In this first episode, the intrepid eight arrive in Martigny, Switzerland, and find out for the first time who will be sharing their pilgrim adventure. They make their way by mountain train to the start of their pilgrimage in Orsieres, high up in the Swiss Alps. The Via is based on a journey taken to Rome in 990AD by Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury, which crosses the Alps at 2,500m and goes over the Great St Bernard Pass. Like Napoleon, his 40,000 strong army and the pilgrims before them, the group also have to make their way up the challenging mountain path. Despite Greg’s help, the unfit and inexperienced members of the group – Dana (a practising Catholic), Lesley (Jewish, but doesn’t strictly follow her faith) and Katy (who was an evangelical Christian in her teens) - are defeated by the severity of the climb. Those who make it to the top can only admire how pilgrims before them battled their way through Death Valley, especially in the winter months when the pass is covered by 15 metres of snow. Lesley, Dana and Katy meet the famous St Bernard dogs, which for centuries helped monks who lived in the monastery at the pass to rescue stranded and dying pilgrims. Late that afternoon, they cross into Italy and reach their hostel. It is very basic accommodation, and the pilgrims have to make the best of it - even Mehreen (a committed Muslim) who has never even used a sleeping bag before. In the morning, Greg (a lapsed Jehovah’s Witness) comes to realize that his decision to sleep outdoors at altitude, in a plastic igloo, wasn’t such a good idea. At the hostel, the group are given their pilgrim passports, which need to be stamped wherever they stop along the way, before they pack up and start moving south. On the road, Lesley, Greg, Mehreen and Stephen, who hopes this journey will be one of discovery, approach the small town of Tromello. They are greeted by 80-year-old Carlo, who takes it upon himself to cycle the fields searching out passing pilgrims
In this second episode, it is day four, and Stephen, Greg, Brendan and Les wake up in a yurt. They are all staying in a hostel on a Roman road in a tiny village in the Tuscan Appenines, and they are beginning to realise how important the simple life is to the pilgrim experience – especially when a donkey appears in the kitchen to try and eat their breakfast. They start heading further into Tuscany and just beyond Monteriggioni come across a welcome rest stop. It is a ‘donativo’, run by Marcello from the front garden of his home, and pilgrims donate whatever they can for their food and drink. Marcello is a retired hairdresser and while he cuts Greg’s hair, Greg – who has recently retired as an international athlete – asks for his advice. Greg is feeling apprehensive as he navigates the process of searching for the next chapter in his life. Later that afternoon the pilgrims move onto Bagno Vignoni - the famous Roman baths - and Greg and Brendan take the plunge in the public pool. Greg, a lapsed Jehovah’s Witness, shares the problems he has with faith with atheist Brendan. Meanwhile, at the top of the hillside, Dana, Stephen, Les and Katy visit the Roman bath formerly used by popes, and explore the history of St Catherine of Siena, who also used to stay here. The group travel on to the medieval city of Viterbo. From here, they have to walk every step of the final 100km to Rome. But before they take to the road, some of the group, including Lesley, who is Jewish, and Mehreen, a Muslim, opt to receive a pilgrim blessing to send them on their way, from the deacon of the Church of the Pilgrim. It triggers a vigorous discussion about the boundaries of their faiths and beliefs. They also take time while they are in Viterbo to visit Immaculata. She is famed for her knowledge of the Via and what it takes to be a true pilgrim. At her hostel, she also encourages a particular ritual – asking visiting pilgrims to bring a stone from home which is a perso
