From Wales to Timbuktu is a two-part series about the meeting of two cultures through the eyes and words of teenagers from mid Wales.
Programme one:
In the first programme the lucky four students from Gwernyfed High School are chosen. Elly, Emma, Ollie and Laura start their journey from Hay-on-Wye to the fabled town of Timbuktu. Their epic adventure involves a 2,500 mile journey into the Sahara desert.
To start they fly to Bamako, the capital city of Mali. But there's no time for sight-seeing - they're straight in the back of a jeep and on the road to Timbuktu. It will take them three days to get there. When they reach the end of the tarmac road, they keep going across sand and the river Niger until they get to their final destination.
On the way they see camels in the desert, crocodiles, and the biggest mud-built structure on the planet in the town of Djenne - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a long, hot three-day drive they finally see the road sign they've been waiting for - the sign for Timbuktu.
Programme two:
The second episode finds the four aspiring young writers from Hay-on-Wye in the fabled city of Timbuktu. This week they see hippos in the river Niger, get inspiration from 600 year old manuscripts, buy turbans, and ride camels in the desert.
They also finally get to meet their penfriends, who they've been emailing but never actually met. The four get creative in this episode, and find interesting ways to write words in the landscape.
They send some of their written work to their mentor, Tom Bullough, back in Wales. At the end of the programme they leave Timbuktu and fly home. Tom meets them on the hills outside Hay and the four read one of their polished pieces of writing. All of them have had an amazing experience and their lives have changed forever.
See also
TV & Radio Programmes
- 25 Nov 201318:30–19:00BBC Radio FoyleMarie-Louise Muir visits HMP Magilligan to learn how art can help rehabilitate prisoners.
- 25 Nov 201318:30–19:00BBC Radio UlsterMarie-Louise Muir visits HMP Magilligan to learn how art can help rehabilitate prisoners.
- 25 Nov 201319:00–19:30BBC OneEsther Rantzen presents a look back at That's Life, the TV show launched 40 years ago.
- 25 Nov 201319:15–19:45BBC Radio 4Arts news with Mark Lawson, including an interview with violinist Janine Jansen.
- 7 days left to listenScottish singer-songwriter Horse MacDonald chats to Janice and performs live.
- 7 days left to listenA Mahogany Opera production of The Prodigal Son, the last of Britten's Church Parables.
- 7 days left to listenGrassroots news, views, issues and culture from across the North West community.
- 7 days left to listenClive Anderson is joined by Bill Bailey, Michael Grade, Colman Domingo and Josie Long.
