0:00:05 > 0:00:09In 1840, one man transformed travel in Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:11 > 0:00:17and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Stop by stop, he told them where to travel, what to see
0:00:22 > 0:00:24and where to stay.
0:00:24 > 0:00:30Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across
0:00:30 > 0:00:34the length and breadth of the country to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02I'm continuing my journey through the Scottish highlands, steered by my 19th-century Bradshaw's guide.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Anyone who comes to visit these marvellous hills and valleys
0:01:06 > 0:01:11must be awestruck by this fantastic landscape.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14But in all the decades that I've been visiting these parts
0:01:14 > 0:01:17it never struck me that the Victorians,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21in their quest to understand how the world came to be what it is,
0:01:21 > 0:01:27made breakthrough discoveries in this remarkable geology.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31When the railways reached the Highlands,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35they opened the eyes of Victorian scientists and adventurers
0:01:35 > 0:01:38to striking natural phenomena.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Now, my guidebook is helping me to appreciate
0:01:40 > 0:01:43how their understanding advanced.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45On this leg of the journey,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I'll be unravelling one of the great 19th century geological mysteries...
0:01:50 > 0:01:54So Charles Darwin who got so much right actually got this wrong?
0:01:54 > 0:01:55Yeah, he sees it as a blunder.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Experiencing one of Britain's most stunning journeys by steam train...
0:02:00 > 0:02:03The Jacobite has panted its way up the steep incline,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06somehow the wheels gripping the wet rails,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10and now we're on the wonderful Glenfinnan Viaduct.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12And admiring Ben Nevis, where Victorian scientists
0:02:12 > 0:02:16went to extraordinary lengths in their quest for knowledge...
0:02:16 > 0:02:19People had to go up there and take readings. Is that right?
0:02:19 > 0:02:22They didn't have to go up. They actually had to live up there.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31I'm well into a journey that began in Ayr
0:02:31 > 0:02:36and has carried me north along the historic West Highland Line.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41Now my route veers West, tracing a path through mountains and lochs
0:02:41 > 0:02:44on the way to the coast and my final destination,
0:02:44 > 0:02:45the isle of Skye.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49My first stop today is Roybridge,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53before I move on to the garrison town of Fort William,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57then cross Scotland's most famous viaduct to Glenfinnan.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00As I head through the Highlands,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04the train window offers a scene of wild natural beauty.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08This is Invernesshire. My Bradshaw's guide is eloquent.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11"Vast ranges of mountains, separated from each other
0:03:11 > 0:03:13"by narrow and deep valleys.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17"These mountains stretch across the whole country from one end of the island to another
0:03:17 > 0:03:20"and lie parallel to every valley,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22"rising like immense walls on both sides,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26"while the intersected country sinks deep between them,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30"with a lake or rapid river or an arm of the sea."
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Wonderful description.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39To look closely at this dramatic terrain,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I'm getting off at the next village.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Roybridge and my Bradshaw's Guide says,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52"You may visit the heads of the Spey River
0:03:52 > 0:03:57"and the Parallel Roads of Glenroy in Lochaber."
0:03:57 > 0:03:58Sounds intriguing.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02My Bradshaw's gives a single line
0:04:02 > 0:04:06to what was a great geological mystery of the 19th century.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11How had three parallel roads been etched onto these mountains?
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Their precision suggested human intervention
0:04:13 > 0:04:18and highlanders once believed them to be the work of Fingal, the Celtic warrior king.
0:04:18 > 0:04:24In fact they're a natural phenomenon which puzzled great Victorian minds.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- Adrian, good morning. - Good morning.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30'Physical geographer, Dr Adrian Palmer, knows the story.'
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I saw in my Bradshaw's Guide a reference to Parallel Roads.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Now, I'm quite intrigued that it gets a mention in the guidebooks.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40What was the understanding in the middle 19th century of what caused this?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It was a phenomenon that had obviously been recorded in the landscape
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and it attracted huge amounts of interest.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Even to the extent of attracting a young geologist by the name of Darwin.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54He'd seen similar features in Chile, whilst on the Beagle.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59He suggested these were formed by marine processes,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04so all this valley would have been inundated by marine water.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05- By sea?- By sea.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11Charles Darwin believed that the lines indicated the positions of ancient seashores.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Others agreed, although their precise cause was disputed.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19There were other people that considered them to be developed
0:05:19 > 0:05:21as freshwater phenomena, freshwater lakes.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23There was this big debate.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25What they couldn't quite understand was,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28if they were freshwater lakes, how they were dammed up.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32How did they actually form if you can't actually see the barrier?
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Then, a Swiss Geologist named Louis Agassiz came to cast his eye
0:05:36 > 0:05:38over the Glenroy landscape.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42He was working on a controversial new theory that,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47just a few thousand years ago, much of Europe had been covered in ice.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51He believed that this "ice age" could explain the Parallel Roads.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55He suggested that these elusive barriers that no longer existed
0:05:55 > 0:05:57were formed by ice.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01The modern interpretation of these lake systems themselves
0:06:01 > 0:06:05is that ice formed somewhere in the Rannoch Moor area
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and it advanced into the Great Glen.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13That ice blocked the natural drainage systems of the Roy River and also the Spean River,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18forcing the levels to rise so it's effectively like a bath
0:06:18 > 0:06:21with an overflow plug at 260m in the landscape.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25As well as solving a local mystery, Agassiz's work on the Parallel Roads
0:06:25 > 0:06:31lent weight to his ice age theory and laid the foundation of modern geology.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35So Charles Darwin who got so much right actually got this wrong?
0:06:35 > 0:06:36Yeah he does...
0:06:38 > 0:06:40..he sees it as a blunder. He writes...
0:06:41 > 0:06:44..that he gradually becomes more persuaded
0:06:44 > 0:06:50by the ideas of Louis Agassiz and he does actually refer to it as a massive blunder.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56I'm now leaving the Parallel Roads behind, as it's time to continue my journey.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01I'm travelling 12 miles down the line to Fort William.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Built on the shores of Loch Linnhe, today this town is a tourist hub.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09But it first developed as a military outpost.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16This is Fort William.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17And the name says it all.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21It's a garrison town that was built by William of Orange,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25who was a Protestant king, who was fighting against supporters
0:07:25 > 0:07:28of the deposed Catholic-leaning King James II.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Those supporters were the Jacobites.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35And indeed before the railway line arrived in Fort William in 1894,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37probably the best way of getting here
0:07:37 > 0:07:41would have been on the military roads built by various armies
0:07:41 > 0:07:43fighting recalcitrant Highlanders.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The original 17th-century fort was an important stronghold,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54used for over a century to subdue the Highland clans.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58In the 19th century it fell into disuse and, when the railway came,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02it was largely demolished to make way for the new line.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05With Highland history in my mind,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I'm following up an interesting reference in my guide.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13My Bradshaw's guide mentions Lochiel, the seat of the Camerons,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and this is Achnacarry,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18the present seat of the Cameron clan.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23It's not surprising that Bradshaw's mentions this clan.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26In the 19th century its chief, Cameron of Lochiel,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31was an influential advocate of the new West Highland railway line.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34I've come to the ancestral seat, Achnacarry Castle,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37to meet current chief, Donald Cameron,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and hear how his predecessors helped to shape Highland history.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- Donald, what a pleasure. - Hi. Very nice to meet you. - Good to see you.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- You brought some lovely weather. - Absolutely.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51How far back does the clan Cameron go?
0:08:51 > 0:08:56About early 15th century. 14...something.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00The first ten chiefs are slightly lost in the mists of time
0:09:00 > 0:09:03but we number from ten, really.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07And I'm 27, so we've had 17 generations that we know of.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Would it be true that most people called Cameron
0:09:09 > 0:09:12could ultimately trace their origins to the highland clan?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15I mean, let's take at random the example of the Prime Minister.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18I have been told, whether it's right or wrong,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22that the Prime Minister is my 9th cousin once removed.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27And the genealogy looks quite strong but I...
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Pinch of salt but, no, possibly.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I met him once, introduced to him.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34I said, "Very pleased to meet you, I'm your clan chief."
0:09:34 > 0:09:35He took it very well.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41Is there a reason why the clans come into existence?
0:09:41 > 0:09:47I think it was probably a way of combining a little army
0:09:47 > 0:09:51to hold your territory in which you found yourself
0:09:51 > 0:09:54and gradually other people would probably take the name of Cameron
0:09:54 > 0:09:58so as to protect themselves from other clans nearby.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02The Camerons' big moment came in the 1740s.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03They were Jacobites,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08supporters of the deposed Catholic Stuart pretenders to the throne,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10who'd lived in exile for decades.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14In 1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in the Highlands
0:10:14 > 0:10:19and called on the clans to support his bid for the crown.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22My ancestor, I think, probably thought it was a forlorn chance
0:10:22 > 0:10:26of anything being achieved so went to see him to put him off.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28When he discovered the French ships had left
0:10:28 > 0:10:33and the prince was alone in what is almost clan land here,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I think he felt he couldn't desert him.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39so when he raised his standard at Glenfinnan, in August 1745,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42700 Camerons came marching over the hill.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46The decision to support Bonnie Prince Charlie
0:10:46 > 0:10:49had terrible consequences for the clan.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53In 1746, Charles was defeated at the battle of Culloden,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57and around 225 Camerons were amongst the dead.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03The victorious Duke of Cumberland, on behalf of the king,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06then set about brutally crushing the rebels.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Thousands of highlanders were imprisoned or killed
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and their families driven off the land.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Their way of life was all but destroyed.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Cumberland was pretty awful. Butcher Cumberland.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23I think what he did after the '45 was horrific and violent.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25He destroyed the clan system.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30In our case it was about the 1880s when clansfolk began saying,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34"Come on, let's re-establish ourselves as a clan."
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Since then there's been a huge amount of interest.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39And you now do this on a global basis, do you?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's very much bottom up now.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45It's the clansfolk who want to be part of the clan.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47And the chief, I think, is a focal point.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50We have gatherings every seven, eight years
0:11:50 > 0:11:53and last year we had 800 Camerons come
0:11:53 > 0:11:59from mostly North America, New Zealand, Australia and, of course, Scotland.
0:11:59 > 0:12:06For 27 generations, the Cameron Clan has helped to shape the land where they live,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09including the building of the railway.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13It was presented to my grandmother by Concrete Bob McAlpine
0:12:13 > 0:12:19when she cut the first sod of the Mallaig Extension to the West Highland railway.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25My goodness, that is a trophy, isn't it? 21st January, 1897.
0:12:25 > 0:12:32"On the occasion of cutting the first sod of the Mallaig Extension of the West Highland Railway."
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Wonderful. That is a splendid memento.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Some of the earliest visitors to Fort William
0:12:41 > 0:12:43after the new railway was built
0:12:43 > 0:12:48were plucky mountaineers, aiming to scale its most famous landmark,
0:12:48 > 0:12:49Ben Nevis.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Britain's tallest mountain is spectacular.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It towers over the town and the loch,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04and even in the height of summer, snow clings to its north face.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12The Victorians were captivated by it.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17My Bradshaw's guide says, "The highest peak in Scotland or the United Kingdom
0:13:17 > 0:13:23"is 4,406 feet above the sea and 20 miles around the base.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26"The ascent takes three to four hours to the top,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31"from which there is a grand prospect in clear weather."
0:13:31 > 0:13:34And, in an age of scientific discovery,
0:13:34 > 0:13:40some Victorians used Ben Nevis to find out more about that great British talking point,
0:13:40 > 0:13:41the weather.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I'm hoping weather expert Marjory Roy can explain.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53- Hello, Marjory. - Hello, Michael. Nice to meet you.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56We're very lucky with our view of Ben Nevis today.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58It held quite a fascination for Victorians, didn't it?
0:13:58 > 0:14:00It did indeed because, of course,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03it was the highest mountain in Scotland.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06And it so happened that they wanted to have somewhere to put
0:14:06 > 0:14:09a weather observatory so they could actually observe
0:14:09 > 0:14:11higher levels in the atmosphere.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Ben Nevis was ideally located in the path of Atlantic storms
0:14:17 > 0:14:21and in 1877, the Scottish Meteorological Society
0:14:21 > 0:14:24decided to build a cutting edge observatory
0:14:24 > 0:14:26on top of the mountain.
0:14:26 > 0:14:32When they couldn't find funding, one man offered to record the weather the hard way.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36A very flamboyant character, called Clement Wragge,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40volunteered to climb the Ben each day during the summer months,
0:14:40 > 0:14:41between June and October,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45and do observations on the way up and then for two hours at the summit
0:14:45 > 0:14:47and then again on the way down.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52Apparently he went up on days when the weather was absolutely atrocious.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54- Because, even in summer, it can be. - It can be.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56There are some conditions in summer
0:14:56 > 0:14:59where you're actually having to hang on
0:14:59 > 0:15:02and crawl over the summit plateau in order to get to it.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Clement Wragge's gruelling daily treks
0:15:06 > 0:15:12were the first attempt to document the weather at Ben Nevis.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14His dedication made front page news
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and the society launched a fresh appeal for funds.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21The public interest was so great that the money came flooding in
0:15:21 > 0:15:26and in 1883 they actually managed to start building
0:15:26 > 0:15:29the pathway up to the top and the observatory
0:15:29 > 0:15:34and it was actually finished more or less by October 1883.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Obviously, at the end of the 19th century,
0:15:36 > 0:15:42we're not talking about an automatic weather station that's sending readings down.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46We're talking people having to go up there and take the readings. Is that right?
0:15:46 > 0:15:49They didn't have to go up there. They had to live up there.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54In the winter, it's quite impossible to get up and down the path on many of the days
0:15:54 > 0:15:56and the path is completely covered in snow.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Also, the conditions were so bad they couldn't use automatic recording instruments.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04If you ever see the photographs of the period,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07everything is completely encased in ice.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11So they had to go and chip it all away in order to make the readings.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Despite those hardships, the team succeeded in creating
0:16:16 > 0:16:21one of the earliest systematic records of British weather.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26It remains one of the best sets of data that scientists have about mountain conditions.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It lasted almost 21 years,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34so you've got a full 20 years of hourly weather observations.
0:16:34 > 0:16:35With very few gaps.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39It's very difficult, even with modern automatic weather stations,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41to have a continuous record.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44It certainly showed how severe the conditions are at the summit.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48The extraordinarily detailed weather records
0:16:48 > 0:16:52weren't the only legacy left by the observatory.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55The path to the summit made climbing Ben Nevis much easier.
0:16:55 > 0:17:01Pony trips became fashionable, and after the railways came in 1894,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04a hotel was established at the peak.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09In 1904, lack of money forced the observatory to close.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11But the mountain still attracts visitors
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and today more than 100,000 people ascend it every year.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23There were, in fact, two observatories built in the late Victorian era,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26one on the top of the mountain and the other one here
0:17:26 > 0:17:29to take weather readings at sea level
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and the lower observatory is now a bed and breakfast
0:17:32 > 0:17:35and the place where I'm staying the night.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39There could be no better place to reflect
0:17:39 > 0:17:41on the Victorians' thirst for knowledge.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Having woken to a misty Highland morning,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58it's time to embark on the final stretch of my journey,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01from Fort William to Glenfinnan.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07I'm taking one of Britain's favourite heritage services.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12And so, to my great excitement, another journey by steam train.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And this one's called, appropriately, the Jacobite.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18I once got into trouble for calling the Ribblehead Viaduct
0:18:18 > 0:18:21the best crossing over a valley in Britain and somebody said,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25"No, no you've got to go over the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland."
0:18:25 > 0:18:29So beautiful that they put it on the Scottish £10 note.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32And this train is very popular.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34It's full of people taking its photograph.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Why? Well, not only because it's a magnificent railway
0:18:37 > 0:18:42but also because it was once taken by a small boy called Harry Potter.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Good morning.
0:18:59 > 0:19:05The chance to ride on the real-life Hogwarts Express is certainly entertaining.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12But, for me, the real draw is the romance of steam.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Travelling by steam train is completely different from any other railway journey.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20That chug, chug sound at the front
0:19:20 > 0:19:23and the smoke and the vapour flying past the window.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It's just wonderful.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33The West Highland line was originally planned
0:19:33 > 0:19:36to connect the west coast fishing ports with markets in the south
0:19:36 > 0:19:41but objections from landowners forced the line to stop short of its target.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46In 1897, after a long campaign by the railway's supporters,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50work began on an extension from Fort William to Mallaig.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Building the line led to a landmark piece of railway engineering.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Do you know much about this Glenfinnan Viaduct?
0:20:03 > 0:20:06I think we did pass it and we looked across...
0:20:06 > 0:20:10is it the one that looks like the Noddy books?
0:20:10 > 0:20:12It could do... what does a Noddy book look like?
0:20:12 > 0:20:17The front cover of the Noddy books always had a viaduct on it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20It would look like that, yes. It's about... I don't know...
0:20:20 > 0:20:22- About 18 arches...- Yes.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24..and it's in a little bit of a curve.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26- Yeah, and we go over that?- We do.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28And you'll be able to see it out of the window.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36I've been looking forward to crossing this viaduct
0:20:36 > 0:20:39since I joined the West Highland line.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41And it doesn't disappoint.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50The Jacobite has panted its way up the steep incline,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53somehow the wheels gripping the wet rails,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and now we're on the wonderful Glenfinnan Viaduct,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58100 feet above the valley.
0:20:58 > 0:21:05It's built in concrete, one of the last great railway engineering achievements of the Victorian age.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16The Jacobite is taking me only as far as its first stop,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18at Glenfinnan station.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21- Lovely journey, thank you. - Glad you enjoyed it.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Loved it, thank you.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42I'm heading down into the valley by foot to see the viaduct from underneath.
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Spanning 416 yards and towering 100 foot above the glen,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52this was the first large-scale concrete structure in Britain.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Writer Michael Pearson has researched its history.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58It's exciting for me to be here.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00The famous Glenfinnan Viaduct.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Why is it so special?
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Traditionally, a railway company would use
0:22:04 > 0:22:05what they could see around them.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09If you go to the Settle-Carlisle railway in the Yorkshire Dales,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13they built it from the rock around it but here the rock was so brittle
0:22:13 > 0:22:16they couldn't use it like that.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17That's where concrete came in.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Concrete at the end of the 19th century,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21the beginning of the 20th... pretty novel?
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Cutting edge you might say, yes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:30The London and South Western railway had used it in Devon and the West Country.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34But they'd used it in a traditional manner,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39in brick form or solid, shaped form. Here, it's a mass,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43so that it's sort of like a jelly mould, you might say.
0:22:43 > 0:22:50They create a framework for it, they pour this in and it sets and they take the framework away
0:22:50 > 0:22:54and there you have, hey presto, your viaduct.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58This innovative material, concrete, was used all along the line.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01At one point it required more than 400 joiners
0:23:01 > 0:23:03just to build the wooden frames.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It was championed by Sir Robert McAlpine,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09earning him the nickname "Concrete Bob".
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Initial fears that the viaduct would scar the landscape proved unfounded
0:23:14 > 0:23:18and, over the last 100 years, the concrete has weathered beautifully.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22These apparent stains on the concrete.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23What do they consist of?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26They are salts, probably, leaching out.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28They give it an almost organic look.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I think they look a bit like varicose veins, don't they?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34They've certainly got a lot of depth and texture to them.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Here, you'll see where the wood shuttering was.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39You can see the grain of the wood.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41When they poured the concrete in,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- it's been, sort of, fossilised.- Yes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47We tend to think of concrete as an ugly material
0:23:47 > 0:23:49but you just see how beautiful this is.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51And people come from far and wide to see it.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Standing beneath the viaduct's enormous arches
0:23:55 > 0:23:59makes me marvel at the achievement of the engineers.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03Round here, people have had to get used to bumping into awestruck visitors like me.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- Good morning, sir.- How are we? - I'm very, very well.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I take it you might be a local by your attire?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13There's a fair chance you're right there, yes. Aye.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Local stalker, forester, estate manager. Alastair Gibbs.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18Have you seen many people come down
0:24:18 > 0:24:21and look at the viaduct before?
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Aye! There's a constant stream!
0:24:23 > 0:24:26What about engineers, do you get any of those?
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Oh, we get civil engineers from all over the world.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31They come and hero worship this
0:24:31 > 0:24:34because it was the largest poured concrete construction of its time
0:24:34 > 0:24:37and they just want to have a good touch and feel of it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41There were many folk for years coming and looking at it
0:24:41 > 0:24:42and then Harry Potter came along
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and now we get an awful lot more with their kids.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Were you around when they were doing the Harry Potter film?
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Aye. They just left in April, after nine years.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57A pretty small production team, I imagine?
0:24:57 > 0:24:58Well...
0:24:59 > 0:25:04we only had the first unit once and I was glad to see them go at 400
0:25:04 > 0:25:08but the second unit, that did most of the action shots of the train,
0:25:08 > 0:25:14was 90 people and that's a wee bit more manageable for our village of 100 people.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Wow, it makes quite an impact when they come, then?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20It does, it takes over but it's got to be good for the area.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Thank you so much. It was lovely to talk to you.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Thank you. Bye-bye, now. Bye-bye.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Before I return to the station,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33my Bradshaw's guide recommends one more sight in the glen below.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34It describes,
0:25:34 > 0:25:40"Prince Charles' monument, where he hoisted his standard in 1745 at Glenfinnan,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42"between Loch Eil and Loch Shiel."
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Built in 1815,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48it marks the spot where the Cameron clan joined forces
0:25:48 > 0:25:53with Bonnie Prince Charlie in his attempt to take the throne.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56It's not actually the Prince on top but a kilted highlander.
0:25:57 > 0:26:03And it seems I've stumbled on a fitting accompanist for my visit.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Well played, sir. Well played.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Sound's not very good today.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- You're not Scottish. - No, no. I'm German.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21How come you play the bagpipes?
0:26:21 > 0:26:25We've a band in the Black Forest in the very south-west of Germany
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and this year we decided to take part in the pipe festival, which was last Saturday.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32It was very fantastic.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Are there many Germans who play the bagpipes?
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Yes, we have our own bagpipe scene in Germany.
0:26:38 > 0:26:45I think about 30-40 bands all over Germany and really good pipers among them.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Forgive me, I had no idea that it was so played in Germany. Fantastic.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- Bagpipes are all over the world. - All over the world?- Yes.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Well, thank you. What a pleasure to talk to you.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59- Nice to meet you.- And good piping. - Thank you.- Bye-bye, now.- Thank you.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05On my journey today I've been struck that the ambition of the Victorians
0:27:05 > 0:27:09was sustained till the end of the Queen's reign.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13The West Highland Line was completed just before her death,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17carrying her subjects into the mountains of her beloved Scotland.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Mountains present challenges to which Victorian geologists,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29meteorologists and railway builders responded.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The Scottish Highlands have always been militarily strategic.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38Here have been the great battles between different claimants to the British throne,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40between Protestant and Catholic
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and lowlander and highlander.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48These hills have seen great heroism and great slaughter, too.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54On my next journey,
0:27:54 > 0:28:00I'll be finding out how the railways helped train the first generation of commandos...
0:28:00 > 0:28:01This is wonderful.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04"A friendly agent enters the room and says, 'I have important information.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07"'An enemy ammunition train will pass through Loch Haillot,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10"'on its way to the naval base at Mallaig, at 11.15 today.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11"'That train must be wrecked.' "
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Visiting a coastal village,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18transformed by the trains into Britain's biggest herring port.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19Did the kippers go on the train?
0:28:19 > 0:28:23There wasn't a box of fish landed here that didn't go by train. Not one box.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26And crossing the sea to Skye to find out
0:28:26 > 0:28:28how modern crofters make a living.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31This is a savoury smoked salmon cheesecake.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32Mm.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35- You haven't lived till you've tasted that!- Thank you.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:29:01 > 0:29:04E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk