0:00:05 > 0:00:09Islands are places that have always fired the human imagination
0:00:09 > 0:00:14with tales of mighty heroes and their epic deeds.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Sailing in the Hebrides,
0:00:16 > 0:00:18you can see with your own eyes
0:00:18 > 0:00:22how these islands inspired the myths and legends of old,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25helping to shape the culture of the nation.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27This isn't just beautiful scenery,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30it's food for the imagination,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32a storyteller's dream.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37In this series, I'm continuing my island grand tour,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41visiting the most northerly of the Shetland Islands,
0:00:41 > 0:00:42exploring the Outer Hebrides
0:00:42 > 0:00:48and discovering the secrets of some of the remotest places in Europe.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51To see them through the water like this, it's amazing!
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Scotland boasts a wonderful array of islands.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57In fact, there are nearly 300 of them
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and that's not counting the myriad of stacks, rocks and skerries
0:01:01 > 0:01:04from the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea.
0:01:07 > 0:01:08For this grand tour,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11I'm on an island-hopping odyssey
0:01:11 > 0:01:14where I'll meet characters, heroes and stories
0:01:14 > 0:01:17inspired by some incomparable scenery.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34The route for this grand tour starts on the mainland,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36takes the oldest ferry to Skye,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39then sails to the tiny island of Soay,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41before arriving on Canna.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The landscape of the mainland opposite Skye
0:01:49 > 0:01:52feels ancient and primeval.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And is just as remote as many islands I've visited.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Yet people have lived here for thousands of years.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And the evidence is impressive.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Nestling in these wooded glens near Glenelg
0:02:07 > 0:02:11are some of the best preserved Iron Age buildings in Scotland -
0:02:11 > 0:02:14brochs, which are uniquely Scottish.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Wow! Look at this!
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Now, surprisingly, not much is actually known
0:02:22 > 0:02:24about these magnificent structures,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28although archaeologists say that they were built about 2,000 years ago
0:02:28 > 0:02:30during the Iron Age.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Though, exactly why or for what purpose remains a mystery.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38And some people maintain they were like early castles,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41status symbols for powerful local chiefs.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Now, other people argue they were defensive structures
0:02:44 > 0:02:48for use by the entire community during times of crisis.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52But nobody knows for sure, which, in an age of certainties,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I find quite inspiring.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00These ruins remind us
0:03:00 > 0:03:03that so much of our past remains mysterious.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06No wonder that storytellers of old
0:03:06 > 0:03:08filled this gap in our knowledge
0:03:08 > 0:03:11with heroes and creatures of the imagination.
0:03:19 > 0:03:20This is Arnisdale,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23which lies opposite the Isle of Skye.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28Just beyond the village is Arnisdale Lodge.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31A century ago, this was the childhood home
0:03:31 > 0:03:36of the novelist Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41Arnisdale Lodge was also the inspiration behind Skyfall,
0:03:41 > 0:03:46the highland home of Britain's most famous spy.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Andrew Lycett is the biographer of Ian Fleming.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54To what extent is the fictional life of James Bond
0:03:54 > 0:03:56parallelled by the life of his creator?
0:03:56 > 0:04:02Well, this was the home of Ian Fleming's father, Valentine.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05He bought this place, Arnisdale Lodge,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07just before the First World War.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10And this became a sort of family home
0:04:10 > 0:04:13for his particular branch of the Fleming family.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Valentine Fleming was brought up to be
0:04:19 > 0:04:22sort of an archetypal English gentleman.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23He was sent to Eton.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26After that, he went to Oxford University.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28He did all the right things.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31He rowed when he was at university.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35But, you know, really sort of being a country gentleman
0:04:35 > 0:04:36was what he...
0:04:36 > 0:04:39He was going to be a professional gentleman of leisure.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- Exactly. This was...- Hunting, shooting, fishing.- ..Edwardian times.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Despite his pretentions to be an English gentleman,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52Ian Fleming's father, Valentine, came from a poor Scottish background.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55He was actually born in Dundee,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59where his father had made a fortune in banking.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02It was a classic rags-to-riches story.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Inheriting enormous wealth,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Valentine Fleming was able to indulge his fantasies
0:05:08 > 0:05:12and play the gentleman when he bought Arnisdale.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Shortly before the First World War,
0:05:15 > 0:05:19he had these kind of atavistic yearnings to get back to Scotland.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21It was a foothold in Scotland
0:05:21 > 0:05:23and a place where the clan could congregate?
