0:00:03 > 0:00:06Scotland's rich and varied landscape
0:00:06 > 0:00:10has drawn tourists from around the world for over 200 years -
0:00:10 > 0:00:12and by the end of the Victorian era,
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Scotland was a favourite summer destination.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21But what happened when the chill winds of winter began to blow
0:00:21 > 0:00:25and the tourists packed their bags and headed for home?
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Slowly but surely,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31enterprising Victorians began to lure the tourists back.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Using the cold,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37they promoted the Highlands as a winter holiday destination.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41A playground for curling, for skating, for mountaineering,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43and for skiing.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47After all, it's just like Switzerland, isn't it?
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I've been travelling through Scotland
0:00:52 > 0:00:56from the Galloway Coast to the Glens of Ross-shire,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01following routes suggested by one of the first tourist guides ever published -
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10This wonderful Victorian volume has a special place in my affections.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15It once guided my own family when we went on holiday.
0:01:16 > 0:01:1840 years on, I'm dusting it down
0:01:18 > 0:01:21and setting off to recapture the golden age,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24when Scotland was a jewel in the crown of holiday destinations.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29For my final journey, I'm going off-piste
0:01:29 > 0:01:34to discover how Scotland sold itself as a winter playground.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The last journey of my Grand Tour of Scotland
0:01:49 > 0:01:53takes me from the icy shores of the Lake of Menteith,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55through the snowbound Highlands,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59to the summit of Britain's highest and most wintery mountain,
0:01:59 > 0:02:00Ben Nevis.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Harsh winters were common in Victorian times,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11and Black's Guide excitedly presents the tourist
0:02:11 > 0:02:14with some impressive statistics about the "frozen north".
0:02:14 > 0:02:19"The lowest temperatures recorded, minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit,
0:02:19 > 0:02:20"or 44 degrees of frost,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24"were observed in the upper valleys of the Don and the Dee
0:02:24 > 0:02:27"at Christmas 1860."
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Now conditions like these seemed ideal
0:02:30 > 0:02:36for transforming Scotland into a tourists' winter wonderland.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41This is the Lake of Menteith two years ago,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45when I was able to enjoy the thrill of playing on the ice,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47just as in Victorian times,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51when bitter frosts transformed its waters into a huge ice rink,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55allowing the ancient game of curling to take place.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Famously, the Lake of Menteith was once the venue
0:02:58 > 0:03:02for the great annual curling match called the Bonspiel.
0:03:03 > 0:03:09This national competition was last held on the lake in 1979.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10It was a splendid spectacle,
0:03:10 > 0:03:16and thousands came to thrill to the clash of stone on ice.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20To find out more about the history of the "roaring game",
0:03:20 > 0:03:23I'm joining Bob Kelly on the Lake,
0:03:23 > 0:03:25not to slide across the ice this year,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27but to ply its waters in a boat.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Bob, it's a bit of a sad testament to climate change, isn't it,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33that we're out here in a boat instead of being on the ice?
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Well, isn't it just? Yes, it would be lovely to think we could experience
0:03:36 > 0:03:39the same conditions we had in 1979, but that's the way it is.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41But you were there in 1979.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43I certainly was indeed, yes, enjoyed every minute of it.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44It was just a fantastic day.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49We're talking about 600 teams, 2,500...2,400 curlers.
0:03:49 > 0:03:512,400 curlers on this ice.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53- 2,400 curlers on the ice. - Plus spectators.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Plus spectators, plus officials. It was just absolutely unbelievable.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59The sun shone the whole day.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It was beautiful weather, beautiful conditions.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Loads of people like-minded, all passionate,
0:04:03 > 0:04:07excited, with great anticipation about the day ahead. It was fantastic.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11I suppose in the old days, there must have been much colder winters
0:04:11 > 0:04:13to have regular matches outside
0:04:13 > 0:04:16because they wouldn't have had the alternative of going inside.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Well, that's right. The only curling that took place was outdoors
0:04:20 > 0:04:22on naturally frozen ice.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Every little village would have a curling pond
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and at that time of year, of course,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30not too many farming duties to be done, so when the weather was right,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33the whole community would get out and enjoy the sport of curling.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- And how old is the sport? - Well, there's a good question.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39I don't think anybody really knows how old it is.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41There is a stone in existence called the Stirling stone
0:04:41 > 0:04:44which is actually engraved with the date 1511,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48but nobody's absolutely sure whether that's genuine or not,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50but it certainly goes back probably just about as far as that
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and maybe even further.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59Victorian tourists found the excitement infectious.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03"There is a true ring of the national pastime about the whole affair.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07"Ch-ch-ch hissed the stone as it was sent skimming over the ice.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11"Loud and ceaseless were the cries of 'Soup it up, mun, soup it up!'
0:05:11 > 0:05:13"from the excited bystanders."
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Leaving Bob Kelly with his memories of colder winters,
0:05:19 > 0:05:20and the 'roaring game',
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I set off into the Highlands, following a winter route
0:05:24 > 0:05:28described in all its frosty glory by an English tourist and travel writer,
0:05:28 > 0:05:34MJB Baddeley, who came to Scotland in 1894.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Baddeley was amazed by what he found on his tour.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40The landscape and the climate especially
0:05:40 > 0:05:44were unlike anything he'd ever experienced at home in England.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48In fact, he thought he'd found Switzerland.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56In his journal, he describes the wondrous winter landscape he passed through.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01"It is beautiful, with a foreground of hoar-frosted trees,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04"and the whole landscape chastened, as it were,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07"by the soft transparency of the winter light,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11"through which the mountains seemed objects of the sweetest dreamland.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14"The effect was simply indescribable."
0:06:15 > 0:06:17But that was then.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I'm re-tracing Baddeley's winter route in February.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Now, February is normally the coldest month of the year,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28but the contrast in the weather conditions couldn't be greater.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Whereas Baddeley experienced a winter wonderland,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34I've got rain and incredibly mild conditions,
0:06:34 > 0:06:39so mild, in fact, they're actually forecast to get up to 12 degrees today.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43So what's happened? What's happened to all the snow and ice
0:06:43 > 0:06:47that was going to transform the Highlands into a winter playground?
0:06:49 > 0:06:53To find out why the weather seems to have taken a wrong turn,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57I'm falling in step with climate expert, Ian Cameron.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59If you look at the period from the Victorian age
0:06:59 > 0:07:02actually going back the way a couple of hundred years,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05to a term that we call the Little Ice Age,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09the winters were undoubtedly colder and undoubtedly snowier,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and lasted longer. I mean it's incredible,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14There's an account by a chap called Thomas Thornton
0:07:14 > 0:07:19who's walking in the Cairngorms in 1786
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and he was taking his friends - very well heeled -
0:07:22 > 0:07:24- They were taking his friends for a picnic...- Right.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26And it was a beautiful summer's day, 6th of August.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28They decided it would be more civilised
0:07:28 > 0:07:32if they went into Glen Feshie and went for a little stroll there.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37So as they were walking up, not at a particularly great altitude,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40they found a snow drift that they deposited their champagne in to cool it for lunch.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43- Brilliant! - You know, so that's in August...
0:07:43 > 0:07:45- Uh-huh. - I know, and that's exceptional.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51As part of his ongoing research into the Scottish winter,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Ian has been surveying long-lasting snow patches
0:07:54 > 0:07:57in the mountains for several years.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00These summer snow patches are important indicators
0:08:00 > 0:08:02of climate change.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Now, in 1933, something happened which hadn't happened since 1829,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09in that all snow had vanished in Scotland.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11That's the first time it had been known.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14It was so, um, interesting a subject,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18and it was so unusual that someone actually wrote a letter to The Times.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- So shock, horror, no snow. - Headline stuff.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Someone from the Scottish Mountaineering Club wrote a letter to The Times
0:08:23 > 0:08:27to say that for the first time in living memory, all snow has vanished from Scotland.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30And since that time, it's disappeared an additional four times.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33- 1959.- Uh-huh.
0:08:33 > 0:08:361996, 2003 and then 2006.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38So the rate of disappearance
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and the frequency of disappearance is accelerating.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Any sense of what might happen next winter do you think?
0:08:43 > 0:08:45We might get some snow next winter?
0:08:45 > 0:08:49We can look forward to putting our skis back on?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Oh, I think so. I think that we will... We'll have snow for a while yet.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55You know, people who've written the Scottish winter off
0:08:55 > 0:08:56I think are a little bit premature.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00If there's one thing to be certain about with the Scottish winter is it's unpredictable.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02Certainly is unpredictable.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04I know that for a fact for this winter!
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The unpredictability of the Scottish winter
0:09:08 > 0:09:10seems to be an incontrovertible fact.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14The great walking enthusiast,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16the indefatigable Reverend Grierson,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19was no stranger to winter's icy blast,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21even on a summer ramble in the hills.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24"Near the summit the snow was quite blinding.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28"We were quite benumbed and covered in icicles,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32"so that a taste from the whisky flask was right acceptable."
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Nothing like a little fire in the belly to keep out the cold.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Continuing north,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45my route follows the course of the old Oban-to-Glasgow railway line,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49which Black's describes as one of the most beautiful in Scotland.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56This is Glen Ogle on the Oban line,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59which closed to trains in the 1960s.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Since the 1990s, it's been part of a national network of routes
0:10:03 > 0:10:07enjoyed by cyclists and long-distance walkers alike.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11The Victorians were justly proud of their railway.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It climbed steeply to the head of the pass in front of me,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18crosses several bridges, including this magnificent old viaduct,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22which has become something of a symbol to the golden age of steam travel.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29In Victorian times, railways were crucial
0:10:29 > 0:10:33to the development of tourism in the Highlands, both summer and winter.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36And early snow-sports enthusiasts
0:10:36 > 0:10:38eagerly awaited the arrival of new lines
0:10:38 > 0:10:42to provide swift access to their winter playground.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Soon, railway companies began using images of Scotland -
0:10:46 > 0:10:48looking like Switzerland -
0:10:48 > 0:10:51to sell their new routes to this winter wonderland.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57And where else would you go in the United Kingdom
0:10:57 > 0:11:01to find the perfect Alpine climate but the Cairngorms,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05which is where my Winter Grand Tour takes me next.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12This is Aviemore, ski capital of Scotland.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Leaving the train here, the Victorian tourist
0:11:17 > 0:11:22was treated to striking views of the snowy Cairngorm Mountains.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Black's Guide sets the tone.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28"From the huge, chill desert, totally uninhabited,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33"rises the loftiest cluster of mountains in the United Kingdom."
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Whenever I see snow-capped summits,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40I feel the urge to put on my skis and head for the hills.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43But to get there, early seekers of winter fun
0:11:43 > 0:11:45had to walk or ride a horse.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Now, it's a lot easier.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53The Cairngorm Mountain Railway
0:11:53 > 0:11:56takes would-be sporting types like me,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59deep into the heart of the Cairngorms
0:11:59 > 0:12:04in search of that essential winter holiday ingredient - snow.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08In Scotland, this is about as close as you can get
0:12:08 > 0:12:12to an authentic, Swiss-style, mountain railway experience
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and, like its Alpine counterparts, it takes tourists in search of snow
0:12:16 > 0:12:18just so they can slide back down again.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25The top station is well above 4,000 feet
0:12:25 > 0:12:28and I'm struck by how busy the place is.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34It just goes to show, the allure of sliding downhill is irresistible.
0:12:35 > 0:12:41Now, I sometimes think that the desire to slide on snow must be an instinctive thing.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44And it's one not just enjoyed by human beings.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Once, when I was mountaineering in Norway,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52I watched a group of young reindeer clambering up a rocky ridge,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55just to slide back down on their backsides.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59They were literally young bucks having fun and showing off.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Now, sadly, for me, I've got to the age
0:13:02 > 0:13:07when I'm too old to impress and it's downhill all the way for me.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Trying not to fall over
0:13:15 > 0:13:20has become an increasingly important part of the skiing experience for me,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24but although I'm pretty rubbish, I'm addicted to it.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28Someone else who has the sport in her blood is Myrtle Simpson.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Not only is she a former President of the Scottish Ski Club,
0:13:32 > 0:13:38in 1965 she became the first woman to ski across the Greenland ice cap.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Well, we always say that if you can ski in Scotland,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43you can ski anywhere.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45And, um, I think that's true
0:13:45 > 0:13:48because we get every conceivable kind of weather here,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51and you won't meet much worse wherever you go.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54But what actually made us want to do that was, it was just at the time
0:13:54 > 0:13:57when people started going on cruise ships
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and said they'd been on expeditions,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02and we thought that was not, you know, just not on.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05So we tried to see if we could ski the way Nansen did
0:14:05 > 0:14:07when he crossed Greenland in 1888.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Nansen was a Norwegian explorer
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and Myrtle wasn't the first to have been inspired
0:14:13 > 0:14:15by his Arctic exploits.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19In 1890, William Naismith took up the skiing challenge,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23making the very first tracks across Scottish snow.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26From then on, skiing snowballed.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Although the aspirations of these pioneers were high,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33they were often let down by their levels of skill.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38But amazingly, Victorian Scots were actually skiing in the Highlands
0:14:38 > 0:14:41before the sport was taken up in some parts of the Alps.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48And Scotland's snowy slopes even saw early signs of women's emancipation
0:14:48 > 0:14:50as the ladies took to the hills.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54There began to be a sort of movement that you... You could buy bloomers.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57There were shops in Edinburgh - you could buy bloomers.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Of course you left the village in your skirt
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- because you mustn't let your legs show.- Heaven forbid!
