0:00:06 > 0:00:10Lying off the northern coast of Scotland, a group of small islands
0:00:10 > 0:00:14cluster together where the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea
0:00:14 > 0:00:19meet in a maelstrom of turbulent currents and wild water.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Each of the 70 islands
0:00:22 > 0:00:24has a special identity of its own
0:00:24 > 0:00:28but collectively they are known as The Orkneys
0:00:28 > 0:00:31and they share a history and heritage that make them feel
0:00:31 > 0:00:34quite different from the mainland or the islands of the west coast.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41In this series, I'm on a Grand Tour of the Scottish Islands,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43visiting the Orkneys in the north,
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and travelling as far as the island of Gigha in the southwest.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Generations of travellers have set out to explore
0:00:52 > 0:00:54the magic of the Scottish Islands.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59I'm following in their footsteps, exploring remote
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and fascinating places scattered around our coastline,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and meeting the people who call these islands home.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10- She's a lovely boat to sail? - Oh, fantastic.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I would say like an E-type Jag or something like that!
0:01:13 > 0:01:15For this grand tour, I'm sailing
0:01:15 > 0:01:17to the outer islands of the Orkney archipelago
0:01:17 > 0:01:20to discover what holds them all together.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36My route takes me from North Ronaldsay
0:01:36 > 0:01:40and then island hops south to tiny Stroma
0:01:40 > 0:01:43in the tumultuous waters of the Pentland Firth,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47a long channel of the sea that separates Orkney
0:01:47 > 0:01:48from mainland Scotland.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53North Ronaldsay is the most northerly of the Orkney islands
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and you'd therefore think it would be the most remote and isolated.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00But that's without reckoning on the impact of air travel.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17The air link is provided by Logan Air.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Founded in 1962, it's the UK's oldest operating airline.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Piloting my flight is Colin McAllister.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31And I'm lucky enough to sit up front with him
0:02:31 > 0:02:36in this small plane appropriately called an Islander.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39How many islands do you fly to?
0:02:39 > 0:02:43We fly to six islands. North Ronaldsay being one of them,
0:02:43 > 0:02:50the others, Westray and Papa Westray, Stronsay, Sanday and Eday.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53So without this vital air link,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57a lot of people would really perhaps have moved on from these islands.
0:02:57 > 0:03:03Certainly from the likes of North Ronaldsay. They're a bit further out.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05More on the edge.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09I think that's probably true that folk would've left the islands.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13North Ronaldsay in the winter gets two ferries a week
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- and in the summer it's just one ferry a week.- Really? Is that all?
0:03:16 > 0:03:20- Yeah.- So they are totally dependent on this air link, really.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21I think without a doubt.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Ever since civil flying began,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28the people of Orkney have shown themselves quicker to take up
0:03:28 > 0:03:31the new means of travel than the people of any other part
0:03:31 > 0:03:32of the United Kingdom.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Many of the children have travelled by plane
0:03:34 > 0:03:37long before they've even seen a railway train.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40The potential of air travel in Orkney was first
0:03:40 > 0:03:46recognised as long ago as 1934, when pioneering aviator
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Captain Ted Fresson began flying people to the islands.
0:03:50 > 0:03:5480 years on, Fresson's legacy is an air service that enables
0:03:54 > 0:04:00people to live on North Ronaldsay and to commute to work in Kirkwall.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03I mean, we're better connected here than
0:04:03 > 0:04:06if you lived, say, up on the west coast of Scotland.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07You certainly are.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10As long as you've got the means to fly off, you can be in
0:04:10 > 0:04:12London, say, in four hours.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16- So that's good.- From Kirkwall? - From Kirkwall, yeah.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25North Ronaldsay is a small island, about three miles long
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and a mile wide and is home to just over 70 people.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34To find out what life is like on North Ronaldsay,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38I'm making my way to the lighthouse, where I've arranged to meet someone
0:04:38 > 0:04:40who has lived here man and boy.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56- Hi, Billy.- Hi.- Pleased to meet you. - Pleased to meet you.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Billy Muir is the former lighthouse keeper
0:04:59 > 0:05:02and has agreed to take me all the way to the top.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11And for my sins, I find myself on a kind of stairway to heaven.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16- How many steps are there, Billy? - 176.- 176?
0:05:16 > 0:05:18The lighthouse was designed by the religiously minded
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Alan Stevenson, and the number of steps corresponds to the
0:05:22 > 0:05:25number of verses in the longest of all the psalms.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29It's good for the soul, apparently.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35And the rewards are not just in heaven.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39You can see the whole of North Ronaldsay from here.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45I was born at the house over at the other side of the bay over there.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And I moved one house down when I got married
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and I've lived there ever since.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54- So you have spent all your life here.- All my life here, yes.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Tell me a wee bit about the social mix here.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Are there many young people on the island now,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02or is it an ageing population?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05It's an ageing population, one has to say, yes.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10We have two new families that moved in in recent years and that's helped
0:06:10 > 0:06:13keep the school numbers up.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Without that, there would be no children in the school,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18I have to say.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23And what about the mix of local folk like yourself and incomers?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25What's the percentage of incomers?
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- We call them new islanders.- Right.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32It's about 50-50, probably.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Without the new islanders, the island wouldn't exist today
0:06:35 > 0:06:40and we need more to keep the school going and all the services going.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44We're about as low a population that we would want to be.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Billy's comments prompt me
0:06:49 > 0:06:53to reflect on island life as I wander the shore line,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56where North Ronaldsay's famous seaweed eating sheep
0:06:56 > 0:06:57are happily grazing.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Billy is optimistic about attracting the new islanders
0:07:04 > 0:07:08North Ronaldsay needs, because with its air link,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10the island is still well connected.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15But my next destination is home to a community where isolation
0:07:15 > 0:07:17is a cherished ideal.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Lying south of North Ronaldsay is the even smaller island
0:07:24 > 0:07:28of Papa Stronsay, where the ferry link is operated
0:07:28 > 0:07:31by an unconventional group of new islanders.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38To get there involves crossing in a boat that seems to be kept afloat
0:07:38 > 0:07:41by little more than the power of prayer.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Today, the island is home to an international community of monks
0:07:46 > 0:07:48led by Father Michael Mary.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52So, Father Michael Mary, it's a rather rough day, isn't it,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54to be making this crossing?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56It's a bit rough. We can go a bit rougher
0:07:56 > 0:07:58but the boat's not in such good condition
0:07:58 > 0:08:00but we can go rougher than this.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03- Yeah?- Yeah, we can.- But not much rougher, I would think.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07No, it depends who's driving. Brother Malcolm's good though.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Under the watchful gaze of several saints
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and the good lord himself, I'm thankful to set foot on this
0:08:20 > 0:08:24tiny holy island where the monks dedicate themselves to the sacred
0:08:24 > 0:08:30cause of keeping the Latin language at the heart of their devotions.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Father Michael Mary,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35how long has this island been associated with monks?
0:08:35 > 0:08:40Monks go back here to the time of St Columba in fact.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43So for 1,400 years at least, this little island's been
0:08:43 > 0:08:49associated with monks and saying mass and holy scripture.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50Exactly.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54The original monastery was abandoned in the 16th century
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and the island given over to farming.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01When the monks bought it 1999, they converted the barns
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and outbuildings into a refectory and chapel
0:09:04 > 0:09:08and so religious life returned.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12There's something special about the monastic vocation and the solitudes.
0:09:12 > 0:09:18We need them in a wider cycle to escape from the noise of the world
0:09:18 > 0:09:20just to a time of prayer and silence.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It's an important part of the rhythm of life
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and when people don't have it, I think they miss something.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Holidays are kind of a secular type of doing the same thing, aren't they?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32You can do it a wee bit better even than that.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Rather than Las Vegas, you can come to Papa Stronsay.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41The monks have to be as self sufficient as possible,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44keeping cows and growing their own produce
0:09:44 > 0:09:48in a hangar-sized green house.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- Is that a fig?- That's a fig tree. - Or a fig plant.- A fig plant, yeah.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- That's fantastic.- Isn't it, really?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56They must be the most northerly figs grown in Britain
0:09:56 > 0:09:57I would have thought.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00I would say I could give a fig about that.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Who would've thought it?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05A tropical paradise.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07A garden of Eden.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15Stepping outside into the chilly embrace of an Orcadian Spring,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Father Michael Mary is keen to show me evidence
0:10:17 > 0:10:19of the island's sacred lineage.
0:10:23 > 0:10:24Along the coast are the ruins
0:10:24 > 0:10:28of the original 6th century Celtic monastery.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31So this building is just about as old as it's possible to
0:10:31 > 0:10:33get for a religious building in this part of Britain.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Yes, it is. It's very old and it was called the most northerly
0:10:38 > 0:10:42- early Christian monastery that's been found.- Really?- Yes.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44And the monks are still here.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46We're here. We're back again.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48How does that make you feel?
0:10:48 > 0:10:50Great, because there's monks now through three millennium.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Before the year 1000, after the year 1000,
0:10:53 > 0:10:58and now we came in 1999 and into the year 2000 so that's three millennia.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Just as the monks feel a connection with Papa Stronsay
0:11:04 > 0:11:06through the history of the island,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08so Orkney as a whole was once brought
0:11:08 > 0:11:11closer together by a figure from the past.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15To tell this story, I'm heading to Egilsay,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18an island with a population of 24, or thereabouts.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Despite the tiny size of Egilsay, it's played a key role in
0:11:26 > 0:11:31forging the identity of the diverse islands that make up the Orkneys.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37800 years ago, Egilsay was the stage for a series of dramatic events
0:11:37 > 0:11:42described by the Viking Orkneyinga Saga, one of the most celebrated
0:11:42 > 0:11:45pieces of medieval Scandinavian literature ever written.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50The ruined church ahead of me dates from the 12th century
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and according to the Orkneyinga Saga, it was on this site
0:11:54 > 0:11:57that the Earl Magnus met a brutal martyr's death.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Orkney was then ruled by two cousins.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06The Earl Haakon and the Earl Magnus.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Haakon was ruthless and warlike, Magnus pious and meek.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15At first, the earls ruled well together, but evil men stirred up
0:12:15 > 0:12:20trouble between them and war threatened to engulf the islands.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24In order to avoid bloodshed,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27a peace conference was called for Easter Day.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31It was to be held here at the church on Egilsay.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Earl Magnus was the first to arrive
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and being a saintly soul, he immediately began to pray.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But when his cousin Haakon turned up
0:12:40 > 0:12:44with a small fleet and 100 heavily armed men,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Magnus's goose was well and truly cooked.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Poor Magnus got the chop, but it wasn't long before
0:12:56 > 0:13:00all kinds of miracles began to be associated with his name.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Within a generation, Earl Magnus had become Saint Magnus.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Orcadians came to regard Magnus as a martyr.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16While he lived, the islands were divided.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21His sacrifice held the islands together for the good of all.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30This is Kirkwall. The bay of the kirk.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34The capital of Orkney and the centre of the archipelago.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38The cathedral is dedicated to St Magnus,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42whose bones were laid to rest beneath of its ancient pillars.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47St Magnus is Britain's only Viking saint.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51In life, Earl Magnus belonged to the Viking world
0:13:51 > 0:13:56of violent power politics, where might was right.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01Vikings from western Norway settled here in Orkney in the 8th century,
0:14:01 > 0:14:05and for over 600 years, these islands,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08ruled by the Viking earls of Orkney,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10were part of the Scandinavian world.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Evidence of Viking influence on Orkney is everywhere,
0:14:18 > 0:14:23especially in the boats that were once so common here.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26These vital little craft once helped
0:14:26 > 0:14:29to keep the islands and their people connected.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Willie Tulloch takes the helm of this traditional yole,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36as many Orcadians have done before him.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39They're fantastic little boats.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Very good sea boat. Very kindly to sail.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48This was really the taxi of the sea.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52They were used in the olden days as a car was used.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Before they had roads and anything that needed to be carried,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58the yoles carried them.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03- Livestock?- I've heard of sheep being carried in yoles.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Well, it feels a very seaworthy boat, I have to say.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Very good indeed.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And from my Norwegian experience, it's not that dissimilar to
0:15:13 > 0:15:17some of the boats that I'm familiar with off the Norwegian coast.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20Do you think the boat building traditions of the Vikings
0:15:20 > 0:15:21came with them?
