0:00:05 > 0:00:07The Scottish coast,
0:00:07 > 0:00:12an astonishingly intricate combination of rocky headlands
0:00:12 > 0:00:13and beautiful beaches.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19And lying offshore - a dazzling array of islands.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23It's an obvious fact that being surrounded by water
0:00:23 > 0:00:27can make islands awkward places to get to.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Stormy seas and unpredictable weather can often mean
0:00:31 > 0:00:34that island life is intriguingly different.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I've always been drawn to the alluring magic
0:00:39 > 0:00:41of the Scottish islands,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45and in this series I'm setting out to explore their amazing riches.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51Travelling from Foula in the far north to the Bass Rock in the south.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Crisscrossing the country from east to west.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00There are nearly 300 islands big enough to lay claim to the name -
0:01:00 > 0:01:05and that's not counting the myriad of stacks and skerries
0:01:05 > 0:01:08that surround the 6,000 convoluted miles of coast
0:01:08 > 0:01:12that I'll be exploring from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27For the first of my Island Grand Tours
0:01:27 > 0:01:30I'm heading to Foula and Fair Isle,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33the remotest island communities in Britain.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Thought so remote that the Romans once described Foula as
0:01:37 > 0:01:41"Ultima Thule" - the edge of the world.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47The island of Foula is officially the second remotest inhabited island
0:01:47 > 0:01:50in the whole of the UK. And to get there,
0:01:50 > 0:01:55travellers of old had to negotiate 16 miles of wild water
0:01:55 > 0:01:56west of Shetland.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58You can still take the boat of course,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02but thankfully there are other quicker and more convenient
0:02:02 > 0:02:07alternatives available, which is why I'm taking the plane.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11The Shetland Islands Council
0:02:11 > 0:02:14operate an air service four days a week to Foula.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20The plane is a small one, but then the population of Foula isn't big.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23At the last count, there were just 32 people living there.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27As Foula comes into view
0:02:27 > 0:02:31I can make out the nine square miles of cliff-girt terrain
0:02:31 > 0:02:33that make up this rugged island.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Now here we are, Terminal One, Foula Airport.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Everything takes place in there.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Check in, passport control, baggage reclaim.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59I'd say that was a pretty impressive and efficient use of space.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Experienced travellers
0:03:05 > 0:03:09often say that the journey from airport to hotel
0:03:09 > 0:03:11tells you everything you need to know
0:03:11 > 0:03:13about the place you are visiting.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16What's true of New York, Tokyo or Dubai
0:03:16 > 0:03:18is surely true of Foula -
0:03:18 > 0:03:22where the sense of remoteness is palpable.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26In the past especially,
0:03:26 > 0:03:31living on a small island could be a real struggle for survival,
0:03:31 > 0:03:32and down the centuries
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Foula has had more than its fair share of hardship.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43The population peaked in 1881
0:03:43 > 0:03:45at 267 souls,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50but since then, numbers have declined steeply.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53People moved away to find an easier life
0:03:53 > 0:03:57and alarmingly, disease once took a heavy toll.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00At the turn of the 17th century,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03an epidemic struck -
0:04:03 > 0:04:06it was called "the Muckle Fever",
0:04:06 > 0:04:08but we know it as smallpox.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13It wiped out 90% of the island's inhabitants.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Understandably, island people used to put
0:04:15 > 0:04:19visiting strangers like me in quarantine.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Now I like to consider myself to be in, well, robust health,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and I'm hoping that the man I've come to visit
0:04:28 > 0:04:32is going to take a lenient attitude to the whole idea of quarantine.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Well, he should do because he runs the island's only B&B.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Now, Bryan... Yes, Paul. ..is it safe for me to come through?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Er, I'll stand upwind of you, you're all right.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I understand there was a tradition of a quarantine for 24 hours.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54It's not a tradition, it's ongoing, it's an active thing, yeah.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56I don't have any diseases, not that I know of.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Well, you see that's the thing, you've maybe come in
0:04:58 > 0:05:01carrying something you don't know of and it'll develop. Right.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04So you've three days for it to develop and then you're OK
0:05:04 > 0:05:06to go and meet people and they won't catch anything.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09So was there a history of disease spreading through the island?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Yeah, well, smallpox just halved the population in the early 1900s.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Did it really?
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And then there was the influenza, which in the Second World War,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20it just decimated everybody and again half the population were gone.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Bryan is originally from Edinburgh
0:05:23 > 0:05:28and moved to Foula over 30 years ago to run his B&B.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30So what was it? Was it the remoteness
0:05:30 > 0:05:32that attracted you to the island, would you say?
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Well, no, I just looked it upon as the last frontier more or less
0:05:35 > 0:05:38cos there was no electricity, there was no running water,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41there's no services of any kind
0:05:41 > 0:05:46and there was an opportunity to build something from scratch.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52Like most islanders, Bryan has more than one job to make ends meet.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Skipper of the boat, B&B,
0:05:54 > 0:05:55road maintenance man,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57lighthouse keeper and grave-digger.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And grave-digger? Yes.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Fortunately not a lot of call for that one.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Bryan also keeps some sheep to supplement his income
0:06:08 > 0:06:10and when he's not tending to their needs,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14he's happy feeding his pet bonxie, Bob,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17a great skua with a ferocious reputation.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21But Bryan has him eating out of his hand... Well, almost.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Are you going to catch it? That's it.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28Whilst it's OK for bonxie Bob to fill up on titbits,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31getting supplies for anyone else can be problematic.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35This was once the island's shop and post office,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38but it closed years ago.
0:06:38 > 0:06:44All groceries and booze now have to come in by boat or plane.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Even worse, there's no pub.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Flouting quarantine etiquette,
0:06:52 > 0:06:57I meet up with two island women, Penny Gear and Fran Dyson-Sutton.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02I told them I wasn't contagious and they both agreed to guide me to see
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Da Sneck o da Smaallie, whatever that is?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Sneck means a small gap,
0:07:08 > 0:07:11a crack like a notch. Ah-hah.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13And Smaal is small and lie is slope.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Right. So, it's a gap in a slope? Yeah.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And where do those words come from? They're Norse words.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Right, and er, Foula, is that a Norse word as well?
0:07:22 > 0:07:25That's the Norse, well, it's from Fuglaey
0:07:25 > 0:07:28and Fuglaey is the Norse word for "island of birds".
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Ah, Fuglaey. How long have you both lived here?
0:07:31 > 0:07:35I was born here, so I'm a native, I've been here all my life.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38So you're Foula? Foula through and through? Yeah.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Fran, how long have you been here?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Oh, I've been here for four years now.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Right. So not too long.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47You're not quite a native yet? No, not yet.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53'As we make our through a small glen known as Da Daal,
0:07:53 > 0:07:57'I spot some bonxies ahead, some of Bob's relatives I suspect.'
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It doesn't actually look much like a sea bird I have to say.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Looks more like a buzzard.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05I would class it as a bird of prey as well as just being a sea bird,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07it's very opportunistic. Right, is it?
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Yeah, and they're not just content with chasing
0:08:10 > 0:08:12the puffins and gannets to drop their food,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15some of them specialise in chasing them to catch them and eat them.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18They'll try and drown the puffins,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20they'll hold then under the water.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23We saw a bonxie at one point that was,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26it looked like it was drowning itself until we realised that
0:08:26 > 0:08:29actually it was holding a puffin under the water.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33They must be quite difficult birds to learn to love.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41During the breeding season,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45bonxies defend their nests by dive-bombing intruders.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Luckily for us, these birds haven't laid their eggs yet,
0:08:49 > 0:08:55so we get off lightly, as we make our way to Da Sneck o da Smaallie.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Now this looks very steep down here, Penny.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's such a very dramatic space, isn't it? It is.
0:09:02 > 0:09:03It's a huge gorge.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It's like a Grand Canyon of Foula.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Yes, it's Foula's version of the Grand Canyon.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Penny and Fran disappear down a pothole in the cliff face,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19which gives access to Da Lum,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22a narrow chimney that drops precariously
0:09:22 > 0:09:24to the bottom of Da Sneck,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29where I enter an eerie, dripping, moss carpeted world.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Look at these huge chalk stones just balancing up there.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39There's hundreds of tonnes of rock just waiting to fall on my head.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41I think it's best not to think about that
0:09:41 > 0:09:44when you're just about to walk underneath it.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51'Penny tells me that Da Sneck is one of Foula's secret places.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55'Folk who've left the island often return to enjoy its daunting
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'and dangerous delights.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02'At last we emerge onto the shore,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'where the Atlantic surf pounds the cliffs.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08'This is an awe inspiring place.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11'Penny and Fran love it here
0:10:11 > 0:10:15'and I can appreciate how such wild beauty can get under your skin.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'Penny has told me that on the west side of the island
0:10:21 > 0:10:23'the cliffs are even more dramatic.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27'Unfortunately on the way I encounter more of
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'bonxie Bob's relatives,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32'this time they're not so indifferent to my presence.'
