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Episode 3

Episode 3 of 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 2022 16:15

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Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:04

    Gareth Gates

    Drive

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Neil Oliver
Director Graham Johnston
Producer Graham Johnston
Executive Producer Mike Smith

Broadcasts

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

Neil writes for the ±«Óãtv Love TV Blog on his encounters with sacred sites.