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Yes, I would say so.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26The beauty is with this type of boat,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30that it's been built over generations.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35Each generation has tweaked a wee bit here and there.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39So what we have now are absolutely fantastic boats.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48The traditional craft of wooden boat building is
0:15:48 > 0:15:51maintained in Orkney by Ian Richardson.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56It's a traditional Orkney yole. A south isles yole.
0:15:56 > 0:16:0018ft, seven foot six a beam approximately.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Copper fastened.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And very traditional to the area.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07- And you built it?- I built it, yes. - How long did it take?
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Four and a half to five months is what it should take.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- By yourself?- By myself.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16I get someone to steam bend timbers with me.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Your arms aren't long enough to go round the boat. That's the reason.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26But, yeah, that's the only time someone gives me a hand.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28And have you sailed this boat yourself?
0:16:28 > 0:16:33I've sailed this one and I'm happy to say it's very competitive.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38Ian's handiwork can be found all over Scotland,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41from working fishing boats on the west coast,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43to the many yoles around Orkney.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48In fact, Ian built the boat that Willie is sailing,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52using craft skills that once flourished here.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55I learnt the trade here in Stromness.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59In Stromness there were two boatyards.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- In the whole of Orkney there were five boatyards.- Wow.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Are there many left?
0:17:05 > 0:17:06There's just me.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- There's just you left.- Yes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09Yeah.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11The last of a long tradition of boat building in Orkney.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The last of, yeah.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- Indeed.- How does that make you feel, to think you're the last?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Well, I think it's quite sad, really.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Because when I look at that boat, I'm thinking it's not just wood.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26There's a whole lifetime of boat building experience
0:17:26 > 0:17:28has gone into making it.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32It's not something you pick up in just a year or so.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It is a lifetime's work, basically.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Although Ian is downbeat about the future of boat building
0:17:42 > 0:17:46in Orkney, his legacy endures.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50It's a privilege to sail in one of his boats.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- Which is a lovely boat to sail. - Oh, fantastic.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57I would say like an E-type Jag or something.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03The large body of water we are sailing in today
0:18:03 > 0:18:05is part of Scapa Flow.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07During the two world wars of the 20th century,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11this huge natural harbour, protected from the open sea
0:18:11 > 0:18:16by the islands all around it, was home to the British Fleet.
0:18:16 > 0:18:23In 1939, a German U-boat penetrated the defences and sank HMS Royal Oak
0:18:23 > 0:18:26with the loss of over 800 lives.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Prime Minister Winston Churchill then issued an order
0:18:29 > 0:18:32to seal the gaps between the islands,
0:18:32 > 0:18:33first with sunken block ships
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and then more permanently.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40The Second World War gave Orkney the Churchill Barriers
0:18:40 > 0:18:42which were built to protect the vital anchorage
0:18:42 > 0:18:44of the British fleet.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51But while naval strategy brought them into being
0:18:51 > 0:18:53the roads they carry have proved to be a godsend to those
0:18:53 > 0:18:56living on the islands thus linked together.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59It takes this farmer only two minutes to make a crossing that once
0:18:59 > 0:19:03took him two hours back-breaking manhandling in a yole boat.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Heading south over the causeway that connects the little islands
0:19:09 > 0:19:13of Burray and Lamb Holm, I head to South Ronaldsay
0:19:13 > 0:19:17and the picturesque village of St Margaret's Hope,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20once a flourishing fishing and trading centre.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Islands today are often considered to be remote places
0:19:27 > 0:19:31but historically, Orkney was held together by the sea,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34not isolated by it.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37People have flourished here since the very earliest times,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40and the islands boast some of the most significant
0:19:40 > 0:19:43archaeological sites in the whole of northern Europe.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Just a few miles outside of St Margaret's Hope at the south end
0:19:49 > 0:19:51of South Ronaldsay is one of the most remarkable
0:19:51 > 0:19:57and romantic-sounding archaeological sites in the whole of Scotland.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Kathleen and Freda Simison have lived and farmed here
0:20:05 > 0:20:06all their lives.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11They are also custodians of the remarkable Tomb of the Eagles,
0:20:11 > 0:20:17which was first discovered by their father Ronnie Simison in 1958.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Dad had bought a new croft and he was going to fence it
0:20:21 > 0:20:25so he was looking for stones to make corner posts.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27There's a mound there
0:20:27 > 0:20:30and the weather had washed the soil off the side of the mound
0:20:30 > 0:20:34and he saw part of what turned out to be the outside wall,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37that was horizontal stones that he thought might be useful
0:20:37 > 0:20:40and he scraped away to see what was there.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46What a wonderful structure.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Kathleen, what's the significance of this to Orkney archaeology?
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Well, the Mesolithic people were here just after the end
0:20:54 > 0:20:59of the ice age and then about 6,000 years ago they began farming here.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04They started using the tomb here just after 5,000 years ago.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07So if you think of it in terms of a timeline,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09people were being buried here
0:21:09 > 0:21:11when the great pyramid of Giza was being built.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13- That's right. - It's an amazing thought.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- It's older than the pyramids.- That's fantastic.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Doing my best Indiana Jones impersonation,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23I enter the inner sanctum of the burial chamber.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27This is where Ronnie Simison discovered
0:21:27 > 0:21:31the bones of the ancient people who were laid to rest here
0:21:31 > 0:21:35and with them, a wealth of Stone Age artefacts.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38It's called the Tomb of the Eagles. Why is that?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41It's because of the eagle bones that were found.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Eagle bones and eagle talons were found in here.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Different groups would choose different animals
0:21:45 > 0:21:47maybe as their namesake.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49In Orkney, there's different tombs been excavated
0:21:49 > 0:21:51and one's got deer antlers in it,
0:21:51 > 0:21:56another's got dog skulls and it's eagle bones that they've found here.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59So these people who lived here might have identified with eagles
0:21:59 > 0:22:01and called themselves the eagle folk or something.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Yes, that's what's suggested.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10The tomb and its bones demonstrate how prehistoric society developed
0:22:10 > 0:22:14on the islands, which even then were connected by trade and culture.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20But what happens when the sea, instead of uniting islands,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23separates a community, leaving it isolated?
0:22:26 > 0:22:30The answer lies across the wild waters of the Pentland Firth,
0:22:30 > 0:22:34where schools of killer whales can sometimes be seen
0:22:34 > 0:22:37hunting for seals in the tidal races and whirlpools.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I'm heading to the now deserted island of Stroma
0:22:42 > 0:22:45which in the old language of the Vikings
0:22:45 > 0:22:47means the island in the stream.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53Joining me is John Manson, who was one of the last to leave.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Can you see your house from here, John?
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- Yes, it's the... See the big clump of houses?- Uh-huh.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05Then there's two lying lower, ours is the furthest in one there.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07And how old were you when you left?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- When we left? About 18 years old. - You were about 18?- 18.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16People lived on Stroma for thousands of years.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It was a way of life that depended on navigating these
0:23:19 > 0:23:24dangerous waters, knowledge that became part of their folklore.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27They were very knowledgeable of the waters.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29They had to be, you know?
0:23:29 > 0:23:32They couldn't live in this area without being very
0:23:32 > 0:23:34knowledgeable of the tide races.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- The main one is at the north end at Swilkie Point.- Swilkie Point?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- It's called the Swilkie.- Is it a particularly vicious one?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Yes, it is. It's a vicious one.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53We land at the harbour on Stroma, a place that John recalls
0:23:53 > 0:23:57being as busy as a railway station when he was a boy.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02Back then, 80 people lived here, but just over a century ago
0:24:02 > 0:24:05there were 600 inhabitants.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10Now, Stroma is an island of ghosts.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13John's family was the last to leave.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16We watched the run-down of the island.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21It was like the whole island was dying as the people
0:24:21 > 0:24:23went to the mainland.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26It was sad to see them going but
0:24:26 > 0:24:31there was happy days in your young days when you went to your school.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37I remember about 12 or 14 people maybe in the school here.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40So, I imagine that everyone on the island would've known
0:24:40 > 0:24:42everyone else very well.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Yes, the younger people looked after the older ones too.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50It was a nice community. They were very sociable people.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I was just thinking, these fields here on either side of us,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55would they have been cultivated at one time?
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Yes, they would be, they'd be all cultivated.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Good, arable ground on this side and the east side of the island.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03You must've been almost self-sufficient.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Yes, they would be. Oh, yes.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09They'd have hens for the eggs, they'd have a pig that they kept
0:25:09 > 0:25:12and fattened and killed it off.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Every house would have a cow for milk.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17They salted the fish that they ate through the winter months.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20They were self-sufficient.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23They hardly needed a shop at all, I think.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30A couple of years before John and his family left the island in 1962,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34they were photographed outside the family home.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Sad to look at it now.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Very dilapidated.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42The birds have moved in when we vacated.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- They've moved in. Nature's taking over.- Yes.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51So this is the old living room then, is it?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Yes, it is.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Well, it's a bed sitting room
0:25:56 > 0:25:57Who slept in there?
0:25:57 > 0:26:00That's my mother and father's bedroom
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and it was the family sitting room at the same time.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- So you'd gather in here of an evening, would you?- Oh, yes.
0:26:06 > 0:26:12We would eat in here and sit and yarn, listen to the radio.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Radio Luxemburg top 20 hits.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18We were into all that sort of stuff.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Elvis Presley was on the go.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21Cliff Richard.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26Aye, they were just finding their feet in the hit parade
0:26:26 > 0:26:28when we were living here.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29Is that table your table?
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Yes, it is.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Would you have sat around that table having your dinner?
0:26:33 > 0:26:36We had a goat here, like a pet more than anything else.
0:26:36 > 0:26:41My mother, she always made a high tea on a Sunday night. Pancakes, scones.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Everything on the table, gingerbread, everything.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48And the dogs, we had two collie dogs,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51they chased the goat in through the house and my mother had this
0:26:51 > 0:26:53table all set, and the goat,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56he tried to get out through that window at the back of the table.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00And he put his two legs up on top of the table and cleaned it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03My mother was not happy about that.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05We thought it was hilarious!
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Hilarious bit of fun we were having.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08My mother was not happy, no.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10She wasn't happy at that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14- A lot of family memories then, in this room.- Yes, there is, aye.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17I've got five grandsons and a granddaughter.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22All very interested in the island and the way of life that was here.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27They're very interested in that and it keeps the stories going, you know?
0:27:27 > 0:27:30It keeps the history rolling along.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31I think it does anyway.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35If you don't tell somebody about it, nobody's ever going to know about it.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37It'll just fade out altogether.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Making my way past empty houses and crofts,
0:27:44 > 0:27:49I come to a high point overlooking the Pentland Firth,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53which is speckled white with its tidal rips and whirlpools.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Stroma might be deserted,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59yet it has the potential to be repopulated.
0:28:00 > 0:28:06Ironically, the swirling tidal streams that once cut people off
0:28:06 > 0:28:07could attract them in the future.
0:28:09 > 0:28:14The wild and turbulent waters around Stroma are amongst the most powerful
0:28:14 > 0:28:19in the world, making this "island in the stream" a perfect location
0:28:19 > 0:28:23for the generation of tidal power which, if it happens,
0:28:23 > 0:28:29will plug this tiny little island into the 21st century in a big way.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35My next Grand Tour of the Scottish Islands
0:28:35 > 0:28:41takes me to the west coast and the Atlantic twins of Coll and Tiree.