0:10:37 > 0:10:38Yah!
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Argh! Get off.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Phsssh! Phssssh!
0:10:44 > 0:10:48'This band of bonxies have certainly upheld their clan's reputation
0:10:48 > 0:10:51'as fearless protectors of their territory.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55'But it doesn't seem fair to antagonise them for too long.
0:10:55 > 0:11:01'And with scalp intact, I depart in search of a more restful sea view.'
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'The cliffs on Foula are utterly amazing,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14'they rise to a dizzy 1,200 feet above the sea.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16'In the summer months,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'they teem with tens of thousands of breeding sea birds.'
0:11:20 > 0:11:24This magnificent sight is called "the Kame",
0:11:24 > 0:11:25and it's just a gnat's whisker off
0:11:25 > 0:11:28being the highest sea cliff in Britain.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30And as you can see it's home to
0:11:30 > 0:11:32thousands and thousands of sea birds.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35And it's incredible to think that back in the old days,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39men and boys would climb these cliffs and collect the eggs
0:11:39 > 0:11:43and the birds and take them home for their dinner.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52'I am fascinated by the hardiness
0:11:52 > 0:11:57'and resourcefulness of the islanders who once thrived here,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01'eking out a livelihood in the harshest of environments.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05'A man who can tell me more about the traditional way of life
0:12:05 > 0:12:08'is Eric Isbister.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12'Eric lives in a house without electricity or running water
0:12:12 > 0:12:14'and he describes himself as one of
0:12:14 > 0:12:17'the last real Foula folk still alive.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22'His family began crofting here nearly 200 years ago.'
0:12:22 > 0:12:24It must have been quite a tough life in those days?
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Well, yes crofting was quite hard work here.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31You had to produce everything that you ate
0:12:31 > 0:12:36and it was all done by hand, there was no machinery then.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Every family had maybe five or six cows,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and you had maybe a good number of sheep
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and you had to grow all your own vegetables, everything.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51We were still doing that up until the 1960s,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53early '70s, well, '80s really.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00'A film shot in 1972, shows life on the island as Eric remembers it.
0:13:00 > 0:13:07'Here, he appears with his mother and father digging in the fields.'
0:13:07 > 0:13:08Well, I suppose as a crofter
0:13:08 > 0:13:12it's one of the traditions that you turn your hand to anything.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13And what about building a house?
0:13:13 > 0:13:16I mean, was that something that people would do in the past?
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Well, yes, every house in Foula was built by whoever owned it.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Usually there was some people who were better at building than others,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but most men folk could do a bit of building.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27My grandfather and my granduncle, or great granduncle, I think,
0:13:27 > 0:13:28built this house.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32'It was in the family home that Eric and his father,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35'an accomplished singer/songwriter
0:13:35 > 0:13:39'were filmed playing to an admiring audience of island folk.'
0:13:47 > 0:13:51'He wrote four or five songs and he wrote some fiddle tunes.'
0:13:51 > 0:13:54He actually made some fiddles as well. Did he really?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Yeah. He was a highly skilled man then?
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Yeah, probably his biggest skill was actually boat building,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03he built, I think, nine full-sized boats during his lifetime.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Eric has left Foula just twice in his life,
0:14:10 > 0:14:15the first time was when he went on the only holiday he's ever taken -
0:14:15 > 0:14:19travelling all the way to Shetland with his old dad.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21What did you think of Shetland?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Well, it's not quite a patch on Foula - I mean scenery-wise we have,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26well, I mean Ronas Hill is the only hill
0:14:26 > 0:14:28that's higher than Foula,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and they don't have cliffs like us at all.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34It was OK I suppose, a bit crowded.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35A bit crowded?!
0:14:39 > 0:14:41As I prepare to leave Foula,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I'm impressed by the passion that Eric has
0:14:44 > 0:14:46for his windswept island home.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50You just can't get the beautiful north out of these Foula folk.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Returning to Shetland, I take the ferry
0:14:58 > 0:15:00to my next destination -
0:15:00 > 0:15:01Fair Isle,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04the remotest island community in Britain.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09'Up on the bridge I chat to skipper Neil Henderson
0:15:09 > 0:15:11'who's a Fair Isle man.'
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Me mum was fae Fair Isle.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15And me father's fae Unst
0:15:15 > 0:15:17and I was born in Stromness in Orkney,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20so that makes me the average North Isles man,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23so I tend to think of myself just being the Fair Isle man but...
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Fair Isle lad.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27..I can put on an Orkney accent no trouble.
0:15:27 > 0:15:28PAUL CHUCKLES
0:15:28 > 0:15:30But these are wild seas are they not?
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Not today, no, this is lovely,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36I've actually ordered this for the rest of the summer.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Fantastic. Yeah. Is this flat calm for you, then?
0:15:38 > 0:15:41Oh, yeah. Yeah, gosh, yeah.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43What's it like in winter?
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Well, you can get really rough.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48The biggest wave I've taken this boat o'er is 11 metres.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Yeah.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Being surrounded by stormy seas means that Fair Isle can be cut off
0:15:57 > 0:15:58for weeks at a time.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Which is hard to imagine today as the island seems to be living up
0:16:03 > 0:16:07to its old Norse name Frioarey, which means "peace island".
0:16:07 > 0:16:12I think the Vikings who named it were on to something,
0:16:12 > 0:16:14this place is GORGEOUS.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18A peaceful, cliff-girt haven in the sea.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19With 70 residents,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Fair Isle has more than twice the population of Foula
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and, unlike Foula, it has a shop.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29It's also rumoured that there's a bar somewhere on the island,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31so things are looking up.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38Despite its diminutive size, Fair Isle punches way above its weight
0:16:38 > 0:16:40in terms of brand recognition.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Its name is broadcast four times a day on the shipping forecast,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48because Fair Isle is also the name of a sea area.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51But perhaps the main reason that most people have heard of Fair Isle
0:16:51 > 0:16:53is because of the knitting patterns
0:16:53 > 0:16:56that have made this tiny island world famous.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05'From the 1920s right through to the 1960s,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'Fair Isle knitwear was highly fashionable.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'Up at the island museum,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13'Stewart Henderson tells me more about the history
0:17:13 > 0:17:16'of these beautiful, woollen garments.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:21The Vikings, they settled this area
0:17:21 > 0:17:25and a lot of the patterns that you find here are very similar to
0:17:25 > 0:17:28patterns that you find in Scandinavia,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31indeed all round the northern periphery.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35In the days of sail,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40Fair Isle was in the middle of a major international shipping route
0:17:40 > 0:17:44and islanders were able to swap knitwear for goods or cash.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47People here were living very much hand to mouth,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49they had to grow all their own food.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52The winters could be quite severe
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and they were making virtually no money.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59So anything extra was a huge benefit.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Trading with foreign ships
0:18:05 > 0:18:09spread the work of Fair Isle knitters across the seas.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16In 1902, the garments got a marketing boost
0:18:16 > 0:18:20when the crew of the Scotia Antarctic Expedition
0:18:20 > 0:18:22chose the jerseys to keep out the cold.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But real popularity came when King Edward VIII was painted
0:18:28 > 0:18:33posing with his favourite pooch wearing a Fair Isle V-neck.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40'Back at Stewart's home, his wife Katrina
0:18:40 > 0:18:43'and her neighbour Holly are busy knitting.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46'There's a cruise ship coming in two days' time
0:18:46 > 0:18:50'and they want to have as much as possible to sell the tourists.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53'It's highly skilled, painstaking work.'
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Do you think there's ever been a desire
0:18:57 > 0:19:02to really get the industry kicked off in a big way on the island?
0:19:02 > 0:19:04Would it ever be possible to do that
0:19:04 > 0:19:06because it's such a famous name isn't it,
0:19:06 > 0:19:07as a brand name, Fair Isle?
0:19:07 > 0:19:09But if you're talking about a big way, you're going,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12you're talking about going into electric knitting machines
0:19:12 > 0:19:17and doing more or less what they, well, what you're going to get
0:19:17 > 0:19:20from Japan or somewhere else, large scale.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22It would be knitting,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25electric knitting machines and linking machines -
0:19:25 > 0:19:29and you're getting totally away from the tradition that way.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31What takes us about ten hours to knit,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36they would be doing in, oh, a tenth of the time almost
0:19:36 > 0:19:38on their knitting machine.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42In which case you would become more of a finisher rather than a knitter.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44I think the term knitter would disappear.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46And this is a craft, this is a...
0:19:46 > 0:19:49It is a craft. ..real genuine handcraft isn't it?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Oh, yes. Uh-huh. Yes. No, no, it is a craft.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59The fame of Fair Isle knitting owes much to its strategic position
0:19:59 > 0:20:01in our northern seas.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04But this location was to become a liability
0:20:04 > 0:20:06during the Second World War.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Just before Christmas 1941,
0:20:11 > 0:20:16the Luftwaffe attacked this lighthouse, and the bombs that fell
0:20:16 > 0:20:19killed the assistant keeper's wife and badly injured their daughter.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And then just a couple of days after New Year,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25the Germans returned with deadlier force -
0:20:25 > 0:20:29and this time the bombs killed the keeper's wife and their daughter,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and a young gunner who was defending the lighthouse.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And their names are commemorated by this plaque over here.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Now it's terrifying to think that even in such a remote place as this,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45no-one was safe from the ravages of the war.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51But this mini Blitz in the Battle of Britain
0:20:51 > 0:20:54wasn't all a one-sided affair.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57In January 1941,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02a German Heinkel came down after a dogfight with the RAF.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And this is the wreckage of the plane.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12But after the war, when the skies no longer threatened the island,
0:21:12 > 0:21:18Fair Isle became a target for a different kind of aerial interest -
0:21:18 > 0:21:21twitching or bird watching to be precise.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26Fair Isle is an important breeding colony for thousands of sea birds,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29it's also a vital stopping off point
0:21:29 > 0:21:33for migrating birds, and there are more rare species found here
0:21:33 > 0:21:39than anywhere else in the UK, making this island a twitcher's paradise.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45We're very, very keen to see the Fair Isle wren
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and we saw it yesterday, a great thrill.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51We saw an osprey the other day
0:21:51 > 0:21:54being pursued by a number of oystercatchers,
0:21:54 > 0:21:55that was a good sight.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02We've had three, what they call British rarities this week,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05a Blyth's reed warbler and two thrush nightingales.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10We are very fond of the puffins.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13I think it's not the most spectacular bird maybe,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15but it's definitely the cutest.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The unique status of Fair Isle as a place to study
0:22:20 > 0:22:26and understand bird migration, was first recognised in the 1930s.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Today, the whole island is owned by the National Trust For Scotland,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34which seeks to encourage birds and bird watchers alike.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39To get an idea of the ornithological riches on offer,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I'm joining the island's keenest young bird watcher
0:22:42 > 0:22:45for some elementary instruction.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Henry can certainly tell his bonxies from his kittiwakes.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Henry, what do you think we're going to see today?
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Erm, like, lots of the sea birds really.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Erm, also a lot of,
0:22:59 > 0:23:00maybe a puffin or two,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03it's not the best time of year, but we might see some.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09'I was once a proud member of the Young Ornithologists' Club,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13'but sadly I've forgotten most of what I once knew.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18'So I'm hoping that young Henry can jog my bird watcher's memory.'
0:23:18 > 0:23:20So what can we see? What's that down there?
0:23:20 > 0:23:24They're guillemots, the common guillemots.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26They look like penguins? I know!
0:23:26 > 0:23:30They're related to the auk family which is sort of the penguin family.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Really? I think.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34What else have we got?
0:23:34 > 0:23:36There's a lot of fulmars nesting over there.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Yeah, where are the fulmars?
0:23:38 > 0:23:41See there's that white ledge,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44then just above that there's three birds. Oh, yeah!
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Of all the sea birds that you're familiar with, Henry,
0:23:47 > 0:23:48which one is your favourite?
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Oh, that's a hard question.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55What about puffins, do you like puffins?
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Yes, I do enjoy puffins actually.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00So how long does a puffin live for then?
0:24:00 > 0:24:02About 36 years.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03That's a long time.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06That's older than you!
0:24:06 > 0:24:09It's almost four times your age.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10Is it older than you?
0:24:10 > 0:24:12Er, well, I'll keep you guessing.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Not as old as me actually.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17'There's something about Henry's accent
0:24:17 > 0:24:21'that suggests he's a bit of a migrating bird himself,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25'a suspicion that's confirmed when I meet his father,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29'artist Tommy Hyndman, on the golf course.'
0:24:29 > 0:24:30Now, Tommy, I can tell from your accent
0:24:30 > 0:24:33that you're not from these parts, is that right?
0:24:33 > 0:24:36No, I'm from North America.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37Really? Yeah.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39You surprise me.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Yeah, I'm from Saratoga Springs, New York.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46'Tommy has lived on the island for seven years
0:24:46 > 0:24:51'and often plays here, so I'm already at a disadvantage.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53'The weather's not helping either.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'I can hardly see the greens through the fog on this,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59'Britain's remotest golf course.'
0:24:59 > 0:25:02When the Northern Lighthouse Board
0:25:02 > 0:25:07sent their Scottish lighthouse keepers to Fair Isle,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09they brought with them their families and their traditions,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14and with it of course they brought a couple of sets of golf clubs.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18And on the croft land they devised a little golf course.
0:25:20 > 0:25:26In those days, they would use steamed pudding tins...
0:25:26 > 0:25:27Right, empty I hope?
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Yes, they'd use those for the holes
0:25:29 > 0:25:32and the pin wouldn't have a flag on it,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35but it was just a broomstick stuck in the ground.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Pretty rudimentary stuff? Pretty rudimentary stuff.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I should just warn you, I'm a pretty good player.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47You beauty!
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Way... Hoh!
0:25:55 > 0:25:57It's disappeared into the mist.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59No, I see it. No, no, I see it. It's miles away!
0:25:59 > 0:26:03It's not too bad. Not too bad? Well, let's go and find those balls.
0:26:05 > 0:26:06To be honest,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10finding anything on this fairway might be a bit of a problem,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15as it currently looks more like a demolition site than a golf course.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Thankfully there are just six holes to play.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22The place is full of rocks, now what's the story behind that?
0:26:22 > 0:26:23Well, in February...
0:26:25 > 0:26:31..the wall of the lighthouse was washed out by humongous waves.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34As a matter of fact, they were actually the highest waves
0:26:34 > 0:26:36in the world that day. Really?
0:26:36 > 0:26:38They knocked out the walls
0:26:38 > 0:26:43and smashed into the generator room and it was quite scary actually.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47As we pick our way through the rubble,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Tommy tells me how he was inspired by
0:26:49 > 0:26:52the tradition of Fair Isle golfing.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Of course when the lighthouse was decommissioned,
0:26:56 > 0:26:57you know no-one's golfed since,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and I thought, "Well that would be an interesting thing to reinstate,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03"it would be something to do besides bird watching."
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Right, so it's a tourist attraction? Yeah.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Perhaps it's the thought of playing such a unique and remote course
0:27:12 > 0:27:15that sharpens my competitive instincts.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Damn it.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22And so a leisurely round of golf becomes a clash of Titans -
0:27:22 > 0:27:23until we're on the final green.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Oh, no! No! No! Stop!
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Into the sea.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Did you hear it?
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Oh, well, I think that's me out of the game really.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39There's a lot at stake here now, Tommy.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Oh! You're a gentleman, sir, I enjoyed that.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59The humiliation of my golfing defeat lifts with the mist,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04revealing Fair Isle touched by the light of a setting sun.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Climbing a steep and rocky headland,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I'm stunned by the beauty of this magical, peaceful island.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20What better way for me to end my Grand Tour of Foula and Fair Isle,
0:28:20 > 0:28:25than to watch the sun set over the sea from these fabulous cliffs.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33Join me on my next Grand Tour, when I'll be voyaging south
0:28:33 > 0:28:38to experience the delights of Loch Lomond and its landlocked islands.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd