0:00:02 > 0:00:07Scotland is famed around the world for stunning scenery.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13And notorious for its somewhat unpredictable weather.
0:00:14 > 0:00:20It's hardly a proud boast that it rains for 265 days a year in the Western Highlands
0:00:20 > 0:00:25or that the summer temperature only ever reaches an average of 16 degrees.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28But this is an elemental country -
0:00:28 > 0:00:30a place where wind, rain, snow
0:00:30 > 0:00:35and sometimes even sunshine can take you by surprise.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43In this series I'm braving the weather and retracing the routes
0:00:43 > 0:00:46taken by some of the early tourists to Scotland.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51From as early as 1820 publishers began producing tourist guide books
0:00:51 > 0:00:56and Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland was one of the first.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00A copy of this wonderful volume has been in my family for generations.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05It was always kept in my father's car when we went on holiday.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Now I'm letting its pages guide me again
0:01:09 > 0:01:12on my six Grand Tours of Scotland.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16On the road, I'll also be dipping into the notes and jottings
0:01:16 > 0:01:19of some early travellers to hear about their experiences.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26This time I'm on route to one of the wildest parts of Scotland
0:01:26 > 0:01:31where you can find nature in all its elemental glory,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35which sometimes means four seasons in one day.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50The second of my grand tours takes me through the north-west Highlands
0:01:50 > 0:01:54and across very top of mainland Scotland.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58My journey starts here in Torridon
0:01:58 > 0:02:03which Black's guide book says is famed for its savage barrenness.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Not only is this one of the wildest
0:02:07 > 0:02:10and most beautiful parts of Scotland,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13it's also one of the most remote.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15And even in Victorian times
0:02:15 > 0:02:18a horse and carriage could only take you so far.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22After that, it was a case of a ride on shanks' pony,
0:02:22 > 0:02:23on your plates of meat.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26In other words on yer ain two feet.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31The Victorians were great walkers
0:02:31 > 0:02:33and gentlemen prided themselves
0:02:33 > 0:02:35on how far they could travel of foot.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39These walks or peregrinations as they were grandly called
0:02:39 > 0:02:44took the discerning tourist right off the beaten track.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50One Victorian gent who was very proud of his pedestrian exertions
0:02:50 > 0:02:54was the Reverend Thomas Grierson, Minister of Kirkbean.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Now Grierson was a formidable man
0:02:56 > 0:03:01and an even more formidable walker covering enormous distances on foot.
0:03:02 > 0:03:08In 1851 Grierson wrote a guide for the pedestrian tourist in which
0:03:08 > 0:03:11he cheerfully recommends others to follow literally
0:03:11 > 0:03:14in his footsteps across Scotland.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18"The best of all steads for the Highlands are a man's own legs.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22"In no direction can mountain scenery be viewed
0:03:22 > 0:03:24"so satisfactorily as on foot."
0:03:26 > 0:03:29So taking the Reverend Grierson's advice to heart,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I've come to this remote part of Scotland
0:03:31 > 0:03:36in search of a place I've heard about but have never been to.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Now this is where I want to get to.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41It's a tiny wee island in a loch
0:03:41 > 0:03:45on an island which is itself in a bigger loch.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47It's a kind of Chinese box of a location
0:03:47 > 0:03:49and a place I've always wanted to visit,
0:03:49 > 0:03:54but to get there I'm going to have to rest my legs and take a boat.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03This is Loch Maree,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07which is often referred to as the most beautiful in the Highlands.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14I'm heading for an island in the middle of the loch
0:04:14 > 0:04:15called Eilean Subhainn,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18but as most visitors to Scotland have found,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22you've always got to keep one eye on the weather.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Well, the wind's picking up
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and there's a black cloud on the horizon, as usual,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30so I'll need to put some speed on
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and make a landing on my island before the weather gets any worse.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41As my Black's Guide Book advises...
0:04:41 > 0:04:45"The climate of Scotland is extremely variable.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47"East and North Eat winds are felt severely
0:04:47 > 0:04:49"during spring and early summer."
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And it goes on to warn the traveller of...
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"Heavy rainfall, especially in the west."
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Now, these islands are truly amazing because here you'll find
0:05:08 > 0:05:11some of the least disturbed natural environments anywhere in Britain,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15which is what makes them so important and just listen.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17BIRDSONG
0:05:17 > 0:05:21The sound of nature. The sound of the elements.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25This is an undisturbed haven for wildlife
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and the Loch Maree islands are protected
0:05:29 > 0:05:31by Scottish Natural Heritage, who have designated it
0:05:31 > 0:05:34a national nature reserve.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42The trees here are precious remnants of the once extensive Caledonian pine forest
0:05:42 > 0:05:46that covered much of the Highlands in ancient times.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Inevitably, of course, that's the rain on.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56In fact it looks like it's going to be on and off all day.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57But what do you expect?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00This is the West Highlands after all.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02But beautiful nonetheless.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Following the deer track beneath the trees,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16I make my way through a landscape that feels ancient and unchanged,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19almost untouched by human hand.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Now I've reached the loch and on Eilean Subhainn
0:06:26 > 0:06:30and that is my island destination.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34But obviously to get there I'm going to risk getting wet or even wetter.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Now the question is...
0:06:37 > 0:06:41..whether I take my boots off or just use speed as a defence?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I think I'll use speed. Here we go.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Arhhh! Ooh!
0:06:51 > 0:06:53That wasn't so bad.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55What an amazing place.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59There's absolutely nowhere like this in the whole of the UK.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03It's only a wee scrap of island, a wee scrap of land,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05but it's an island in a loch,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07on an island
0:07:07 > 0:07:11on a bigger loch on a bigger island of Britain.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12It's amazing!
0:07:12 > 0:07:16If I had a wee flag I'd plant it right there and claim it for myself.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22In Victorian times, just as today,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25it was scenery like this that attracted the tourists.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32They came to see the untouched mountains, waterfalls,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34lochs and glens.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38They came to gaze and to be inspired.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41And with the tourists came the artists,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Millais, Turner, Landseer,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46a litany of the greats beating path to the Highlands
0:07:46 > 0:07:50to experience the elemental beauty of nature.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52And they still come.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Yeah, this is it.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56To find out more about art and the elements,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00I'm going to be sketching this spectacular mountain, Slioch,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02with artist Mairi Hedderwick.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06In 2001 Mairi discovered a rare copy
0:08:06 > 0:08:11of a book by Victorian artist JT Reid
0:08:11 > 0:08:14who toured the Highlands on foot, sketch book in hand.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Art Rambles in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18It's a beautiful book.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- Look at that.- It's lovely.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22And these are his views?
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I was thumbing through it. Saw the engravings
0:08:24 > 0:08:28of the West Highlands and the outer islands and thought
0:08:28 > 0:08:31if I stand on the exact same place 114 years later,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34will the view be the same?
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Inspired by JT Reid's odyssey,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Mairi undertook to follow in his footsteps
0:08:39 > 0:08:43sketching the very same views that Reid had painted.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Now we are sitting in what we think is the exact spot
0:08:46 > 0:08:50where John T Reid drew this picture.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54- That's a fantastic image that he's created here.- Yeah, very dramatic.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57We've got Slioch on a rather gloomy day.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Yes, well it was October when he was doing that
0:09:00 > 0:09:03cos he kept a diary so I knew the dates he was in certain places.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- So you came here at the same time. - At the same time, yeah.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Did you have to struggle against the elements?
0:09:09 > 0:09:10It was cold. It was October.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It was freezing and there was snow
0:09:12 > 0:09:15on the top of that blooming mountain and the next day
0:09:15 > 0:09:17it was just stair rods coming down.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20- Was it worth it?- Yes.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Now Mairi, I believe in Victorian times
0:09:24 > 0:09:27there was a school of thought that said that
0:09:27 > 0:09:30if you drew from nature
0:09:30 > 0:09:33you'd somehow discover some fundamental truth.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36You begin to really look and really see.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Yeah and question, I mean why,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42- you know, the land is formed the way it is.- Uh huh.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47People wanted the light and the beauty of the wild spaces
0:09:47 > 0:09:51to remind them of this other part of their life
0:09:51 > 0:09:56which was the appreciation of art and nature and elemental beauty,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and it was a spiritual experience as well.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- Uh huh. I can see why...- Yep.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05..getting back into the elements is important for people even today.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08I just love, I love Scotland. I love it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12- It's magical.- It's extraordinary.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Although I don't think I've quite captured it.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Och, you're doing fine.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Yes, you've got the proportions right.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Yeah, it's not bad.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Pretty good, hand and eye. Mine's a bit more exaggerated.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- Look, look. See.- Oh, artistic, yeah.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25You've got a round, yeah.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Seeking further inspiration, I set off again
0:10:33 > 0:10:37heading north, weather permitting of course.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Seeing Scotland at walking pace is perhaps the best way to appreciate
0:10:43 > 0:10:46how the weather adds to the drama of the landscape,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49and how the constantly changing light
0:10:49 > 0:10:53can transform the view in front of your eyes.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06But the unpredictable nature of Scotland's climate
0:11:06 > 0:11:08didn't charm everyone.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11American artists Elizabeth and Joseph Pennell,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14visiting in 1889 made their feelings clear.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20"We have no hesitation in saying that our trip to Scotland
0:11:20 > 0:11:22"was the most miserable.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26"That the weather is vile is a fact that cannot be denied."
0:11:26 > 0:11:28To which all Highlanders know the reply.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33"Och if you'd only been here just last week, it was beautiful."
0:11:37 > 0:11:40But a Victorian pedestrian like the Reverend Grierson
0:11:40 > 0:11:43would have rejoiced in the challenge
0:11:43 > 0:11:46of walking through such a dramatic and rugged landscape,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49in often difficult conditions.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54In his book the good Reverend scolds unpatriotic Scots
0:11:54 > 0:11:56for taking their holidays abroad.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02Why go to Switzerland, he asks, when we have such splendours on our doorstep?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Before lamenting the quality of the youth of his day.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12"I cannot help deploring the habits of indolence and effeminacy
0:12:12 > 0:12:16"observable among young gentlemen in these modern times.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20"They can scarcely be prevailed upon to extend their ramblings
0:12:20 > 0:12:24"beyond the regions of silk stockings and feather beds."
0:12:27 > 0:12:32I'm not sure what silk stocking ramblings the good Reverend had in mind,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36but I suspect his point was this.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39A real man should expose himself to the elements
0:12:39 > 0:12:41and not to effeminate luxuries.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49At the risk of being labelled a silk-stocking rambler myself,
0:12:49 > 0:12:55I'm afraid I'm about to wimp out of making the whole of my trip north on foot.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Now I've reached that point in my journey
0:12:58 > 0:13:02where I feel the need to take a break from elemental nature,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05rest my feet and take a bus.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09And what a beauty she is. A real blast from the past.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16I'm glad you stopped. My feet are killing me.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17No problem.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Buses like these would have been a familiar sight
0:13:24 > 0:13:27on Highland roads 50 years ago.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31This one is driven by enthusiast Murdoch MacPherson.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Now Murdoch what kind of bus is this? It's a wonderful machine.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38This is a Bedford 1957, through to about 1962.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- So this bus is really a work horse from the past.- Oh absolutely, yes.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47But I imagine that some people when they step aboard a bus like this
0:13:47 > 0:13:49they're taken back to their own childhood.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- To their own memories. - It happens all the time,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56even seeing the buses brings a lot of memories back to people.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58A new day finds us passing through the woods
0:13:58 > 0:14:01of Braemore on our way to Ullapool.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07When regular scheduled bus services began to operate in the 1930s,
0:14:07 > 0:14:12they opened up the previously inaccessible Highlands to everyone
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and made it possible for ever more adventurous visitors
0:14:15 > 0:14:17to enjoy a good hike in the wilderness -
0:14:17 > 0:14:20and there was plenty of wilderness to explore.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23I remember the morning we left Ullapool,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26our eyes mounted on stalks.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29There was something to see every few yards.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Cattle one minute,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36then sheep the next, peering first this way and then that,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40so as a driver you get used to looking both ways at once.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Do you ever get people...
0:14:46 > 0:14:47HE LAUGHS
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Do you ever get people like that lady there
0:14:49 > 0:14:51who think that you are a service bus?
0:14:51 > 0:14:53It has happened once or twice.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56If we're going in the direction that they're going in,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58there's nothing wrong with giving them a lift.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00- You can give them a lift? - Oh, yes. Yes.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03People are quite surprised when we actually stop and offer them
0:15:03 > 0:15:06a lift and they're usually very grateful to us for, for that.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16'There's no railway at this side of Scotland at all and it's still
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'possible to meet a young crofter who hasn't even seen a train.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26'We all fell silent for a long time.'
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I'm heading north into the wide open spaces of Assynt
0:15:37 > 0:15:41and some of the most breath-taking scenery to be found anywhere.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Black says, "This may well be called a route of unsurpassable
0:15:50 > 0:15:53"but treeless grandeur."
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Well observed, Mr Black. Treeless and grand it is,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02and for me I've always found it incredibly atmospheric.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12I came here for the first time with my father.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I was about five years old at the time, and it was late in the evening
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and he stopped his car on the road over there to take
0:16:18 > 0:16:22a photograph of the sun setting behind these magnificent mountains.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Now this is a truly ancient landscape
0:16:30 > 0:16:34and some of the oldest rocks in the world are found here.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38And just looking at it sends a shiver down my spine.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46It's little wonder that writers sought inspiration from walking
0:16:46 > 0:16:49through wild places like this.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Burns, Coleridge, Wordsworth all took to the hills.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Joining me on this part of my trip is Roddy Woomble,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01songwriter and lead singer of the band Idlewild.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Roddy often comes here to find his muse.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Roddy, Assynt is quite a significant place for you, is it not?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Yeah. About 10 years ago I came here with band, Idlewild, and we wrote
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- a collection of songs and... - Why did you choose to come here?
0:17:16 > 0:17:19It's not exactly the place you imagine a band would come to.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22It's big, it's bleak, it's in the middle of nowhere really.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24That was kind of why really.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27It was my first experience of separating myself, ourselves
0:17:27 > 0:17:31from all the distractions and somewhere that we knew, you know.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And to go somewhere like this where it's just... the possibilities
0:17:34 > 0:17:38are kind of endless because of the space and subsequently it became
0:17:38 > 0:17:42a real favourite place for me to come back to, just for that reason really.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Does the bleakness, I don't know, speak to your soul in some way?
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Because it is fantastically bleak and rugged.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51There's something kind of almost supernatural about the way it looks.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's to do with the space, the space to think, I think.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57That's an important aspect of it, the space around you.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59- There's a huge space here. - Yeah, there is.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03You could disappear into this space and never be found again.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10As I continue my journey north, I begin to understand how this
0:18:10 > 0:18:13stunning landscape could inspire artists and writers,
0:18:13 > 0:18:19and lead many to ponder the inconsequential nature of man's existence.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32But leaving behind these existential musings, I must press on.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37The next stop on my itinerary is a place where the elemental forces
0:18:37 > 0:18:40of nature are very much apparent,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44the most North Westerly point of Scotland, Cape Wrath.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48To get to my destination, I'm making the short crossing
0:18:48 > 0:18:52over the Kyle of Durness to what is surely one of the wildest
0:18:52 > 0:18:56and remotest places in Scotland.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Perhaps surprisingly the name Cape Wrath doesn't come
0:19:03 > 0:19:06from the anger of the seas or from the wind,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09but from an old Norse Viking word meaning turning point.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13When the Vikings saw this fearsome headland, they knew it was time
0:19:13 > 0:19:17to turn their long ships and set sail north east, home to Norway.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Over the centuries, many ships and seafarers
0:19:23 > 0:19:26have met their doom on this treacherous headland.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32But for the past 120 years, the Cape Wrath lighthouse has stood guard.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Black's guide describes it as a reassuring beacon of civilisation.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44"In this waste of waters two individuals of the human race
0:19:44 > 0:19:49"hold watch and ward to signal vessels off the inhospitable coast."
0:19:54 > 0:19:57There are no longer lighthouse keepers at Cape Wrath
0:19:57 > 0:20:01but there is still another form of reassurance here
0:20:01 > 0:20:03in the middle of nowhere,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07a cafe where tired walkers can take a well-earned break.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10- Oh, hi. Could I have a cup of tea, please?- Yeah, no bother.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'How civilised.'
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Cheers. Thanks very much.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16Having gone as far west as I can,
0:20:16 > 0:20:22I'm doubling back along the very top of Scotland towards Thurso,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25named after the Norse god of thunder, Thor.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29But it's not the town that grabs my attention, it's the sea,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33just as it did in Black's day.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40"The bay of Thurso is a magnificent object
0:20:40 > 0:20:44"and consists of a semi-circular sweep of sandy beach
0:20:44 > 0:20:48"on which the long line of breakers yield their power with hollow moan."
0:20:51 > 0:20:57Black's picks up on exactly why Thurso is popular with tourists today.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01The powerful waves here have been compared with those of Hawaii,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05making Thurso into a world-renowned surfing destination.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Every year the world's top surfers descend on this small town,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24to take part in the O'Neill Cold Water Classic,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28one of the premier international competitions.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41It may be hard to believe
0:21:41 > 0:21:43but this surfer's paradise
0:21:43 > 0:21:47was first discovered by a handful of enthusiasts in the 1970s,
0:21:47 > 0:21:52and one of those early surfing pioneers is Pat Kiernan
0:21:52 > 0:21:56who came here in search of Thurso's famous wave.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Pat, can you tell me about this wave that everyone talks about.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Right, well, it's a world class wave
0:22:02 > 0:22:05that was surfed by a handful of us 30 or so years ago
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and it's just gradually grown in fame
0:22:07 > 0:22:10through the different contests that we've had and it's now legendary.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14- And how big does it get?- I've seen it 20 foot.- That is some wave.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16It's quite frightening actually.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20And you yourself, Pat, in many ways are a Scottish surfing pioneer.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Er, yeah. Well, I first came up here in 1976 as a student,
0:22:24 > 0:22:25just for the challenge.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Were you drawn by the sea, were you drawn by
0:22:27 > 0:22:30the surfing adventure in this part of the world?
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Yeah. It was the waves that brought me up here, without a doubt.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36I can't imagine there would have been very many surfers up here.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39The locals must have thought you were completely insane.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41- Yeah.- Why go surfing here? It's freezing.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44That's right. I remember one day, there was a guy...
0:22:44 > 0:22:47a local fisherman was standing at the end of the pier
0:22:47 > 0:22:51and he saw a guy out surfing and he called the Coast Guard.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55The Coast Guard came through from Wick, 20 miles through,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59to save this guy and he was just a surfer. He was fine.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04People come here from all over the world to surf in these waters
0:23:04 > 0:23:08and they're coming from places like Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13- Hawaii.- I mean what, what do they think of surfing in the icy north?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Well, they love it because it's the wave they come for.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18It's the wave itself.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23Tell me, Pat, for you what is the attraction of catching a wave?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26It's just the freedom and the fact that every wave's different.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29You just don't know quite what you're getting yourself into.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31It's fantastic.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34I think I'm going to find out for myself fairly soon.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- You are!- Freedom's not what I'm thinking of. It's more the cold.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47There obviously weren't many surfers in Victorian times
0:23:47 > 0:23:50and I'm not entirely sure that they would have made
0:23:50 > 0:23:53of this rather peculiar pursuit,
0:23:53 > 0:23:58never mind the indignity of having to dress from head to toe in rubber.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I'm now going to attempt something that even the Reverend Grierson
0:24:07 > 0:24:10would have balked at. I'm going to walk on water.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15To try to understand just what it is that compels people to brave
0:24:15 > 0:24:19the icy North Sea, I'm taking a lesson from champion surfer
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Sheila Finlayson before taking the plunge.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Sheila, I've got my board. What do I need to know now?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- What you need to do is you need to lie on the board and paddle.- Right.
0:24:29 > 0:24:30Like that.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32When you feel a wave coming towards you
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- I expect you to paddle.- Right.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36Put your hands
0:24:36 > 0:24:38- to the side of the board.- Uh huh.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43- Bring yourself up like that. Put one foot forward.- Uh huh.- Like so.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46- Oh, that's the tricky bit then. - Yeah.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51So that's the theory. Seems pretty straight forward.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Well, I'm ready.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Excellent but you'll need to lose the hat.- Right.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Time to pit myself against the elements.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Right, so I'm going to get up on the board.
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Yeah, yeah. Fantastic!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11That's, that's good, Paul.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Encouraged by my early attempts, and by Sheila's enthusiasm,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I feel I'm ready for the tricky part,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18actually standing up.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Oh, that's rubbish. Absolute rubbish!
0:25:24 > 0:25:27I had hoped the walk on water but I just seem to have been
0:25:27 > 0:25:29caught in the undertow.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32I'm sure there's some kind of moral homily in that.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And then suddenly, as if by divine intervention,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46everything seems to click.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49The perfect wave to picks me up
0:25:49 > 0:25:54and I almost felt at one with the elemental force of the sea.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00Well, maybe not.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05- I feel I'm defeated, defeated by the waves.- No, no.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- Not at all. You're doing grand. - Defeated by the elements.- Ah!
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- I think you did very well. - You're very kind, Sheila.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- There is a wave out there somewhere with my name on it.- There is, Paul.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- I'm sure.- Undoubtedly. - I'm waiting for the perfect wave.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Half drowned by my surfing experience,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25I pull myself together to make the final leg of my journey.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Having come this far it would be churlish not to go to
0:26:30 > 0:26:35the traditional end point of all journeys to the north of Scotland.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Well, this is it,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43John O'Groats, which I have to say is just a wee bit underwhelming.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46And I've never really understood why
0:26:46 > 0:26:50so many long-distance journeys either begin or end here.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53You often hear of folk walking from Land's End to John O'Groats,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55but why?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58This is not the most northerly part of Scotland.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00It's not even the most north easterly.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08So to overcome my sense of anti-climax I'm going to end my hike
0:27:08 > 0:27:12just along the road at the real edge of Scotland.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20If it's the elemental beauty of nature you're looking for,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22then this is the place to be.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36I'm standing on the cliffs of Duncansby Head
0:27:36 > 0:27:39at the top right hand corner of Scotland.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43From this point, the coast runs west all the way to Cape Wrath,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45and behind me are the islands of the Pentland Firth
0:27:45 > 0:27:48and behind them, Orkney.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51And to the south we've got the fantastic sea stacks
0:27:51 > 0:27:56of Duncansby that look more like shark fins or witches' caps.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00These pinnacles of jagged rock are monuments to the relentless power
0:28:00 > 0:28:04of the sea and the raw force of nature.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09What a fantastic place for me to end my Grand Tour
0:28:09 > 0:28:14in search of elemental beauty. I think I may have found it.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26Next week on Grand Tours of Scotland I'm on a voyage to discover
0:28:26 > 0:28:31how visitors from all walks of life enjoyed the mighty Firth of Clyde.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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