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Episode 3

Neil Oliver uncovers Britain's ancient landscape of belief and ritual. Here, he looks at how the creation of saints by the early church led to a new generation of sacred wonders.

Neil Oliver examines how the creation of saints by the early church led to a new generation of sacred wonders across Britain. On Iona, in the Inner Hebrides, Neil discovers the traditional resting place of Macbeth. He also delves back through time to discover how St Columba sanctified the island with a tough brand of monasticism all the way from the Egyptian desert. On Lindisfarne, Neil sees how the epic journey of St Cuthbert led to the writing of the extraordinary Lindisfarne Gospels and the building of Durham Cathedral.

At Canterbury Cathedral, Neil learns how St Thomas Becket's grisly murder was harnessed to build its nave, one of the great glories of medieval architecture, and on Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, he investigates layer after layer of powerful legend in the story of the Holy Grail, the sacred cup of everlasting life.

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59 minutes

Audio described

Last on

Wed 9 Mar 202216:15

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Music Played

  • Gareth Gates

    Drive

Credits

RoleContributor
PresenterNeil Oliver
DirectorGraham Johnston
ProducerGraham Johnston
Executive ProducerMike Smith

Broadcasts

Neil Oliver's blog post: 'I have to concede that Orkney knocks me off my feet.'

Neil Oliver's blog post: 'I have to concede that Orkney knocks me off my feet.'

Neil writes for the BBC Love TV Blog on his encounters with sacred sites.