25/09/2016 Grand Tours of Scotland

Islands are places that have always fired the human imagination

with tales of mighty heroes and their epic deeds.

Sailing in the Hebrides,

you can see with your own eyes

how these islands inspired the myths and legends of old,

helping to shape the culture of the nation.

This isn't just beautiful scenery,

it's food for the imagination,

a storyteller's dream.

Kylerhea is the narrow stretch of water

that separates the mainland on the right from the Isle of Skye.

To cross the kyle, I'm taking the ferry.

But not just any old ferry.

This one is unique!

The good ship Glenachulish, for that is her name,

is the only turntable ferry still operating in Britain.

She's been plying these waters for over half a century.

There were once many similar little ships in Scotland.

Their swinging decks enabled traffic

to drive aboard from simple jetties, which larger vessels couldn't access.

On board, I'm shown the ropes

by skipper and Glenelg man Donnie MacDonald

and his dogs, Mac and Kim.

Good. Lovely.

But skippering a turntable ferry

is a bit more complicated than you might think.

I'm going to go to the other wheel now.

Right. See you on the other side.

I'm right behind you.

So you're swapping sides. You've got two wheels on the boat?

Yes. The ramps are up in front of you, so you can't see anything.

Right. You can't see a thing, can you? Can't see anything, no.

I've two got yachts coming down, as well,

so I'll need to go back to the other side.

Busy stretch of water, this, isn't it, the kyle? It is, it is.

In the summertime, it's very busy with yachts. Look, no hands!

Donnie leads me on a merry dance,

as I try to catch up with him.

Do you ever forget which side you're on?

Yeah, gets confusing a little bit after a while.

How many crossings do you do a day, Donnie?

Sometimes up to 40. Really? Maybe more than that, yeah. Right.

So you're just constantly shuttling back and forth. Yeah.

So do you enjoy this,

if you go backwards and forwards up to 50 times a day? Yeah.

Is it not slightly monotonous? No, I don't think so.

Every crossing's different, with the tides and the wind.

Of course, crossing the kyle would be much trickier

without the help of able seadogs Mac and Kim.

They keep the seals off the boat.

To keep the seals off the boat? Yeah.

Is there any danger of that?

Well, that's what Mac... He barks at the seals all the time, so...

So he's done a good job so far,

because there's never been a seal come on the boat.

I'll have to go to the other wheel now. Righty-ho.

So you also have a young lady on board. We have, yes.

Does she put her back into it? Oh, she certainly does, yeah.

Does she? Yes.

She's very good, Izzie.

She's looking to be the new skipper.

Is she really? Oh, yeah. Right.

How do you feel about that?

Och, I'm OK with that, yeah.

I'll be retired soon, anyway.

Izzie is definitely a woman with ambition.

She started working on the Glenachulish as a volunteer.

I would love to be skipper one day of this very ferry.

Erm, but...

Really? Yeah.

The first female ferry skipper of this ferry.

Really? Yeah. That would be amazing.

And how would you get to do that?

Well, I have to be 18 to take my skipper's ticket licence.

Right. So you're restricted to one area? Yeah.

Confined to the kyles, you'd be? Just these narrows, yeah.

Would that be a big enough ocean for you?

Yeah, I'm sure it would be, to start off with.

And then maybe go higher and higher.

But, yeah, to start off with, this would be great.