Seven well-known personalities with differing faiths and beliefs put on their backpacks and waterproofs and set out on foot, by road and sea, travelling over 1,600km to learn about a key figure in early British Christianity, St Columba: an Irish monk born 1,500 years ago who helped spread the faith from Ireland to Scotland.
With only 15 days to complete their pilgrimage, they begin their adventure in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, St Columba’s birthplace. From here, they make their way to Northern Ireland, visiting Londonderry, also known as Derry, where Columba is patron saint. After crossing the North Channel to western Scotland, their pilgrimage takes them through stunning landscapes into the Highlands. They explore the Outer Hebrides before heading back south to reach their final destination, the tiny island of Iona and the site of Columba’s most famous monastic settlement.
Following ancient paths and heritage walking trails are interior designer and non-conforming pagan Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen; England cricketing legend and practising Sikh Monty Panesar; actor Louisa Clein, who is Jewish; TV personality and agnostic Nick Hewer; social media influencer and Christian Scarlett Moffatt; comedian and Muslim Shazia Mirza; and Paralympian and lapsed Christian Will Bayley. They will live as modern-day pilgrims.
The pilgrims will visit key places of worship and rural communities, but will this journey of a lifetime change the way they think about themselves and their beliefs?
In this first episode, six of the pilgrims - Nick, Laurence, Scarlett, Monty, Louisa and Shazia - meet for the first time in the market town of Donegal. Due to an international sports event, Will is delayed and won’t join the group for a few days. Until he does, they’re left to wonder who the seventh pilgrim will be.
It’s a damp start as they head out of Donegal Town towards the Atlantic coast and the first place of significance on their pilgrimage – a glen named after Columba. As they leave the town, the pilgrims’ first encounter with belief has nothing to do with Christianity, but rather Irish folklore and Celtic mythology, when they come across a fairy tree, complete with tiny doors and coins for wishes.
As they travel further west towards Columba’s valley, they start getting to know each other. Shazia reveals that, despite being a practising Muslim, her parents sent her to a Catholic school, so she was always familiar with St Columba. When they reach the dramatic Atlantic coast, Laurence sparks off a lively discussion about faith.
After three hours, the pilgrims reach the outskirts of Glencolmcille, Gaelic for 'the Valley of Columba', where the pilgrims will spend their first night. However, the walking is already causing problems for Scarlett, whose leg is beginning to hurt. Exhausted and wet, the pilgrims check into their hostel and are welcomed in Gaelic, the local language. Pilgrim life means sharing rooms, and the merry band celebrate their first dinner together.
It’s day two, and not everyone has slept well. Nick complains he’s had a terrible night, and Laurence feels 'every single minute' of his 57 years. Scarlett’s leg is still giving her trouble, and sportsman Monty offers to help her with some exercises to relieve the pain.
Before leaving the valley, the pilgrims set out for a historic local pilgrimage route, Turas Cholmcille. At the Stone of Gathering, Scarlett pulls out a small wooden cross and explains it makes her feel safe when she’s away from her family. However, some of the other pilgrims’ banter makes her feel uncomfortable and she gets emotional. She explains that some of their discussions are too 'jokey' and that without God, she wouldn’t have got through some really dark times.
The Stone of Sorrows, where Columba is said to have been born, is their next destination, but on the way, Laurence, Shazia and Nick take a wrong turn and end up on private property. Surprised to see trespassers from 'planet showbiz', Shazia explains to the owner that they are 'very lost, spiritually and actually.'
Reunited, the group head for the Stone of Sorrows. Scarlett and Monty lay on the stone and say a silent prayer, but the stone represents homesickness and loneliness, and Louisa stands back as being so far away from her family is making her upset.
Next, the pilgrims make their way to Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Shazia, Laurence, and Nick head to a late 18th-century Anglican church beloved by both Protestants and Catholics. Meanwhile, Monty invites Louisa and Scarlett to a gurdwara, a Sikh temple, where he reveals that he has suffered from depression in the past, which tested his faith.
Before the pilgrims leave Derry, they attend a service at St Columba’s, a Roman Catholic church that is celebrating the birth of St Columba 1,500 years ago. However, it stirs up unexpected emotions for Louisa, who is Jewish, as it makes her want to go to synagogue.
