0:00:03 > 0:00:07For 200 years, Scotland has attracted visitors with
0:00:07 > 0:00:09its magnificent scenery.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14But to get to these inspiring places, early tourists often
0:00:14 > 0:00:18had to endure a degree of unaccustomed hardship.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22To experience "Caledonia stern and wild",
0:00:22 > 0:00:26many early, well-heeled tourists were faced with a bit of a problem,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29because the further they travelled from home, the more they had to
0:00:29 > 0:00:34sacrifice, well, certain standards of luxury which, understandably,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37they were rather reluctant to do.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Scotland's reputation for comfort left a lot to be desired,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and some early travellers were shocked by their experience.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50They found the standard of accommodation variable,
0:00:50 > 0:00:51to say the least.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Often, there were bedbugs.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Sometimes there was no mattress at all!
0:00:56 > 0:01:01And there was always the possibility of being forced to share
0:01:01 > 0:01:02with a stranger.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08To help anxious tourists avoid such embarrassing pitfalls,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10guidebooks began to appear,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland was one of the first.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Published in 1846, it became the tourists' Bible.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26A copy of this fascinating book inspired my own family when
0:01:26 > 0:01:27we went on holiday.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Having salvaged Black's from the back of a bookcase,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36I'm letting its pages guide me on a Grand Tour of Scotland,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39following in the footsteps of the first tourists who came here,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43hoping find a decent bed for the night.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59My route takes me from the shores of the Firth of Forth to
0:01:59 > 0:02:03the ancient kingdom of Fife, then on to Stirling and into
0:02:03 > 0:02:07the luxurious and exclusive depths of rural Perthshire.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15This is South Queensferry, described by Black's as
0:02:15 > 0:02:19"A quaint little place at the foot of steep heights,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21"which hem in the Firth of Forth."
0:02:23 > 0:02:28In Black's day, tourists heading north passed along these streets
0:02:28 > 0:02:30to take the "Queen's ferry."
0:02:30 > 0:02:34This crossing on the Forth ran for centuries, right up until the 1960s,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39when the traffic that kept it going was diverted, literally, overhead.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44It's hard to imagine South Queensferry without a view of
0:02:44 > 0:02:49these magnificent bridges, but when my copy of Black's was
0:02:49 > 0:02:51published, they weren't here at all.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Now together, they may have put paid to the old Queen's ferry that
0:02:55 > 0:02:59used to leave from this quay, but they are a magnificent sight.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04To the west, is the road bridge, which has been carrying
0:03:04 > 0:03:07traffic since the 1960s, while behind me here is
0:03:07 > 0:03:10the truly spectacular rail bridge.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12When it was opened in 1890,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16it was the longest bridge in the entire world.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21When the rail bridge was completed,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24it was heralded as a symbol of modernity,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27allowing tourists and passengers to travel north in
0:03:27 > 0:03:31comfort and style like never before.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34But the bridge that stands here today wasn't the one
0:03:34 > 0:03:35originally planned.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40It was actually redesigned after the failure of another bridge.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44To find out more, I'm meeting architectural historian
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Olivia Horsfall Turner.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Olivia, this is a fantastic, magnificent structure but it
0:03:50 > 0:03:51could have turned out very differently.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54dt could have looked utterly different.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The original design for the bridge over the Forth was
0:03:56 > 0:03:58a suspension bridge
0:03:58 > 0:04:00that was proposed by the engineer Thomas Bouch.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04He had been the engineer who had produced the design for
0:04:04 > 0:04:06the Tay Bridge, which had been hailed
0:04:06 > 0:04:09as an amazing engineering achievement at the time.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14But when it collapsed, public confidence was completely undermined
0:04:14 > 0:04:16in his abilities as an engineer.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19So how was Bouch's project picked up, then,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21after he was effectively sacked?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Well, two new engineers were brought onto the project.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27John Fowler and Benjamin Baker.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30And they came up with a completely new design, a different
0:04:30 > 0:04:33way of crossing the Forth, using the cantilever principle
0:04:33 > 0:04:35rather than a suspension bridge.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39The cantilever structure itself was very different from
0:04:39 > 0:04:41the design for the Tay Bridge.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45The cantilever means that the bridge is self-supporting, so
0:04:45 > 0:04:49that different members are in compression and tension,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52and, in fact, when it has weight on it, it becomes more strong.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59This amazing structure has always been more than just a bridge.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Even before it opened, tourists from far and wide came to gaze in wonder
0:05:03 > 0:05:08at the sheer spectacle emerging on the Forth.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Very quickly, while it was being constructed,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12people started to visit
