Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle 

Technical Replacement

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One

BBC One Scotland HD

Documentaries

Religion & Ethics

Ben Fogle travels across Scotland’s remotest islands to discover their spiritual legacy.

Adventurer Ben Fogle is on a very personal pilgrimage. Travelling across Scotland’s remotest islands, he discovers that their spiritual legacy still resonates today.

Series 2

New: Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle 

BBC Two

A BBC TV channel for Scotland which will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland HD

BBC One London

London

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One South

BBC One North West HD

BBC One East HD

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One South East HD

BBC One South West

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One West

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Nightlight

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Ben Fogle

Richard Collier

Katie Melville

Harry Bell

Rod McLean

Craig Collinson

Flora Stewart

Tern Television Productions

Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle : Series 2: Episode 1

Episode 1

Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle

BBC Scotland - Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle, Series 2, Episode 1

Travelling to Arran and Holy Isle, Ben learns how they’re a haven for diverse faiths.

Travelling to Arran and Holy Isle, Ben Fogle learns how they’re a haven for diverse faiths and beliefs, makes Jewish challah bread and visits a Buddhist peace centre.

Setting off for Arran and Holy Isle, Ben sails from the busy port of Ardrossan on Scotland’s west coast and takes the short ferry trip across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful Isle of Arran. Only two hours from Glasgow and today a popular holiday destination, Arran is known as Scotland in miniature, but it has, along with neighbouring Holy Isle, some of the earliest connections to Christianity in Scotland.

Disembarking at the bustling ferry terminal in Brodick, Arran’s unofficial capital, Ben’s journey takes him to a tranquil south west corner of the island with stunning views of the glittering sea. He meets the Curries, a farming family who can trace their roots back nearly 200 years. He learns about how their faith connects them to the land,
and how they see themselves not as owners, but as custodians for generations to come.

Arran’s community was once extremely devout, so much so that prefab churches, known as tin kirks, were manufactured from corrugated iron on the mainland and shipped across to the island to serve the demand for places of worship. Ben visits one of the tin kirks on Arran, a fascinating and atmospheric sacred place which sadly, due to declining church attendance, closed its doors just a few months earlier after 100 years.

Yet, even as we become a more secular society, Ben discovers that community spirit, once centred around faith on Arran, remains strong. He spends a busy morning with Fiona ‘many hats’ Laing, an islander who volunteers for the coastguard, the fire service and as a first responder. In an emotional encounter, Ben hears how Fiona, through the work she does and her innate compassion, is regarded as a true hero of the island community.

As Ben continues his journey, he learns how Arran is a haven for diverse faiths. He’s taught how to make traditional Challah bread by Barb and Sharon from the island’s Jewish Cultural Association and finds out about the sacred practices of the Jewish Sabbath.

He then journeys across to Holy Isle just off Arran’s east coast.
Renowned as the home of a 6th century hermit monk and an ancient site of Christian pilgrimage, today it’s home to a Buddhist Peace Centre. Here, Ben has an extraordinary encounter with Buddhist monk Karma Zangpo. Together, they trek across the island to find a hermit monk’s cave, and soak up the incredibly peaceful atmosphere of Holy Isle.

Returning to Arran, Ben hikes up to a stunning mountain loch lying 1,000 feet above sea level before visiting a beautiful clifftop apothecary garden. Here, he learns about the ancient links between Celtic beliefs and traditional herbal remedies.

Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle : Series 2

A BBC TV channel for Scotland which will broadcast every evening and will show drama, factual, comedy and news programmes made in Scotland


Accessibility links

Programme Index

Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle

Series 2

Episode 1

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One Scotland HD

About BBC One