0:05:23 > 0:05:24Definitely, yeah.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27They had this kind of romantic vision of their Scottishness
0:05:27 > 0:05:31and, of course, this was something that Ian Fleming
0:05:31 > 0:05:33kind of held on to.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Arnisdale gave the young Ian Fleming his first taste of Scotland,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43playing in the grounds of the lodge with his brothers
0:05:43 > 0:05:45in the run-up to the First World War.
0:05:46 > 0:05:52Then, in 1917, his father Valentine was killed by enemy action
0:05:52 > 0:05:54while serving in France.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57To honour him, the Fleming family
0:05:57 > 0:06:00erected this ornate war memorial at Glenelg.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Now, what effect do you think that would have had
0:06:03 > 0:06:05on the young Ian Fleming growing up,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09to have lost his father at such a young age?
0:06:09 > 0:06:11I think it was a significant impact.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Definitely you could argue that
0:06:13 > 0:06:16there were important elements of Bond that played back
0:06:16 > 0:06:20into, you know, his memory of his father, definitely, yeah.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Not far from the war memorial,
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I come to the village of Glenelg,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28a place which, for centuries,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32has been an important gateway to the Hebrides and beyond.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Kylerhea is the narrow stretch of water
0:06:37 > 0:06:41that separates the mainland on the right from the Isle of Skye.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44To cross the kyle, I'm taking the ferry.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46But it's not just any old ferry.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48This one is unique!
0:06:54 > 0:06:57The good ship Glenachulish, for that is her name,
0:06:57 > 0:07:02is the only turntable ferry still operating in Britain.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05She's been plying these waters for over half a century.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12There were once many similar little ships in Scotland.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Their swinging decks enabled traffic
0:07:14 > 0:07:19to drive aboard from simple jetties, which larger vessels couldn't access.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23On board, I'm shown the ropes
0:07:23 > 0:07:26by skipper and Glenelg man Donnie MacDonald
0:07:26 > 0:07:29and his dogs, Mac and Kim.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Good. Lovely.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37But skippering a turntable ferry
0:07:37 > 0:07:40is a bit more complicated than you might think.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43I'm going to go to the other wheel now.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Right. See you on the other side.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47I'm right behind you.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53So you're swapping sides. You've got two wheels on the boat?
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Yes. The ramps are up in front of you, so you can't see anything.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58- Right. You can't see a thing, can you?- Can't see anything, no.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I've two got yachts coming down, as well,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02so I'll need to go back to the other side.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04- Busy stretch of water this, isn't it, the kyle.- It is, it is.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08- In the summertime, it's very busy with yachts.- Look, no hands!
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Donnie leads me on a merry dance,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18as I try to catch up with him.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Do you ever forget which side you're on?
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Yeah, gets confusing a little bit after a while.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31How many crossings do you do a day, Donnie?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- Sometimes up to 40.- Really? - Maybe more than that, yeah.- Right.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36- So you're just constantly shuttling back and forth.- Yeah.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40So do you enjoy this,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- if you go backwards and forwards up to 50 times a day?- Yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- Is it not slightly monotonous? - No, I don't think so.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Every crossing's different, with the tides and the wind.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Of course, crossing the kyle would be much trickier
0:08:54 > 0:08:57without the help of able seadogs Mac and Kim.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01They keep the seals off the boat.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03- To keep the seals off the boat?- Yeah.
0:09:03 > 0:09:04Is there any danger of that?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Well, that's what Mac... He barks at the seals all the time, so...
0:09:08 > 0:09:10So he's done a good job so far,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12because there never been a seal come on the boat.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14- I'll have to go to the other wheel now.- Righty-ho.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- So you also have a young lady on board.- We have, yes.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20- Does she put her back into it? - Oh, she certainly does, yeah.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21- Does she?- Yes.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23She's very good, Izzie.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26She's looking to be the new skipper.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- Is she really?- Oh, yeah.- Right.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30How do you feel about that?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Och, I'm OK with that, yeah.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34I'll be retired soon, anyway.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Izzie is definitely a woman with ambition.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45She started working on the Glenachulish as a volunteer.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49I would love to be skipper one day of this very ferry.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Erm, but...
0:09:50 > 0:09:51- Really?- Yeah.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55The first female ferry skipper of this ferry.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- Really?- Yeah. That would be amazing.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58And how would you get to do that?
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Well, I have to be 18 to take my skipper's ticket licence.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- Right. So you're restricted to one area?- Yeah.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- Confined to the kyles, you'd be? - Just these narrows, yeah.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Would that be a big enough ocean for you?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Yeah, I'm sure it would be, to start off with.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13And then maybe go higher and higher.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16But, yeah, to start off with, this would be great.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Delivered safely across the kyle,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I travel through the south of Skye towards the Black Cuillin.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35To my mind, these spectacular rocky peaks
0:10:35 > 0:10:38make up the finest mountain range in Scotland,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41rising to over 3,500 feet above the sea.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48This is the impressive summit of Blaven,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51an outlier of the main Cuillin range.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55These are mountains that inspire poetry.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59The great 20th-century Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean
0:10:59 > 0:11:02made many references to the Cuillin Mountains
0:11:02 > 0:11:04and to Blaven in his work.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09"And even if I came in sight of paradise,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12"what price its moon without Blaven?"
0:11:13 > 0:11:15The first recorded ascent of Blaven
0:11:15 > 0:11:19was made by two drunken 19th-century intellectuals,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22the gay poet Algernon Swinburne
0:11:22 > 0:11:24and his friend John Nichol,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27who was a professor of English at Glasgow University.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31The pair spent the summer of 1857 on Skye,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34mostly in a drunken stupor, it has to be said.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36But between drinking bouts,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40they did manage to summon up enough energy to climb Blaven,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44which they mistakenly believed to be the highest mountain on Skye.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Instead of replicating Swinburne and Nichol's drink-sodden achievement,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55I'm taking a different approach.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I'm going not to climb Blaven,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59but to explore underground,
0:11:59 > 0:12:05descending into a nether world of darkness, bones and ancient myth.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Just working our way up towards the passage.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I'm glad I've got my wellingtons on.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15My guide to the underworld is archaeologist Steven Birch,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20who's spent the last ten years excavating a limestone cave system
0:12:20 > 0:12:22in the shadow of Blaven.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26After ten minutes bent double,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29we finally emerge into the bone cave,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33where Steve made his extraordinary discoveries.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36We were working at the site, an archaeological excavation.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Started in 2003, so several years here.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44And a really amazing site came to light.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Just behind me, you'll see we've got this arching limestone cave roof.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52And that was the original entrance into this cave system.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54And excavations outside
0:12:54 > 0:12:58uncovered a sequence of three different stone-built staircases.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04What Steve and his team found in the cave
0:13:04 > 0:13:07are some of the rarest and most intriguing artefacts
0:13:07 > 0:13:10ever to appear in the Scottish archaeological record.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13It was like a treasure trove. There was animal bone.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15There was pottery. There was stone tools.
0:13:15 > 0:13:16Bone points.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Bone needles. And I thought,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21"Wow! Something quite exciting is happening here."
0:13:21 > 0:13:23The objects in the bone cave
0:13:23 > 0:13:27cover a span of almost 5,000 years of human history,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31from the Stone Age to the Iron Age builders of the brochs.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Since we carried out the excavations,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37we've been able to look at other cave sites around the world,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40or closer to home, even, places like Ireland.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43We've got inklings now to suggest
0:13:43 > 0:13:45that it was unusual things going on in caves.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I think they were seen as otherworldly places.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49They were this transitional place
0:13:49 > 0:13:51between the upper world and world of the living.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53It was a place where you could
0:13:53 > 0:13:55perhaps communicate with the ancestors
0:13:55 > 0:13:59or to make special offerings to those deities
0:13:59 > 0:14:02who dwelt in these very unusual places below the ground.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04So this is a sacred site, then, isn't it?
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Or was a sacred site?
