0:00:00 > 0:00:00never-ending, like a river flowing up the escalator.
0:00:02 > 0:00:06Scotland proudly boasts some of the most spectacular islands
0:00:06 > 0:00:08to be found anywhere.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Amongst the Hebridean islands alone, you've the inner isles,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16the outer isles and the Western Isles.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19And we've also got a group of islands
0:00:19 > 0:00:22best known for their unusual names.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I was a wee boy at primary school
0:00:25 > 0:00:29where I first heard of the Small Isles and their crazy names -
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Muck, Eigg and Rum.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Now, I didn't believe they could be real places,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38and so my father showed me where they were on a map and proved it.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41And now here they are.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49I've always been drawn to islands and, in this series,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51I'm setting out to discover the magic of
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Scotland's amazing island riches.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01There are nearly 300 offshore islands,
0:01:01 > 0:01:06scattered around Scotland's 6,000 convoluted miles of coast.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09And they come in all shapes and sizes.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16The islands I'll be visiting on this grand tour may be small,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19but each offers something very different.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41The Small Isles are part of the Inner Hebrides
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and lie in the often wild waters off the west coast of Scotland.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51My journey will take me from the mainland to the tiny island of Muck.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54From there, I am heading to the wilderness of Rum
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and finally arriving on Eigg for a very special celebration.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08That is the island of Muck.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12It's the smallest of the Small Isles and, according to my map,
0:02:12 > 0:02:14it's just 3½ kilometres long
0:02:14 > 0:02:18and is just less than a kilometre wide at its narrowest.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23Yet this tiny scrap of land is a place people called home.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The last time I took a ferry to the Small Isles, I was a student.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34That was back in the 1980s and the ferry didn't dock in those days -
0:02:34 > 0:02:38the piers weren't big enough - so passengers and goods
0:02:38 > 0:02:42were transferred into an open boat for the last few yards to the shore.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46I seem to remember a hair-raising climb down a ladder
0:02:46 > 0:02:49into a small boat that was bobbing below.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It's good to see that things are less acrobatic now.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00It may be remote and difficult to get to, but there's evidence
0:03:00 > 0:03:05that people have lived here on Muck since the Stone Age.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08It was home to Christian hermits, Viking invaders
0:03:08 > 0:03:13and the Clan MacLean before it eventually fell into private hands
0:03:13 > 0:03:18and was owned and run, like much of Scotland, by a landlord or laird.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And that's still the case today.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26When the celebrated man of letters Dr Johnson visited the Hebrides
0:03:26 > 0:03:32in 1773, he dined with the original Lord and Lady Muck.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Now, it seems that Lord Muck was, well, uncomfortable with the title
0:03:37 > 0:03:41and tried to change the name of the island to Monk Island.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45But it didn't catch on and Muck stuck, as they say.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Muck was bought in 1896 by the MacEwen family.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Today, the island has a population of about 38.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Good afternoon, Lawrence. Good afternoon, Paul.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05I've come to meet its laird, Lawrence MacEwen.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Now, Lawrence, I'm not entirely sure how I should address you -
0:04:09 > 0:04:12are you Lord Muck or the Laird of Muck?
0:04:12 > 0:04:16My father was always called the laird, but I've...
0:04:16 > 0:04:20That sits fairly gently on my shoulders -
0:04:20 > 0:04:22I would rather be a farmer.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Did you ever get jibed when you were a kid at school, being Lord Muck?
0:04:25 > 0:04:28I certainly did, yes. Yes, I got teased a lot.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32It's a grand place to be a laird of. It is, yes.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Being the laird means that you get to decide who can come and live
0:04:39 > 0:04:42on the island, as the MacEwen family own all of Muck
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and the homes on it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Opportunities to move here don't come up very often
0:04:49 > 0:04:52as there are only a dozen or so houses available.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Some families have come and gone over the years,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00but Lawrence has lived his whole life here.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04What it's like when you leave the island? Are you shocked by..?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Well, yes. Yes.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12I remember once I was on the train to Waterloo
0:05:12 > 0:05:15and I stood at the top of the escalator
0:05:15 > 0:05:21and I watched for 30 minutes and it was a constant flood of people -
0:05:21 > 0:05:26never-ending, like a river flowing up the escalator.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30So it's just interesting to reflect on living in a place
0:05:30 > 0:05:34where you know nobody, but there's so many people.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Here, we know everybody and you hardly see a stranger.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I think the contrast is very nice.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I have to say that Lawrence is very different
0:05:50 > 0:05:55from what I expected a laird to be. There are no airs and graces -
0:05:55 > 0:05:58he's very much a working farmer.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02It's certainly worth the effort coming up here, isn't it?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Yes, absolutely fantastic.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08'Lawrence clearly loves this small island
0:06:08 > 0:06:11'and it's not hard to see why.'
0:06:11 > 0:06:15This is your domain, you're lord of everything you survey here.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17What's it like owning an island?
0:06:17 > 0:06:20I don't get up in the morning and think, "Isn't it wonderful?
0:06:20 > 0:06:25"I own this." I'm just here for a short period.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29I don't take the fact that it's mine too seriously, I think it belongs
0:06:29 > 0:06:31to everybody who lives on it.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Well, I think you're a very lucky man, Lawrence, living here.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Well, it's nice to have you here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39And what a view.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The way the MacEwens run Muck seems to work.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48But the history of land ownership has not always been a happy one
0:06:48 > 0:06:50in the Hebrides.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56And it's certainly a very different story at my next destination -
0:06:56 > 0:06:57the Isle of Rum.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05It was the Vikings' renowned seafaring skills which
0:07:05 > 0:07:08brought them to these islands at the start of the 9th century.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13That's the island of Rum behind me
0:07:13 > 0:07:15and those extraordinary rugged mountains
0:07:15 > 0:07:18form the island's signature skyline.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20And they've got heroic names, too, these peaks -
0:07:20 > 0:07:24there's Askival, Trollaval and Hallival -
0:07:24 > 0:07:28named by the Vikings when they ruled this part of the Hebrides.
0:07:32 > 0:07:38Compared to Muck, Rum is wilder, more rugged and much bigger.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44This was an island which was once home to 400 people.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47But when the islanders were forced to leave,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it became first an enormous sheep farm and then
0:07:51 > 0:07:55a playground for rich Victorians who came here to shoot and fish.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Writer and geologist Hugh Miller visited here in 1844.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05"In the entire prospect, not a man,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09"nor a man's dwelling, could the eye command.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12"The landscape was one without figures.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16"I do not much like extermination carried out so thoroughly."
0:08:19 > 0:08:23But, bizarrely, here on this vast, empty island,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26visitors are greeted with a somewhat incongruous sight.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It's almost, well, surreal, really.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36This vast, baronial pile is Kinloch Castle and
0:08:36 > 0:08:40it didn't exist at all until multimillionaire industrialist
0:08:40 > 0:08:46George Bullough had it built as the centrepiece for his island kingdom,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49which he thought was going to last for generations.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50But it didn't.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57The Bullough family made their money from the textile industry
0:08:57 > 0:08:59in the north of England.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02And like many wealthy industrialists of the 19th century,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05a sporting estate in Scotland was de rigueur.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Hi. Welcome to Kinloch Castle. Thanks very much.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15'My guide today is Abby Dudgeon of Scottish Natural Heritage.'
0:09:15 > 0:09:19It's a very sumptuous-looking entrance hall, I have to say.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Yes, George Bullough in the painting at the top here,
0:09:21 > 0:09:26from Accrington in Lancashire, he built the castle in 1897.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Said to be one of the richest men in the world, he inherited this
0:09:28 > 0:09:31island from his father and George decided
0:09:31 > 0:09:33he wanted to build his dream castle, so that's what he did.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36So no expense spared, then. No expense spared.
0:09:36 > 0:09:37It cost about £250,000 to build it,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40which nowadays would be about £15 million.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43About 15 million? Yeah. It's very grand, I'd say. It is, yes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50The beautiful red sandstone was shipped from Arran, 180 miles away.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55And it took a team of 300 men just over three years to turn
0:09:55 > 0:09:58George's fantasy design into a reality.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03NARRATOR: For a glittering decade before the Great War,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05the dream came true.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08The finest craftsmanship of Scottish workmen, the best furniture
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and fittings that money could buy, from solid oak panelling or
0:10:12 > 0:10:15silk wall hangings to the Steinway concert grand,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19all made life more elegant and sophisticated for Lady Monica.
0:10:20 > 0:10:27In 1903, George married society beauty Monique Lily de la Pasture
0:10:27 > 0:10:30and her influence on this house can clearly be seen.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37What a beautiful bedroom. So, yes, this was Lady Monique's bedroom.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41This is her room. Yes. There's no sense of him here at all. No.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43So, he actually lived on the other side of the castle,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and so she stayed here and her guests would stay on this side, as well,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and George's on the other side.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52So, there's a kind of sexual divide running through the castle -
0:10:52 > 0:10:55the men on one side and women on the other.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Who's to say her guests were all women, though? Oh, I see.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00So she had a bit of a reputation, then, did she?
0:11:00 > 0:11:02She did have a reputation, yes.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Whether it's true or not - a lot of rumours -
0:11:04 > 0:11:07she was said to have had affairs.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Whether it was a marriage of love or a marriage of convenience,
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I'd go with the convenience.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21No expense was spared to provide for the entertainment
0:11:21 > 0:11:23and comfort of the Bulloughs' guests.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Remarkably, this was one of the first houses in Scotland
0:11:29 > 0:11:34to have electric light and a state-of-the-art plumbing system.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38NARRATOR: Perhaps the ultimate in luxury was to soak away
0:11:38 > 0:11:41the self-imposed hardships of a day's stalking on the hill
0:11:41 > 0:11:44in the most elaborate shower bath ever invented.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48A combination of spray, shower and douche designed to soothe
0:11:48 > 0:11:50the tired sportsman from every direction at once.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Sir George saw himself as the sporting laird,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01able to live in Rum with, of course, the help of many servants
0:12:01 > 0:12:04in the true style of a gentleman of means.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06The remoteness was to be no obstacle.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The castle was installed not just with suitable furnishings,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12but with the first internal telephone system in Scotland.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16And another example of Victorian ingenuity
0:12:16 > 0:12:19is the castle's orchestrion,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22apparently originally made for Queen Victoria.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25MUSIC PLAYS
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Sadly, it's not quite in tune any more.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34But there's a fundraising campaign under way,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39so hopefully it will one day soon be restored to its former glory.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Perhaps the best illustration of the Bulloughs' wealth
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and privilege is this ornate ballroom...
0:12:53 > 0:12:56..where servants were not allowed to set eyes on their betters.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01They didn't allow staff in this room and if they wanted anything,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04then they had the butler's hatch. Over here? Yes.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Right, this hatch is set into this panel of wall. Yes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10So, they'd write down whatever they wanted and put it in there.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Crisps, nuts, whisky? Yes.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16And the butler would sit on the other side of that.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19They'd shut the doors and then they'd knock from this side
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and the butler would put in whatever they wanted. All very discreet.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25Yes, they never really saw what actually went on in here.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28He can't actually peer into this room to see what Bullough
0:13:28 > 0:13:30and his guests were up to. No.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Whatever the evening's entertainment may have involved,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39it was the sporting attractions of the island that the guests came for.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47To find out how this wild and remote place
0:13:47 > 0:13:50was turned into a private playground,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53I'm taking a tour with rangers Lesley and Marcel.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58We're heading for the empty quarter,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02the stark interior of this magnificently wild island.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08And it's not long before we come across a chilling reminder
0:14:08 > 0:14:10of the troubled history of Rum.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12It's a very distinctive lump of rock, that.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Yeah, this is known on Rum as the Clearance's Stone and the story
0:14:17 > 0:14:22behind it was that the people of Rum rolled it into place
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and left it behind before they were all shipped off to Canada
0:14:25 > 0:14:28during the Clearances in about 1828.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33So, it was kind of a display of, I guess, grief and defiance
0:14:33 > 0:14:36at the same time, because this was the land of their ancestors.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40They didn't want to go, they were very unhappy about it and there was
0:14:40 > 0:14:45nothing they could do and they were shipped off to make space for sheep.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48It's quite a poignant memorial, isn't it? It is, yeah.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55With the people cleared off the island,
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Victorian sportsmen came looking to pit themselves against nature.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03But even the landscape had been managed to ensure
0:15:03 > 0:15:05they wouldn't go home disappointed.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Over here, you can see the fish trap that was part
0:15:11 > 0:15:14of an extensive network to divert water
0:15:14 > 0:15:17to increase the fishing. That's amazing.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19So they actually went about
0:15:19 > 0:15:21diverting the natural course of a river?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Yea, they basically dammed off certain areas,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29creating artificial lochs, to get salmon up those rivers, yes.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31An amazing amount of effort went into simply
0:15:31 > 0:15:33trying to hook a trout or a salmon.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Yes, yeah. A lot of work went into that -
0:15:36 > 0:15:40probably 30 people working on this for several years.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49NARRATOR: In the days of the Bulloughs,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52this ten-pointer would have been a fine trophy.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56He may hark back to the days when such a head would perhaps have been
0:15:56 > 0:15:58reserved as a shot for an important guest,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01but now the stalkers' quarry is probably a young stag,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05to be culled for purely scientific reasons.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Yet the skill and the technique are the same.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09The upwind stalk,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11the slow, silent approach,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13and the stealthy shot.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20GUNSHOT
0:16:25 > 0:16:29We're on our way to the remote and windswept Harris Bay
0:16:29 > 0:16:32on the west coast of the island.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38It's here that George and Monica Bullough chose to be buried.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45And, of course, it's marked by a modest and unassuming monument.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Well, Lesley, this is the last place
0:16:49 > 0:16:52you'd expect to see a Greek-style temple.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57Yeah, it is quite odd-looking and a bit out of place.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00I suppose that makes sense because, as I understand it,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02the Bulloughs were all about appearance,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05and that is quite imposing, quite grand,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07it looks very regal, doesn't it?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Classical. Yeah, definitely makes a statement.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12The Bulloughs have arrived.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Though they didn't stay long, did they, really?
