Shetland

At the end of his spiritual journey, Ben Fogle visits six islands across Shetland.

On the beautiful and uninhabited St Ninian’s Isle, he contemplates those in the distant past who sought out remote spots for quiet contemplation. And he visits the Isle of Oxna with a father and daughter whose ancestors once lived there.

Andy and Sabina Holt moved from a hippy lifestyle to live on the island of Papa Stour 48 years ago. Sabina then had what she calls 'a marvellous encounter' with Jesus, and she and Andy have been living as committed Christians since. Ben discusses the effect living somewhere as remote and beautiful as this has on their faith.

Ben also meets crofter Vic Thomas, who shares his belief in the life cycles of birth, growth and death, and their spiritual meaning in a place where Mother Nature is so much in evidence.

Ben catches up with Shetland chef Akshay Borges, a champion of the island’s ‘sea harvest’. Akshay arrived from Goa in 2011, a life-changing decision he made on the flip of a coin.

Travelling to the Isle of Yell, Ben visits a chicken shed converted into one of the UK’s smallest chapels. Its keeper, Anne Dobbing, explains that Shetland’s many Christian denominations seem to blend into one, as if the remote wildness forges a common spirituality.

And on Unst, the UK’s most northerly inhabited isle, Ben meets Orthodox nun Mother Mary, who lives a solitary life of prayer and contemplation in this very remote place.