0:14:06 > 0:14:09It all points to people visiting this site,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12almost as a pilgrimage-type site on a periodic basis.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Maybe just family groups coming at certain times,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18periodically through the year.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20But then, we have evidence to suggest
0:14:20 > 0:14:22that perhaps big groups of people were coming
0:14:22 > 0:14:25at certain times of the year, maybe on these big Celtic festivals,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27like Samhain or Beltane.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34It's amazingly atmospheric.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35The hairs on the back of my neck
0:14:35 > 0:14:38were beginning to rise as you were describing that scene.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41But there is something almost tangible about, or elemental,
0:14:41 > 0:14:42the past, here.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- Have you ever felt anything?- Yes.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47I think, you know, even lifting the objects out off the ground.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50I think every object that came out, some more than others,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53they do give a tingle, as you say, on the back of your neck.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56And, certainly, working in this site, especially in the early years,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58there was only three of us in the first year,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00working inside this passage.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04And making that journey from the cavers' entrance down the streamway,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07sometimes, you know, making that journey alone,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09you have a little look over your shoulder,
0:15:09 > 0:15:11you think you've heard something, or maybe it's a presence.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14I think, yes, there is something very tangible
0:15:14 > 0:15:16about this place being underground.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- The ancestors are just behind us. - Yes, that's right.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25'Back on the surface,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28'Steve shows me the layout of this once sacred site.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32'This is where he made the most remarkable discovery of all,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35'a fragment of a musical instrument.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37'An ancient lyre.'
0:15:37 > 0:15:38So here it is.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40What is this?
0:15:40 > 0:15:44So, this is a laser-scanned model, if you like,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46of the original lyre bridge.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Well, the original has been dated by material
0:15:49 > 0:15:51associated with it in the fireplace, if you like,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54and it's dated to between 400 and 500 BC.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57And that's a very significant find, as far as you're concerned.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Yes. Yeah, I think because it's so unique.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03You know, it's the earliest evidence in Western Europe from this time
0:16:03 > 0:16:04of a stringed musical instrument.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Is it really? Wow!
0:16:07 > 0:16:11And I imagine, the technology to produce that 2,500 years ago,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13would have been relatively sophisticated...
0:16:13 > 0:16:15That's right, that's right.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17..in order to make those precise grooves.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18And that's perfectly angled, as well,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21to sit on the body of the musical instrument.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24That's right. We're still learning more about it as time goes on.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28So we can not only look at how the object was manufactured,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31but how it sounded, as well, with a replica.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33And what tunes they would have played on it.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34The type of tunes they would have played.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40From the cave of the ancients, I head west
0:16:40 > 0:16:43towards the seldom-visited and tiny island of Soay.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'My skipper on board the Heather Grace is Ollie Davies,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53'who hopes to show me a basking shark.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'Every summer, shoals of these great fish
0:16:57 > 0:17:01'make their slow way among the islands of the West Coast.'
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Basking sharks are absolutely enormous.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09They're second only in size to the whale shark,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11the biggest fish on the planet.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15And it's wonderful to think that these gigantic creatures
0:17:15 > 0:17:17are swimming so close to our shores.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19If I could only see one...!
0:17:24 > 0:17:28The basking shark grows to over ten metres in length.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33An average fully-grown male weighs more than eight tonnes.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37But these leviathans of the deep are harmless plankton-eaters.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Well, I've not seen any basking sharks.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Have you seen any basking sharks recently?
0:17:43 > 0:17:47There's not been many about, but, erm...
0:17:48 > 0:17:53..a few years ago there was 27 we counted between Elgol and Soay.
0:17:53 > 0:17:59I don't know if it's a case of their feeding habits have changed,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02or has the temperature, the water temperature changed,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05meaning that they're not feeding in this area now as they used to.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Well, it hasn't warmed up much, has it, this year. Let's face it!
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Not much chance for basking if you were a shark.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12No. Absolutely not.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It's almost unthinkable today,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24but these graceful creatures were once hunted
0:18:24 > 0:18:27for the oil which was extracted from their huge livers.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34And one of the most celebrated hunters was Tex Geddes.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39In the 1940s, Tex pioneered shark fishing in these waters
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and based his operations and his family on the island of Soay.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47- You knew Tex Geddes, did you not? - I did, yes.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49I was, erm...
0:18:49 > 0:18:54I started my fishing career aboard Tex Geddes's boat.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58And he was a fantastic storyteller.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02He would keep a room entertained for hours.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05If there was a few drams going,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08the night would fly by.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12One of the old characters...
0:19:12 > 0:19:14and there's very few old characters left,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16but he was certainly one of them.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24This is Soay, once home to Tex Geddes
0:19:24 > 0:19:26and a whole community of crofters and fishermen.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Today, Oliver is just one of two permanent residents.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35At the old pier,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38a welcoming committee of enthusiastic midges awaits us.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44This is the platform here, where the sharks were cut up.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46And across there is the accommodation
0:19:46 > 0:19:48that they used to stay over there.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Is that because it was rather a smelly old business
0:19:50 > 0:19:53and they needed to keep some distance between where they lived
0:19:53 > 0:19:55- and where they worked?- Absolutely.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Still days like we've got today,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59one would think the smell would linger.
0:19:59 > 0:20:00I bet it did!
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Scattered around are rusting artefacts
0:20:06 > 0:20:09from the industrial archaeology of the Hebrides.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Steam winches for dragging carcasses ashore.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14Tram rails.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Vats for boiling shark livers.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18And taking pride of place,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22the shark factory power supply.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24An almost complete railway engine
0:20:24 > 0:20:27that once pulled carriages along tracks on the mainland.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32I actually had somebody inquiring about it
0:20:32 > 0:20:37and he was actually seriously thinking about renovating it.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Putting it back on the tracks?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42But he thought it was actually
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- a little bit too far gone for renovation.- Mm-mm.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51And this here is an interesting relic of the past, as well.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52- Yes.- Now, what's this?
0:20:52 > 0:20:58That is the actual shaft of one of Tex Geddes's harpoons.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00And this would have been fired from a harpoon gun?
0:21:00 > 0:21:02That would have been fired from a harpoon gun
0:21:02 > 0:21:04with the harpoon on this end,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06which then released into the shark.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- So a fragment of the true harpoon. - Absolutely.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11A relic from the past.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13I don't think we can hang around for much longer.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15These midges are absolutely ferocious, aren't they?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18- They certainly are. - I don't know how people worked here.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21But I suppose they might have used some of that shark liver oil
0:21:21 > 0:21:25as a kind of skin-so-soft barrier against the worst of them.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Fleeing the dreaded midges, we head back out to sea.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34And then, something magical happens...
0:21:37 > 0:21:39PAUL CHUCKLES
0:21:40 > 0:21:41Beautiful creatures.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Just cruising there,
0:21:44 > 0:21:45like torpedoes.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49They're having a good look at us.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Oh, he's turning on one side and looking right up at me.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Hello, dolphin!
0:22:00 > 0:22:04To see them through the water like this, under the boat,
0:22:04 > 0:22:06it's amazing!
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Whoa!
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It's fantastic! What an experience.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26And just as suddenly as they'd arrived, the dolphins are gone.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Leaving Soay, I'm heading west again,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37crossing the seas that Tex Geddes knew so well,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39to the beautiful island of Canna,
0:22:39 > 0:22:44which lies at the epicentre of the old Celtic world of myth and legend.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52At 8km long and a couple of kilometres wide, Canna isn't big.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55And explains why it's part of a group of islands
0:22:55 > 0:23:00known as the Small Isles, which include Rum, Eigg and Muck.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07Today, Canna is in the keeping of the National Trust for Scotland,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10having been given to the nation
0:23:10 > 0:23:13by the last laird of Canna, John Lorne Campbell,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16the celebrated folklorist and Gaelic scholar.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21John Lorne Campbell and his American wife, Margaret Fay Shaw,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24devoted their lives to the language and the culture
0:23:24 > 0:23:26of the people they lived amongst.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29They collected songs and folk stories
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and recorded the spoken word of a culture
0:23:32 > 0:23:35that was on the cusp of irrevocable change.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'The couple were married for 60 years
0:23:41 > 0:23:44'and, throughout that time, lived at Canna House,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46'which holds their archives,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50'the most important Gaelic cultural collection outside the mainland.'
0:23:50 > 0:23:51The lady of the house awaits.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Hm!
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Good morning, Paul.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58'Magdalena Sagarzazu, from the Basque country of Spain,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01'was a close friend of the couple
0:24:01 > 0:24:03'and was the archivist here for many years.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:07And this is where John worked, is it?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Yes. This is the library of the house.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14As you can see, in here we've got is a working library.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Is wonderful that is kept this way because also, you know,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21it shows so much of the personality that has lived in here
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and worked in here.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25And exactly what was John recording?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28What was his primary aim, do you think?
0:24:28 > 0:24:29Oh, the spoken word.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Songs, the stories,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35all kinds of, you know, just of the everyday sort of life
0:24:35 > 0:24:36on the Hebrides.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41When they started making their recordings in the 1930s,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43this extraordinary contraption
0:24:43 > 0:24:46represented the cutting edge of available technology.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50- It's kind of primitive, isn't it? - Yes, I know. It's 1930s.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Is that wax recording?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54- It's wax recording. - Good grief!- Exactly.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56And is a wonderful photograph there.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It shows, you know, just how they had been, you know,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02just have taking this machine, which weighs a tonne...
0:25:02 > 0:25:04- Oh, really? - ..in order to record the people.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07And these recordings have survived, have they?
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Have survived and now, you know,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12just now they are just all digitised.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14- Uh-huh. - So that's really good.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22WOMAN SINGS A FOLK SONG
0:25:23 > 0:25:26John and Margaret were pioneers
0:25:26 > 0:25:28in the field of anthropology,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31photographing and recording what was even then
0:25:31 > 0:25:33a disappearing way of life.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37The quality of their recordings, which were made on wax cylinders,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40aren't exactly high fidelity
0:25:40 > 0:25:44but, like their photographs, they are wonderfully evocative.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48They recorded not only from the Hebrides,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52from, you know, Barra, Uist, Canna and the surroundings.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54But also they went to Nova Scotia,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57following the steps of the immigrants.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- He was tracking down stories and songs.- Exactly, yes.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02- And that's the lifeblood of any culture.- Exactly.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09John and Margaret turned Canna House
0:26:09 > 0:26:12into a centre for Gaelic culture and folklore.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14When John died in his 90s,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Magda came to the island
0:26:16 > 0:26:19to stay with Margaret as her companion and help,
0:26:19 > 0:26:25until Margaret's death in 2004 at the age of 101.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29- And this is Margaret's room, then? - Yes. This is Margaret's study.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33And, you know, just that's where she used to sort of write
0:26:33 > 0:26:37and really...and is surrounded by the things that she really loved.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39She was a wonderful musician.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43- You know, she was trained in Paris with Nadia Boulanger.- Really?
0:26:43 > 0:26:45- Yes.- A classically-trained musician.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47- And what instrument did she play? - Piano.
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Mainly was piano.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51And do you think that's what led her to start recording
0:26:51 > 0:26:54- the music and the songs of the Hebrides, then?- Yes. Yes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56She made a tour with bicycling
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and came to South Uist.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01And so she just, she got in love with the Hebrides.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04She came back with her camera
0:27:04 > 0:27:07and she took this wonderful collection of photographs.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15The work of recording was timely.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Within a generation,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20the oral tradition and the way of life that supported it
0:27:20 > 0:27:23would largely die out in the Hebrides.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26The songs and stories in the archives of Canna House
0:27:26 > 0:27:30are not just a testament to the couple that assembled them.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33They are a hugely important cultural resource.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Leaving Canna House,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42I follow the road around the bay where most islanders live.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46It's no accident that the Campbells chose to live and work here.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Canna is geographically and culturally
0:27:49 > 0:27:52at the centre of the old Gaelic world.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56This is a place steeped in legend and folklore,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00romantic song and the deeds of Celtic heroes.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Canna is surrounded by islands
0:28:05 > 0:28:09and standing here, with Skye and the Cuillins behind me,
0:28:09 > 0:28:11I can understand how the Hebrides
0:28:11 > 0:28:14have helped shape the character of the people,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16creating legendary figures
0:28:16 > 0:28:20and inspiring others to tell their stories.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24And what better place to end my grand tour of the Scottish islands
0:28:24 > 0:28:26west of Skyfall,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29than here in the land of heroes.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Join me on my next grand tour,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37when I'll be heading to Scotland's northern frontier,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40the Shetland Islands.