Pilgrimage is back with a brand new sixth series returning to BBC Two and iPlayer next week…
Seven well-known personalities, of differing faiths and beliefs, tackle a modern-day pilgrimage, this time along the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way. Across three episodes, Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales will follow seven celebrity pilgrims, as they take a personal journey along a route that celebrates Celtic early Christian saints, with Bardsey Island the fabled ‘Island of 20,000 saints’, just off the western tip of the Llyn Peninsula – as their final destination.
Daisy Scalchi, BBC’s Head of Religion and Ethics for television:
“Pilgrimage is a series like no other; getting into the heart and soul of who we are and what makes life meaningful. All 7 pilgrims embraced the journey wholeheartedly, with extraordinary honesty and generosity towards one another. It’s inspiring, and thought-provoking, to watch.”
Immersing themselves on this spiritual journey are: wild life presenter Michaela Strachan, who places her faith in the natural world; Spencer Matthews, a former reality TV star turned entrepreneur, who was christened Church of England but is still searching for answers to life’s big questions; Sonali Shah, a journalist and TV presenter who was raised in a Jain household and comedian Eshaan Akbar, a lapsed Muslim.
Also, Amanda Lovett, a practising Catholic, who catapulted to public attention in the first series of BBC’s The Traitors; actor Tom Rosenthal, star of Channel 4’s Friday Night Dinner, who calls himself ‘areligious’; and TV personality and former model, Christine McGuinness, who is spiritual but doesn’t practise one particular faith.
Created in 2011, the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way is linked by ancient churches dedicated to sixth and seventh-century saints but also takes pilgrims through outstanding places of natural beauty in the mountain ranges of Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, and the North Wales coast path. Travelling for two weeks on foot and by bus, the seven celebrity pilgrims start their 220km adventure at Flint Castle on the bank of the Dee Estuary, and follow the coastal path to Greenfield Valley and the official start of the pilgrim way.
The pilgrims will be faced with challenging paths and climbs as they traverse North Wales, tackling the foothills of spectacular mountain ranges, as well as taking on England and Wales’ highest peak Yr Wyddfa, also known as Mount Snowdon. Carrying their own backpacks, they’ll sleep in basic accommodation from a caravan to a climbers’ hut, as well as experiencing an eco-retreat in an ancient oak forest and a Buddhist meditation Centre.
Their final destination is Bardsey Island, or Ynys Enlli, which means ‘isle of currents’. It was a popular destination among early Christian monks and hermits, who believed Bardsey was the end of the world; a place where the distance between heaven and earth becomes intangible and so becomes a place of guaranteed resurrection. Crossing the Bardsey sound is notoriously dangerous, so will the celebrities manage to complete this challenging journey safely?
Caroline Matthews, Executive Producer and CEO, CTVC:
“This is one of the strongest series we’ve ever made – the pilgrims immersed themselves fully in the experience with extraordinary results. I echo what Christine said “Pilgrimage has been insane!”
Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales launches on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on Friday 29 March at 9pm
