0:00:02 > 0:00:06The dramatic landscape of Scotland is a big part of
0:00:06 > 0:00:10the country's appeal. But some of the first tourists
0:00:10 > 0:00:14were attracted by something quite different.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17They were fans on a pilgrimage.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22They came to see all the sights associated with the life
0:00:22 > 0:00:26of one of the first global superstars, Robert Burns -
0:00:26 > 0:00:30the man who made Ayrshire famous.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35To cater for these literary fans,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland
0:00:38 > 0:00:41was quick to offer help and encouragement.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43A copy of this fascinating old book
0:00:43 > 0:00:46has been in my family for generations.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It was always kept in the glove compartment
0:00:49 > 0:00:52of my father's car when we went on holiday.
0:00:54 > 0:00:5840 years on, I'm using Black's to inspire me
0:00:58 > 0:01:00on my own journeys across Scotland.
0:01:00 > 0:01:06And it's brought me to Ayrshire to discover the land of Burns.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22My grand tour begins in Alloway,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25the birthplace of Scotland's bard.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29I then head up the coast to discover the delights of holiday camps
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and ice cream, before rejoining the Burns trail to Mauchline
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and a flutter at the Ayr races.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This is the old kirk at Alloway.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Probably the most famous ruined church in Scotland.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54"Glimmering thro' the groaning trees
0:01:54 > 0:01:56"Kirk-Alloway seem'd in a bleeze
0:01:56 > 0:02:00"Thro' ilka bore the beams were glancing
0:02:00 > 0:02:04"And loud resounded mirth and dancing."
0:02:06 > 0:02:09In Burns' celebrated poem Tam o'Shanter
0:02:09 > 0:02:13this is where the drunken Tam witnesses a group
0:02:13 > 0:02:16of witches and warlocks dancing with the devil.
0:02:19 > 0:02:25Published in 1791, the poem was a rip-roaring success
0:02:25 > 0:02:29and soon fans began arriving here to see for themselves
0:02:29 > 0:02:33the source of Burns' inspiration. And from the old kirk,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36they began spreading out across the countryside
0:02:36 > 0:02:40looking for other connections with their poetic hero.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Burns died in poverty in 1796,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46but the cult of Burns was just beginning.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Right, Eric...
0:02:48 > 0:02:51'Joining historian Eric Zeulow,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55'I'm on a tandem tour of the land o' Burns.'
0:02:56 > 0:03:00It didn't take long for this area to become a tourist attraction did it?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03No. First tourists started coming within a year or so
0:03:03 > 0:03:07of the poet's death and then more and more and more started coming.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And it's striking that really Burns tourism is the second literary
0:03:11 > 0:03:15branch of tourism to start up after Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21And this became celebrated the world over as the land of Burns?
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Yeah, there was a guide book in about 1820 that had those
0:03:24 > 0:03:27words in the title and then a picture book came out in 1840
0:03:27 > 0:03:30with lots of pictures and stories and more.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37This early guide book with its beautiful illustrations
0:03:37 > 0:03:40by the painter David Hill,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42did much to encourage this new breed of tourist.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44This is the way to travel, Eric.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45This is great.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48'And clutching their copies of Burns' poems,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51'they came here from all over the world.'
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Up to the keystone, up to the keystone.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58This is where Tam o'Shanter was saved from the clutches
0:03:58 > 0:04:01of the witches after he'd crossed over the old Brig O'Doon.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02An absolutely gorgeous location.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07These were pilgrimage sites in a way. It's kind of a secular pilgrimage.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Tourists coming here were coming to experience the poems,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15experience the place in which those poems were created,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and to maybe get into the mind of the poet.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23And the place is as much an imagined thing as it is a reality.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25And I guess they weren't just coming for views, were they?
0:04:25 > 0:04:29They were coming to be in a place that had a connection with Burns.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Oh, I think that's absolutely right.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35They, the poems paint a vivid image of place
0:04:35 > 0:04:38and so they wanted to come and experience that
0:04:38 > 0:04:41and by doing that, step into the mind of the poet.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And nowhere better encapsulated the romantic image
0:04:47 > 0:04:51of The heaven-taught Ploughman than the poet's humble birthplace.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- Here we are. - Burns' cottage. All right.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59But it's a really intriguing thought when you realise that this
0:04:59 > 0:05:01great poetic genius did come from such a lowly background.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04What did early tourists make of the experience
0:05:04 > 0:05:06of coming to Burns' cottage?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Mixed views, I'm afraid.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11I think some people were charmed by it.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14There were others, and some of them pretty notable
0:05:14 > 0:05:18John Keats, for example came and found that it had been
0:05:18 > 0:05:19turned into a pub.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21And this absolutely shattered his...
0:05:21 > 0:05:24I mean, he'd built... He had built this up.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27This was something he'd been talking about and writing about.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Oh, it was going to be so great and then he gets here
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and it was just, it was shattering.
0:05:31 > 0:05:37Nathaniel Hawthorne, the American author, came here and he commented
0:05:37 > 0:05:43that the Alloway kirk was impossibly small and the cottage stank.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- It stank?- Smelled.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47- Well, it was a farm, course it stank.- Exactly.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49And that's the reality isn't it?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51I mean, Keats came looking for something else,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54but the reality he found here wasn't quite to his taste.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Yes, but you're...
0:05:55 > 0:05:58When you're travelling you're not expecting reality,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01you're expecting what you imagined to be authenticity.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- Right.- And that's all in your head.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08But despite some initial disappointment,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10the literary pilgrims kept coming,
0:06:10 > 0:06:15and throughout the following decades visitor numbers increased.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Gradually folk began to realise
0:06:18 > 0:06:21that there was a buck to be made out of all these tourists.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25The curator of the cottage is Tom McMinn, 75 years young.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Do you ever get any famous people here?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Famous people, sir? They come from the outermost ends of the earth.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36I've met Clark Gable, Irvine Berlin,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Joe Louis the boxer,
0:06:38 > 0:06:43aye, and I've met the Prince of Wales and a beggar man on the same day.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Today they still come in their thousands,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51making Alloway a kind of literary theme park.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- That is enormous. - What do they eat?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Tourists. HE LAUGHS
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Burns certainly played a major part
0:07:03 > 0:07:06in putting Ayrshire on the world tourist map.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12I'm now heading up the coast to Ayr to find out about another man
0:07:12 > 0:07:16who brought tourists flocking to this part of Scotland.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23In the years immediately following the Second World War,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26people wanted to have a bit of fun when they went on holiday.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29And for that they turned not to Robert Burns,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32but to Billy Butlin.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37The whole idea behind the holiday camp
0:07:37 > 0:07:42was to provide an all-inclusive entertainment package at one location.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46It was actually inspired by Billy Butlin's own experience
0:07:46 > 0:07:48of the great British seaside holiday,
0:07:48 > 0:07:53where guests were regularly thrown out of their boarding houses in the morning,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56couldn't get back in again until tea-time,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00with nothing to do and nowhere to go. But soon that changed
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and happy holiday-makers were pedalling to a brighter future.
0:08:07 > 0:08:13The Butlins camp at Ayr opened in 1947 and the philosophy was simple -
0:08:13 > 0:08:16a week's holiday for a week's pay.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23The original camp has long gone, replaced by a modern holiday park.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Here, I'm meeting writer and Butlins fan Kathryn Ferry.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Kathryn, I imagine the view has changed a lot since Butlin's heyday.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Absolutely it has and you can't really visualise it today,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39but Billy Butlin was really all about creating a holiday atmosphere
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and so his camps had lots of colourful spaces in them
0:08:42 > 0:08:43and that was really important.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47So he was providing the colour of summer even if was raining?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Yeah, absolutely. That was the idea, yeah.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52When you think how the country was just grey in the war years.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Billy Butlin designed the camps specifically
0:08:55 > 0:08:58so that they had this sort of air of another place.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00All the fences were painted in primary colours
0:09:00 > 0:09:04and there fairy lights hanging up around the camp,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and gardens with full gladioli and roses.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I mean, really colourful.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12There would have been, on the front here, the outdoor pool.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15and there was the cable car that brought you down from the hill
0:09:15 > 0:09:19- down to the main building. - Cable car?- Absolutely, yes.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23It was very much an attempt to try and make people
0:09:23 > 0:09:27feel like they'd left the everyday workaday world behind.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46This series of postcards, produced at the height of Butlins' popularity,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49make it all seem incredibly glamorous.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54And the British public kept coming back for more.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00It's just the sort of thing that I always imagined you could do at Butlins.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Do something crazy and surreal like pedal a giant swan on Swan Lake.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Yeah. Butlins always had his boating lake.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11But there were all sorts of competitions for every member of the family.