0:15:02 > 0:15:04And upset the men.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06So they hid their skirts.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10And there are some magic stories of mist coming down like this,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and they couldn't find the blinking boulder they'd hidden the skirts in.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18But bloomers alone wouldn't popularise the sport.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The real revolution in skiing
0:15:21 > 0:15:24came with the outbreak of the Second World War.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26I think the British Army was trying to fight
0:15:26 > 0:15:28against the Alpini of Italy, for instance,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31who were crack Olympic skiers,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33and the British Army training didn't even have gloves.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35And they trained here in the Cairngorms.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39All the various estate houses were commandeered by the Army
0:15:39 > 0:15:41and apparently there were just swarms of Army learning to ski,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44and a huge number of people came back,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and they'd had terrific fun in the mountains,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and they thought, "Why can't we still do that?"
0:15:51 > 0:15:55There are now five ski resorts across the Highlands.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59On a good weekend, when the snow conditions are at their most Alpine,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04it's reckoned that up to 20,000 people are on the piste in Scotland.
0:16:04 > 0:16:10Hans Kuwall came from Austria as a ski instructor in 1956,
0:16:10 > 0:16:12and he's still here!
0:16:12 > 0:16:16But even then, the snow was unreliable.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18What was your first impression of Scotland?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21"Where's the snow?" THEY LAUGH
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Where WAS the snow? Was there nothing?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Coming over Drumochter - green.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30And I thought, "Oh dear, what I'm coming to," you know,
0:16:30 > 0:16:32sort of, "Did I make a mistake?"
0:16:32 > 0:16:34It was a bad season.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38We travelled in a minibus from A to B, you know, so...
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- But you were looking for snow?- Yes.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Little patches of snow where we could take our beginners
0:16:45 > 0:16:47and teach them to ski.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55In the early '60s, a ski lift was built in the Cairngorms.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Now Hans and his clients no longer had to spend half a day
0:16:59 > 0:17:01walking uphill in search of snow.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Aviemore developed rapidly,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13modelling itself on Alpine ski resorts like St Moritz.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Movie star Omar Sharif was hired
0:17:18 > 0:17:22to lend a sense of international sophistication to the resort.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Apres ski had arrived in the Highlands.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Do you think there was a very conscious attempt to try and create
0:17:30 > 0:17:33an Alpine resort here in Scotland?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Yeah, very much so, you know?
0:17:35 > 0:17:38But there was always difficulties and so on.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43But at one point, it was running quite well, Aviemore,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47you know, especially when we got Continental instructors in,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and they went into the bar, to the dances and so on,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55and you got that Continental influence, you know,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57the different language and so on.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Of course, one of the great Continental features of skiing
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- is gluhwein...- Yeah. - ..which we have here.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06So I'd like to say, "Thank you very much, Hans",
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and zum wohl!
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- Prost.- Prost!
0:18:15 > 0:18:19This winter has not been kind to Scottish skiing
0:18:19 > 0:18:24with gales and rain instead of sparkling frosts and snow.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But sometimes, Highland weather can be truly Arctic.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32And as soon as photography developed,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35cameras were quick to capture the power of nature.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40Highland winters were a gift to early newsreels
0:18:40 > 0:18:44and competed in looks with Russia or Siberia for chilly bleakness.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49To get a fresh angle on this winter wonderland for myself,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I'm taking a short cut to my next destination
0:18:53 > 0:18:56by taking to the air.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03The view from 5,000 feet is impressive.
0:19:04 > 0:19:09This is the highest, coldest and most inhospitable region
0:19:09 > 0:19:11in the whole of Britain,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15where the high tops hang onto winter longer than anywhere else.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23In fact, it's so cold today that the microlight begins to freeze up,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27coating the airframe in a dangerous layer of ice.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30We're forced to turn back
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and it's not until several weeks later
0:19:33 > 0:19:36that we can take to the skies again.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39But this time, the snow seems to have vanished
0:19:39 > 0:19:41from all but the highest summits.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44'It's the flight of a lifetime,'
0:19:44 > 0:19:48with magnificent views of the mighty Ben Nevis,
0:19:48 > 0:19:49which I want to climb.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Ben Nevis is a deceptive mountain.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57From most angles, it looks like a great, rounded lump of a hill
0:19:57 > 0:19:59with its head forever in the clouds
0:19:59 > 0:20:04but from the air, it reveals its secret heart.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06The great corrie and cliffs,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08riven with deep, snow-filled gullies,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11have been home to Scottish winter mountaineering
0:20:11 > 0:20:13since Victorian times.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22At 4,408 feet, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26And it's up the gully below us that I hope to reach the summit.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31This won't be the easiest route up the Ben.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33But long before climbers arrived,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35tourists were making the long slog,
0:20:35 > 0:20:40walking a route that completely bypasses the spectacular cliffs.
0:20:42 > 0:20:43To make it even easier,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46you could hire a pony and guide to take you up.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51And in 1916, an almost effortless ascent was made
0:20:51 > 0:20:53when someone drove a car to the top!
0:20:55 > 0:20:57The tourist route proved so popular
0:20:57 > 0:21:00that a small hotel was built at the summit,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04offering rudimentary accommodation to weary walkers.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07But this is unadventurous stuff.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Sporting gents wanted something more challenging for the weekend
0:21:11 > 0:21:14and they found it in huge abundance
0:21:14 > 0:21:16on the mighty North Face.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Having thawed out after my freezing flight,
0:21:22 > 0:21:27I'm meeting up with mountaineer and climbing guide Dave Macleod.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30I want to follow in the footsteps of the early mountaineers
0:21:30 > 0:21:34and Dave is going to take me on a classic winter route
0:21:34 > 0:21:35to the summit of the Ben.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40The great cliffs of the Ben are as close as we can get
0:21:40 > 0:21:43to the big rock faces in Switzerland and the Alps
0:21:43 > 0:21:47and in winter, they can be hugely challenging.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51It might be a small mountain in terms of height,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54but a winter climb on the Ben is a serious undertaking
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and ranks with the best in Europe.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02Slogging uphill for a couple of hours, we arrive at a small building
0:22:02 > 0:22:06known in climbing circles as the CIC Memorial hut.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12So, Dave, what's the story behind this hut? Because to be honest,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15it's the last thing I'd expect to see halfway up Ben Nevis.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Yeah, this is the CIC Hut.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20It's the only hut of its type in Scotland, really.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23This kind of mountain hut high up in the corries
0:22:23 > 0:22:26is something that's quite popular in the Alps
0:22:26 > 0:22:28but this is the only one we've got in this country.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- So this is our very own Alpine hut...- It is indeed, yeah.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32..here, in an Alpine setting.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36It is, yeah. It's been here since 1927, when it was first built
0:22:36 > 0:22:41so it's played a massive part in the history of climbing on Ben Nevis
0:22:41 > 0:22:43but also in Scotland as well.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49An hour out from the CIC Hut,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Dave and I don helmets, crampons and ice axes
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and begin our climb in earnest.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- OK, Dave, we're just taking a wee breather.- Yeah.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02And there are climbers all around us.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03But in many ways,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06this is where mountaineering in Scotland really began,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09winter mountaineering especially.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11It did. I mean, the obvious reason why
0:23:11 > 0:23:14is because this holds so much snow
0:23:14 > 0:23:16and it totally transforms in winter.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20The gullies fill up with, like, tens of metres of snow
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and it forms ice that lasts for half the year
0:23:22 > 0:23:25so it's obvious that climbers came here,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27at first for training for the Alps...
0:23:27 > 0:23:29- Right.- But then very quickly
0:23:29 > 0:23:33they could see that it had a value and enjoyment in its own right.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36And they started to look at the routes on Ben Nevis especially
0:23:36 > 0:23:37as being obvious targets.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Were the gullies some of the first routes that were developed?
0:23:40 > 0:23:45The big gullies of Ben Nevis were the first routes in the UK, really,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49in winter, and they were identified
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and picked off one by one by the climbers
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and they were held in really high regard
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and there was really a race for them
0:23:56 > 0:23:58among the groups of climbers there were.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01And this is in the 1880s, 1890s.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10The climb Dave is taking me up today is called Gardyloo Gully,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14a classic that was pioneered in Victorian times
0:24:14 > 0:24:16by men dressed in tweed.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19But sadly for national pride,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22English climbers made the first impression on the Ben.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24In April 1897,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28three Englishmen climbed Gardyloo Gully for the first time,
0:24:28 > 0:24:34while another ascent was made of Tower Gully, witnessed by John Begg.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37"Up this with ropes, ice axes,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40"came three members of the English Alpine Club.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43"It certainly seemed a rash and foolhardy experiment,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46"but their coolness and courage were rewarded
0:24:46 > 0:24:48"after six hours of hard work
0:24:48 > 0:24:50"by their reaching the summit in safety."
0:24:55 > 0:24:58'I'm beginning to feel nervous now.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01'The sheer scale of the towering cliffs
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'is very intimidating.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07'It's time to rope up and face down my fears.'
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Where did it get the name Gardyloo Gully?
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Well, it comes from the summit observatory,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14and hotel and meteorological station.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Really?
0:25:16 > 0:25:18And to get rid of their rubbish...
0:25:18 > 0:25:20- Oh, they didn't? - They'd tip it over the edge.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22That's not very environmentally friendly.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Hence the call, "Gardyloo," which was what they used to shout in Edinburgh
0:25:26 > 0:25:30when they threw their rubbish and water out of the window.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Gardyloo Gully is an easy Grade Three winter route -
0:25:37 > 0:25:42easy, that is, if you're an experienced mountaineer like Dave.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46But for me, this narrow finger of steep snow and ice,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48slicing through the upper corrie,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50is a forbidding place to be.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57'The crux pitch of Gardyloo Gully is a curious ice tunnel,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00'a couple of hundred feet beneath the summit.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05'Wriggling up this unusual feature is a weird experience,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08'like being trapped in a hole.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13'Now I'm caught in a torrent of powder snow
0:26:13 > 0:26:14'that completely blinds me.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:18I can't see a thing!
0:26:18 > 0:26:21'This is a brutal struggle, and saps all the reserves I have
0:26:21 > 0:26:24'even before I've got to the summit.'
0:26:24 > 0:26:26HE PANTS
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Well...
0:26:28 > 0:26:29I'm out of the hole!
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Was a hell of a hole to be in, can tell you.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41'Leaving me to regain my composure,
0:26:41 > 0:26:46'Dave effortlessly scales the last pitch to the summit plateau,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48'where he prepares to bring me up.'
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Killing me!
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Absolutely killing me!
0:26:54 > 0:26:58'But it's a struggle against tired and aching muscles.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02'I feel so weak I can barely find the strength
0:27:02 > 0:27:04'to climb the last few metres
0:27:04 > 0:27:07'in weather that's rapidly deteriorating.'
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's knackering!
0:27:11 > 0:27:14'It's taken over six hours to get this far
0:27:14 > 0:27:17'and now the weather has completely closed in.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21'As we make our way across the snow,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25'we pass the ruins of the old weather observatory.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28'Of the hotel that once offered a bed for the night,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30'there's nothing to be seen at all.'
0:27:30 > 0:27:33Would be nice it was still open.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Could do with a pint.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37'On the summit at last,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41'my sense of achievement compensates for the lack of a view.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45'I also recognise that I have Black's to thank
0:27:45 > 0:27:48'for the culmination of my winter Grand Tour.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52'It was the first book to inspire me with a sense of adventure.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55'It's taken me from the rock pools of Arran
0:27:55 > 0:27:57'to the Solway Firth,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59'from the glamour of Gleneagles
0:27:59 > 0:28:02'to the racecourses of Ayr.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04'From the wilds of Ross-shire
0:28:04 > 0:28:08'to a winter wonderland on our doorstep.'
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Scotland may not really be like Switzerland or the Alps,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but maybe that's just as well.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Scotland is Scotland, after all,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21and should be understood and appreciated in her own right.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24This isn't just a beautiful country,
0:28:24 > 0:28:25it's magnificent.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28And as my old Black's Guidebook shows,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31there's nowhere else like it on earth.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd