0:00:05 > 0:00:10For centuries, travellers have found a safe haven and sanctuary among the
0:00:10 > 0:00:12islands of the Hebrides.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18This landscape of sheltered bays, sweeping horizons
0:00:18 > 0:00:20and distant headlands,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23has drawn a host of visitors all looking
0:00:23 > 0:00:26to escape the turmoil of the modern world.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33In this series, I'm on a grand tour of the Scottish islands.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38And while the islands I'm travelling to are very different in character,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40they each have their own allure.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Generations of travellers have set out to explore the magic of the
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Scottish Islands.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I'm following in their footsteps,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52exploring remote and fascinating places
0:00:52 > 0:00:55scattered around our coastline and
0:00:55 > 0:00:58meeting the people who call these islands home.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Hairpin left.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02- Oh, sorry about that!- Keep up!
0:01:02 > 0:01:06For this grand tour I'm heading for Mull and its satellite islands,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09discovering why they've become boltholes
0:01:09 > 0:01:12from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The Isle of Mull is the second-largest island
0:01:28 > 0:01:29of the inner Hebrides,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32lying close to the coast of Argyll.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37My voyage takes me around its deeply indented 300-mile coastline
0:01:37 > 0:01:40where I'll visit offshore islands
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that have offered both a refuge and an inspiration.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50I join the crew the crew of this traditional fishing boat
0:01:50 > 0:01:53as we set off to sail around the Ross of Mull -
0:01:53 > 0:01:57a long peninsula that thrusts into the dangerous Atlantic.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Now I'm heading to the beautifully named island of Erraid,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05sailing through a scattering of rocky islets and skerries.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06It's just over there.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Mark Jardine is the skipper of this beautifully restored ketch,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18which operates as a charter vessel in the waters around Mull.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19It's a very gentle breeze.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22But it's just serving our purpose.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24How long do you think it'll take us at this speed, doing 1.4 knots?
0:02:24 > 0:02:29It could take a day trip just to go to Erraid today!
0:02:31 > 0:02:34The seas here are full of hazards to shipping.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39Reefs and skerries known collectively as the Torran Rocks.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43In this day and age with modern navigational aids,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45it's a lot easier.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48But it's still an area to treat with respect.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51A lot of those rocks are just below the surface.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- Deadly.- Ready to get you.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Hopefully we're going to avoid them!
0:02:56 > 0:02:59The great thing is to avoid getting a rock named after your skipper,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02you know!
0:03:02 > 0:03:06The Torran Rocks took such a toll on shipping that a lighthouse was
0:03:06 > 0:03:08eventually commissioned.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13Designed by Thomas Stevenson of the famous family of civil engineers,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17it's known as the lighthouse of Dubh Artach, the black rock.
0:03:19 > 0:03:25Construction began in 1867 and ran for five years.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Thomas Stevenson was the father of Robert Louis Stevenson,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33who penned such classics as Kidnapped and Treasure Island.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34And as a young boy,
0:03:34 > 0:03:40Stevenson came to know this corner of Scotland very well indeed.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48Erraid is a small island covering just one square mile.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51When the lighthouse of Dubh Artach was under construction,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Erraid became the workers' base.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The young Robert Louis Stevenson visited here,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01walking along these shell sands, drinking in the atmosphere.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05This is the imaginative source
0:04:05 > 0:04:08behind Stevenson's tropical Treasure Island
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and also the location that the writer chose
0:04:11 > 0:04:14for the shipwrecked hero of Kidnapped, David Balfour,
0:04:14 > 0:04:19to pull himself ashore, having spent the night clinging to a broken mast.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25"In about an hour of kicking and splashing,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29"I got well in between the points of a sandy bay,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31"surrounded by low hills.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34"The sea was here quite quiet.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36"There was no sound of any surf
0:04:36 > 0:04:39"and I thought in my heart I had never seen
0:04:39 > 0:04:41"a place so desert and desolate."
0:04:43 > 0:04:47David Balfour thought that he was marooned here on Erraid,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49cut off from the outside world.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54And for a few days he was forced to eat a diet of shellfish, limpets,
0:04:54 > 0:05:00until he discovered that Erraid is an island only at high tide.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04At low tide, it was quite possible to walk from the island to Mull.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07He must've felt such a chump!
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Reaching Mull without getting my feet wet,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15I'm faced with the problem
0:05:15 > 0:05:19of how to explore the island's many highways and byways.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23In order to get around this beautiful island,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I've chosen a green form of transport.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28This electric bike.
0:05:28 > 0:05:28Now, I've been told
0:05:28 > 0:05:31that the batteries are charged with electricity that
0:05:31 > 0:05:36comes from wind turbines, so let's see if I can go like the wind!
0:05:38 > 0:05:39Oh, yes, yes, we're off!
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Hmm, no faster than a moderate breeze,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49but quietly comfortable and sedate.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Plenty of time to take in the scenery
0:05:52 > 0:05:54as I make my way around the rocky
0:05:54 > 0:05:58coast and through a landscape of towering rocks and big skies.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Close to the village of Bunessan, I come to a memorial at a crossroads.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09This unassuming monument
0:06:09 > 0:06:12is dedicated to the memory of Mary MacDonald,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15who was born in 1789.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20Now, Mary never left the island, but her legacy travelled the world.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Mary wrote the original Gaelic hymn which in the 20th century became
0:06:28 > 0:06:30Morning Has Broken,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35a smash hit that was covered by many a pop star, from Cat Stevens,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Demis Roussos, and even the whistling Roger Whittaker.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48Lying close to Mull's western shore is Ulva, the wolf's island.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Today, it's almost forgotten by the world.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53But like a lot of Scottish islands,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57its current status belies its historical importance.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01From Ulva ferry, a short crossing in an open boat
0:07:01 > 0:07:04takes visitors from Mull to the island.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07For over 1,000 years,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Ulva was owned by the ancient Clan Macquarie,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14until the last chief was forced to sell up to pay off his debts in the
0:07:14 > 0:07:1918th century. Back then, about 700 people lived on the island.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Today the population is just seven.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24And none of them are Macquaries.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27But despite the loss of their ancestral home,
0:07:27 > 0:07:32the influence of Clan Macquarie on world affairs has been enormous.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Lachlan Macquarie was born on Ulva in 1762.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42A poor relative of the last Macquarie chief.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Like many impoverished Gaels,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Lachlan found an opportunity for advancement in the Army.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Rising through the ranks,
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Macquarie was appointed governor of New South Wales and the notorious
0:07:55 > 0:07:57prison colony there.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59His enlightened and progressive
0:07:59 > 0:08:01approach to governorship helped Australia
0:08:01 > 0:08:04to become established as a country
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and not just a dumping ground for convicts.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Macquarie's success earned him the fortune he desired as a young man.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16And at the age of 45 he was able to return to Mull,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and buy his uncle's estate.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25But Lachlan's homecoming wasn't easy.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27The Government refused to award him
0:08:27 > 0:08:30the pension he thought he was entitled to.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34On a trip to London to plead his case, he fell ill and died.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40According to his wishes, he was buried on Mull,
0:08:40 > 0:08:42close to the island of his birth.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49This inscription proclaims him as the father of Australia.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52And with so many places named after him,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55from Macquarie Street in Sydney to the Macquarie River,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57perhaps that's no exaggeration.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02For a man who'd spent all his adult life overseas,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05it's appropriate that Lachlan Macquarie
0:09:05 > 0:09:07chose to end his days here,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10enfolded among the hills of his native land.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13It is very peaceful here.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Mull might be an idyllic island sanctuary,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25but once a year the tranquillity is shattered
0:09:25 > 0:09:27by the arrival of 150 rally cars,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31taking part in the famous Mull Rally.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Emerging through the dust cloud, is rally driver Louise Thompson.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46A Mull local, and one of the few female competitors.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Louise, that was quite an entrance!
0:09:48 > 0:09:52- How you doing?- I'm good, thank you. - Lovely to meet you.- And you too.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53Now the Mull Rally, Louise,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56is a really important event in the motorsport calendar.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57How did you get involved in it?
0:09:57 > 0:10:01I got involved through my family being involved 45 years ago
0:10:01 > 0:10:03when the rally first started.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06My father was involved with the organising committee.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09And then he competed as well.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- So it's in your blood, is it?- Yes!
0:10:11 > 0:10:15It is. I navigated first, with a female driver,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and I competed, I think, about six times as a navigator.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21But I always thought that women had a terrible sense of direction!
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Oh, the female navigators are very, very good.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26I'm thinking of possibly joining you,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29because I'm a pretty good map reader.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30A very good navigator.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34So I reckon I'd love the opportunity of sitting beside you for a while
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- and see if I can't get you lost! - No, that's absolutely great, yeah.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- OK?- Yeah, no problem. Let's jump in.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Is it a serious competition, the Mull Rally?
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Yes, very serious.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52People take it very seriously.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54It's a challenge, it's a very tough challenge
0:10:54 > 0:10:55on the driver and on the car.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00How is it rated in the rallying world?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- It's rated as the best rally in the world.- Really?- Yes.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Do you think the single-track roads
0:11:06 > 0:11:07have got something to do with that?
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- Absolutely, yes.- And how fast do these cars go?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15This little car can do probably close to 100mph.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Right.- And the top guys, at top speed,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21will probably go 120, 130 plus mph.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28At these speeds, and on these roads, reaction time is key.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33I'm beginning to see how crucial the navigator's job is.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35I need to know, when you're driving at high speed,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38you need to know whether the bend is going left or right,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and the degree of the bend.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45- Right.- Otherwise if you get it wrong we could have a serious accident.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51Oh, dear! I hope I haven't overestimated my navigation skills!
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Flat crest and...
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Flat...
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Hairpin left.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00Hairpin left! Sorry about that!
0:12:00 > 0:12:01Come on, Paul, keep up!
0:12:02 > 0:12:03And long square right.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Caution, medium left over bridge.
0:12:10 > 0:12:11Flat right.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Flat left over crest.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24400.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Well, I think I've passed the test.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34We've managed to cover what seems to be most of Mull in the blink of an
0:12:34 > 0:12:38eye, and without serious incident.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41But I can't say I'll be sorry to get back on my bike and make a more
0:12:41 > 0:12:44sedate entrance at my next destination.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Tobermory, Mary's well in Gaelic, is the capital of Mull,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58and largest town, and home to about 700 people,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00although in the summer months,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03tourists swell the population several times over.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Tobermory Bay is a great natural harbour
0:13:06 > 0:13:10and has been used as a safe anchorage for centuries.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13In a yacht moored in the bay,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I'm meeting a man for whom sailing became a way of life,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and a means of escaping the pressures of the modern world.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Hamish Haswell-Smith has been voyaging
0:13:24 > 0:13:27amongst the Scottish islands for over 50 years.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31Now Hamish, you are the author of the celebrated, I have to say,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Scottish Islands, a true Bible for any sailor or lover
0:13:34 > 0:13:38of the West Coast of Scotland and its very many varied islands.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42In fact, this is part of the inspiration behind my own journey.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Now, I'm fascinated to know
0:13:44 > 0:13:47what was your attraction to the Scottish islands?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I think it's the sheer variety,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55but coupled with the fact of the number of lovely anchorages.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58And the other thing I like with Scotland
0:13:58 > 0:14:02is that you can get on some of the small uninhabited islands
0:14:02 > 0:14:03and you can feel,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05"I'm the first person ever to stand on this island!"
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Which you know you're not, really.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10But you could imagine you are.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12One of the delightful things about this book,
0:14:12 > 0:14:14apart from the historical information,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18is the way that you've illustrated it with your own line drawings and
0:14:18 > 0:14:23watercolours. Now for someone with an artistic sensibility,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27what's so inspiring about the islands of the West Coast?
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Well, I think the light is certainly one of the things.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33And you get all the effects of light here.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35A place like, say, Iona,
0:14:35 > 0:14:36it attracted so many painters
0:14:36 > 0:14:40because the light is something that's quite different.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46You've got beautiful white shell sand, you've got wonderful sea,
0:14:46 > 0:14:52turquoises and greens and blues and all sorts of lovely colours.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I love taking photographs.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58But unlike me, Hamish captures treasured moments
0:14:58 > 0:15:02with exquisitely drawn sketches and watercolours.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06He makes it look so easy.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07This is Castlebay,
0:15:07 > 0:15:08it's just a few lines,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10but it's instantly recognisable.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- Yes.- Because of Kisimul Castle.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- It's wonderful.- Even when it's raining, if you're out at sea,
0:15:17 > 0:15:23and suddenly a little bit clears and there's a shaft of sunlight comes
0:15:23 > 0:15:30shining down, and it catches an island or some distant mountains,
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and the number of potential paintings
0:15:33 > 0:15:36that you could make out of all that
0:15:36 > 0:15:37is absolutely fantastic.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I feel it's time for a little therapy.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46And to get it, I'm heading for the Treshnish Islands,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50which lie in a chain about three miles west of Mull.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53To get there, I'm joining Ian Morrison,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55who regularly makes the crossing with visitors
0:15:55 > 0:16:00who are all hoping to meet the islands' rather special inhabitants.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Ian, what's the island right on the bow here?
0:16:03 > 0:16:06That's Lunga. This is the one we're headed for now.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08This is where we go every day.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09Does anyone live on Lunga?
0:16:09 > 0:16:15No, no, just puffins and guillemots and razorbills and kittiwakes and
0:16:15 > 0:16:17fulmars, shags and a whole lot of other birds.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- So it's a sea bird city? - Absolutely, absolutely.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26For those uninitiated in the ways of the wild,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30getting ashore on Lunga can be something of an ordeal.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34And once safely on land, you are here to stay.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37At least until the boat returns with the jetty.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43And then what? There's nothing much here, except the puffins, of course.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46And there are plenty of them to entertain
0:16:46 > 0:16:49even the most cynical of city dwellers.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Ian, why do people come here to Lunga?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Well, you can see them all arrayed along the edge of the cliff there,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56these are the boys, these puffins.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57That's the whole reason.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59But they do come out for all the other birdlife as well,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02there's thousands of guillemots and lots of other sea birds.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- That's the main reason.- What would you say is the great allure of
0:17:05 > 0:17:08puffins over other sea birds?
0:17:08 > 0:17:09They're very, very attractive.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Very comical.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14In some places they call them sea parrots.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Various other names, that they've got
0:17:18 > 0:17:21that indicate a comical creature, I think.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23And the way they get about, they kind of puff around!
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Do you think we identify them in some ways?
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Probably, I think we're probably quite like them, really.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30I believe that's why they're studying us, you know.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I tell people that they're doing an ongoing study of homo sapiens
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and the people should be on their best behaviour!
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Ian describes these encounters as puffin therapy.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46A way of decluttering the urban mind and getting close to nature.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50People feel, or seem to be,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52a lot happier when they come off this island
0:17:52 > 0:17:55after two hours communing with these creatures
0:17:55 > 0:17:58than they are when they arrive.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I love them more than any other little bird on this whole planet.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03I just adore them.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07They don't seem bothered when we're, you know, inches away,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10they seem quite happy. It seems some kind of mutual respect
0:18:10 > 0:18:13between humans and animals. It's brilliant.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15I've never seen it anywhere else.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Last year we missed out on this tour, we couldn't get on it.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22So we came back, really, this year, just to come and see the puffins.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24And it's been incredible.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I think that's what I love about them, the humour of the birds.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30They're very funny. I just wish I could talk their language!
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Having achieved a positive and contented mental state,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41I leave the puffins and their soothing vibes
0:18:41 > 0:18:44to wander higher on the island.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Until the 1820s, Lunga was inhabited
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and boasted a population of about 20.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Amazing to think that people once lived out here.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Leaving the empty houses with the ghosts of a lost way of life,
0:19:02 > 0:19:06I climb to the highest point on this tiny island.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Wow, look at that.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12The view from up here is truly magnificent.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16A great sweep of islands on the horizon,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19from Iona and Erraid to the south of me.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25Behind me Ben More and Ulva, and below me, the Treshnish Islands.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28All of them offering respite from the modern world.