0:10:11 > 0:10:16So Glamorous Grandmother, there was the Bonny Baby competitions,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21beauty contests of course. All sorts, even shiniest bald head.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24There were competitions for eating Chinese food with chopsticks,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26when that was a really new thing.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Knobbly knee competitions. What was all that about?
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- That's an old favourite that one. - It's all very self-mocking. Is that a very British thing?
0:10:32 > 0:10:35It is, but I think it's a very British trait isn't it?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- We're not really taking ourselves too seriously.- No, no if you...
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- And how could you be in a giant swan?- No, exactly.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Tell you what, we seem to be sinking here.- I think we are sinking!
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I think seriously sinking, yes.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52By the mid-sixties, Butlins Ayr was one of ten camps nationwide.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Places where working people could enjoy an affordable holiday
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and good, clean family fun.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Even when it rained.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06And entertaining campers was executed with military precision.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12A glance at this programme from 1949
0:11:12 > 0:11:14gives you an idea of just how closely
0:11:14 > 0:11:17the Butlins experience was timetabled.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21The day kicks off at 8 o'clock with "Good morning campers!"
0:11:21 > 0:11:26And then at 10 o'clock you had Keep Fit with Sandy in the Ballroom.
0:11:26 > 0:11:3011 o'clock was Crazy Cricket or Hi De Hi in the theatre,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34and at 2.15 was the children's Mannequin Competition
0:11:34 > 0:11:38in the Quiet Lounge, which wouldn't have been very quiet.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42And then at 8.30 was the All-Star Wrestling Competition.
0:11:42 > 0:11:4710.30 the Redcoats say "Ta-ta, the Noo" to departing campers,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and at midnight the escape committee met to dig a tunnel.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Only joking.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59The people who were employed to bring holiday-makers out of their shells
0:11:59 > 0:12:02were, of course, the Redcoats.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Their role was part organiser and part entertainer,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09responsible for keeping the fun and frolics going.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12- Ian, if you could help me on with the jacket.- I'll do the honours.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14Oh, thanks... The real thing, the real...
0:12:14 > 0:12:16- The real McCoy. - ..Redcoat's jacket...
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'And to see if I measure up, I'm meeting Frank and Ian
0:12:19 > 0:12:22'who were Redcoats here at Ayr back in the day.'
0:12:22 > 0:12:24- Don't forget the buttons. - Was that important?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Oh, yes. You had to keep the buttons fastened all the time.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Didn't matter if the jacket didn't fit,
0:12:29 > 0:12:30you still had to put the buttons on.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Yeah, sometimes we got late in the season, we got what was left.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35- What do you think? - There is one thing missing.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36- There is something?- Yes.- Really?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38White handkerchief. Goes in the top pocket.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- Why is a handkerchief...? - It was the tradition.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44That was the finishing touch for any Redcoat uniform.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- Sartorial flourish. - Yeah, it's just an added finish.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52You were in a new world.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55You were in a special world that didn't exist beyond those gates.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57You had to be always smiling.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00You were not allowed to walk past people and not say "hello".
0:13:00 > 0:13:03You got a chance to do maybe a bit of performing as well.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10And being a Redcoat was seen as the first rung on the ladder to stardom.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Des O'Connor and Isla St Clair started their careers at Ayr
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Amongst many other famous names were Charlie Drake, Jimmy Tarbuck,
0:13:19 > 0:13:25Dave Allen, Rod Hull, H from Steps and now, of course, Paul Murton.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29- You ready for this?- Go for it. - This is my audition for the part of a Redcoat.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Hi De Hi!
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Ho De Ho. Perfect. The man's a natural.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35Hire me.
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Showbiz razzmatazz may have been Butlins' big selling point,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48but when the sun was shining, everybody headed for the beach.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51And there were many to choose from along this coast.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56My next stop is Saltcoats.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02The name comes from its unusual history
0:14:02 > 0:14:06as a place where salt was harvested from the sea.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11In its heyday, this was a busy seaside resort.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17When its grand new esplanade opened in 1920,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21you could hardly move for excited day-trippers.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Today, I've come in search of what remains
0:14:26 > 0:14:30of one of the Ayrshire coast's most popular attractions.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38Scotland's largest artificial tidal pool opened here in the 1930s.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41It may not be much to look at today,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44but, back then, it really was something,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46and bathers flocked here for an invigorating plunge
0:14:46 > 0:14:48in its waters.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54But, sadly, like many seaside towns today,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Saltcoats went into decline in the 1970s.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02And this is all that's left of a golden era.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04This is pretty sad, really.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07The whole place has been trashed, and there's not much left.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10The pool is full of all kinds of rubbish
0:15:10 > 0:15:13bottles, plastic bags, goodness knows what else.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16But I'm not one to shirk my responsibilities
0:15:16 > 0:15:21to get as close to the authentic experience of a Scottish holiday.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26So, dressed in a dry-suit, I'm bracing myself to experience
0:15:26 > 0:15:28this once-great sporting venue.
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Ah!
0:15:35 > 0:15:38It's hard to believe, but in the summer months this pool
0:15:38 > 0:15:41would have been packed with holiday-makers enjoying themselves.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43I could spend all day out here!
0:15:46 > 0:15:49But the lure of warmer waters abroad
0:15:49 > 0:15:51sadly spelt the end of the craze for outdoor bathing.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55We've either got softer or it's got colder.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01There's now only one outside pool left on this coastline.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08But floating in the ruins of this once grand pool,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12I get a sense of the fun that was had here.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17It's Martini time!
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Now, where are the hot showers?
0:16:24 > 0:16:28There's nothing like a swim to work up a good appetite.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30So, I'm heading up the coast to Largs
0:16:30 > 0:16:33for some traditional seaside cuisine.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Early visitors to Largs weren't always made to feel welcome,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41as Black's points out.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44This is where the King of Scots defeated
0:16:44 > 0:16:50King Haco of Norway in 1263, "with great slaughter."
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Today a monument stands to that famous victory.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But, many centuries after the Norwegians were sent packing,
0:16:57 > 0:17:02large numbers of incomers began arriving from southern Europe.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05The difference - they stayed.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07And without them, a trip to the seaside
0:17:07 > 0:17:08just wouldn't be the same.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Throughout the early part of the 20th century,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Italian immigrants began to influence
0:17:16 > 0:17:19the Scottish holiday experience.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23They opened fish-and-chip shops, ice cream parlours and cafes,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27catering for the growing number of Scots coming to the seaside.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Nardini's opened in 1935.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39It had the most stylish Art Deco furnishings of the day,
0:17:39 > 0:17:41and was an instant hit with customers.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46To find out more about the huge influence
0:17:46 > 0:17:49of Italian cafe culture on the seaside,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51I'm meeting up with screenwriter Sergio Casci,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54whose family, like so many Scots-Italians,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57ran an ice cream parlour.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Sergio, the Italian culture had a huge influence, did it not,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03on the way we appreciate our own seaside resorts?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- Yeah.- And a whole culture has built up around ice cream,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09around the Italian ice cream parlour.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Well, it's become, it's become almost a rite of passage.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15You come to the little seaside resort, you have an ice cream.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19It's one of the essentials of the Scottish summer, and holiday experience.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Now, you're obviously Italian,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23the name Sergio, and you're directly connected to this story,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26because your family set up an ice cream parlour.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Well, that's right, yeah.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31My great grandfather came over in 1899, and he opened one cafe,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34then two, then three, then my grandfather took over, my father.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36That was one of the cafes they had...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- Your great grandfather's, is it? - My great grandfather.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Italians came over in great numbers at the end of the 19th century.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43They were poor immigrants looking for work.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47They arrived in Scotland and discovered the Scots didn't really know about ice cream.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50You had industrial workers who were working, maybe,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53five or six days a week, and they had an extra day off.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55For the first time, people had leisure time,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57and they had a little bit of extra money to spend.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01So, your typical Glaswegian would go to the coast at the weekend,
0:19:01 > 0:19:06he'd paddle in the freezing cold sea, then he'd look for something to eat,
0:19:06 > 0:19:07he'd look for a bit of luxury.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10And so, the ice cream cafe, the ice cream parlour,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13became an essential part of the Scottish holiday experience.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Here they are, the staff. Very smart.- They were beautiful.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Smartly attired, as well, with those long aprons.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21In those days, going to a cafe was more
0:19:21 > 0:19:23than just the ice cream, and the coffee.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25You wanted to give people a sense of luxury.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30But not everyone was in favour of this new craze.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36As ice cream became more popular, it fell foul of the church,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38who considered this frozen dessert
0:19:38 > 0:19:41a subversive influence on young people.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43The great and the good of Scottish society
0:19:43 > 0:19:45were very suspicious of these ice cream parlours
0:19:45 > 0:19:49because, at the end of the day, ice cream is an indulgence.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Ordinary working-class Scots loved it, but the people in charge
0:19:52 > 0:19:55of the moral fibre of the nation, they were very suspicious.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59For a start, these shops opened on a Sunday, which was a big no-no.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01I think the Scottish society at that time,
0:20:01 > 0:20:05there was a certain distrust and a mistrust of such fripperies.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08And, when you look at some of the debates that were had,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10political debates and in the newspaper letter pages
0:20:10 > 0:20:12at the time, you see this tremendous suspicion.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The idea that our young people could be drawn into these
0:20:15 > 0:20:18dens of iniquity, where they would indulge in such luxuries.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19And where would that lead?
0:20:19 > 0:20:21It would lead to smoking. It would lead to kissing.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25And one person actually made a connection between young women
0:20:25 > 0:20:27of great moral fibre and good character,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30innocent young girls, discovering the ice cream parlour, having their
0:20:30 > 0:20:34first taste of ice cream, leading to cigarettes, then kissing,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and ultimately they ended up as common streetwalkers,
0:20:37 > 0:20:38- as prostitutes.- No!
0:20:38 > 0:20:41All because of a, you know, double vanilla with sprinkles.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Right. That's a slippery slope. - It's a slippery slope.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Of course, Italian cafes were here to stay
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and have become a big part of the seaside experience.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Leaving the coast, I'm heading inland to enjoy
0:21:00 > 0:21:04a traditional celebration that dates back centuries.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09This is Mauchline, where thousands come every year
0:21:09 > 0:21:12to enjoy the Holy Fair.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18In Burns' day, this was a mixture of the righteous and the raucous.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22He captured the scene perfectly in his eponymous poem.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27"My name is Fun - your cronie dear,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30"The nearest friend ye hae,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33"An' this is Superstition here,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36"An' that's Hypocrisy.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37"I'm gaun to Mauchline Holy Fair,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40"To spend an hour in daffin:
0:21:40 > 0:21:43"Gin ye'll go there, yon runkl'd pair,
0:21:43 > 0:21:44"We will get famous laughin'
0:21:44 > 0:21:46"At them this day."
0:21:46 > 0:21:51Over two centuries later, it's still fun that most people are after,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and it seems there's plenty on offer.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58The origins of The Holy Fair date back to the 17th century,
0:21:58 > 0:22:03when fire-and-brimstone Presbyterian ministers travelled around country areas
0:22:03 > 0:22:05to preach and give communion.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Your heathenous ways on the Sabbath are to stop!
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But by Burns' day, this religious festival had become
0:22:14 > 0:22:20more of an unholy fair - a jostling, promiscuous carnival.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23And the Kirk did not approve.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28- You should be saying your catechism every day! Every day! - You're a pair of eejits!
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Rot down into hell!
0:22:32 > 0:22:37And what's your attitude to the goings on that you've seen so far today?
0:22:37 > 0:22:42Devil's work sir. Devil's work! Yes indeed, they're terrible, terrible.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Sinners, every one of them.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49There's gambling, gambling for alcohol. Alcohol, the devil's juice.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52There's far too much hilarity. People enjoying themselves.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Fairs like these died out in the 19th century,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58but many have again become annual events.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02And Mauchline Holy Fair now attracts thousands of townsfolk
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and tourists for the great day.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09If you had one word to say to them all, what would you say?
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Repent now. Repent your sins now, before it's too late.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Think it is too late. Thanks very much, gentlemen.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Burns stayed in Mauchline when he was a young man,
0:23:21 > 0:23:26and it was his experience of life here that inspired some of his most vivid characters.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Just a few minutes away from all the noise of the fair,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35there's a rather grand monument to our national bard,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38built to celebrate the centenary of his death.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48What a great view!
0:23:48 > 0:23:52From here you can see Mossgiel, the farm where Burns once lived,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55along with the places that inspired his writing.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Now, this memorial was built after my edition of Black's was published,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02so it doesn't get a mention at all.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05But it does feature a lot in later guides,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10including this colourful little number called The Burns Country,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Where We Have Been And What We Have Seen.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18'And the guide proclaims, "This is the true homeland of Burns.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22'"Here he grew from youth to man, fell in love and out of love,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26'"married and gave his first poetry to the world."'
0:24:27 > 0:24:33And rather curiously, it's illustrated with images of Scotsmen in exotic locations.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36And they're united in their colonial endeavours
0:24:36 > 0:24:42by a line from Burns' most celebrated international song, Auld Lang Syne.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Bound in friendship, wherever they were and whoever they'd colonised.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01It occurs to me that what makes Burns special is not just his international appeal,
0:25:01 > 0:25:08but the unique way in which his memory and work are still cherished and celebrated here in Scotland.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Even The Holy Fair has been revived in his honour,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18helping to keep alive the traditions and the culture that inspired him.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Leaving behind the fun of the fair,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27I'm completing my circular tour of Ayrshire
0:25:27 > 0:25:30to witness another tradition with a long pedigree.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36RACE COMMENTARY FROM LOUDSPEAKER
0:25:45 > 0:25:47There's been a racecourse at Ayr for centuries,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51and it's always pulled in the punters.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56Much to my surprise, Black's guide, normally the model of moral rectitude,
0:25:56 > 0:26:02takes the opportunity to notify tourists who want a flutter on the horses
0:26:02 > 0:26:04which days of the week are racing days.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13By the early 1900s, horse racing at Ayr attracted thousands of day trippers.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18They came, enjoyed the spectacle, soaked up the atmosphere,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22and, of course, parted with some hard-earned cash.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27The present racecourse was developed here in 1907
0:26:27 > 0:26:32and today hosts the most prestigious events in the Scottish racing calendar -
0:26:32 > 0:26:37The Ayr Gold Cup and the Scottish Grand National.
0:26:37 > 0:26:43And for many, a big part of the day is the thrill of putting a few quid on a long shot.
0:26:43 > 0:26:49I'm not a gambling man and so it's with some trepidation that I'm going to try and place a bet.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54But before I waste my money, I'm going to speak to someone who knows the business inside out.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59I'm hoping that track-side bookie Julie Williams can give me a winning tip.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02First thing I need to know is what is the form of a horse?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04What's that? What are you talking about?
0:27:04 > 0:27:07What you're talking about there is you want to look at how
0:27:07 > 0:27:10a horse has been performing. So you'd look back at his record.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14One of the most important things we look at is how a stable's doing in the last 14 days.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18So they've got a good record. It's all about the record of the horse, record of the trainer?
0:27:18 > 0:27:22Absolutely. But if all that fails, you just pick the colours of the jockey silks.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27- The colours!- Yeah. - There must be more of a science to it than that, surely!
0:27:27 > 0:27:33So, having studied the form, I've decided to take the less scientific approach,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and put my money on the jockey wearing red and green.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40RACE COMMENTARY FROM LOUDSPEAKER
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Oh! Oh!
0:27:47 > 0:27:51And the system seems to work!
0:27:51 > 0:27:54After a photo finish, Ginger Jack wins!
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Thank you very much indeed. Yes!
0:27:58 > 0:28:05Flushed with success I put my winnings on the jockey wearing blue and yellow.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Sadly, this time the system fails.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Better luck next time, I think.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20The thing about gambling is, there's only really one winner, and that's the bookie.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25Not that I'm grumbling in any way, because it's all about playing the game.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Which is why people come here - to enjoy the spectacle, the excitement
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and the atmosphere of a great day out -
0:28:31 > 0:28:34all things that Robert Burns would have loved,
0:28:34 > 0:28:41which is why I'm ending my grand tour of Scotland, from Burns to Butlins, at the races.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48On my next Grand Tour, I'm facing the big chill,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51as winter comes to Scotland
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd