so cosy.
30:08This is lush.
30:09Oh, this is lovely.
30:11Bathroom.
30:12There's multiples.
30:14Yeah.
30:16But how many people is this for?
30:17I'm not sharing a bed.
30:18We're not sharing beds.
30:19There's enough...
30:20Do you think that's a bed?
30:22I don't mind that.
30:23If you want to sleep in a bed, I don't mind sleeping on that.
30:26Right.
30:27But, I mean...
30:28Do you want to share?
30:29Yeah, sure.
30:30Unless I can have my own.
30:31If you want to have a look at the others and check out the bed,
30:33that's not nicer.
30:34No, I don't.
30:35What, are we going to share this one?
30:36Yeah.
30:37Are you sure?
30:38Yeah, sure.
30:39I'm fine with that.
30:41Same set off for all of it.
30:43OK.
30:43OK, fine.
30:44So, one minute, there's seven of us.
30:46Yeah.
30:46Yeah, so it's two, two, three.
30:48So two people are going to have to share a bed?
30:51Yeah.
30:52I think we've got along really well, Hassan.
30:56Brother, we've played our hand too early, brother.
30:58We've played our hand too early.
30:59I need to keep it to myself.
31:03Oh, look, it's lovely.
31:06What if we get down there and they've got nicer ones?
31:08I think they'll be the same.
31:10They'll be the same.
31:11They'll be the same.
31:11Ashley, do you want the beds?
31:14Whatever's easiest for people?
31:16Bed hunger games.
31:18Rock, paper, scissors.
31:19The blokes will share one and Patsy and Tashy will share one.
31:24But what is the debate?
31:26The debate is they can't work that out yet.
31:29If you want to keep things like the men and the women separate...
31:33Yeah, yeah.
31:34It'll have to be two, two and three boys.
31:36Alright, come on boys.
31:37Let's roll.
31:38It's been great playing bed hunger games with you.
31:40Let's leave it there.
31:41Well done, well done, well done.
31:43Right, better luck next time, boys.
31:45Let's get this off our backs.
31:47Thanks for being a Rui.
31:49It's cosy, but it's really nice.
31:51And have we found out which way Mecca is?
31:53Do you not have an inbuilt detector?
31:55Just feel it out, Hassan.
31:56Which way are you?
31:56We've got some new Islamic technology.
31:58Compass, brother.
32:00MashaAllah.
32:01Recent technology we invented.
32:04I'm afraid that I snore.
32:06You can do whatever racket of noise you want to do it in.
32:08It would not faze me.
32:10Wait, we can just put this on the floor.
32:12Literally, it's as simple as that.
32:13A Muslim, a Jew and a Christian walk into a pod.
32:17It's been resolved amicably.
32:18There it is, see?
32:19Now we need to transport this philosophy into Jerusalem
32:22and solve the problems there.
32:24Wouldn't that be lovely?
32:25Right?
32:26Perfect.
32:27And then that.
32:28Let me help you make the bed up.
32:31It's a perfect fit.
32:38Oh, my God.
32:39OK.
32:40Can you fit in that?
32:41Oh, that's really comfy.
32:43Have you seen it, Jane?
32:46Oh!
32:47Look, and that was all, that was together and it came apart.
32:51It came apart in your hand.
32:52Yeah.
32:52So it literally presented itself to you.
32:55Yeah.
32:55It's like 180 million years.
32:58180 million years old and it found me.
33:00We'll be like that one day.
33:01I know.
33:02Dust to dust and all that.
33:06I can't wait.
33:07I can't wait.
33:08Such a relief.
33:08I can't wait to be a laminite.
33:10Such a relief.
33:10The relief will be palpable.
33:15As the sun starts to go down, it's time for dinner.
33:21I can't lie, I already felt a little bit tired today.
33:23Yeah, same.
33:24It was quite intense.
33:25I felt winging a little bit, yeah.
33:26Yeah, there was a point where I just thought my legs felt so heavy.
33:30Yeah.
33:31Boys are looking forward to a night together.
33:32Yeah.
33:33Some peace and quiet for a Chinese shit army.
33:36I'm joking.
33:36I'm joking.
33:37I'm joking.
33:38Come on.
33:40You're going to be a bit of a squash and a squeeze three of you in there, aren't you?
33:43Yeah.
33:43The good thing is we're all petite, so it doesn't, you know.
33:46Yeah.
33:49Yeah.
33:50Jane, did you say this is where you grew up?
33:51Not quite County Durham, higher up, to where we will be going.
33:55Oh.
33:57Tomorrow, the group are heading towards the city of Durham,
34:00a major pilgrim destination in the North East.
34:04As the pilgrims won't come across a mosque anywhere on their pilgrimage route,
34:08Hasan has plans to visit a Muslim prayer room at Durham University.
34:12Two people can come with me.
34:14So, who wants to take advantage of this unique offer to go visit a Muslim prayer room?
34:20You'll see me praying.
34:22I'd love to.
34:22Love to.
34:22I think it would be amazing to see you in your religion and just learn from you.
34:26So, I'd love to take that opportunity and...
34:29Pleasure.
34:30Lovely.
34:30Something very new and...
34:32Yeah.
34:32Great.
34:33That's...
34:34Good on you, Tash.
34:35Absolutely.
34:36I love that.
34:37Perhaps I can auction the last spot off.
34:40I'm open to bribes.
34:41I'd love to.
34:41I would be...
34:42I would be really into it.
34:44I really want to go.
34:44Okay, whoever's willing to convert gets to come to the prayer room.
34:49Who wants to recite the Shahada right now?
34:53Who wants it the most?
34:54I want to seek.
34:57Every mosque I've been to, they've always had a really open policy.
35:02When I was in Edinburgh, they had Islam Week.
35:04Did you?
35:05I went during Fringe to the mosque in Edinburgh.
35:08Oh!
35:08So, I've only once...
35:09I've been to a mosque.
35:10Yeah.
35:11So, you've been there, done that.
35:12So, you're out the running.
35:12I'm out the running.
35:13I'm out the running.
35:16Look, it's a harsh process.
35:17There's a lot of demand.
35:18We've got limited places.
35:21I mean, I would absolutely come.
35:23Yeah?
35:23Yeah, I would absolutely come with us to watch.
35:25Have you locked in, Ashley, at this stage?
35:27Because Pat sees up.
35:28No, honestly, Pat, if you...
35:29No, no, no.
35:30I'm easy.
35:31No, no, you go.
35:31I'm really easy.
35:32I want you to go.
35:33No, but don't be too enthusiastic, because then it looks Islamophobic.
35:36If you...
35:38You!
35:39Well, I didn't want to say anything, but we'll see.
35:42It's all coming out now.
35:45Um...
35:46No, no, no, no.
35:47Ash, you go, and then...
35:49And I'll convert you later.
35:50OK.
35:51Well, I think that seals it.
35:52That seals it.
35:56It's interesting being surrounded by people of different beliefs,
36:00because my mind is completely open to explore cultures,
36:04traditions, faiths, but obviously my heart is already set.
36:09So it's an interesting thing to go and observe and experience
36:14Hassan's faith and also just getting to know Hassan more.
36:17Because he's a dude.
36:20Being in a group of not knowing people.
36:23I'm really pleased that they all seem really genuinely nice people.
36:27Yes.
36:27But I wonder, you know, if you are going to be pushed to the limit,
36:31mentally, physically, spiritually.
36:33I mean, it brings out the best and the worst in people,
36:35all of that, doesn't it?
36:36Well, a pilgrimage is meant to do all of those things.
36:41Yes, that's right.
36:41It's meant to squeeze you.
36:42It's meant to squeeze every single thing that needs to come up.
36:45Yeah.
36:46To be given more to come up in my life.
36:48I've had enough of that.
36:53I think you're an incredible woman.
36:56Like, you really are.
36:57You're so strong.
36:58You're so forceful.
37:00Empowering.
37:01Aww.
37:01And I've learnt so much from you already
37:03and I can't wait to learn more from you.
37:05You don't have to marry all your boyfriends.
37:07That's something I found out.
37:10Kind of just, you know, in my mid-50s.
37:13Love it.
37:14On to a new day.
37:15Yes.
37:16A new day.
37:17We've got this.
37:34It's 7am.
37:35This is the earliest I've woken up in God knows how long.
37:39Not the best night of sleep I've had,
37:41but bless my brothers in the pod for not snoring.
37:45It's just nice to feel more connected with the natural world
37:50and in our accommodation.
37:55Very good.
37:58Officially, I'm awake.
38:00Patsy, how did you sleep?
38:02I just had my dreams last night.
38:04It was about making my first communion.
38:07So that's kind of on topic, I guess.
38:10But it was Angelina Jolene making hers.
38:15I don't know why on earth I was thinking about her.
38:17I don't know that I'm ready for today's quest.
38:22But, um...
38:24I will once I...
38:28I'll wake up properly in a minute.
38:31I slept really well, can't speak for you.
38:33No, this sounds really weird.
38:35I woke up thinking of Jesus and then I thought,
38:37that's why we have them.
38:39Have what?
38:40The middlemen in between us and God.
38:43I didn't have anything so profound first up,
38:46first early doors.
38:50No.
38:51But I'm grateful for you to have shared that with me.
38:56Does it make me sound a bit like any other one?
38:58No.
38:59Not remotely.
39:00Jane hosts a well-known daily radio show
39:03and has been a familiar name on radio and TV
39:06for more than two decades.
39:13I think my interest in spirituality would be...
39:18Because I think that is the main question
39:20to ask ourselves in life, you know?
39:22Why am I here?
39:2413 years ago, Jane packed a bag and went to India,
39:28up into the Himalayas.
39:30I don't do spiritual journeys quietly.
39:33I go up a mountain in India, do you know what I mean,
39:35with a guru.
39:36I have to be dramatic about it, you know?
39:38I have to bathe in the Ganges every day,
39:41which was amazing and I got so much from it.
39:44But it's intense.
39:46You know, so I would like to find a way
39:49in which I incorporate my faith into the real world
39:52without needing to go up a mountain in India.
39:55I do believe we are born into certain families
39:58and we are souls from different places,
40:00but we inherit things from our ancestors
40:03that are just in us.
40:05I grew up with those vast spaces,
40:08the wildness of the Northumbrian countryside,
40:12which I do think is a part of my character.
40:15This is who I am and I think there's a part of me
40:19that has not disregarded that, but forgotten.
40:24I was born C of E and I went to a C of E school
40:28and I'm doing this pilgrimage to reconnect
40:31to the land I grew up with
40:34and to, I suppose, the teachings that my ancestors all had.
40:43Hi, guys.
40:44How are you?
40:45Yeah.
40:46Morning, Patsy.
40:47Morning.
40:48Morning, Pat.
40:49Morning.
40:50Looks like that rain fountain.
40:52I mean, doesn't it?
40:55Yeah?
40:56Got it.
40:56I'm excited.
40:59This morning, the pilgrims will be joining a local trail
41:02known as the Way of Life.
41:05It ends at Durham Cathedral,
41:07which contains the remains, or relics,
41:09of three 7th-century northern saints.
41:13Saints are revered, the cathedral was built for them
41:16and has been a place of pilgrimage for over 1,000 years.
41:23Beautiful morning.
41:24It's gorgeous.
41:25Yeah.
41:26So, how long does your prayer take?
41:29Not too...
41:29Well, you know, also, because I'm travelling...
41:31Yeah.
41:32..the prayer is shorter.
41:33So, at home, how often do you pray?
41:36Maybe five times a day.
41:38Five times a day?
41:39Yeah.
41:39OK.
41:41This is so scenic.
41:42It is.
41:43It turns out some of the pilgrims are big tree enthusiasts.
41:47This is a sort of terrain I grew up in.
41:50Yeah.
41:50Like woods like this.
41:52Woodland.
41:53I love a woodland wall.
41:54I do too.
41:56Has anyone ever hugged a tree?
41:57I have, yeah.
41:58Have you?
41:58Yeah, all the time.
41:59I've never done it.
42:00It's good for you.
42:00Do it.
42:01Yeah.
42:01Should try this one.
42:02Don't think.
42:03Just do.
42:03And just feel.
42:04He could tell I recycle, so he liked me.
42:07It's a nice tree.
42:07Yeah.
42:08No, it's, like, really nice.
42:10Look at that.
42:12Lovely.
42:13I'm going in.
42:14It's a nice one.
42:15It does look a bit nutty.
42:17Mmm.
42:19Hug a tree.
42:23Well, much better.
42:25You have to hug a tree.
42:27All that energy and strength and power,
42:30and to connect with the earth
42:33and the elements,
42:36I really highly recommend it.
42:39While they're communing with nature,
42:41the pilgrims encourage Hassan
42:43to turn his attention to the local livestock.
42:46Are you going to play the call to mass to the sheep?
42:49Yeah, go on.
42:50See if they come.
42:51Come on, try it.
42:52The call to mass.
42:53See the viral Islamic TikTok trend.
42:57Go on.
42:57If it doesn't work,
42:59I don't want loads of people
43:00to suddenly leave the Islamic faith
43:01and think it's all faith.
43:03Everyone has to be quiet.
43:12That one looks pretty interesting.
43:17I bet that one's a bit curious.
43:21I don't think it's working.
43:23It was calm.
43:24The problem is these,
43:24well, these are close to the cathedral,
43:26so they'll be Christian.
43:28Oh, no problem.
43:29That's the thing.
43:30I don't know about the sheep,
43:31but I was on board.
43:32The TikTok I saw, they use cows.
43:34Oh.
43:34So maybe let's see if we see cows.
43:36I speak a different language.
43:36I don't know, yeah.
43:38Hasan is an award-winning stand-up comedian from Birmingham.
43:43I was aware of faith from a pretty early age.
43:46I was lucky that I was definitely aware of my religion
43:49before I was aware that people don't like it necessarily,
43:52or there are some people that are prejudiced against it.
43:55I was growing up kind of post-9-11,
43:58during the Iraq War.
43:59And that's why for a long time I was kind of ashamed
44:01of being Iraqi,
44:02because I didn't like being associated with this war.
44:04I didn't like being seen as the face of this conflict.
44:06So I tried to be as white British as I possibly could.
44:11And I realized that if you were funny,
44:15people liked you.
44:16And that was an invaluable currency for me at the time,
44:20because people didn't like me.
44:22Being Iraqi now, career-wise, it's been a really good thing.
44:26Salaamu Alaikum!
44:28It's definitely something I lean into now.
44:30Maybe even too much for someone
44:31that doesn't speak Arabic fluently
44:32and has only been to Iraq once in their life.
44:35I'm really looking forward to the big questions
44:38and the searching questions
44:39that come as a part of doing this process.
44:42If you're a rational human being,
44:44you've got to wonder, like,
44:45what happens at the end of all this?
44:46Where did we come from?
44:48People spend their whole lives answering those questions.
44:51So to have this opportunity to do it with other people,
44:55I think is really...
44:57I'm going to say it's a blessing.
45:03This particular trail into Durham
45:05has a challenging section known by its local nickname.
45:09I reckon the Steps of Doom are either really high...
45:13Yeah.
45:13...and really, like, the gradients like that,
45:15or they're really steep down.
45:17There they're up.
45:18Here we are.
45:19I told you.
45:19Oh, this is it? This is the Steps of Doom?
45:20Yes.
45:23Doom.
45:24Wow.
45:24Let's think... Let's be positive.
45:25Maybe call it Steps of Happiness.
45:28OK.
45:29Should we just go?
45:29Let's do it.
45:30One, two, three.
45:32Do it. One.
45:33The challenge, 224 steps.
45:38Do you want a hand?
45:39No, that's fine.
45:39I'm going to just do it on my own.
45:41OK.
45:42Target.
45:44Happy thoughts.
45:46Happy thoughts.
45:48This is hard.
45:49I thought they'd be like stone steps.
45:53Oh, look at this.
45:59Honestly, I do it.
46:00I just can't do it slow.
46:01I just want to get it out of the way.
46:03Hate it.
46:03Is that the top?
46:05Because if that's the top, I can do it.
46:08Do it, guys.
46:12You're like my carer.
46:14You are.
46:15Oh.
46:17This keeps getting steeper.
46:19I know.
46:19I don't think we're that far off.
46:21No?
46:23Nah.
46:27I think this is the end.
46:28That's it.
46:29Nice.
46:40Hard work.
46:44Bit out of breath now.
46:55You're okay, Patsy?
46:56No, you survived.
46:57Hard to kill, Patsy.
46:59I think what throws you as well is every step is different.
47:01I kept saying mentally, thank you for today, just from putting it out there to the universe.
47:07Yep.
47:08It's not worked.
47:11All right.
47:12So I think we are going in that direction.
47:14That direction.
47:15Let's get cracking.
47:15Let's roll.
47:16Let's go.
47:17The grind don't start.
47:18All right.
47:19My family found out when I was 12 months old that I was deaf.
47:24And I got my first cochrane plant when I was five years old.
47:28I wasn't the best in school when it came to education because I struggled with taking in information.
47:33I was so exhausted by having to lip-read all the time.
47:38I was interested so much more in doing drama, doing art, doing dance.
47:43It all started when I got my cochrane plant.
47:47I used to come downstairs, strutting down.
47:51And my dad and mum used to put steps on the TV.
47:57And then I went to a local dance studio in my town.
47:59And that's really where my passion for dance started.
48:02It became a space where I can just feel the music.
48:05No judgement.
48:07I'm just there just to be me.
48:12Her love of dance and a growing career in modelling and television
48:15took Tasha to the finals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2024.
48:25But in 2022, after taking part in Love Island,
48:29she'd found herself struggling with life in the public eye.
48:33I suffered with ableism whilst I was on a reality TV show.
48:39People use your disability as their point to hate somebody.
48:46When people are going on TikTok, making videos, literally taking a mic off how I spoke.
48:53It still gets to me now.
48:57I don't like crying, so...
49:03It's literally three years ago, but it still gets to me.
49:06I think it's because I saw the impact it had on my family.
49:10You know, my dad and mum had to see so many horrible comments off my disability, my cochrane implant.
49:18And that's why now I have a stronger shield within me.
49:27Really?
49:27Yeah.
49:28Now on the outskirts of Durham, the pilgrims take a detour off the path to get their first view of
49:33the cathedral.
49:34I'm really, really excited.
49:36Yeah.
49:37Whoa!
49:39Yes!
49:41Now we're talking!
49:42Wow!
49:42Look at that!
49:44It does look spectacular, doesn't it?
49:46It's beautiful.
49:47Monumental.
49:48Majestic.
49:49It is majestic, yeah.
49:52The three saints entombed in the cathedral were key to turning the pagan kingdom of Northumbria into the heart of
49:59early Christian England.
50:01King and Saint Oswald helped found the monastery on Lindisfarne, while the venerable Bede wrote about the English conversion to
50:09Christianity and the lives of the early saints.
50:13But it's Saint Cuthbert, a devout Celtic Christian monk whose legacy resonates most strongly in the north, even today.
50:24It looks close, but I've got the feeling...
50:27No.
50:27That's further away.
50:28It's further away than it seems.
50:29It's deceptive.
50:30It's like being at Westfield.
50:31Yeah.
50:32Oh, look, there's H&M.
50:34No.
50:34Ten minutes later.
50:36Yeah.
50:38So, this is where we're going to split.
50:40OK.
50:40Ashley and Tasha, we're going to go to the prayer room at Durham Uni.
50:44Have an amazing time.
50:46Have a lovely time.
50:47See you there, guys.
50:48See you in a bit.
50:49See you soon.
50:51We'll be reunited soon.
50:52We will.
50:53We will.
50:54Bye, guys.
50:55Bye.
50:56Bye.
50:56Keep it real.
50:58While the other pilgrims continue on the way of life towards the cathedral, Ashley, Tasha and Hassan head off to
51:05the nearby university prayer room.
51:10Durham is one of the oldest universities in England.
51:13It has 17 colleges scattered around the city and its outskirts, and has built an Islamic prayer room for students
51:20and staff, as well as the local community.
51:24This really takes me back to when I was at uni, whenever there was a gap in my labs or
51:29in my lectures, I'd go to the prayer space at university, do my prayers.
51:36At the same time as working on his stand-up, Hassan was awarded a PhD from Cambridge in oncology.
51:45The pilgrims are going to meet Marsheed, who 15 years ago was the first woman to be made a Muslim
51:51chaplain at a British university.
51:55Hello.
51:56Hi.
51:57Assalamualaikum.
51:58Welcome.
51:59Peace be with you.
52:00Thank you for having us.
52:01Glad to have you here in Durham.
52:03I'm Tasha.
52:03Nice to meet you, Tasha.
52:05Nice to meet you.
52:06Thank you so much.
52:06You're welcome.
52:07This is my first time ever in a Muslim prayer room.
52:11Oh, wonderful.
52:12I'm really excited here to learn from you.
52:16Tasha has family links with South East Asia.
52:20My last name is Guri, and it came from my dad's side of family.
52:24So my dad's name is Tariq Aman Guri, and it's actually my dad's dad, who was Indian, Pakistani, but I
52:30never met him.
52:30I'm so unknown to my heritage, my past, so is my dad.
52:34Like, I don't really know much about faith.
52:36I would say I am an atheist, but doing pilgrimage might unlock something in me that maybe I did have
52:42the whole time, but I just never knew.
52:44So that could be something I could walk away with.
52:48So it may seem very strange for people who've never seen a Muslim pray, you know, bowing, prostrating,
52:55but actually it's all very symbolic, and it's a way that Muslims join in with the cosmic order of a
53:04whole creation,
53:05because Muslims believe that everything in creation praises and glorifies their Creator.
53:11What's interesting is the notion that God is everywhere, that the energy runs through everything that we see, touch and
53:21feel.
53:22So I absolutely understand that completely.
53:24And that's beautiful because when Muslims pray, they are part of that symphony, if you like.
53:30They're part of that order and harmony.
53:33And sunrise and sunset has a lot to do with it.
53:37And when Muslims pray at those significant times, they are becoming part of that harmony, and that recharges them.
53:44Because if you're not charged, we can't really help others.
53:47I don't come from a religious background, but I really do believe in recharging yourself
53:52and being thankful and grateful every day that we get to live an amazing life.
53:56It's so beautiful to hear that you have your kind of route that you go to.
54:02Inside me, I was thinking, I have some similarities, but I don't obviously have a religion, but I do believe
54:08in having to recharge on yourself.
54:10I do believe you have to stop and look outside and see where you are and be grateful for that.
54:31It's a genuinely great experience, but also in some ways there were moments of realisation, even sadness for me, because
54:39there's just so much division in the world.
54:42And as human beings, there's a unity between us all.
54:47I don't have to take on the same beliefs as Hassan, but as a human being, I 100% embrace
54:56him.
54:58Allahu Akbar.
54:59It is starting to maybe open up my eyes more on a different perspective of,
55:03OK, maybe I should be more open to learning more about it and just not be so closed off.
55:13It's definitely changed my perspective on connecting with myself again.
55:19It was really good just seeing another Muslim and talking about prayer and spirituality.
55:25Yeah, I'm very glad that we did it.
55:29The rest of the group are on their way to the historic city centre, where they'll meet up with the
55:33other pilgrims.
55:35Do you pray?
55:37I do. I pray all the time.
55:38Do you ever find your prayers answered?
55:40Because someone once said to me, your prayers are always answered, but unfortunately sometimes the answer is no.
55:46Yeah, it's like when you pray, you can get three answers.
55:50It's either yes, no, or not yet.
55:54I like that.
55:54I think as humans we struggle with that because we like to be in control.
56:00Exactly.
56:00So we want what we want.
56:01Exactly.
56:02The pilgrims are reuniting next to the famous Preben's Bridge, which stretches over the River Weir.
56:08Oh, look.
56:10We're back.
56:11Hi.
56:11Did you miss us?
56:12Yes.
56:13Because we missed you.
56:14How was it?
56:15Really good.
56:16Let's get going.
56:17Let's do it.
56:18The bridge is alongside Durham Cathedral and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
56:25And it's this iconic view which has inspired artists and writers for centuries.
56:30Oh, wow.
56:31That's pretty stunning, isn't it?
56:33It is.
56:33Isn't that beautiful?
56:34Look at the colour of the stone.
56:36It's sort of revealing itself gradually, though.
56:38We haven't had the full view, have we?
56:39No.
56:40And a poem here by Walter Scott.
56:43We need an actor to read this.
56:45Hermione.
56:45Cassie, will you do half with me?
56:47You start, because I think you're better than...
56:49Let's do half each, right?
56:51OK.
56:51Grey towers of Durham, yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles.
56:57Half church of God, half castle gainst the Scot.
57:03And long to roam these venerable isles, with the records stored of deeds long since forgot.
57:12Oh, wow.
57:14There he goes, Steve.
57:15There he goes.
57:16Shall we head on?
57:18Yeah.
57:19Yeah.
57:20Look at this view.
57:21This is stunning view.
57:23Wow.
57:23This is very cool.
57:24You just need, like, a little logo, Visit England.
57:27And there's just the perfect picture there.
57:29Yeah.
57:30Perfect.
57:31Gorgeous.
57:32I'm glad you went this afternoon.
57:35No, honestly, it was...
57:36Yeah.
57:36Amazing.
57:37I'm never going to forget her.
57:38Yeah.
57:39I felt quite emotional, because just seeing them two and...
57:44Just really embracing their religion and just doing their prayer.
57:47Yeah.
57:47But it was when they were doing it together.
57:50And that's what made me go, like, wow, it was just powerful.
57:54And it made me realise we used to be more open-minded about religion and just not judge what people
58:03believe in just because they believe in something different to what we may believe in.
58:07Absolutely.
58:08Nice that you had that as well with your dad's roots, isn't it?
58:11Yeah, I'm definitely curious.
58:15Next time...
58:16Oh.
58:17Jane falls in love with the ancient saints.
58:20Jane, you ever thought about starting, like, a Cuthbert Oswald fan club?
58:23Get.
58:23Lost.
58:24Banjo.
58:25Ashley Blaker gets into a debate about Judaism.
58:28Not unequal.
58:29You said unequal.
58:30Not unequal.
58:31Different.
58:32While an old battlefield leaves Hermione and Patsy completely baffled.
58:37Men with no knickers on.
58:39No pants on.
58:40No pants.
58:41Running around.
58:42Chopping each other to bits.
58:44Yeah.
58:45And then praying.
58:47Step into the story of pilgrimage.
58:49From ancient paths to virtual experiences.
58:52With the Open University's interactive journey through time.
58:55Scan the QR code or visit connect.open.ac.uk slash pilgrimage.
59:04Speaker 466 here to watch it regularly weáºniser for a few seconds.
59:11On the IPC Times page got direction.
59:12even holy samples will come out as well with ships in a millionth入ēsts.
59:12Every.
59:30ì–´ë””?
59:30You may never forget.
59:31mining wheels and snacks have been straight for the large technic weOS. Using
59:31and the few Fleurs and visions managed and güç.
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