0:17:15 > 0:17:21No, Lady Monica was the last in the line to be buried there,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25so in 1967 she made her final trip down the road
0:17:25 > 0:17:28to be buried next to her husband.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35This mausoleum marks the end of the road for the Bulloughs,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39but for me, the Clearances Stone I saw earlier
0:17:39 > 0:17:41tells the real story of Rum -
0:17:41 > 0:17:46the contrast between people with no power and their absentee landlords.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53Sailing to my final destination, there's a similar story,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55but with a happier ending.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58I'm heading for the Isle of Eigg.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Eigg might seem like a remote place, and of course in many ways it is,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08but the island has been attracting visitors
0:18:08 > 0:18:10since the very early days of tourism.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Many of those who ventured here were fascinated
0:18:16 > 0:18:20by the island's colourful and often bloody past.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24I've been told that somewhere along this coastline
0:18:24 > 0:18:27is the scene of one of the darkest episodes in Eigg's history.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31Here we are. That's what I've been looking for.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39Now, this dark and sinister-looking opening
0:18:39 > 0:18:42is known in Gaelic as Uamh Nan Fhraing,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44which means the cave of Francis.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49That's an innocent enough name, but it masks a ghastly history.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55'This place came to be known as The Massacre Cave.'
0:18:57 > 0:18:59It's very narrow.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07'In the 16th century, the island of Eigg was the home of the MacDonalds,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11'who were locked in a bitter feud with the Clan MacLeod of Skye.'
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Back in 1577, the men of Skye invaded Eigg,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22and when the islanders saw their boats coming they all hid down here.
0:19:22 > 0:19:29It's reckoned there were up to 400 of them - men, women and children.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30But they were discovered.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36It was one of the worst massacres in clan history.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42The invading the MacLeods lit a fire at the entrance to the cave
0:19:42 > 0:19:44and suffocated everyone inside.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52The entire population of the island perished,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57and for centuries the bones lay where the victims died,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01becoming an early and ghoulish tourist attraction.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07One visitor was the Victorian geologist Hugh Miller. He wrote...
0:20:07 > 0:20:11"At almost every step, we come upon heaps of human bones.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14"The hapless islanders died in families,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18"each little group separated by a few feet from the others."
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Thankfully, the bones were removed and taken to the island church.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30You know, I can't get that ghastly description out of my mind.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34It's terrible to think what happened down here all those years ago,
0:20:34 > 0:20:35so many lives lost.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41I think it's time I returned to the daylight and got some fresh air.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Eigg was eventually resettled,
0:20:47 > 0:20:52and by the 19th century there was a population of 500.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57But, once again, sheep were seen as more profitable than people.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02In the islands, it's almost impossible to escape
0:21:02 > 0:21:06the legacy of the Clearances, and Eigg is no exception.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09These ruins are all that's left
0:21:09 > 0:21:12of the once thriving community of Gruilin.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18This is a place where history speaks from the soil.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21When this village was cleared in 1853,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25many of its people moved away to Canada.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30With them went a language, a culture, and a way of life.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Eigg never fully recovered from the devastating effects of depopulation.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43By the time of the Second World War, just 47 people lived there.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46The island's fortunes were at a low ebb.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Throughout the latter part of the 20th century,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53a succession of owners came and went,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57while the island and its dwindling population
0:21:57 > 0:21:59suffered from years of neglect.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02NARRATOR: Islanders pay the same council tax
0:22:02 > 0:22:05as everyone else in the Highlands, but they've no electricity,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08no mains water or sewerage and no rubbish collection.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12People don't invest in the houses or the businesses.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16People want to develop the island and the various aspects of it,
0:22:16 > 0:22:18but they're not being given the chance at the moment.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22For the increasingly disgruntled islanders, the final straw
0:22:22 > 0:22:26came in the late 1990s, when the island was sold again.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Eigg's tenth laird, like those who had gone before,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34came with big promises and grand plans.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40I can remember this mysterious German artist who called himself Maruma
0:22:40 > 0:22:43who appeared one day out of the blue, out of the sky in a helicopter.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45SHE LAUGHS
0:22:45 > 0:22:47'I've come to meet Maggie Fyffe,
0:22:47 > 0:22:52'who was very much involved in the struggle to oust Eigg's enigmatic Laird.'
0:22:52 > 0:22:54He appeared as if he was listening to you,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58was sympathetic to your ideas? Yeah. He took away all our...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You know, all the work we'd done on how we saw Eigg developing
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and he disappeared for a few months,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07and then he turned up with this huge bit of paper,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10which he called his "concept".
0:23:10 > 0:23:12SHE LAUGHS
0:23:12 > 0:23:15And that's the last we ever saw him.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Maruma owned Eigg for two years.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and during that time he did absolutely nothing here.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22He did absolutely nothing.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24So that sort of convinced everybody
0:23:24 > 0:23:26that we could actually do a better job than that.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36The islanders decided enough was enough and began to fight back.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41We launched a fundraising appeal. We raised over 1.5 million.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And that came from over 10,000 members of the general public.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48That's amazing, isn't it? Yeah. It was incredible.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51What do you think that level of public support says about
0:23:51 > 0:23:56the way people feel about landlords and the traditional highland model?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58An awful lot of people supported it
0:23:58 > 0:24:01because they supported the idea of land reform,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and the idea of the little guy beating the big guy
0:24:04 > 0:24:06is always kind of attractive, isn't it?!
0:24:06 > 0:24:11In 1997, the people of Eigg finally won their battle
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and took control of their own destiny.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:24:16 > 0:24:20It was sometimes quite hard to believe it was ever going to happen, it was a long, long struggle,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23but due to all the support we've been given from...
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Just everywhere - I mean, that's been the most amazing thing
0:24:26 > 0:24:28through this whole, whole campaign.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30APPLAUSE
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Ever since, the occasion is marked with an annual celebration.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38We have a big ceilidh.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Well, I think I might join you later on.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44It's something I enjoy helping out with, a wee bit of a celebration.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55As you can see, people are gathering from far and wide.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57We've got people camping over year, a campfire going
0:24:57 > 0:25:00to keep the midges at bay, and at the end of the road here
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I can hear the strains of music playing,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06because tonight is when the people of Eigg and their friends
0:25:06 > 0:25:11from all over the world gather to celebrate ownership of the island.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21There are a lot of people on the island who are very happy
0:25:21 > 0:25:22with how things have turned out.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25It's almost like their Independence Day.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31These islanders are living in exciting times.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34They've taken control of their future
0:25:34 > 0:25:39and are writing the next chapter of the island's story for themselves.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And that truly is something to celebrate.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Now, I can hazily recall being told last night
0:25:55 > 0:26:00that there is one final thing I must do before I leave Eigg,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and that is to scale the heights of the landmark
0:26:03 > 0:26:06that dominates this island.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09The mighty Sgurr.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20I'm following in the footsteps of Sarah Murray,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24the indefatigable crinoline-clad lady adventurer.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29She came here in 1802, and in her
0:26:29 > 0:26:35Companion And Useful Guide To The Beauties Of Scotland, she writes...
0:26:35 > 0:26:39"The first clear morning after my arrival in Eigg
0:26:39 > 0:26:43"I mounted a pony and began my journey to the Sgurr,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45"accompanied by my friends on foot."
0:26:48 > 0:26:53She was thrilled by the sublime spectacle of the Sgurr,
0:26:53 > 0:26:58a vast prow of volcanic rock that towers over the island.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And I can see why she was impressed.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Here we are, at long last.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14The summit of the mighty Sgurr.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16When Sarah Murray got there,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19she had a picnic and admired the view,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22which, I have to say, is pretty stupendous.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30To the south, I can just make out the tiny island of Muck,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32where my journey began.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Dominating the horizon to the north is the imposing skyline of Rum.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44And the beautiful coastline of Eigg far below.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50These islands may not be the biggest I've visited,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54but what they lack in size they make up for in character.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Small really can be beautiful.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Join me on my next Grand Tour, when I'm on an island pilgrimage
0:28:14 > 0:28:18following in the footsteps of the saints
0:28:18 > 0:28:22to visit Lismore, Colonsay and Oronsay.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd