Y Daith: Ynys Enlli

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-The most exciting part

-of the pilgrimage experience...

-..is its early origins.

-People have always felt

-this urge to walk with God.

-That's what a pilgrimage is.

-Muslims go to Mecca,

-Hindus to the Ganges.

-Christians share

-Jerusalem with the Jews...

-..as well as Rome, Santiago

-de Compostela, Iona and Lleyn.

-Island of currents,

-island of resurrection...

-..island of 20,000 saints.

-Crossing the wild sea to Bardsey...

-..brought medieval pilgrims a

-step closer to God and eternal life.

-Bardsey attracts

-hundreds of pilgrims every year...

-..all looking

-for something different.

-BARDSEY ISLAND

-For fifteen years, Canon

-Andrew Jones from Llanbedrog...

-..has led pilgrimages

-to Bardsey Island.

-Personally,

-I come from the Catholic tradition.

-In this tradition...

-..old customs, such as pilgrimages,

-are deeply meaningful.

-I'm proud that

-as 21st century Christians...

-..we remember the saints,

-walk in their paths...

-..and take pride in the fact

-that they are so close to us.

-INAUDIBLE CHATTER

-Chapel minister Harri Parri and

-his wife Nan are sailing to Bardsey.

-The journey doesn't mean the same

-to them as it does to Andrew Jones.

-It's nothing to me but an island

-with historical associations.

-But Nan's roots are on the island.

-Her forefathers are buried there.

-It means more to her than me.

-I've never been on a pilgrimage

-or considered going on one.

-I'm not opposed to going.

-But my family is here.

-Since childhood, I've been aware

-my family was on Bardsey Island.

-Nain would sit in front of an

-aerial photograph of Bardsey Island.

-She drummed into me that I came

-from a very old Bardsey family.

-The Church pilgrims

-have set off for Bardsey.

-They'll join Harri and Nan

-to stay a night on the island.

-But they have more walking to do.

-Throughout the centuries...

-..Bardsey pilgrims have followed

-Lleyn's south coastal path.

-Llanengan church near Abersoch...

-..is one of several

-important churches along the way.

-That's where they stayed, but

-I don't know where they came from.

-I have three

-interesting pilgrims this time.

-The three represent different

-aspects of modern life.

-Their pilgrimages

-reflect the different reasons...

-..why people go on a pilgrimage.

-Is this what

-you normally do on a pilgrimage?

-It varies. It depends

-on the spiritual leader.

-This is Anona's first pilgrimage.

-She wanted to know

-what happens on a pilgrimage.

-"We praise thee God of mystery

-and revelation for your saints."

-Let's remember the saints of Lleyn.

-Pedrog...

-..Engan, Hywyn...

-..Cadfan and Beuno.

-Shirley has been

-on hundreds of pilgrimages.

-She can compare

-this Lleyn pilgrimage...

-..to the other pilgrimages.

-Carwyn, will you light the candle

-of the pilgrimage?

-Carwyn has reached

-a particular crossroads.

-Carwyn represents the many pilgrims

-who reach a crossroads.

-This young man's ambition

-is to be a priest or a minister.

-He wants to be ordained.

-He can't decide between

-being an Anglican priest...

-..or an Independent minister.

-Even though he's on a crossroads...

-..it's the fact he's on

-a crossroads that's important...

-..not what sort of crossroads.

-"Pillar of fire...

-"..give us strength...

-"..to follow you

-on the pilgrim's road."

-I was raised

-in the chapel and the church.

-My dilemma is how to overcome...

-..being a community minister...

-..and be accepted

-as the parish priest.

-I need time to think.

-I might reach a decision on

-this pilgrimage and clear my mind.

-"Blessed are the poor in spirit...

-"..for the kingdom of heaven

-belongs to them

-"Blessed are those who mourn,

-for they will be comforted

-"Blessed are the meek,

-for they will inherit the earth

-"Blessed are those who hunger

-and thirst for righteousness...

-"..for they will be satisfied."

-Usually, ministers say

-they've had a calling.

-I'm not sure what calling means.

-If I was called to be a minister,

-and perhaps I was...

-..I'm sure it happened here.

-This is Smyrna chapel, Llangian.

-It lacks the charm of Llanengan...

-..and the parish church of Llangian.

-It's only a square box...

-..with basic furniture.

-I wouldn't call this chapel sacred.

-It's the same wood as anywhere else.

-Nor would I call the stones sacred.

-They're just stones.

-But what is dear to me is

-the society that worshipped here.

-I feel something here...

-..I can see people in my mind.

-I can remember their faces

-and where they sat.

-I've experienced so much here.

-In that sense...

-..it's sacred to me.

-That's how I feel about Bardsey.

-A thriving society where people

-gave birth, married and died...

-..would make it a sacred place...

-..and not the bones of the dead.

-Perhaps as a result of

-our inability to find God nearby...

-..we search for Him in the places...

-..where God might have been.

-There are people

-who find the answers on Bardsey...

-..peace of mind...

-..and a new beginning.

-It's all possible.

-I'm going back to my roots

-here in Aberdaron.

-It's where my desire

-for pilgrimages started.

-I liked meditating from a young age.

-I'd go somewhere on my own with

-my jam sandwich and bottle of water.

-People thought I was odd!

-My grandmother once said, "What's

-wrong with this girl?" to my mother.

-Mam replied, "I don't know.

-She's always been different."

-I accepted that I was odd...

-..and I hated mentioning

-my pilgrimages to friends.

-I wasn't open about my faith.

-It's a magical place.

-I'd often come up here.

-I'd often walk up to Uwchmynydd...

-..and down to St Mary's Well.

-A brook flows into St Mary's Well

-over the steep Uwchmynydd cliffs.

-It was the last sacred point

-on the old pilgrim's journey...

-..before they faced

-the treacherous sound.

-Mary is a very important figure

-in the medieval Catholic tradition.

-Pilgrims asked for

-Mary's protection and blessing...

-..when crossing the sound.

-Her title here was

-Mary, Maiden of the Sea.

-St Mary's Well is one of the most

-important places in the world to me.

-I often come here,

-and have done for years.

-It's where I go to solve a problem

-or to celebrate.

-I was here at Carwyn's age

-considering the priesthood.

-I came here when my father died.

-This is where I come

-to chastise God.

-I have personal rituals.

-Mary is the most important saint

-in my life.

-This is where

-I come to pray and meditate...

-..not only on Mary,

-but on my life, too.

-That's the stuff of a pilgrimage.

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-I've been on Bardsey many times.

-But today's crossing

-was the worst I've ever had!

-Pilgrims crossed in little boats

-without any experience of the sound.

-They risked their lives.

-Perhaps as a result of harbouring

-romantic or superstitious ideas.

-They hoped for everlasting life

-after crossing to this sacred place.

-It's amazing that

-so many Christians have come here.

-They wanted to be a part

-of the pilgrim tradition.

-It's quite special, really.

-Life is life everywhere.

-Many poets have romanticized

-about the island.

-"Oh, to cross to Bardsey

-one afternoon..."

-No-one comes here to live.

-It's a place to escape to.

-That's what it is to me.

-Saints established Christian

-communities here in the 6th century.

-These included

-Cadfan, Deiniol and Dyfrig.

-Harri and Nan are more

-interested in recent history...

-..legends about her great-great-

-grandfather, Robert Williams.

-He was a merchant and

-Bardsey's first Methodist minister.

-Believe it or not...

-..but it's claimed that he jumped

-into the sea to rescue a ram.

-He saved the ram

-and brought it to shore.

-I don't know whether

-it's true or not!

-He also jumped

-from ship to ship in Liverpool.

-They traded

-between Bardsey and Liverpool.

-He carried salt on his shoulders

-from Liverpool.

-He fell between two ships.

-But he swam back to the ship...

-Miraculously,

-the salt didn't get wet!

-That's typical of

-stories about saints...

-..how ordinary incidents

-became miracles!

-Only a few ruins remain on Bardsey.

-In 1537...

-..Thomas Cromwell's soldiers

-attacked Lleyn churches...

-..before crossing

-to Bardsey to destroy the abbey.

-The ruins are

-still important to church pilgrims.

-The four of us looked forward

-to taking the sacrament...

-..in the ruins of

-the old Augustinian abbey tower.

-Livingstone, I presume!

-Meeting Harri and Nan

-made it even more special.

-We invited them to join us,

-and they were delighted to do so.

-It was good to invite others

-to join our communion service.

-Harri and Nan

-are on a different journey...

-..but it's still a pilgrimage.

-I always remember R S Thomas's

-poem when I visit the abbey.

-The title of the poem

-is Pilgrimages.

-He describes seeing a candle

-that had gone out in the abbey.

-"He is such a fast God...

-"..always one step ahead,

-leaving when we arrive."

-I hope he'll be with us today.

-"Holy Father, we have sinned against

-you in thought, word and deed...

-"..and in what we have failed to do.

-"We repent,

-and are sorry for all our sins."

-Celebrating mass in the old abbey

-was incredibly important.

-We continued what happened

-here hundreds of years ago.

-We celebrated mass in the ruins...

-..in almost exactly the same way...

-..as the monks would have done

-in the 13th century.

-As churchmen, the connection

-with history is crucial.

-It's important to us

-when we consider...

-..we're continuing

-a centuries-old tradition.

-I don't feel

-we have to strive for perfection.

-My eternal life doesn't involve

-arriving at a certain place.

-But if people feel something special

-here, it's wonderful that they come.

-We held a communion in the abbey,

-and that was very significant.

-Just as in any other communion...

-..I felt something

-spiritual and sacred.

-But being outdoors in a historical

-place enriched the experience.

-Fog and rain has been forecast

-for the rest of the week.

-Anona decided not to stay the night.

-Her first pilgrimage ended early.

-I wouldn't like to be here

-a long time.

-I'd miss my family and little

-granddaughters, Catrin and Gwenno.

-I'm not a hermit.

-I miss my creature comforts

-the older I get!

-Perhaps I'd be frightened, too,

-of being here in a storm.

-It's one thing to be here

-on a warm, sunny day...

-..it's something else being forced

-to stay when there's no way back.

-That would worry me.

-I was an altar boy in

-Bodedern Church for several years.

-Yes, there's something special

-about frequenting that church.

-There's something about

-the building, the atmosphere...

-..which adds to the worship.

-Until recently, every Sunday, Carwyn

-attended his father's church...

-..and his mother's chapel.

-When he was invited to hold a chapel

-service in a village hall kitchen...

-..he found the difference between

-the two traditions more apparent.

-I had a shock when they led me

-into a narrow kitchen.

-There was a worktop along the right-

-hand side, a microwave and cooker.

-I led the service and thought

-it wasn't quite the same.

-But as I left chapel...

-..I realized we had

-received the same blessing...

-..as we would have in a church.

-INAUDIBLE CHATTER

-It's busier there.

-It's interesting Christine Evans

-says Bardsey isn't a quiet island.

-It's not.

-The peace is only an inner peace.

-There is the sound

-of the waves and wind.

-There are little tractors

-on the roads.

-And the lighthouse and seals.

-And shearwater birds at night.

-She doesn't think Bardsey is quiet.

-You create your own peace.

-To the Celts, mist was the boundary

-between the real world...

-..and the imagination.

-These were ideal conditions...

-..for the pilgrims

-to feel the saints' presence.

-Nan isn't thinking about

-20,000 misty saints, though...

-..but about her forefathers

-who also sleep in Bardsey soil.

-It was much dirtier the last time.

-It had never been cleaned

-until eleven years ago.

-My second cousin, John Rees,

-and I came here to clean it.

-We put in a hard day's work.

-This is much less work

-than the first time.

-It's easier to get in

-between the letters.

-We used bleach back then.

-It's easier this time.

-This is my family.

-I was named after her, Ann.

-Robert Williams's daughter is

-buried here, so are other relatives.

-Most of my family

-are in this cemetery.

-When I was a child,

-I'd go to a little beach over there.

-I felt the same magic again

-this time as I did then.

-I'm coming back

-to look for that magic.

-I used to meditate, and so on.

-I may just have imagined

-that this was a spiritual place.

-I didn't understand the word

-spiritual then.

-I came here once before

-27 years ago.

-I didn't feel spiritual

-because I had company.

-I'm on my own this time.

-I've had time to think.

-This really is a spiritual island.

-It goes back to my childhood.

-That's where it started.

-Carwyn and Harri struggle

-through the rain to Bardsey chapel.

-It's used today for church services.

-This is the chapel.

-It's unlike other chapels

-for many reasons.

-There's a cross on the pulpit

-and candles.

-The communion table

-has become an altar.

-Does this appeal to you

-more than a traditional chapel?

-I'm sure we'll find a way in the

-future to bring everything together.

-And that we'll see the day when

-we'll unite to worship together.

-We all share the same goal.

-There are three parts

-to a pilgrimage.

-The preparation, the pilgrimage and

-debriefing. The three are important.

-The debriefing

-will be an important step.

-This time, I've appreciated Bardsey

-more than ever before.

-I'm not sure why.

-I know I've always argued

-against tradition, and so on...

-..and against the worshipping

-of the bones of saints.

-But, in the abbey yesterday,

-and during the simple communion...

-..the link with the past

-proved we can all come together...

-..and that's an enduring thing.

-Bardsey is a step forward

-on my life's journey.

-Island of currents,

-island of resurrection...

-..island of 20,000 saints.

-Beyond the mist

-that's between fact and legend...

-..Bardsey has something

-that captivates pilgrims.

-S4C Subtitles by GWEAD

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