In the final episode of Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales, airing on BBC Two on Friday 12 April, the celebrities embark on a transformative journey through North Wales, encountering breathtaking landscapes, ancient traditions, and profound spiritual experiences.
Beginning just outside Eryri National Park, the pilgrims head west towards the Llyn Peninsula, where they face a challenging day of hill walking in the rain. Tom and Spencer join Sonali in a 24-hour fast to commemorate Paryushan, the holiest festival in the Jain calendar.
On the second day, they traverse the spectacular slate landscape of the Nantlle Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, before reaching St Beuno’s church in Clynnog Fawr, an imposing medieval pilgrim church. They spend the night at a Buddhist meditation and retreat centre, where they meet spiritual leader Tara, who guides them in meditation and takes them on a local pilgrimage route to an ancient holy well dedicated to the 6th-century Celtic saint, Cybi.
The pilgrims’ encounter with Lama Shenpen, the founder of the hermitage, leads to a powerful and unexpected conversation around a Buddhist stupa, unlocking deep emotions.
As they continue their journey, they navigate the spectacular North Wales coast path, climbing steep passes and traversing narrow, muddy tracks high above the cliffs. They discover another ancient church dedicated to St Beuno, complete with a straw-covered floor and a medieval lepers’ window.
In Aberdaron, their final stop on the mainland, they visit St Hywyn’s, a medieval church rich in pilgrim history. Here, they participate in a tradition of collecting stones from the beach and adding them to a prayer stone cairn, an act of ‘letting go’ that stirs strong emotions within the group.
On their final day, they aim to reach the legendary resting place of 20,000 Christian saints, Bardsey Island. However, the wind and tides prove unfavourable, and they must instead settle for a distant view of this sacred site.
Pilgrimage airs on BBC Two at 9:00 pm on Friday, 12 April 2024.
