0:00:05 > 0:00:07For generations, the Firth of Clyde
0:00:07 > 0:00:11was the holiday destination of choice for millions of Scots,
0:00:11 > 0:00:13both rich and poor.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Here, you could enjoy healthy sea breezes,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18take a dunk in the briny
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and have a glass or two of your favourite tipple.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23And, if you were rich enough,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26you could enjoy all of the above at the same time.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Bottoms up.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36In this series, I'm retracing the routes taken by some of
0:00:36 > 0:00:39the early tourists to Scotland.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44From as early as 1820, publishers began producing tourist guide books,
0:00:44 > 0:00:48and Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland was one of the first.
0:00:50 > 0:00:57A copy of this wonderful volume has been in my family for generations.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00It was always kept in my father's car when we went on holiday.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Now, I'm letting its pages guide me again
0:01:03 > 0:01:05on my six Grand Tours of Scotland.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07On the road, I'll also be
0:01:07 > 0:01:09dipping in to the notes and jottings
0:01:09 > 0:01:12of some early travellers
0:01:12 > 0:01:14to hear about their experiences.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18This time, I'm on a voyage to discover
0:01:18 > 0:01:21how visitors from all walks of life
0:01:21 > 0:01:24enjoyed the islands, towns and sheltered bays
0:01:24 > 0:01:27of the mighty Firth of Clyde.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45My grand tour takes me down the Clyde Riviera,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48calling first at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51hops across to Cumbrae, and finally sails south
0:01:51 > 0:01:54to the great rock sentinel, Ailsa Craig.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59My journey starts here, where the River Clyde
0:01:59 > 0:02:03meets the sea and becomes the Firth of Clyde.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05This is somewhere that I know very well
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and I'm particularly fond of.
0:02:08 > 0:02:13I spent a huge amount of time as a child on this stretch of water,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16thanks to my father's obsession with sailing.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20He was once a member of the Clyde Cruising Club,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and was the proud owner of an antique yacht built in 1890,
0:02:24 > 0:02:25called West Wind.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Now, before West Wind dragged her anchor and was wrecked,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31she was my father's sailing craft of choice
0:02:31 > 0:02:35and, from time to time, he even took his sons with him.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40But West Wind was a much more modest craft
0:02:40 > 0:02:42than the one I'm sailing today.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49It was in Victorian times that the sport of yachting really took off,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53when yachts of up to a hundred feet in length, with a full-time crew
0:02:53 > 0:02:55and every modern convenience,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58sailed these sheltered waters.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01In the early days, yachting on the Clyde was restricted
0:03:01 > 0:03:03to Scotland's super-rich.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Men who'd made an absolute fortune from the Industrial Revolution,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and if you've got it, flaunt it, they say.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And what better way of demonstrating your new-found
0:03:13 > 0:03:16wealth and social position than by owning and racing
0:03:16 > 0:03:18a beautiful yacht?
0:03:24 > 0:03:27The famous Scottish magnate Sir Thomas Lipton
0:03:27 > 0:03:30loved sailing in these waters
0:03:30 > 0:03:33and Prince Edward, the future King,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37sailed his yacht Britannia along this coast.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41By the end of the 19th century, the Clyde had become a playground
0:03:41 > 0:03:46for the rich, and its many coastal towns and villages flourished.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51My first destination is the Isle of Bute,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and a small town that was transformed into
0:03:53 > 0:03:58one of the most exclusive holiday destinations on the west coast.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59Rothesay.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06According to Black's,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Rothesay is "agreeably situated
0:04:08 > 0:04:10"at the head of a deep bay, which affords
0:04:10 > 0:04:13"a safe anchorage ground in any wind".
0:04:14 > 0:04:15Sounds ideal.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22To a large extent, Rothesay was considered
0:04:22 > 0:04:25a posh resort, and early tourist literature
0:04:25 > 0:04:30was keen to trumpet the town's royal connections.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36If there was one thing that early Victorian tourists loved,
0:04:36 > 0:04:37it was history,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41and Rothesay could boast a castle which had been a favourite
0:04:41 > 0:04:43with early Scottish kings.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Re-enactments of scenes from the castle's famous history
0:04:51 > 0:04:53were a popular attraction for visitors.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Here, we see the marriage of Robert the Bruce's daughter,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and the founding of the Stuart dynasty.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04But it wasn't only history that brought the well-to-do tourist.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07There was also miniature golf,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09which the Victorians deemed a much more
0:05:09 > 0:05:12appropriate game for women.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Rothesay seemed to have it all.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Why bother travelling abroad
0:05:18 > 0:05:21when you've got all this on your doorstep?
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Look, palm trees!
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Rothesay's main selling point
0:05:30 > 0:05:32was its climate,
0:05:32 > 0:05:37which Black's enthusiastically describes as "mild and genial."
0:05:37 > 0:05:40It may seem hard to believe, but early visitors were encouraged
0:05:40 > 0:05:46to compare the weather of Rothesay with exotic and far-flung locations.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51Incredibly, the town promoted itself as the Madeira of Scotland.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Not only was the climate of Rothesay thought to be subtropical,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01it was also considered to have extraordinary health benefits
0:06:01 > 0:06:03and, for this reason,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07was chosen as the location for Scotland's first ever hydro,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09the Victorian equivalent of a health farm.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20The Glenburn Hotel was once known as the Glenburn Hydropathic,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23opening its doors for business in 1843.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28The Glenburn is still a grand and impressive building
0:06:28 > 0:06:31and exudes a sort of stately calm,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35and douceness that appealed to respectable people.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Hydropathy, otherwise known as the cold water cure,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44became hugely popular in Victorian Scotland.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Hydro treatments were based on a variety of bathing
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and dunking cures.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54This, combined with fresh air, exercise and strictly no alcohol,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58was meant to restore ailing patients to robust health.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03For middle-class Victorians, time was precious,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and even leisure time had to be beneficial in some way.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09So what better way of justifying having a holiday
0:07:09 > 0:07:14than by going somewhere that would improve the health of your body,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16your mind and your morals?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18To find out more,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22I've come to meet historian Dr Alastair Durie.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Alastair, the Glenburn Hotel is
0:07:25 > 0:07:28a pretty impressive building, and it implies to me
0:07:28 > 0:07:30that in Victorian times,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33taking a hydro holiday was really a popular thing to do.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34It was.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38It was an idea that came in from Austria in the mid-19th century,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41and the Scots took to it like a duck to water.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44They built 15 to 18 very large hotels,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47whose main purpose is to cure people
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and treat them through hydropathy.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54It's a system of baths, it's a system of showers,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56it's a system of massage.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Your treatment is water and water only.
0:07:58 > 0:08:04Your diet is meat and fish, but no drink whatsoever.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05Right.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08And some very significant figures
0:08:08 > 0:08:11in the Victorian world underwent hydropathy.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14For instance, Charles Darwin, Tennyson,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Florence Nightingale when she comes back from the Crimea.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21These are important people and they're saying it's good for them.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Why shouldn't it be good for you?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25So it's got a Victorian celebrity endorsement?
0:08:25 > 0:08:26Absolutely.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Well, I think I'm in need of some remedial care.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31I can see you are.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35So, to try and understand just why
0:08:35 > 0:08:38the Victorians were so keen on hydropathy,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I volunteered to experience
0:08:40 > 0:08:44one of the most popular treatments first-hand.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45The wet sheet.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Lucky me!
0:08:48 > 0:08:52This is the centrepiece of hydropathy.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Wrapping you in cold, wet sheets...
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Oh! That's ghastly.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01..like a mummy. And Jane will now do that.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Aargh! This is hideous. What's the point?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07The point is that it's going to get you to perspire,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and the perspiration will bring the badness out of your system
0:09:11 > 0:09:15and open your pores for fresh air.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17This is doing you good.
0:09:17 > 0:09:18No, it's not! It's not.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20You may feel it's unpleasant,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23but our objective is to get you to perspire.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27At the moment, you're shivering, your body is reacting,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29but this is your first experience of the process.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Have you tried this, Alastair?
0:09:31 > 0:09:35I believe it's far better for the invalid to experience these things...
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Right. Right.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40..than the doctor. But we will wait and watch and see.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42I can't imagine it'll do me any good whatsoever.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44You can only trust in the experience of
0:09:44 > 0:09:48the many thousands of people who have experienced this treatment
0:09:48 > 0:09:52to their benefit and, I may say, with much less complaint than you.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Ah, but they're all dead! Let's face it.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57You're hastening me on my way, I'm sure.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59It's freezing!
0:10:01 > 0:10:03We will return in an hour or so.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04An hour?!
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I think my core body temperature has dropped dangerously.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11'The Victorians may have lapped this up,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'but paying for the privilege of being wrapped in
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'soggy towels is not my idea of fun.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24'And one early hydropathy patient agreed.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:28"I have been stewed like a juice, beat on like a drum,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30"battered like a pancake,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33"and wrapped like a mummy in wet sheets and blankets.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36"My belief is that I am in a lunatic asylum!"
0:10:38 > 0:10:39'I can only agree.'
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Brrrrr!
0:10:43 > 0:10:45So while the good doctor is out of the room,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I quickly slip away in search of
0:10:48 > 0:10:50one of Rothesay's more curious attractions,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54tucked away where you'd least expect it.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04Now, you wouldn't normally take a camera into a public toilet,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07unless you wanted to get arrested, which I don't.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11So, before I go any further, I'm just going to check behind this door
0:11:11 > 0:11:14to make sure there isn't anyone inside
0:11:14 > 0:11:16about to be seriously embarrassed.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Hello?
0:11:21 > 0:11:22I think we're OK.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I can now reveal all in its quite,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32well, exceptional magnificence.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35It's a veritable porcelain palace.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38A shrine to the urinal.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45These splendid toilets were built in 1899
0:11:45 > 0:11:47and are really quite something -
0:11:47 > 0:11:5014 urinals,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52each crowned with marble.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Walls and floors entirely clad
0:11:55 > 0:11:59in decorative ceramic tiles...
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and glass-sided cisterns feeding water
0:12:02 > 0:12:05through shining copper pipes.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10What all this opulence says to me
0:12:10 > 0:12:12is, "Wow!"
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Now, just imagine coming here
0:12:13 > 0:12:15a hundred years ago for the first time
0:12:15 > 0:12:18as a tourist, perhaps from overseas.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20What would you think?
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Well, you might think if the society that built this
0:12:24 > 0:12:27was so technologically advanced that it could create
0:12:27 > 0:12:30a palace, really, to meet a very basic human need,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33then what would its real palaces be like?
0:12:33 > 0:12:39Its great civic buildings, its battleships, its engines of war?
0:12:39 > 0:12:43And that's a really awe-inspiring thought to have in, in a loo.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Indeed, such grand designs were not confined
0:12:52 > 0:12:55to humble buildings like public conveniences.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59And just outside the town is the ultimate example
0:12:59 > 0:13:04of Victorian ambition and ingenuity.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07This is Mount Stuart House.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Built in 1877, it's a distillation
0:13:12 > 0:13:16of the Victorian obsession for an imagined past,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19combined with all the mod cons of the age.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It was the first house in Scotland to have electricity,
0:13:24 > 0:13:29and the first house in the world to have a heated swimming pool.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34This was an era of great technological changes,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and one particular advance taking place at this time
0:13:37 > 0:13:39would have a huge impact
0:13:39 > 0:13:42on seaside resorts like Rothesay.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Just like modern visitors, Victorian tourists
0:13:45 > 0:13:48coming to a spectacular location like this
0:13:48 > 0:13:52wanted to take home a souvenir to show their cultured friends
0:13:52 > 0:13:54just where they'd been.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Now, we do this all the time whenever we take a photograph,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00but back then, cameras were very rare.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Despite this, Victorian tourists were still able to enjoy
0:14:03 > 0:14:06the delights and magic of photography.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Magic lantern shows, which projected
0:14:11 > 0:14:15glass photographic slides, were extremely popular,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18and they provide an amazing insight into a lost world.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Mark Butterworth,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26who has a vast library of Victorian photography,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29is going to show me a selection of images
0:14:29 > 0:14:32that would have delighted a 19th-century audience.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35Now, Mark, I recognise that view.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38This is Rothesay.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Probably in the early 1890s.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43They didn't buy postcards in those days.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47There was no postcard industry whatsoever in the UK,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49so prints and magic lantern slides were
0:14:49 > 0:14:52the principle photographic souvenirs that people would buy.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56So back in Victorian times, if you came into Rothesay,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59got off at the pier, you'd be confronted with lots of stalls
0:14:59 > 0:15:01selling souvenirs and photographic memorabilia
0:15:01 > 0:15:03and you could buy a slide.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05That's right.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09So this is an interesting slide.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11On the left of the image there, you can see
0:15:11 > 0:15:14there's a carriage with a man standing next to it.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16That's actually the photographer's dark room.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Uh-huh.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20The photographer actually made the plate
0:15:20 > 0:15:22moments before he took the photograph.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And it had to be developed as soon as he'd taken the photograph,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and one of the great skills was being able to consistently
0:15:29 > 0:15:32make your plates to give you the same quality every time,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and that was really quite a challenge.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37You're working in quite difficult conditions.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41It's amazing, cos at that time, this was cutting-edge technology.
0:15:41 > 0:15:42Oh, absolutely, yeah.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54People didn't have cameras in those days, so magic lanterns
0:15:54 > 0:15:57were a way of showing people the views they'd experienced.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01But you didn't actually have to own a magic lantern slide
0:16:01 > 0:16:02or a projector to have a show.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04That's right. There were several firms,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06some of them very big companies,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09that hired out slides, or even hired out lanterns.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13They'd come with a set of lecture notes, and that was very common.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14That's amazing.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16It's like ordering a DVD online now.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Exactly the same process, but, er, 130, 140 years ago.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Now, how popular were magic lantern shows like this,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27to show slides like the ones you're showing me?
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Very popular. This was a very common form of entertainment.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Towards the end of the 19th century, you either went to the theatre,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36you went to the music hall, or you went to a magic lantern...
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Uh-huh.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41..performance. Seeing slides like this might encourage you to visit.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45And visit, they did.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48By the turn of the century, the Clyde was no longer
0:16:48 > 0:16:50the preserve of wealthy tourists.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52The age of mass tourism had begun.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58I'm continuing my journey to the Isle of Cumbrae
0:16:58 > 0:17:02to find out how coastal towns and villages were transformed
0:17:02 > 0:17:05by another technological advance.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07The steamer.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Joining me for this leg of my grand tour is
0:17:13 > 0:17:15steaming enthusiast Iain Quinn.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19Iain, as I understand it, steaming really started here on the Clyde.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24It certainly did and it was down to one man, Henry Bell,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and the little paddle steamer the Comet.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Europe's first commercial steam ship.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31What was the inspiration behind the Comet?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Bell was a hotel owner in Helensburgh
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and he saw this wonderful estuary and said,
0:17:36 > 0:17:41"The best way to take people down is by steam ship."
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The Comet was launched on the 10th of August, 1812.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48The sound of the paddle was heard down the Clyde for the first time.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51So really, the whole business of pleasure steaming
0:17:51 > 0:17:52began on the Clyde.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53It did.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57The 1850s, 1860s, it had really started to take off.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Steamers were getting a bit bigger.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Speed was getting a bit more powerful,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04so you could then travel a bit further in a day.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07How many steamers would have been plying their trade here?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09By the 1880s, you would have had
0:18:09 > 0:18:10about 40, maybe more.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13This was cutting edge. This was new. This was the future.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14Oh, yes. This was the future,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and by the 1920s and the 1930s,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20you could travel the whole Clyde and back in a day.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23It would have been lovely to have got away from the dirty,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26smelly city to the fresh air of the Firth of Clyde.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35With the steamers came the workers, who took full advantage
0:18:35 > 0:18:38of the chance to escape from the cities
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and factories where they lived and toiled.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44With a regular steamer service,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Millport, here on the Isle of Cumbrae, rapidly became
0:18:47 > 0:18:52a favourite destination for Victorian day trippers.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58My guide book, Black's, describes Millport as "one of the great
0:18:58 > 0:19:02"summer resorts of the inhabitants of Glasgow," and advises travellers
0:19:02 > 0:19:08that the town's population is "trebled by visitors in the summer".
0:19:08 > 0:19:10They came looking for a bit of fun
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and a break from their hard-working lives,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16but with only one day off a week,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18they tried to pack in as much as possible.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22So, perhaps predictably, some Clyde resorts began to acquire
0:19:22 > 0:19:27a rather colourful reputation for being full of drunken revellers.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Of course, the antics of working-class drunken revellers
0:19:35 > 0:19:39was bound to upset the sensibilities of more respectable tourists.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Especially the sort who enjoyed hydros
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and who read The Scotsman newspaper.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50A letter printed in this esteemed journal
0:19:50 > 0:19:53airs the concerns of all right-thinking people.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56"We lament to say that very many Scotch people
0:19:56 > 0:20:01"of the working class seem incapable of enjoying a holiday
0:20:01 > 0:20:02"without getting drunk.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06"Once or twice, we have found ourselves crowded with
0:20:06 > 0:20:10"a most disagreeable mob of intoxicated persons,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12"including women."
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Respectable citizens were getting upset at the sight
0:20:16 > 0:20:19of working people having fun.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Demanding an end to rowdy and lewd behaviour, they put pressure
0:20:23 > 0:20:28on the authorities to curb what they saw as a dangerous moral slide.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Can I have a pint of best, please?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35This led to the infamous Forbes McKenzie Act,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37which closed pubs on Sundays.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38Thanks very much.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40The only day off in the week.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Perversely, attempts to limit the sale of alcohol
0:20:46 > 0:20:49to the working classes resulted in the exploitation
0:20:49 > 0:20:52of a loophole in the law.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55The result - the launch of the booze cruise.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Although the new law made it illegal to sell alcohol on Sundays,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08it made a concession for bona-fide travellers,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10who were allowed to buy a drink.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Crafty businessmen and steamer owners were quick
0:21:16 > 0:21:18to see this as an opportunity
0:21:18 > 0:21:21to sell booze to anyone sailing on a Sunday.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Oh, happy day.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Suddenly, steamers were offering Sunday specials for the workers,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and soon, everyone was steamin'.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41Not only did these day trips give rise to the expression 'steaming'
0:21:41 > 0:21:43to describe someone who's drunk,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47it actually made the Clyde coast even more desirable.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Perhaps the most vivid record of the massive social change
0:21:54 > 0:21:58that was taking place is the seaside postcard.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00I'm meeting historian
0:22:00 > 0:22:02and postcard collector
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Eric Simpson to find out more.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09You've got a wonderful collection of cards. They're unique,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12because they provide a fascinating window on the past.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15This is all social comment, really, and particularly
0:22:15 > 0:22:18the habits of some of the more enthusiastic tourists.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Some chaps looking as if they're really enjoying themselves.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Yes, "The dry weather has its effects,"
0:22:24 > 0:22:29so it was not unknown for fairly substantial numbers
0:22:29 > 0:22:33to give the doon-the-water holiday a bad reputation
0:22:33 > 0:22:34at certain times of the year.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36The impression I get
0:22:36 > 0:22:38is that generally speaking,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41people were having a good time. They were having fun.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42- Yes, yes.- It's lively.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45So working-class people would buy these and send them
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- to their friends back home.- Yes.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48This is not for posh people,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51who'd presumably send different sorts of postcard.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53They'd send, for example,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55the public park at West Bay in Millport.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- Extremely dull photograph! - They'd send a photograph.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Now, in stark contrast, I have to say,
0:23:00 > 0:23:02these are really quite amusing.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Very colourful Edwardian risque, er, seaside cards.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08And what have we got here?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11"The water is right up to my expectations."
0:23:11 > 0:23:12I've no idea what that means.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14No, no. Neither have I.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17But there's so much life in these pictures, it's fantastic.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22What it says to me is these are ordinary folk,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24working folk having a good time.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25Yes. Yes.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28And that's what the Clyde was famous for.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33But it wasn't just the fun and frolics
0:23:33 > 0:23:37of the busy seaside resorts that brought visitors here
0:23:37 > 0:23:39to the Firth of Clyde.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43There were still some who sought the peace and tranquillity
0:23:43 > 0:23:46that had first attracted tourists to these waters.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Those early yachtsmen on the Firth of Clyde
0:23:55 > 0:23:57may have been industrial magnates
0:23:57 > 0:24:00showing off their wealth, but gradually,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03sailing became much more accessible, with more
0:24:03 > 0:24:06affordable boats being built, and sailing clubs
0:24:06 > 0:24:08springing up along the coast.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13I've been invited aboard the vintage yacht Camilla
0:24:13 > 0:24:16by Bill Inglis to travel in style
0:24:16 > 0:24:18to my final destination.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Bill, Camilla, she's a beautiful boat.
0:24:22 > 0:24:28She must be one of the oldest craft sailing on the Clyde.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Er, so I'm led to believe.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Camilla was commissioned for a
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Mr Charles Millar of Tighnabruiach and built in 1894.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40At 117, she's not doing badly.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Mmm.
0:24:41 > 0:24:47But like any old lady of 117, she's marginally incontinent.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48Oh, no!
0:24:48 > 0:24:49She does leak.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Cos the story of yachting on the Clyde really begins with
0:24:53 > 0:24:57men of tremendous wealth from the Industrial Revolution
0:24:57 > 0:24:58- showing off.- Yes.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01In huge boats. That was for the elite.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03This is something quite different.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05What kind of person would have been able
0:25:05 > 0:25:07to afford a boat like this?
0:25:07 > 0:25:11A successful shopkeeper, businessman, tradesman.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14I mean, she's not like the big Victorian yachts,
0:25:14 > 0:25:17with a paid crew of 20 hands constantly kept available.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- It's not showing off, it's not ostentatious.- No.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Do you think this is the beginning of perhaps the idea of
0:25:24 > 0:25:28yachting for a man of more modest income, do you think?
0:25:28 > 0:25:29Yes. Oh, very much so.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Very much so!
0:25:32 > 0:25:34For me, this is the best way
0:25:34 > 0:25:36to enjoy the Firth of Clyde.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37And I have to say that
0:25:37 > 0:25:39sailing on this little yacht
0:25:39 > 0:25:42takes me back to the many trips I had as a child
0:25:42 > 0:25:44on board my father's boat.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52There's something about sailing, is there not,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54that a person's not really at peace
0:25:54 > 0:25:55unless they're at sea?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57- Do you agree with that?- Yes, I do.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01A day like today, er, sunshine, blue skies
0:26:01 > 0:26:04and a gentle breeze.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Contemplating nature and the sea.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It's a wonderful place. It's Scotland, isn't it?
0:26:14 > 0:26:19The last leg of my grand tour takes me to a place that's literally
0:26:19 > 0:26:23been on my horizon for years, but where I've never been before.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26The mysterious island rock of Ailsa Craig.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31As a schoolboy in Dunoon, I could see Ailsa Craig
0:26:31 > 0:26:33through the window of my French class.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36It's a place I've always wanted to explore,
0:26:36 > 0:26:40so landing here today will be really special.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Known as Paddy's Milestone
0:26:43 > 0:26:45because it sits directly in the main sea route
0:26:45 > 0:26:50from Ireland to Scotland, it's a place that many have passed,
0:26:50 > 0:26:51but few have visited.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But I must confess that the last thing I expected to find
0:26:56 > 0:26:59was this scene of industrial decay.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01This railway line
0:27:01 > 0:27:04once carried granite from a quarry to the harbour.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08The rock was used to make curling stones.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10The quarry closed long ago,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14and the last inhabitants left the island in the 1990s,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17when the lighthouse became automated.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23This ruined castle, perched precariously
0:27:23 > 0:27:26on the steep slopes above the lighthouse,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29was once a stronghold of the Kennedy Clan,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32who have owned the island since the 16th century.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36As I climb more than a thousand feet
0:27:36 > 0:27:37above the Firth of Clyde,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and the end of my journey,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41it strikes me that here is perhaps
0:27:41 > 0:27:45one of the few places untouched by the mass tourism
0:27:45 > 0:27:48of the industrial age.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51What an absolutely superb view.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54From up here, you can almost see the entire course of my route.
0:27:54 > 0:28:00It was the chance for rich and poor alike to escape the city
0:28:00 > 0:28:05that made the seaside resorts along this coast so popular.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08And looking out from the summit of Ailsa Craig,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I can understand just what it was they came for.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16You know, standing here is like being on top of
0:28:16 > 0:28:18the very last outpost of Scotland.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Now, that's a fitting and somewhat sobering thought
0:28:21 > 0:28:24to end my Grand Tour doon the water.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Now, where's the pub?
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Next on Grand Tours,
0:28:30 > 0:28:32I'm exploring the Central Highlands
0:28:32 > 0:28:34on a vintage bike
0:28:34 > 0:28:36to experience the charms of nature.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:45 > 0:28:48E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk