0:00:04 > 0:00:07Heading west from the Scottish mainland,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11a dark line between the sea and the sky can indicate a low-lying island,
0:00:11 > 0:00:18a wild scrap of land sculpted by ocean breakers and constant storms.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Over there, just on the horizon, are two of the most windswept
0:00:23 > 0:00:25islands on the Scottish coast -
0:00:25 > 0:00:28the Atlantic twins of Coll and Tiree.
0:00:41 > 0:00:48My destination today is the island of Tiree - population, 700.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Tiree derives its name from the Gaelic
0:00:54 > 0:00:57for "land of the corn", and from the earliest times
0:00:57 > 0:01:02produced an abundance of barley that was exported to other islands.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06But life here was always
0:01:06 > 0:01:09a relentless battle against the elements.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13The island is one of the stormiest places
0:01:13 > 0:01:16not just in Britain, but in the whole of Europe.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22On average, there's a gale blowing here 160 days a year.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27To protect themselves against ferocious Atlantic storms,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31islanders developed an architecture that's unique to Tiree.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36Now, this single-storey but and ben was fairly typical of the style.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Walls could be up to six feet thick
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and sometimes they had no windows at all.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47More like a bunker against the elements than a house.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53The island's position in the stormy Atlantic
0:01:53 > 0:01:57might mean that crofting, or even standing upright, is a problem,
0:01:57 > 0:02:02but the conditions here are ideal for windsurfing.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Every year, Tiree becomes a Mecca for windsurfers
0:02:06 > 0:02:09from around the world, keen to harness the wind and waves
0:02:09 > 0:02:12to spectacular effect.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18William Angus MacLean owns Wild Diamond -
0:02:18 > 0:02:21a windsurfing water sports company catering for
0:02:21 > 0:02:24those looking for adrenaline thrills along Tiree's coast.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28For such a small geographic area, as we've got here,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31we've got a dozen beaches pointing in every direction.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Clean white sands.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35That's fantastic news. If you've wind coming from
0:02:35 > 0:02:38different directions, then you can always get a suitable beach.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Additionally, Tiree is smack in the middle of the Atlantic, effectively,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44so we've an abundance of groundswell,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46generating good waves for windsurfing as well.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Tiree hosts what is now the longest-running annual event
0:02:50 > 0:02:54in the world, which is the Tiree Wave Classic.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It's been the longest-running professional
0:02:56 > 0:02:58windsurfing/wavesailing event
0:02:58 > 0:03:01which kicked off in the early '80s,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and has run, with a couple of breaks, through until present-day.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I think what's particularly unique about the event
0:03:07 > 0:03:12is that it attracts all the top UK professional windsurfers to it.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And additionally, some of these guys
0:03:14 > 0:03:16are some the top guys in the world tour as well.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18The sailing ability is just through the roof.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Fantastic sailors in the water
0:03:19 > 0:03:21doing very inspiring things.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24From a spectator's point of view, it's fantastic,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26and the guys seem to love coming here so it's all good news.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Windsurfing isn't the only sport
0:03:29 > 0:03:31that's hosted by the beaches of Tiree.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35I'm delighted to be offered a shot in a sand yacht.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43'Willie tells me that these nifty craft are capable of
0:03:43 > 0:03:45'70mph in a good blow.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48'When the seat of your pants
0:03:48 > 0:03:50'is just four inches off the ground,
0:03:50 > 0:03:55'even 20mph feels like warp speed.'
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Here we go! Here we go! Phwoar!
0:03:58 > 0:04:00This is quite exciting.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Neee-yow!
0:04:13 > 0:04:14Argh!
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Crass!
0:04:16 > 0:04:19'Willie warned me that this might happen.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21'But at least I can take comfort from the fact
0:04:21 > 0:04:24'that there is NOTHING new
0:04:24 > 0:04:26'in being shipwrecked on the shores of Tiree.'
0:04:27 > 0:04:30For centuries sailors ran the gauntlet
0:04:30 > 0:04:33of the treacherous seas west of here
0:04:33 > 0:04:36until the construction of Britain's tallest lighthouse
0:04:36 > 0:04:40warned shipping of the dangers lurking beneath the waves.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Heading south, I'm making my way to the small village of Hynish,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50which was founded by the pioneering lighthouse engineer Alan Stevenson.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52It's immediately obvious that
0:04:52 > 0:04:55there's something different about Hynish.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57For a start, the architecture
0:04:57 > 0:05:00is unlike anything else I've seen on the island.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05There's an oddly institutional feel to the whole place.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Now, the fact is that Hynish was built with a single purpose in mind,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and that's the construction and maintenance of
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Skerryvore lighthouse.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20The village is maintained by the Hebridean Trust.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25'Monica Smith is part of the team dedicated to preserving
0:05:25 > 0:05:28'this unique part of the island's heritage.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:32The buildings that you can see all around you here are,
0:05:32 > 0:05:33or were, the shore station
0:05:33 > 0:05:37for the building of Skerryvore lighthouse.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40The harbour was constructed,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43the barracks building was the accommodation for the workers,
0:05:43 > 0:05:48and all the various outer buildings were an office, a laundry,
0:05:48 > 0:05:53sheds for cattle, walled gardens.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- So the community...- Walled gardens and cows.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56So they had milk and fresh vegetables?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58They had their vegetables. They had their meat.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01So there had to be a self-sufficient community here
0:06:01 > 0:06:04on Tiree before you could even think about building...
0:06:04 > 0:06:06- Basically, yes. - ..the lighthouse out there?- Yes.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09There's also an area where the circumference of the lighthouse
0:06:09 > 0:06:12was actually mapped out on the ground
0:06:12 > 0:06:15so that they could work there with the stone
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- and...- So that they could make sure that each course would fit?- Yes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21To make sure as much work was done as possible
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- onshore before they shipped it out. - That's amazing.- Yes.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Skerryvore lighthouse was sort of built twice, in a way.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28- Well, you could say that.- Once here.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Course by course. And then, totally assembled on the reef.- On the rock.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Stevenson built a temporary wooden platform on the rock
0:06:37 > 0:06:40to accommodate the offshore workforce.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44During the summer months, this is where they ate and slept.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47THUNDERCLAPS
0:06:48 > 0:06:51There was a story that during one particularly bad storm,
0:06:51 > 0:06:53when the men were all staying out there,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56the storm was so fierce and the sea was coming
0:06:56 > 0:06:58right over their wooden barracks
0:06:58 > 0:07:03and they actually braved a rope construction to get
0:07:03 > 0:07:06from the barracks onto the rock and get the shelter
0:07:06 > 0:07:09of just the first few courses of the stone.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13- They must've been desperate. - Absolutely desperate, yes. Uh-huh.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It took Alan Stevenson and his dedicated workforce
0:07:18 > 0:07:21nearly seven years to complete the lighthouse.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25But that wasn't the end of the Hynish base.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28They built the four lighthouse-keepers' cottages
0:07:28 > 0:07:30up the back, and the watchtower.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34And the families would live in these cottages
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and they used the tower to signal back and forward to the lighthouse.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41They had forms of flag signalling.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44There's stories again about maybe a lighthouse-keeper's wife
0:07:44 > 0:07:46was about to have a baby,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48and they'd be watching out from the rock.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50And if he'd seen the pink flag going up,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53he knew whether he had a son or a daughter.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Inspired by Monica's account of Skerryvore,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03I'm keen to see the lighthouse for myself.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Tiree's only mountain -
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Ben Hynish - is just a walk away.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10A short climb takes me to
0:08:10 > 0:08:13a viewpoint overlooking the open Atlantic.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16CURLEW'S CALL
0:08:16 > 0:08:20From here, I can just make out Stevenson's masterpiece -
0:08:20 > 0:08:26a tiny speck in the ocean 12 miles southwest of Tiree.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30It's an inspiring sight and a place I've always wanted to go to.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33And now, tides and weather permitting,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I've got the chance to get there.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42'Climbing aboard a fast RIB, I meet up with Tiree brothers
0:08:42 > 0:08:45'Daniel and Martin Gillespie.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48'They have a particular reason for joining me on my trip.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52They are the founder members of the band Skerryvore,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56named after Stevenson's remote lighthouse.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Why Skerryvore?
0:08:58 > 0:09:01We actually... We struggled. We didn't have a name for...
0:09:01 > 0:09:04We played as a band for, I don't know, a year, a year-and-a-half,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and we didn't have a name at all.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09People were calling us the Gillespie Boys and things like this.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And it was actually Angus MacPhail from Skipinnish - another band -
0:09:12 > 0:09:15suggested about calling the band Skerryvore...
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- Right. - ..after the lighthouse,
0:09:18 > 0:09:20which we all seemed to take to pretty quickly
0:09:20 > 0:09:24and liked the idea of it, and obviously it had links to Tiree,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26where the band had started.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29So it fitted in well for us. And, er,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32it's quite an epic place, as we're going to see.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Growing up in Tiree, we were very fortunate -
0:09:35 > 0:09:38we both got taught accordion and bagpipes.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Very, very lucky to have people
0:09:40 > 0:09:42that were willing to give their time for free
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and teach not only us
0:09:44 > 0:09:48but a whole host of kids coming through in the island.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49And accordion and bagpipes
0:09:49 > 0:09:52are predominantly the main instruments on the island.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Can you tell me, Martin, about the song you're going to play for us?
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Yeah, it was a piece I wrote from our self-titled album Skerryvore.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03The song is called Gairm A'Chauin,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06which translates as "call of the sea".
0:10:06 > 0:10:08- The call of the sea?- Yeah.- Right.
0:10:08 > 0:10:09What is the call of the sea?
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I think it's... I think it's a tune...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15It's quite a powerful piece.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18A piece of music that starts quite slow.
0:10:18 > 0:10:19It's atmospheric but then it kicks in
0:10:19 > 0:10:22just how powerful the sea can be.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24As we're probably going to see as we get to Skerryvore.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28MUSIC: Gairm A'Chauin by Skerryvore
0:10:30 > 0:10:34After two hours of bouncing around in North Atlantic swell,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37we finally approach our destination.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40When I think of a lighthouse, I think of Skerryvore.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43It's got the classic shape
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and is the archetypal lonely sentinel in the sea.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56With the band playing
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and the Skerryvore lighthouse in the background,
0:10:59 > 0:11:04we're 12 miles from Tiree and 50 miles west of the Scottish mainland,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and I can't think of a better place to end
0:11:07 > 0:11:11this grand tour of the Scottish islands.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14MUSIC: Gairm A'Chauin by Skerryvore