SEVEN celebrities will traverse the wild landscapes of the North East region.
Northumberland will be explored in the new BBC Two series Pilgrimage, as seven well-known personalities set off on a spectacular trail across the region to explore the lives of early Celtic Christian saints.
The eighth series of Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island follows the celebrities as they weave through the heart of Northumberland on a unique 390 km collection of trails.
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On the journey, they encounter Whitby’s world-famous cliff-top Abbey, and two of the most important pilgrimage sites in the North East: the world-famous UNESCO site of Durham Cathedral and their final destination, the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
They experience profound encounters with nature and the landscapes that helped inspire early Celtic Christianity, from stunning coastlines and remote moorlands to the rolling hills of the Cheviots.
Taking part are leader of dance troupe Diversity, Ashley Banjo; Spooks and Cold Feet actor Hermione Norris; TV personality Tasha Ghouri; stand-up comedian and observant Muslim, Hasan Al-Habib; radio presenter, Jayne Middlemiss; comedian, Ashley Blaker; and actor and self-proclaimed “a la carte” Catholic, Patsy Kensit.
In true Pilgrimage style, the pilgrims carry their own backpacks, and overnight in various locations, from small wooden pods to an off-grid hostel and a basic bunkroom.
Spectacular views welcome them with their first glimpse of Durham Cathedral, where the pilgrims are invited to take part in the medieval pilgrim tradition of foot washing, before visiting the shrine of St Cuthbert.
Heading out of Durham towards Heavenfield, where St Oswald won the battle to claim the Kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century, they face an amber weather warning as they discover Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian’s Wall.
They visit several places of interest including Newcastle’s Reform Synagogue. Founded in the early 1960s by the local community, including Jewish refugees who fled the Nazis during the holocaust, this synagogue continues to have strong links with current-day immigrants. They also visit the ‘Nether Springs’ retreat centre, where the daily lives of this community are inspired by the 7th-century northern saints.
They join St Oswald’s Way, which takes the pilgrims towards the stunning North East coast where they visit a medieval hermitage in the grounds of Warkworth Castle which is carved into a rocky outcrop and only accessed by boat.
In the Scottish Borders, the pilgrims’ last trail, St Cuthbert’s Way, celebrates this revered Celtic Christian monk, bishop and hermit.
A challenging walk in the Cheviots on Wide-Open Hill takes the pilgrims to the highest point on the route with its extraordinary 360-degree views.
Then they follow the trail to Cuthbert’s Cave where monks are said to have sheltered with his coffin when fleeing Viking raids on Lindisfarne.
After 12 demanding days, the group reaches ‘Pilgrims’ Way’, where for more than a thousand years pilgrims have walked across the dramatic and dangerous tidal sands to reach Lindisfarne, known as Holy Island.
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