Ben Fogle is returning to the islands of Scotland to see the sights — and explore his spiritual side
Scotland’s Sacred Islands with Ben Fogle Sun 10.30am BBC1, Tue 8.00pm BBC Scotland
ED GRENBY - 26 October 2023
Praise be! Ben Fogle has brought his borderline-spiritual travelogue, Scotland’s Sacred Islands, back to BBC1 – but he also knows how to have a holiday on these glorious fringes of Britain.
Why a second series on Scotland’s isles, Ben, and not one on England’s? Aren’t Essex’s islands sacred too?
I’m not sure if there’s a cheap gag there or not! Scotland’s islands have a unique place in religious history, and I obviously have a soft spot for them, cemented when I spent my year on Taransay for Castaway. But I do think that all islands have a certain spirituality to them – when you’re surrounded by water it takes your mind to a different state.
Tempted to go and live on one yourself?
I don’t think I’d be Mr Popular with my family if I took them to an isolated island and cut them off from the outside world. But for the last 20 years I have dreamt of having my own island, and I’ve tried to buy one at various times. I made an early attempt to buy Taransay, but my wallet wasn’t quite fat enough. I think now my wife goes through all the newspapers and magazines before I get to them, and steals away anything likely to tempt me.
Perhaps she’s worried that you’d be lured away and become a monk?
Well, I did come back from Everest in 2018 a bit more philosophical. Apart from suffering a bit of brain damage [after his oxygen equipment failed], I found my mind had softened quite a lot, and I felt more spiritual. Some places do make you feel closer to the divine, or to your spirituality, and I’m glad this programme allows me to look at the Scottish islands from that unique perspective.
Let’s be honest, a lot of travelogues have been made up there, particularly during lockdown – there was a joke going round in the Western Isles that you were more likely to bump into a celebrity than any wildlife – but it’s so important, in this time when church- and synagogue- and mosque-going are in decline, that we think about the gap they leave in our lives. People try to fill the void with Peloton or Parkrun or online conspiracy theory groups, but that leaves a real gap in terms of mindfulness, community and spirituality.
Do you have to find a tiny rocky outcrop miles offshore in order to experience that island feeling?
Not at all. The Isle of Arran is less than two hours from Glasgow, and it’s easy to get off the beaten track even there. We visited a folk festival, and as I’ve always loved folk music and writing – I should have been born a Mennonite, not some posh English bloke – I wrote and performed a poem. I didn’t sing or dance, because I’ve got two left feet: I’m dyspraxic. I can’t even move my hips, which is why you’ll never see me on Strictly.
Then, just a stone’s throw from Arran, there’s Holy Isle, where I met a Buddhist monk. I don’t have a religion, and I’m not in the market for one right now, but if I had to adopt one, Buddhism would be an attractive proposition. Only I don’t look good in orange, so that could be a problem.
Which islands that you visit for the series are the best option for holiday-makers?
Islay and Jura have the most incredible white sandy beaches. We were there during a heatwave, and it looked like the Caribbean. Islay has all these whisky distilleries you can visit, which makes it popular with tourists, but Jura is magnificent: you can go to the house, Barnhill, where George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, and see the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
What about the oddest island?
The Orkney islands are very Nordic, and the people definitely have a unique Viking personality. That doesn’t mean they all have big beards and walk around with giant axes, but they’re very strong in mind and personality. The islands are steeped in history, too: you’ve got the Churchill Barriers from the Second World War, Scapa Flow, and a beautiful little church that was built by Italian prisoners of war around 1943.
And are any of the islands that feature in the series more easily accessible?
The bridge to Skye makes it really easy to get to, but it can feel like a completely different time and place. We experienced the most magical thing there: in the village of Uig, we caught their Sunday psalm-singing in Gaelic – it’s a dying art, and Gaelic is spoken less and less, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the last time that will ever be filmed. Skye has got the best of Scotland in one small place: mountains, lochs, beaches, everything. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
Praise be! Ben Fogle has brought his borderline-spiritual travelogue, Scotland’s Sacred Islands, back to BBC1 – but he also knows how to have a holiday on these glorious fringes of Britain.
Why a second series on Scotland’s isles, Ben, and not one on England’s? Aren’t Essex’s islands sacred too?
I’m not sure if there’s a cheap gag there or not! Scotland’s islands have a unique place in religious history, and I obviously have a soft spot for them, cemented when I spent my year on Taransay for Castaway. But I do think that all islands have a certain spirituality to them – when you’re surrounded by water it takes your mind to a different state.
Tempted to go and live on one yourself?
I don’t think I’d be Mr Popular with my family if I took them to an isolated island and cut them off from the outside world. But for the last 20 years I have dreamt of having my own island, and I’ve tried to buy one at various times. I made an early attempt to buy Taransay, but my wallet wasn’t quite fat enough. I think now my wife goes through all the newspapers and magazines before I get to them, and steals away anything likely to tempt me.
Perhaps she’s worried that you’d be lured away and become a monk?
Well, I did come back from Everest in 2018 a bit more philosophical. Apart from suffering a bit of brain damage [after his oxygen equipment failed], I found my mind had softened quite a lot, and I felt more spiritual. Some places do make you feel closer to the divine, or to your spirituality, and I’m glad this programme allows me to look at the Scottish islands from that unique perspective.
Let’s be honest, a lot of travelogues have been made up there, particularly during lockdown – there was a joke going round in the Western Isles that you were more likely to bump into a celebrity than any wildlife – but it’s so important, in this time when church- and synagogue- and mosque-going are in decline, that we think about the gap they leave in our lives. People try to fill the void with Peloton or Parkrun or online conspiracy theory groups, but that leaves a real gap in terms of mindfulness, community and spirituality.
Do you have to find a tiny rocky outcrop miles offshore in order to experience that island feeling?
Not at all. The Isle of Arran is less than two hours from Glasgow, and it’s easy to get off the beaten track even there. We visited a folk festival, and as I’ve always loved folk music and writing – I should have been born a Mennonite, not some posh English bloke – I wrote and performed a poem. I didn’t sing or dance, because I’ve got two left feet: I’m dyspraxic. I can’t even move my hips, which is why you’ll never see me on Strictly.
Then, just a stone’s throw from Arran, there’s Holy Isle, where I met a Buddhist monk. I don’t have a religion, and I’m not in the market for one right now, but if I had to adopt one, Buddhism would be an attractive proposition. Only I don’t look good in orange, so that could be a problem.
Which islands that you visit for the series are the best option for holiday-makers?
Islay and Jura have the most incredible white sandy beaches. We were there during a heatwave, and it looked like the Caribbean. Islay has all these whisky distilleries you can visit, which makes it popular with tourists, but Jura is magnificent: you can go to the house, Barnhill, where George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, and see the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
What about the oddest island?
The Orkney islands are very Nordic, and the people definitely have a unique Viking personality. That doesn’t mean they all have big beards and walk around with giant axes, but they’re very strong in mind and personality. The islands are steeped in history, too: you’ve got the Churchill Barriers from the Second World War, Scapa Flow, and a beautiful little church that was built by Italian prisoners of war around 1943.
And are any of the islands that feature in the series more easily accessible?
The bridge to Skye makes it really easy to get to, but it can feel like a completely different time and place. We experienced the most magical thing there: in the village of Uig, we caught their Sunday psalm-singing in Gaelic – it’s a dying art, and Gaelic is spoken less and less, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the last time that will ever be filmed. Skye has got the best of Scotland in one small place: mountains, lochs, beaches, everything. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
ED GRENBY