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Pilgrimage Season 8 Episode 1
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00:01the spectacular landscapes of North East England oh my god look at this view a
00:08cradle of English Christianity from where a new faith spread throughout
00:14England and beyond as soon as you see that cross you know you're in good hands
00:18it's here that seven celebrities are forging their very own pilgrimage
00:27among them a pilgrim with a strong Christian faith we do have a path that I believe God
00:35intends for us and I think part of the journey of life is seeing if you can find it an
00:43observant
00:43Muslim there's a line in Frasier where he says ethics is what we do when no one's looking that
00:48chimes in with Islam everything you do should be to please Allah and that makes you a better
00:53person and the self-proclaimed a la carte Catholic I take the best bits of Catholicism I love this
01:02service and the pump and the circumstance of it all I believe the power of prayer they'll trace
01:08the footprint of legendary Celtic Christian Saints from the seventh century that's the most beautiful
01:14view I've ever seen in my life before arriving at that final destination the holy island of
01:19Lindisfarne some people think this is the holiest place in England over 12 days oh god there will be
01:28challenges oh it's really slippery you're like my carer realizations we have very different views don't
01:36me and tears for the first time I feel like I belong somewhere common pilgrimage they said
01:43come on Batsy I'm coming but where will this journey of self-discovery take them
01:56the northeast of England is renowned for its national parks and dramatic scenic beauty
02:03this vast area is crisscrossed by trails celebrating early Christian history and the saints who dedicated
02:10their lives to bringing Christianity to a turbulent and pagan country a faith that shaped the culture
02:18and spiritual landscape for centuries to come the pilgrims will meet for the first time in North
02:27Yorkshire on a coastal path just south of Whitby Ashley Banjo leader of the dance troupe diversity
02:36is first to arrive I'm a Christian no doubt about it what I've wrestled with getting older is not
02:46whether I believe or not it's what that belief means what do I do with it I'm first by the
02:53looks of
02:54things fantastic this for me is just about surrendering to the journey it's like we've geared up we're gear
03:02six on the on the faith drive sort of thing and I'm looking forward to that I'm looking forward to
03:06walking thinking and reflecting first pilgrim to join Ashley is actor Hermione Norris I'm not as fit as I
03:15used to be I'm 58 do you know what I mean and that can make me feel quite vulnerable sometimes
03:19I bet
03:20there'll be lots of fitties you know oh here's someone who is that hello I'm Hermione Ashley very
03:27nice to meet you Ashley I love people if you get a group you know you never know what you
03:32know you
03:34never know what you're gonna get it's a little colder up here than I thought it was gonna be I'm
03:40a
03:40little higher up than you as well yeah I really feel it on the old ears on their way to
03:46meet the
03:46pilgrims our comedian Ashley Blaker and TV personality and dancer Tasha Guru I feel like the first day at
03:55school just like a little kid for the first time or Giddy is that Ashley Banjo I can hear a
04:02voice
04:03can I come join diversity if you want dance your way up hello hello I'm Hermione how are you I'm
04:10Ashley
04:11Ashley two Ashleys it's gonna be a challenge in many ways it's definitely gonna be a physical
04:17challenge it may well be an emotional challenge good to see you yeah I love that next to join the
04:29pilgrims our stand-up comedian Hassan al-habib and radio presenter Jane Middlemiss when I am in the
04:38Northeast I always feel like I'm home and I'm already starting to feel like I'm gonna go rogue and feral
04:45very
04:46quickly Jane and Hermione have met before through mutual friends I try and take religion seriously
05:00it's kind of crazy that we're all on this big rock flowing in space and you want to try and
05:05make sense
05:05of that and if I haven't found the answer by the end of these two weeks it will be a
05:11failure it'll be a
05:12failure you heard it here first last but not least is actor Patsy Kensett this is just spectacular I'm
05:24gonna find my inner bliss through each step that I take there's somebody coming isn't a man no that's a
05:32woman I'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 that is a strut I think it's another comedian hello how are you
05:45hi nice to see you being a pilgrim it's gonna be right up my street nice to meet you hi
05:52Ashley
05:53hi Ashley nice to meet you all together yep how do we start when do we start oh we've got
05:59to get a map
06:01enough hands right all the pilgrims have phones with maps and information about the route yeah so
06:08far we start I think we should do a selfie yes okay let's do it let's get the smiles in
06:13now I'll go to
06:14the back let's have it let's do pilgrimage pilgrims score this is just the start yeah the group are
06:29starting their unique 390 kilometer pilgrimage in North Yorkshire on the coastal path to Whitby picking
06:37up the way of St Hilde traveling on foot and by bus they'll make their way to Durham and then
06:44head
06:44northwest to Heavenfield in Northumberland the start of St Oswald's Way the pilgrims will explore the
06:52glorious coastline before traversing northwest to St Cuthbert's Way in the Cheviots in the Scottish
06:58borders they'll make their way to the legendary Cuthbert's Cave before heading to Holy Island
07:04also known as Lindisfarne their final destination for more than a thousand years the faithful have
07:13trekked across the changing tidal sands to reach this historic place of pilgrimage
07:23it's beautiful yeah it's gorgeous the coastal path boasts dramatic views as it heads north towards Whitby
07:31but the pilgrims learn fast that weather in the northeast can be unpredictable lovely day for it
07:39yeah I know right this is literally all my personalities in one day yeah I said yeah a bit too
07:47convincingly though I apologize for that
07:49you're getting steep now yeah don't look down you okay I'm a straggler look I'm holding you back ah ah
07:59and then suddenly it stops raining and it's a beautiful when there's a rainbow
08:04is there a biblical sign of faith yeah there you go onwards
08:11you know what they say about coincidences there is no such thing as a coincidence no it's just God showing
08:16off
08:16yeah that's it when I went by my boots the shop assistant said oh are you doing that pilgrimage thing
08:23because somebody's just come before really it's a dark hair from the north quite small
08:28well you're like oh it's Cheryl Cole do you think I was Cheryl Cheryl Cheryl
08:33hello you look like a pop star you sound like you're a pop star
08:39I last saw you probably 11 12 years ago that was when I was just about to go off to
08:47India I was going to go away for a year
08:48yeah so I put everything in storage and went for five and went for five she did
08:53and you know I did a bit of Buddhism I flirted with them all you know yeah yeah lovely what
08:58about you I don't subscribe to any organized religion mm-hmm I believe in
09:04love and connection and peace and tolerance and inclusivity I respect anyone who draws
09:13comfort from organized religion but that's not not for me I don't like dogma no me neither not
09:19comfortable with that Hermione is most known as an actor for her roles in spooks and cold feet but
09:27it was during drama school that she had to cope with a heart-wrenching loss I experience as quite a
09:34young person somebody's taking their own life and what happens to you after you die you know
09:39Christianity was you burn in hell Catholicism you're in purgatory Eastern philosophies you
09:45had to come back and sort of do life again until you'd learned your soul's journey and it really
09:50really upset and bothered me because I needed for myself to find peace with it I wouldn't describe
09:57myself in any way as defined by a particular religion my faith is experiential it's how I
10:04experienced the love of my children my family relationships with people I see the soul in a
10:11person's face it's sort of that shining light in people's eyes I experience it in art when I listen
10:20to a beautiful piece of music and also in nature mother nature in all her glory I couldn't have lived
10:31my
10:31life without that I couldn't have got through without that without that connection I shot an episode of
10:39cold feet on Lindisfarne years ago and I recall it as somewhere that had a power to it an energy
10:45it was
10:47very alive spiritually to me and I sort of feel slightly like I'm being called back there a little bit
10:52at the
10:53moment of that sort of mystical land really I am in the autumn of my life now and I think
11:01life is a
11:02pilgrimage isn't it yeah careful
11:24so I'm taking from your crucifix there so you're Christian yes definitely so I'm Jewish
11:31you're basically the Old Testament actually you know the New Testament yeah that's what we are
11:36yeah I like that that's how we should know ourselves oh my god look at this view oh wow oh
11:44look there's
11:44dolphins yeah wow look oh my gosh there's more there actually as well oh yeah there's lights they're
11:50dancing they're dancing that's so lovely you could choreograph them maybe yeah maybe side them up what
11:56could be more like that's diversity it's interspecies yes that's how diverse diversity is exactly the new
12:01member and remembers the dolphins Ashley Banjo has devoted the past 18 years of an explosive career to
12:09diversity we first entered Britain's Got Talent when I was 19 so at the very start of my journey into
12:17adulthood we then get thrust into the public eye where do you get all your creative ideas from you
12:22know I was blessed I just so I had to then navigate growing up in front of everybody millions and
12:30millions
12:30of people I think one of the barriers that stopped me exploring faith sooner was the commitment to the
12:39person I've become to survive all of that public exposure but I've come to learn that the journey of
12:47discovery is part of faith if anything the more I know the less I realize I know that makes sense
12:55perhaps fittingly diversity studio is a converted church I don't have a particular moment when faith
13:05was introduced to my life my dad and his family were brought up Christian my dad's from Nigeria came here
13:15when he was younger I just remember faith and the idea of God always be there in some way I
13:24know what faith I follow but 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 which earned much of its modern-day
13:44popularity through the literary classic and gothic horror novel Dracula you know they broke a world
13:50record there a few years ago for the greatest number of people dressed as vampires oh yeah they do that
13:57they do goth weekend
14:00Whitby Abbey Abbey was built on top of a seventh-century monastery which had filled the entire headland and became
14:08one of the most important religious centers in the Anglo-Saxon world
14:12it's here the pilgrims pick up the trail of their first northern saint Hild a woman from a powerful aristocratic
14:20family who converted from paganism to Celtic Christianity at 13 and became an abbess at 33
14:29who was in charge of the abbey originally
14:31who was in charge of the abbey originally Hild Hild Hild Hild it was all female power
14:34female run it was like by the magnificent Hild yeah girl power yeah was it men and women together and
14:41she encouraged a lot of learning and education she loved the um the great outdoors and the wilds didn't she
14:50she run a very tight ship though yeah she was very very strict that's one of the reasons I was
14:55actually like super interesting to see in this place because it was a great
14:58because it was like a real like kind of like a real engine like a real powerhouse like spread Christianity
15:05in the seventh century faith in the God of Christianity was seen as a way to salvation
15:12unlike 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 women folk like Hild
15:26that way they served God and also kept the lands and property under family control
15:34Hild was so respected in 664 AD she was asked to host the Synod of Whitby this meeting was pivotal
15:43for the future of the English church
15:45it brought Celtic Christianity into line with Roman traditions
15:50uniting them with continental Europe
15:51and tying the English church to the Roman papacy
15:57it's so dramatic
15:59the majesty of it all
16:01wow
16:02the thing that I feel with places like this is that so many things have happened
16:06yes
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
16:18I 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 practicing Christian?
16:27yeah absolutely
16:27yeah I'm a Christian
16:29I've believed all my life
16:30but
16:30really embracing my faith
16:33it's only really been in the past
16:35past couple of years
16:37and
16:37so still very much
16:38very much on a journey with it you know
16:40what about you?
16:41see I
16:42yeah
16:43see I
16:43I'm proud to be Jewish
16:44but I don't really feel
16:46any
16:47sense that I really want to keep all the rules anymore
16:49oh
16:49and 15 years
16:51I was super super super
16:53doing it
16:54absolutely
16:56to its
16:57the most you could do it
17:00now that is interesting
17:01in a dog three times a day
17:03I used to go into a ritual bath every morning
17:05to cleanse myself
17:07wow
17:09studying
17:09every day
17:1015 years?
17:11for 15 years
17:12and so what?
17:13and then
17:14I finished it
17:15completed it mate
17:16completed it
17:17Judaism
17:18Ticked that one off the list mate
17:19completed it
17:20yeah completed it
17:21I grew up in a very traditional Jewish home
17:24where
17:24we affiliated effectively with
17:27Orthodox Judaism
17:28as the vast majority of Jews in this country do
17:31Jews always think that what they're doing
17:34is the gold standard
17:36that exactly how they do it
17:38is the right amount to do it
17:41that is my parents
17:42in an absolute nutshell
17:44so
17:44that 15 year period
17:46where 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.
17:56They 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
18:08he 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
18:22while I was at home praying and eating chicken soup.
18:26A more unusual upshot of these rules
18:29was that I didn't shake hands with anyone of the opposite sex
18:33apart from my spouse.
18:35And working in an industry like television
18:37where everyone is not only shaking hands
18:40but hugging and kissing hello and what have you
18:43did make for quite a few very uncomfortable meetings.
18:47So Ashley left that world and turned to standard.
18:52Two years ago, he found out that he's neurodiverse.
18:56Looking back now through the lens of my diagnosis
19:00with autism and ADHD, I can see that my being super observant
19:05may have been a hyperfixation.
19:08A hyperfixation for many neurodivergent people like myself
19:13can really take over their brain completely.
19:16And the trouble is, with all hyperfixations,
19:19once you've lost interest in it, that's it.
19:23So my tattoos are a current hyperfixation, I guess,
19:26and are quite interesting in terms of my faith
19:29because tattoos are strictly forbidden in Orthodox Judaism.
19:36Now I would define myself as agnostic
19:40but surely everybody is agnostic
19:43because anyone who tells you
19:45that they know for sure that there is a God
19:48or that they know for sure that there is no God
19:51is lying because no-one knows.
20:00It's definitely a bit cold.
20:02It is.
20:02The wind is a bit more severe.
20:05Yeah.
20:06I know you're a south end on seaboard
20:07so you're more familiar with this, but...
20:09This is a level up from south end.
20:10It is a level up like an emotion, yeah.
20:13With Whitby behind them,
20:14the pilgrims continue north on the coastal path,
20:17the way of St Hild.
20:19They're heading to Runswick Bay on the Jurassic coastline.
20:25Me, doing pilgrimage,
20:27I'm kind of coming completely unknown
20:29to any kind of faith or religion.
20:32Well, that's beautiful
20:32because you could, you know,
20:34come away with some, like, epiphany.
20:36I don't know if you knew,
20:38but I was born Daphne, where I cocko and flan, and...
20:41I always believed in obstacles coming your way
20:43for you to overcome them.
20:45Right.
20:45Because you're meant to overcome them.
20:47I really believe in that.
20:48That's why I want to do this
20:49so I can learn from each and every one of you.
20:53I just try and find gratitude every day
20:57and just believe in this loving universe
21:01and that, you know,
21:04there's not an angry God up there.
21:07I mean, I was raised Catholic.
21:09Yeah.
21:10And I went to a convent,
21:11and 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,
21:26but I'm a spiritual person
21:28more 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,
21:40from films such as The Great Gatsby
21:43with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow
21:45to roles in TV soaps like EastEnders and Emmerdale.
21:50High-profile marriages and divorces
21:52to 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,
22:18and I pray to her.
22:22I see white feathers all the time,
22:24which 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
22:35in 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.
22:55The pilgrims are still following the coast,
22:58heading to Runswick Bay, known for its fossils.
23:02Tash, you're going to use sticks?
23:04Yeah, I've got some.
23:05They're quite good, you know.
23:07According to legend,
23:08there was a plague of snakes
23:09where Hild was building her abbey,
23:11so she turned the snakes into stone
23:13and threw them off the cliffs.
23:17In medieval times,
23:18ammonite fossils found on the beach
23:20were thought to be Hild's snake stones,
23:23and have been popular finds with pilgrims ever since.
23:27I 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.
23:37It's a good story,
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,
23:46the pilgrims have Runswick Bay in sight.
23:50This is the Ammonite Beach.
23:52Yes.
23:52Is that how you say it?
23:55Anonite.
23:56Ammonite?
23:57Anonite.
23:57Ammonite.
23:58Do you ever know how to say it properly?
23:59Ammonite.
24:00Ammonite.
24:01Along all this coastline,
24:03people would find black ammonites
24:05that they would associate with the snakes
24:07that she had killed.
24:08That's incredible.
24:10And is that what the hit film
24:11Snakes on a Plane is based on?
24:12Is it based on the legend of...
24:13No.
24:14Perhaps it's based on that legend.
24:16We should see if we can find some.
24:17Absolutely.
24:17First one finds Ammonite Snake.
24:20It just wins pilgrimage.
24:22Wins pilgrimage.
24:23I'm getting down there.
24:25Let's do it.
24:25Let's do it.
24:28It's getting windy.
24:29It really is.
24:31The thing is,
24:32I'm not sure...
24:33You'd know what one looked like.
24:34...when I see it.
24:37This bit looks a little bit...
24:38I know.
24:39Now I'm going to regret only having one pole.
24:41After you then, Ash.
24:42Be careful.
24:43This is slippery.
24:45Yeah, 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.
24:58Don't...
24:59Please don't scare me like that.
25:00My heart.
25:01I just...
25:02Honestly, I just nearly lost my...
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.
25:10Look, I'm just very...
25:11It's really slippy.
25:13After Hassan al-Habib comedian pushed Jane down the...
25:16Ashley Banjo bravely stepped in.
25:20Right, 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.
25:28Yeah.
25:29Yeah.
25:29Hassan al-Habib robs Jane of holes.
25:35Finally down, the pilgrims make their way to the rocky end of the two-kilometre-long
25:39beach in search of hilled snakes.
25:42Let's look for some amonise.
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 am.
26:10I knew I would.
26:12You OK?
26:12Yeah, I'm fine.
26:13I'm fine, I'm fine.
26:14I'm fine, thank you.
26:16Patty'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.
26:29Here's one here, look.
26:31I've already split open, look.
26:32Oh!
26:33Wow!
26:34Look at that.
26:35That's brilliant.
26:38Byron, can I ask a question about the amonites?
26:42Amonites.
26:43Yeah.
26:43Did they have heads?
26:45They didn't have heads as such.
26:46They would be this way up on the seabed.
26:49OK.
26:49And they would have tentacles that came out of 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, before the scientific knowledge found that these were
27:05actually amonites.
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.
27:28Oh, Byron, 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 amonite 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 amonite sticking out, 180 million years old.
27:49Wow!
27:50180 million years old.
27:52That's been mad, isn't it?
27:53Yeah.
27:54If you imagine Earth time as your arm, and humans have only been around for the last parts of your
28:00fingernail.
28:00And look how much damage we've done in that time.
28:03Absolutely.
28:06Let's get you the Nobel Prize for that.
28:08That's beautiful.
28:11No worries.
28:13That's 180 million years old.
28:15Quite humbling, isn't it?
28:17It makes me feel a bit sick.
28:19I know that's really weird, but when I...
28:21I don't know what it 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.
28:33And it's all...
28:34I don't know why.
28:35I don't know why it makes me feel sick, but it does.
28:41As the heavens open, it's time for the pilgrims to move on.
28:44To 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?
29:04Hopefully 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?
29:23Just a little bit further up the lane and on the left.
29:26It's first left.
29:28Thank you very much.
29:28Enjoy.
29:29I hope you have a lovely stay.
29:30Thank you very much.
29:31First left.
29:32First left.
29:33Yes.
29:36Oh, this is nice.
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 pod.
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.
29:59Look.
29:59Oh, my God.
30:00Look.
30:00Quick.
30:01Are we all going to fit?
30:02Oh, my God.
30:04Oh, I love it.
30:06Lovely.
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 food.
30:20There's enough food.
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.
30:31Do you want to go have a look at the others and check out that?
30:33No, I don't know.
30:34No.
30:35What, are we going to share this one?
30:36Yeah.
30:37I'll sleep on here.
30:38Are you sure?
30:38Yeah, sure.
30:39I'm fine with that.
30:42Same set for all of it, okay?
30:43Okay, fine.
30:44So, one minute, there's seven of us.
30:46Yeah.
30:47Yeah, so it's two, two, three.
30:49So two people are going to have to share a bed?
30:51Yeah.
30:52I think we've got along really well, Hasan.
30:56Brother, we've played our hand too early, brother.
30:58We've played our hand too early.
30:59I don't need to keep it to myself.
31:02Oh, 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.
31:11Ashley, do you want the beds?
31:14Whatever's easiest for people?
31:16Bed hunger games.
31:18Rock, paper, scissors.
31:19The blocks will share one and Patsy and Tashy will share one.
31:25But 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.
31:34It'll have to be two, two and three boys.
31:36All right, coming in, boys.
31:37Yeah.
31:37Let's roll.
31:38It's been great playing bed hunger games with you.
31:40Let's leave it there.
31:41Well done.
31:42Well done.
31:43Well 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.
31:50And have we found out which way Mecca is?
31:53Do you know I have an in-built detector?
31:55Just feel it out, Hussam.
31:56Which way are you?
31:56We've got some new Islamic technology.
31:58Compass, brother.
32:00MashaAllah, recent technology we invented.
32:04I'm afraid that I snore.
32:06You can do whatever racket of noise you want to do it in.
32:09It will 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.
32:27No, no, no.
32:28Let me help you make the bed up.
32:31It fits the perfect fit.
32:37Oh, my God.
32:39OK, can you fit in that?
32:41Oh, that's really comfy.
32:43Have you seen it, Jane?
32:47Look, and that was all, that was together and it came apart.
32:51It came apart in your hand.
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.
33:08I can't wait to be a laminite.
33:10The relief will be palpable.
33:16As 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.
33:23Yeah.
33:24It was quite intense.
33:25I felt it a little bit, yeah.
33:26Yeah, there was a point where I just thought my legs felt so heavy.
33:31Boys are looking forward to a night together.
33:32Yeah.
33:33Some peace and quiet for a Chinese tsunami.
33:36I'm joking.
33:36I'm joking.
33:38Come on.
33:40You're going to be a bit of a squash and a squeeze, three of you,
33:42in there, aren't you?
33:43Yeah.
33:43The good thing is we're all petite.
33:45So it doesn't, you know...
33:46Yeah.
33:49Yeah.
33:50Jane, are you heading to 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,
34:08Hassan 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.
34:21I'd love to.
34:22Love to.
34:23I 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.
34:29You know, something very new and, yeah.
34:32Great.
34:34Good on you, Tash.
34:35Love that.
34:35Absolutely.
34:35I love that too.
34:37Perhaps I can auction the last spot off.
34:40I'm open to bribes.
34:41I'd love to.
34:42I would be really interested.
34:43I really want to go.
34:44Okay, whoever's willing to convert gets to come to the prayer room.
34:49Whoever wants to recite the shahada right now, who 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.
35:05I went during Fringe to the mosque in Edinburgh.
35:08So I've only once, I've been to a mosque.
35:10Yeah.
35:11So you've been there, done that.
35:12So you're out the running.
35:21I mean, I would absolutely come with us to watch.
35:25Have you locked in, Ashley, at this stage?
35:27Because Patsy's up.
35:28No, 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 if you, if you.
35:38You.
35:39Well, I didn't want to say anything.
35:41But we'll see it's all coming out now.
35:45No, no, no, no, Ash, you go and then.
35:49And I'll convert you later.
35:50Okay.
35:51Well, I think that seals it.
35:52That seals it.
35:56It's interesting being surrounded by people of different beliefs because my mind is completely
36:02open to explore cultures, traditions, faiths.
36:06But obviously my heart is already set.
36:09So it's an interesting thing to go and observe and experience Hassan's faith and also just
36:16getting to know Hassan more because he's a dude.
36:20Being in a group of not knowing people, I'm really pleased that they all seem really genuinely
36:25nice people.
36:27Yes.
36:27But I wonder, you know, if you are going to be pushed to the limit mentally, physically,
36:32spiritually.
36:33I mean, it brings out the best and the worst in people, all 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 every single thing that needs to come up to be given to them.
36:48I've had enough of that.
36:53I think you're an incredible woman.
36:55Like, you really are.
36:57You're so strong.
36:58You're so forceful, empowering.
37:01And I've learned so much from you already and 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 kind 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 7 a.m.
37:35This is the earliest I've woken up in God knows how long.
37:39Not the best night of sleep I've had, but bless my brothers in the pod for not snoring.
37:44It's just nice to feel more connected with the natural world and in our accommodation.
37:55There we go.
37:58Officially, I'm awake.
38:00Patsy, how did you sleep?
38:02I just had a mad dream 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 Jolie was 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...
38:23I will once I...
38:28I'll wake up properly in a minute.
38:31I slept really well.
38:32Can't speak for you.
38:33No, this is saying it's really weird.
38:35I woke up thinking of Jesus and then I thought, that'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, first early doors.
38:50No, but I'm grateful to you for you to have shared that with me.
38:56Does it make me sound a bit like another one?
38:58No, not remotely.
39:00Jane hosts a well-known daily radio show
39:03and has been a familiar name on radio and TV for more than two decades.
39:08It's going in to South 30 and still number one hits top of the top!
39:13I think my interest in spirituality would be...
39:18Because I think that is the main question to ask ourselves in life, you know?
39:22Why am I here?
39:2413 years ago, Jane packed a bag and went to India, up 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, with a guru.
39:36I have to be dramatic about it, you know?
39:38I have to bathe in the Ganges every day, which was amazing.
39:42And I got so much from it, but it's intense.
39:46You know, so I would like to find a way in 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 and we are souls from different places,
40:00but we inherit things from our ancestors that are just in us.
40:05I grew up with those vast spaces, the wildness of the Northumbrian countryside,
40:12which I do think is a part of my character.
40:15This is who I am.
40:17And I think there's a part of me that has not disregarded that, but forgotten.
40:24I was born C of E and I went to a C of E school and I'm doing this pilgrimage
40:30to reconnect
40:31to the land I grew up with and to, I suppose, the teachings that my ancestors all had.
40:43Hi, guys.
40:46Morning, Patsy.
40:47Morning.
40:48Morning, Pat.
40:49Morning.
40:50It looks 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 known as the Way of Life.
41:05It ends at Durham Cathedral, which contains the remains, or relics, of three 7th century
41:11northern saints.
41:13Saints are revered, the cathedral was built for them and has been a place of pilgrimage
41:18for over 1,000 years.
41:23Beautiful morning.
41:24It's gorge.
41:25Yeah.
41:26So, how long does your prayer take?
41:29Not too...
41:29Well, you know, also, because I'm travelling, the prayer is shorter.
41:33So, at home, how often do you play?
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 and woodland.
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, just do.
42:03And just feel.
42:04He could tell I recycle, so he liked me.
42:06It'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.
42:23You're much better.
42:25You have to hug a tree.
42:27All that energy and strength and power and to connect with the earth and the elements.
42:36I really highly recommend it.
42:39While they're communing with nature, the pilgrims encourage Hassan to turn his attention to the local livestock.
42:47Are 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.
42:58If it doesn't work, I don't want loads of people to suddenly leave the Islamic faith and think it's all,
43:02it's all faith.
43:03Everyone has to be quiet.
43:12That one looks pretty interesting.
43:17I bet that one's a bit curious.
43:22I don't think it's working.
43:23It was calm.
43:24The problem is these, well, these are close to the cathedral, so they'll be Christian.
43:28That's the thing.
43:30I don't know about the sheep, but I was on board.
43:32The TikTok I saw, they used cows.
43:34Oh, no.
43:35So maybe let's see if we speak out.
43:36I speak a different language.
43:37Well, I don't know, yeah.
43:38Hassan is an award-winning stand-up comedian from Birmingham.
43:42I was aware of faith from a pretty early age.
43:46I was lucky that I was definitely aware of my religion before I was aware that people don't like it
43:51necessarily,
43:52or there are some people that are prejudiced against it.
43:56I was growing up kind of post-911, during the Iraq War,
43:59and that's why for a long time I was kind of ashamed of being Iraqi,
44:02because I didn't like being associated with this war.
44:05I didn't like being seen as the face of this conflict.
44:07So I tried to be as white British as I possibly could.
44:11And I realized that if you were funny, people liked you.
44:16And that was an invaluable currency for me at the time, because 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 that 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 that come as a part of doing this process.
44:42If you're a rational human being, you've got to wonder,
44:45like, what 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
45:12and really, like, the gradients like that,
45:15or they're really steeped down.
45:17There they are.
45:18Here we are.
45:19I told you.
45:19Oh, this is it? This is the Steps of Doom?
45:21Yes.
45:23Doom.
45:24Wow.
45:24Let's be positive.
45:25Maybe call it Steps of Happiness.
45:28Shall we just go?
45:29Let's do it.
45:30One, two, three, do it.
45:32One.
45:33The challenge, 224 steps.
45:38Do you want a hand?
45:39No, that's fine.
45:39I'm going to just do it my own.
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 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 by us.
46:12You're like my carer.
46:14You are.
46:15You are.
46:15You're just actually falling.
46:17This keeps getting steeper.
46:19I know.
46:19I don't think we're that far off.
46:21No?
46:26I don't 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 back in.
47:15Let's roll.
47:16Let's go.
47:17The grind don't start.
47:19My family found out when I was 12 months old that I was deaf.
47:24And I got my first cochlear implant 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.
47:34I was so exhausted by having to lip read all the time.
47:37I was interested so much more in doing drama, doing art, doing dance.
47:43It all started when I got my cochlear implant.
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.
48:06No judgment.
48:07I'm just there just to be me.
48:12Her love of dance and a growing career in modelling and television took Tasha to the finals of Strictly Come
48:18Dancing in 2024.
48:25But in 2022, after taking part in Love Island, she'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 go in on TikTok, making videos, literally taking a mick off how I spoke, it still gets to
48:54me now.
48:56I 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 cochlear implant.
49:18And that's why now I have a stronger shield within me.
49:27Really? Yeah.
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!
49:39Oh, look.
49:40Yeah, now we're talking.
49:42Wow, look at that.
49:44It does look spectacular, doesn't it?
49:46It's beautiful.
49:47Monumental.
49:48Majestic.
49:49It is majestic, yeah.
49:51The 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, that's further away.
50:28It's further away than it seems.
50:29It's deceptive.
50:30It's like being at Westfield.
50:31Yeah.
50:32Yeah.
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 Dharamuni.
50:44Have an amazing time.
50:45Lovely.
50:46Have a lovely time.
50:47See you there, guys.
50:48See you later.
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.
50:59While the other pilgrims continue on the way of life towards the cathedral, Ashley, Tasha and Hassan
51:05head off to the 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
51:19prayer room for students and staff as well as the local community.
51:24This really takes me back to when I was at uni.
51:27Whenever there was a gap in my labs or my lectures, I'd, yeah, I'd go to the prayer space at
51:34university, 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
51:51a Muslim chaplain at a British university.
52:15Tasha has family links with Southeast 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,
52:29but I never met him.
52:30I'm so unknown to my heritage, my past.
52:34So 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
52:42have the whole time, but I just never knew.
52:43So 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,
52:54prostrating, but actually it's all very symbolic.
52:59And it's a way that Muslims join in with the cosmic order of a whole creation, because Muslims
53:06believe 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
53:19everything that we see, touch and feel.
53:22So I absolutely understand that completely.
53:25And that's beautiful because when Muslims pray, they are part of that symphony, if you
53:30like.
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.
53:43And 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'm thinking, I have some similarities, but I don't obviously have a religion, but
54:08I do believe in 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,
54:37even sadness for me, because there's just so much division in the world.
54:43And 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.
54:58It is starting to maybe open up my eyes more on a different perspective of, oh, okay,
55:04maybe I should be more open to learning more about it and just not be so closed off.
55:13It's just 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
55:33up with the other pilgrims.
55:35Do you pray?
55:37I do.
55:37I 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
55:45the 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.
55:55I 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
56:08River Weir.
56:09Oh, lovely.
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.
56:18Thanks for telling me.
56:19The bridge is alongside Durham Cathedral and it's part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site
56:25and it's this iconic view which has inspired artists and writers for centuries.
56:31Oh, wow.
56:31That's pretty stunning, isn't it?
56:33Really?
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...
56:49Right, let's do half each, right?
56:51OK.
56:51The grey towers of Durham, yet well I love thy mixed and massive piles.
56:58Half church of God, half castle gainst the Scott.
57:02And long to roam these venerable isles with the records stored of deeds long since forgot.
57:12Ooh, wow.
57:14There he goes.
57:15There we go.
57:16Shall we head on?
57:18Yeah.
57:19Yeah.
57:19Look at this view.
57:20Look at this stunning view.
57:23Wow.
57:23This is very cool.
57:25You just need, like, a little logo, Visit England, and it's just a perfect picture there.
57:29Yeah, perfect.
57:31Gorgeous.
57:32We're glad you went this afternoon.
57:35No, honestly, it was...
57:36Yeah.
57:36Amazing.
57:37I'm never going to forget her.
57:38Yeah.
57:38It's just...
57:39I felt quite emotional, because just seeing them two and...
57:44Just really embracing their religion and just doing their prayer, but it was when they were
57:48doing it together, and 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.
58:02What people believe in, just because they believe in something different to what we may believe in.
58:07Absolutely.
58:08Nice that you heard that as well, with your dad's roots, isn't it?
58:11Yeah, I'm definitely curious.
58:13Yes.
58:15Next time.
58:17Jane falls in love with the ancient saints.
58:20Jane, you ever thought about starting, like, a Cuthbert Oswald fan club?
58:23Get lost, banjo.
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.
58:44And then praying.
58:47Step into the story of pilgrimage, from ancient paths to virtual experiences,
58:52with the Open University's interactive journey through time.
58:56Scan the QR code or visit connect.open.ac.uk slash pilgrimage.
59:26The Open University's interactive journey through time.
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