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and were actively encouraged to visit, as well.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17The Shah of Persia and the Emperor of Brazil
0:05:17 > 0:05:19were both visitors at the time.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26120 years after the opening ceremony,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30the bridge is still regarded as an engineering marvel.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34It's the first ever steel bridge to be built in Britain.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39It carries a double-tracked railway two and a half kilometres across the Firth of Forth.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44The rail deck is 46 metres above sea level,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46while the supporting towers
0:05:46 > 0:05:49soar 100 metres above the ships passing beneath.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Instantly recognisable,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57the Forth Bridge has become a symbol of Scottishness.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Crossing the Firth of Forth, my journey takes me
0:06:03 > 0:06:07to the Ancient Kingdom of Fife and a place of pilgrimage,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10where some found a peculiarly cold bed for the night.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17This is Dunfermline Abbey.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Black's makes much of Dunfermline's royal connections,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and to prove the point, it quotes from an ancient ballad.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30"The king, he sits in Dunfermline toon
0:06:30 > 0:06:32"Drinking the blood red wine."
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The wine was drunk years ago,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39but the king remains as, well, remains.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Because he's buried here.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48As the last resting place of royalty, Dunfermline counts
0:06:48 > 0:06:52as Scotland's Westminster Abbey.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54There are at least eight great kings buried here,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56including Robert the Bruce,
0:06:56 > 0:07:01five queens, six princes, and two princesses.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05But crucially to the story of Scottish tourism,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Dunfermline is the last resting place of a saintly Royal.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13Historian Richard Oram explains how the first tourists here
0:07:13 > 0:07:16were in fact 12th century pilgrims.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18The most important, in many ways, of all these royals
0:07:18 > 0:07:20that's buried here is Queen Margaret,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22the wife of King Malcolm III,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27and she is made a saint and she attracts pilgrims.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30How did she get to be a saint?
0:07:30 > 0:07:35It's the example of her life and her works in life on the one hand,
0:07:35 > 0:07:41and then also the miraculous cures that she works after death.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Going on a pilgrimage had great significance in medieval Europe,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and Dunfermline was an internationally important destination.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And with the jostling, holy crowds
0:07:54 > 0:07:57came the unholy chance to make money.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00The descriptions we've got here are on the big feast days,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03and the major days when the shrines were to be opened up.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06You've got merchants, you've got hawkers, you've got pedlars.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09They're selling what we might class as, you know, tourist tat.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- Right. This is an early form of tourism, of course.- Absolutely.
0:08:13 > 0:08:19And it really powers forward a whole new segment in the economy.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24The biggest player in this economy was the church.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29At Dunfermline, pilgrims paid for the privilege of sleeping
0:08:29 > 0:08:32beside St Margaret's shrine, all in the hope of a cure.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38They'll be brought in here by their friends and a bed will be made up for them.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43They'll sleep here overnight, and in their dream, Margaret will appear.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47And what they're getting is a very, very clear set of instructions
0:08:47 > 0:08:51as to what it is they've done wrong and how they can remedy the situation.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54So you came here as a pilgrim, you were cured.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58So you left happy, and the church is happy because you paid for the privilege.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04Yes. And what they're doing in the middle decades of the 13th century
0:09:04 > 0:09:09is they're compiling a portfolio of these miracles to report to Rome
0:09:09 > 0:09:13so that Margaret can be officially canonised and made Saint Margaret.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Any latter-day pilgrim looking for a cure will be disappointed.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25Although the base of St Margaret's tomb survived the Reformation,
0:09:25 > 0:09:30her mortal remains were lost to time and memory centuries ago.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Travelling north from royal and saintly Dunfermline,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40my Grand Tour of Scotland leads me to the Ochil Hills,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44where the River Devon cuts a spectacular route through solid rock.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54This is Rumbling Brig famed from the early days of tourism for its sublime grandeur.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Tourists today have the benefit of paths and handrails
0:10:00 > 0:10:03to help them explore the dramatic gorge here,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07but 200 years ago, this was a wild and dangerous place.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13The scenery around here was enthusiastically described
0:10:13 > 0:10:17by Sarah Murray, who's my all-time favourite lady tourist.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23In 1796, she spent three months rattling around Scotland
0:10:23 > 0:10:27in her horse and carriage, and what she found here, at Rumbling Brig,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30chimed with the values of the age.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34A wild beauty that spoke straight to the heart.
0:10:35 > 0:10:43"I was conducted to a place where few, if any, women had ever ventured: the Rumbling Brig.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47"The whole scenery is to a very great degree romantic and beautiful,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51"and fills my mind with harmony and delight."
0:10:53 > 0:10:58To get the best view, this redoubtable lady climbed 120 feet
0:10:58 > 0:11:02down to the bottom of the gorge, where she sketched the scene.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08Sarah, of course, wore a skirt and petticoats for the occasion,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11but today, my attire is a little more practical.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Now I'm about to attempt to follow Sarah Murray's footsteps
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and abseil into the gorge,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20not that she ever abseiled, but it's the only way I'm going to get there.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24To be honest, I'm feeling a bit apprehensive, a bit nervous,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28but I'm in good hands, I hope, Steve. What we going to do?
0:11:28 > 0:11:32OK, what we're going to do here is actually a series of activities.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36- It's not just an abseil. - It's what, it's what we call a small canyoning session.- Right.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Albeit it's quite a big abseil, it's just a small canyoning session.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Canyoning is a series of activities.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Now, er, have many people done this abseil before into the gorge?
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Not this particular one here, no, and I think something that I did want to stress is that
0:11:49 > 0:11:52there are people out there that do things like this for a living,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55they'll quite happily take people down into situations like this,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- but it's not something that people want to be doing on their own. - Right.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02To my knowledge, I don't believe anybody's ever abseiled down into this canyon.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04That's brilliant. This is pioneering stuff then.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- This is, this is pioneering stuff. - And I am a pioneer. - Yes, so you are, yeah.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- Brilliant. Let's go pioneering, then.- Let's go pioneering.
0:12:10 > 0:12:17Obviously, abseiling wasn't an option for the intrepid Mrs Murray,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21but I think she'd have loved this, and perhaps even more than me.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Sarah Murray was drawn to dramatic locations,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and went to great lengths, and considerable risk,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33to experience the thrill and raw power of nature.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43In her journal, she describes how she tried to draw the view,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47sitting on a huge rock in the middle of the torrent.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49"In such a situation,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53"it is almost impossible to preserve one's head from swimming.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58"In my attempt to sketch the scenery, I was several times obliged to shut my eyes
0:12:58 > 0:13:04"and take fast hold of the rock, least I should drop from it into the whirling, foaming stream."
0:13:07 > 0:13:11As you can see, this is a stupendous location.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15And Sarah Murray would have whipped out her sketchbook and her watercolours
0:13:15 > 0:13:18and have been busy drawing the scene.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Now, I'm no artist, so my camera will just have to do.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Mission accomplished, but now I'm faced with a bit of a problem.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33I can't climb back up the 120-foot cliffs on either side of the gorge.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35They are too steep and too slippery.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39There's only one way out of here, and that's to throw myself
0:13:39 > 0:13:41into the river and swim for it!
0:13:46 > 0:13:49'In the middle of all this extreme sports madness,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54'it's impossible not to ask the question - how on earth did the genteel Sarah Murray
0:13:54 > 0:13:59'get to the bottom of this amazing gorge and start sketching?'
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Ah! Look at that!
0:14:01 > 0:14:04'She must have found an easier way down here, surely.'
0:14:10 > 0:14:12This is the "Woeful town of Dollar",
0:14:12 > 0:14:16as Sarah Murray described the place back in 1796.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Not to be put off, this is where I hope to recover
0:14:19 > 0:14:22from my adventures and get a bed for the night.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Black's is really handy in situations like this.
0:14:26 > 0:14:33It's absolutely stuffed full of useful tips about where to stay and how much it costs.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35It makes fascinating reading.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Back then, just two shillings would get you a bed for the night.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44But, disturbingly, a bottle of sherry
0:14:44 > 0:14:47cost more than your accommodation.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Even worse, there was sometimes no wine available at all.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Oh, dear(!)
0:14:53 > 0:14:58It's a relief to discover that things have moved on since Black's day.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02There's a fully-stocked bar at the hotel in town,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05which is where I meet up with historian Kevin James
0:15:05 > 0:15:07over a glass or two of Rioja.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Kevin, what was the standard of accommodation like back then?
0:15:10 > 0:15:14What kind of quality of bed for the night could they expect?
0:15:14 > 0:15:17They might not be able to expect a very high quality one at all.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21I mean, there are lots and lots of references in travelogues,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24before the era of mass tourism, if we want to call it that,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26of people encountering fleas
0:15:26 > 0:15:29and sleeping on boards and even on dirt floors.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32By Victorian times, more tourists were coming to Scotland
0:15:32 > 0:15:33looking for accommodation,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and people saw a business opportunity there.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38And there was one character in particular that became
0:15:38 > 0:15:39quite notorious, shall we say.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is a figure who appears in
0:15:43 > 0:15:44all kinds of both guidebooks
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and travelogues, the so-called Scotch innkeeper.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51And what he's most famous for is just his miserliness.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And exorbitant rates for food and drink, too.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And so a lot of travellers leave complaining that although
0:15:56 > 0:15:58the accommodation, for instance,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02and the board might not have been too expensive,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06once they left the hotel, or were leaving the hotel,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10they were presented with a bill that contained all of these additional charges
0:16:10 > 0:16:12that added up to, occasionally,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15much more than the cost of a night's stay, too.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17But not a great advertisement for Scotland, surely?
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Rather, you know, short-sighted.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21You're not going to get very many returning guests.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24No, it's... There's a paradox,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26though, to the figure of the Scotch innkeeper,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and that is that to some extent,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30I think people went out in search of him.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I think the traveller went out in search of him,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36in part because they didn't want to stay in some anodyne hotel,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40some cosmopolitan hotel with a German manager and a Swiss waiter.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Part of their motivation was to experience the culture
0:16:43 > 0:16:45of Scotland as they saw it. The culture, in particular,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48of the Highlanders, of the Celt, as they often described it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51And this meant this kind of primitive accommodation,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53this sort of miserly figure,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57somehow authenticated the travel experience for them.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Leaving Kevin to polish off the last of the Rioja,
0:17:02 > 0:17:04I'm back on the road again.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'But to get to my next destination,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'I'm going to have to use a little ingenuity and my thumb.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Now, this is something I've not done for years.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20But as a kid, hitchhiking was the only way a 15-year-old
0:17:20 > 0:17:23with no money could explore Scotland.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26And I went everywhere by thumb power.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Nope. Better luck next time.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Back in the day, hitchhiking was my passport to adventure,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41and I travelled all over Scotland
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and the Continent with my old mate, Gus.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Though how we managed to get anywhere looking like this
0:17:47 > 0:17:49is something of a marvel.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52'But things have changed and the whole tradition of hitchhiking
0:17:52 > 0:17:55'has been given a bad press.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59'So let's see if anyone is brave enough to pick me up!'
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Peugeot. Excellent!
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Getting a lift, yes, fantastic.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06'Result! And after only ten minutes,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09'which has to be something of a personal record,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13'and definitely less time than waiting for a bus.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:15That's fantastic. Thanks very much.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19I'll just strap myself in.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23- Judith.- Tell me, do you often pick up hitchhikers?- No, I don't.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- Right. Only the respectable-looking ones.- Only respectable-looking.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30No, actually it's something that I used to do many years ago.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33'I'm encouraged to be given a lift so quickly.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37'It's like going back to the days when drivers and hitchhikers
0:18:37 > 0:18:40'shared a cheerful sense of highway camaraderie.'
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Why do you think it is that today
0:18:43 > 0:18:46you see fewer hitchhikers on the roads?
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Because they're kind of like a dying breed.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Well...I suppose safety is a big aspect.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Erm...
0:18:56 > 0:18:59But I have to say, of all the drivers who are least likely
0:18:59 > 0:19:01to pick up a hitchhiker,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03I would have thought a single woman would be the least likely.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- SHE LAUGHS - Oh, I'm quite brave. - You were the first one.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Am I? You can't always judge a book by the cover, as they say.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15My brave lady driver drops me off where the River Forth
0:19:15 > 0:19:19meanders through flat countryside near the city of Stirling.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I'm surprised by the sight of folks boating on the river,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29something I've always associated with the gentler climes
0:19:29 > 0:19:31of the English Home Counties.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Oarsman David Plank keeps me straight on the history
0:19:37 > 0:19:39of Scottish rowing
0:19:39 > 0:19:43as we pull upstream towards the city of Stirling.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47I've always associated this type of rowing with, I suppose,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49your privileged classes.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Now, is that fair?
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Certainly not in Scotland, no.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57It was working class people, railway porters was one group of people
0:19:57 > 0:20:00that had their own facility in Glasgow.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04They were a rowing club from Glasgow. So, definitely not.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07It's a great way of exploring the city.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12I mean, the views you get from here are really quite exceptional.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Well, Stirling's a lovely city anyway.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19And to see it from our aspect is just superb.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25'As we row on the river, we're actually following an old steamer route,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29'which in Black's day carried tourists from South Queensferry,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33'all the way to Stirling - a distance of 36 miles.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37'But after the First World War, the upper reaches of the Forth
0:20:37 > 0:20:40'ceased to carry shipping of any kind.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43'And now, even the memory of them is fading.'
0:20:44 > 0:20:48Back on dry land, I head into rural Perthshire,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50looking for a bed for the night,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54though I fear it may be a rather damp one.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Deep in a roan-soaked wood, I share a novel type of camping experience
0:20:58 > 0:21:01with travel writer Jennifer Cox,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05sheltering in an exotic tent known as a Swedish kata.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Well, Jennifer, sadly this is not the best weather to experience
0:21:10 > 0:21:15life outside, but camping's got a long and illustrious history.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16Yeah, absolutely. If you imagine
0:21:16 > 0:21:18right the way back to the military campaigns,
0:21:18 > 0:21:22you would have seen great quantities of men camping in the field,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24moving from place to place.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28And then people sort of developed a sense for being outdoors
0:21:28 > 0:21:30but in a more controlled environment.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33So if you think about, say, safaris, where you would take your life
0:21:33 > 0:21:37out under the canvas, and enjoy nature,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40but with lots of home comforts, really good cooking,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43lots of servants, lots of feather beds.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47So you would literally have a huge train travelling with you.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50But in the meantime, at home, you would see things like
0:21:50 > 0:21:55the Boys' Brigade, the Scouts, people going off and understanding
0:21:55 > 0:21:58that nature was something special.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The outdoor life was celebrated and encouraged.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09As leisure time increased, camping became an affordable holiday option,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13especially in the years after the Second World War.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16But affordability was also the reason for camping's demise.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19As foreign package holidays became cheaper,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23the simple pleasures of life under canvas fell out of favour
0:22:23 > 0:22:26as we embraced modern luxuries.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29But Jennifer says we lost something along the way.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Ironically, as we became more prosperous,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37the idea that we were too pampered,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41the idea that everything was laid on,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45that everything was affordable, that technology was taking over,
0:22:45 > 0:22:51- nature started to become more fashionable again.- Ah-ha.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56And the idea that camping meant going out and experiencing
0:22:56 > 0:23:01a more spiritual side, not just of nature, but of ourselves,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04that became increasingly desirable,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08and increasingly a holiday movement.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Well, do you feel we've gone back to nature here?
0:23:10 > 0:23:13I'm looking at a gorgeous stream.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16- Surrounded by trees. Slightly chilly.- Slightly chilly.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- It's got to be nature! - It's May and I can see your breath.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- Exactly!- That's pretty primitive.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25THEY LAUGH
0:23:27 > 0:23:33'Having slept like an emperor in my kata, it's time to face the elements once again.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36'I've had enough of camping and hitching. I need to treat myself.'
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Not too bad. Drying up.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40'Hence, my new conveyance.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44'A chauffeur-driven, vintage Rolls-Royce.'
0:23:44 > 0:23:45HORN TOOTS
0:23:50 > 0:23:54'A vehicle like this is the apotheosis of classic luxury.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58'The smell of plush leather and polished walnut fills my nostrils
0:23:58 > 0:24:03'as we glide through the countryside in style.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- 'What a way to watch the world... - HORN TOOTS
0:24:06 > 0:24:08'..and the less fortunate, go by.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14'By the 1930s, a range of guidebooks had appeared,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16'aimed at the growing number of people
0:24:16 > 0:24:18'taking motoring holidays in Scotland.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22'The motor car gave tourists a previously unimagined
0:24:22 > 0:24:25'degree of freedom, allowing their wealthy owners
0:24:25 > 0:24:29'to travel through the countryside in comfort and luxury.'
0:24:34 > 0:24:39The last leg of my Grand Tour takes me into the heart of privilege,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42where a bed for the night comes at a premium.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47The Gleneagles Hotel is familiar
0:24:47 > 0:24:51to the powerful and wealthy from around the world.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57'The Scottish RAC guidebook of 1927
0:24:57 > 0:25:01'listed Gleneagles as 'the most expensive hotel,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05'costing a staggering 19 shillings and sixpence a night,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08'which comes out at 95 pence in today's money.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:12All this and you still get change from a pound!
0:25:13 > 0:25:17'Of course, the reality was that 19 shillings and sixpence
0:25:17 > 0:25:22'was the equivalent of a week's wages for a manual labourer in 1927.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25'So not so cheap after all.'
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Now, the Royal Scottish Automobile Association imposed a rather
0:25:29 > 0:25:35curious condition on any hotel that wanted to be included in its guidebook,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39and that was the stipulation for a ten-yard hose.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41And the reason was quite simple.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44It's so that your chauffeur could wash your car.
0:25:47 > 0:25:53Gleneagles opened in 1924 as a luxury golf hotel resort.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Built by the Caledonian Railway Company, with its own station,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Gleneagles was hailed as a Riviera in the Highlands,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03and the eighth Wonder Of The World.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10And the BBC acknowledged the hotel's superior credentials
0:26:10 > 0:26:14when it chose Gleneagles as the location for the first-ever
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Scottish radio broadcast.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Henry Hall, the popular composer of the time,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24conducted his dance orchestra for the benefit of guests
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and wireless listeners across the Empire.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'Leaving my chauffeur, George, to wash the car,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35'I check into the most expensive suite at Gleneagles,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38'The Royal Lochnagar.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42'The manager, Patrick Elsmie, shows me around.'
0:26:42 > 0:26:45It's a fabulous room, Patrick.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I suppose that Gleneagles has really kind of based its reputation
0:26:48 > 0:26:52on the idea of privilege and exclusivity, is that not right?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I think people have always enjoyed coming to Gleneagles.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57This part of Perthshire is such a fabulous place.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00And what Gleneagles offers, and what Scotland's offered over the years
0:27:00 > 0:27:02has really attracted people who've really wanted to come
0:27:02 > 0:27:05to Gleneagles to enjoy accommodations like this.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08How much would a room, or a suite like this cost you?
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Well, of course it depends what time of the year people come, but it varies.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Usually during our summer months it's around £1,800 a night.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19£1,800 a night. Is that all-in?
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- Does that include dinner, drinks, or is that just your bed? - Bed, breakfast and VAT.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26Now, presumably you have quite a lot of famous people staying here.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31Well, over the years Gleneagles built its reputation, I think, on those that have come to stay here.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Now let me guess.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Is it possible that one of the Blairs or perhaps the Bushs stayed here?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Well, we obviously had eight very important guests that stayed at Gleneagles,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45so you can rest assured that one of them was definitely in this particular suite, yes.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50'Thinking of the political greats who've dipped their toe here before me,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54'I anticipate the delights of the slipper bath.'
0:27:54 > 0:27:55CORK POPS
0:27:57 > 0:27:59'As I wallow in this luxury,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02'I think of the early tourists who came to Scotland.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06'They wanted to experience the novelty of being somewhere different,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09'somewhere wild and romantic.
0:28:09 > 0:28:15'But 100 years later, it's easy to find yourself shut off from the real Scotland
0:28:15 > 0:28:21'by all this finery, and to forget the adventures of Sarah Murray and her like.'
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Not that I'm complaining in any way.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28And there's still plenty of adventure to be had for those willing to look for it.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31And since I'm here, I may as well enjoy myself.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35After all, this is a pretty fine bed for the night.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- Ahhh! - HE SIGHS CONTENTEDLY
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Luxury!
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Join me on my next Grand Tour Of Scotland
0:28:47 > 0:28:50when I'm in Ayrshire, travelling from Burns to Butlins.