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In 1840, one man transformed travel in the British Isles. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:10 | |
His name was George Bradshaw, | 0:00:10 | 0:00:12 | |
and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:16 | |
Stop by stop, he told them where to travel, | 0:00:18 | 0:00:21 | |
what to see and where to stay. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
Now, 170 years later, I'm making a series of journeys across the length | 0:00:25 | 0:00:30 | |
and breadth of these isles to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:34 | |
At the halfway point, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:56 | |
my Scottish journey has brought me to the Highlands. | 0:00:56 | 0:00:59 | |
Here in the rural county of Moray, small-scale industries | 0:00:59 | 0:01:03 | |
based on high-quality local resources | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
were transformed by the railways, | 0:01:06 | 0:01:08 | |
and are now brand names sought out by connoisseurs across the globe. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:13 | |
'Today, I learn how Victorian whisky trains were raided by robbers.' | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
Do you think anyone's spotted us yet? | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
I don't think so. I'll keep an eye out. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
'I traverse one of Scotland's most impressive viaducts.' | 0:01:24 | 0:01:28 | |
Really is a spectacular piece of architecture and engineering. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:33 | |
'And I discover that life isn't always sweet | 0:01:33 | 0:01:35 | |
'on a shortbread production line.' | 0:01:35 | 0:01:38 | |
Stop the conveyor belt! I want to get off! | 0:01:38 | 0:01:39 | |
Using my 1880s Bradshaw's, this trip started in Stirling, | 0:01:42 | 0:01:47 | |
passed through Perthshire, moved on to the granite city of Aberdeen | 0:01:47 | 0:01:50 | |
and is now taking me west to Banffshire, | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
thence to the classic lochs of the Highlands, | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
to finish at John O'Groats. | 0:01:57 | 0:01:58 | |
Today's leg begins in Dufftown, in north-eastern Scotland, | 0:02:02 | 0:02:06 | |
indulges my sweet tooth in Aberlour, | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
samples some luxury in Elgin, | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
and, via Inverness, ends in mountainous Aviemore. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
My Bradshaw's has guided me onto these tracks | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
which are carrying me towards Dufftown, of which my book says that | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
"It is situated on the River Spey at the foot of a range of hills, | 0:02:30 | 0:02:35 | |
"the principal and centre of which is Ben Rinnes. | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
"A little further south lies Glenlivet." | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
There's the clue. I'm travelling on the most northerly heritage railway | 0:02:41 | 0:02:46 | |
in Britain - the Keith and Dufftown, also known as the Whisky Line. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:50 | |
'Although its castle, Balvenie, dates back to the 13th century, | 0:02:54 | 0:02:56 | |
'Dufftown was founded only in 1817, when James Duff, 4th Earl of Fife, | 0:02:56 | 0:03:03 | |
'decided to create a new town, | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
'where, following the Napoleonic wars, | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
'local people could find work.' | 0:03:07 | 0:03:09 | |
'Dufftown attracted a cluster of distilleries | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
'for some of the most famous names in Scotch whisky.' | 0:03:13 | 0:03:16 | |
'And I'm meeting senior guide Jennifer Proctor at one of them, | 0:03:17 | 0:03:21 | |
'Glenfiddich, to find out why.' | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
-Jennifer, hello. -Hello, nice to meet you. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:27 | |
Good to see you. What a stunning place. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
Beautiful setting in the hills. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
Why is it that great whisky is made here? | 0:03:31 | 0:03:34 | |
Well, pretty much from what you can see, the surrounding countryside | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
helps supply us with the barley that we need for the malt. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
It also gives us the water that we need, | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
so the vital ingredients for making whisky. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
Originally, this area was perfect, as well, | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
because of the transport links, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:47 | |
so there's a great deal of railways in the area | 0:03:47 | 0:03:49 | |
that could transport things that we didn't have here onto the site, | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
but it also meant that we could take the finished product | 0:03:52 | 0:03:54 | |
of the whisky off and then eventually transport it | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
all around Scotland. | 0:03:57 | 0:03:58 | |
And it's not just an historic thing. You're still making it today. | 0:03:58 | 0:04:01 | |
Yes, we are. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:02 | |
In 1886, founder William Grant set out to fulfil a lifelong ambition | 0:04:02 | 0:04:07 | |
of creating the best dram in the valley. | 0:04:07 | 0:04:10 | |
With the help of his seven sons and two daughters, | 0:04:11 | 0:04:14 | |
William built his distillery in a single year. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:18 | |
Their hard work was rewarded on Christmas Day 1887, | 0:04:18 | 0:04:22 | |
when the first drop of spirit flowed. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:24 | |
William named his distillery Glenfiddich, | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
Gaelic for Valley of the Deer. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
What actually is distilling? | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
Well, basically what we're trying to do is refine a beer-like liquid | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
into a spirit that we can go on to put through the maturation process | 0:04:37 | 0:04:41 | |
and eventually that will become whisky. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
Malted barley, water and yeast are the ingredients. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
Scotch malt whisky is produced from a natural chemical alteration | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
of wort, a sugary liquid which is fermented in vats, | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
then distilled in copper stills and finally matured in wooden casks. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
Would this be recognisable to a Victorian? | 0:05:01 | 0:05:04 | |
Yeah. I mean, it's certainly larger in terms of its scale, | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
but the process hasn't really changed a great deal over the years. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
The railways, then. What difference did they make? | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
Well, essentially, all distilleries at that time | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
pretty much had their own sidings | 0:05:15 | 0:05:16 | |
and there was a lot more train lines, railway lines put in | 0:05:16 | 0:05:20 | |
specifically for transporting goods like whisky, | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
so really it was fundamental to the distilleries | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
that these lines were put in place. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:27 | |
Was there any downside to having the railways? | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
There were a few, yeah. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:31 | |
I mean, the most noticeable would have been the theft they found | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
that happened from the trains themselves. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
Distillers, they kind of accounted for a certain amount of loss, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
but the trains often were very slow, | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
and they would take a day or two to get from somewhere like Dufftown | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
down to Glasgow, where the whisky was actually going to be going to. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
During that time, a lot of the time would be spent | 0:05:49 | 0:05:51 | |
in very remote sidings, so they were unprotected. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
It was very easy for people to go and siphon off | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
a little bit of whisky and take it home. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:57 | |
Oh, I see. So they weren't taking a whole barrel, | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
which would be quite challenging. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:01 | |
No, they were just siphoning it off a cask, | 0:06:01 | 0:06:03 | |
usually only a very small amount, | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
enough for themselves, or maybe them and their friends. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
It wasn't huge quantities people were taking. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:10 | |
I'm intrigued by these Victorian whisky thefts, and wonder whether | 0:06:11 | 0:06:15 | |
Ian Macdonald, Glenfiddich's master cooper, can show me how it was done. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:19 | |
Ian. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:23 | |
Hello, Michael. How are you doing? | 0:06:23 | 0:06:25 | |
-Very well. -Nice to meet you. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:26 | |
This is a first for me. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:27 | |
I don't think I've ever met a cooper before. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:29 | |
That's what you are, isn't it? | 0:06:29 | 0:06:30 | |
Yes. I'm what they term a Master Cooper. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
I served a five year apprenticeship to become a craftsman. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
Ian, I'm thinking about my retirement, | 0:06:35 | 0:06:37 | |
and I was thinking of turning to a little whisky theft in my old days, | 0:06:37 | 0:06:41 | |
and I've been hearing a bit about it. | 0:06:41 | 0:06:44 | |
How would I set about it then? | 0:06:44 | 0:06:45 | |
We'll remove a hoop, we'll bore a hole and remove a bung | 0:06:45 | 0:06:49 | |
and hopefully we can extract some of the good old whisky that way. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
Great. I can't wait. | 0:06:53 | 0:06:54 | |
-Right, well. -Right. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
OK, so what we'll do is just use a boring brace. | 0:06:56 | 0:07:00 | |
Would you like to have a shot? | 0:07:00 | 0:07:02 | |
Yep, let me have a shot at that. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:03 | |
Put a wee bit of pressure on and twist it round at the same time. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:06 | |
That's it. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:07 | |
American oak is quite a hard oak, so you do need a really sharp bit. | 0:07:07 | 0:07:12 | |
Do you think anyone's spotted us yet? | 0:07:12 | 0:07:13 | |
No, I don't think so. I'll keep an eye out. You're OK. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
I can see the shavings of wood coming out. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:19 | |
That's right. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:20 | |
Whoa, we're through. | 0:07:20 | 0:07:22 | |
We'll create a vacuum. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:23 | |
Not too noisy. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:26 | |
Whoa, there she flows! | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
OK, here we go! Tilt her back. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:29 | |
Oh, that is magnificent! | 0:07:29 | 0:07:31 | |
You're spilling a bit there, Ian, | 0:07:31 | 0:07:32 | |
but it doesn't matter as long as we get our bottle full. | 0:07:32 | 0:07:35 | |
Are you paying? | 0:07:35 | 0:07:37 | |
OK, up you go. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:38 | |
Right, what do we do now to cover our crime? | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
Oh, no problem. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:41 | |
We'll just plug the hole. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
Look at that. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:52 | |
So we'll just replace the hoop. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:54 | |
That's it back on. Never know. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
It's as good as new, isn't it? | 0:08:04 | 0:08:06 | |
It's just as well you work for the forces of law and order! | 0:08:06 | 0:08:08 | |
Well, I'll just give you a wee souvenir. | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
Thank you. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:12 | |
Tastes all the better for being purloined. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
Good. | 0:08:18 | 0:08:19 | |
Feeling both warm and mischievous, | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
I'm proceeding by road to my next destination, | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
the Speyside village of Aberlour. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:29 | |
Thomas Telford, the renowned civil engineer, | 0:08:30 | 0:08:32 | |
designed Craigellachie Bridge, | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
spanning the River Spey about two miles north, | 0:08:34 | 0:08:37 | |
but I'm in Aberlour for a different reason. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
Bradshaw's tells me that at Craigellachie, | 0:08:43 | 0:08:45 | |
"the rail system divides into two, one of which runs along Strathspey, | 0:08:45 | 0:08:50 | |
"the valley which gives its name to a highland dance, | 0:08:50 | 0:08:54 | |
"passing in its route the station of Aberlour." | 0:08:54 | 0:08:58 | |
Well, the station no longer has any trains. | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
Nowadays, it's a cafe, feeding | 0:09:00 | 0:09:02 | |
hungry Strathspey tourists taking a short break with shortbread. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:07 | |
In 1898, Joseph Walker, a baker with a passion for shortbread, | 0:09:10 | 0:09:15 | |
borrowed £50 and opened a shop. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
More than a century later, his shortbread, | 0:09:19 | 0:09:21 | |
a blend of flour, butter, sugar and salt, is sold in 80 countries | 0:09:21 | 0:09:26 | |
and its factory produces 500 million shortbreads a year. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
Joseph's grandson Jim is a joint managing director. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
-Hello, Michael. -Hello, Jim. | 0:09:37 | 0:09:38 | |
-Welcome to Walker's, welcome. -Thank you very much. | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
Come in, come in. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:41 | |
The changing room second on your left, | 0:09:41 | 0:09:44 | |
and we'll get togged up to go into the factory. | 0:09:44 | 0:09:47 | |
Jim, Scotland really is | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
enormously associated with shortbread, isn't it? | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
Why do you think that is? | 0:09:52 | 0:09:53 | |
Well, shortbread is one of those foods | 0:09:53 | 0:09:55 | |
that is synonymous with Scotland, Michael. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
Scots can readily claim to have invented shortbread, | 0:09:57 | 0:10:00 | |
and it's really always been part of Scotland, | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
it's part of the heritage. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
The distances here are huge, aren't they? | 0:10:05 | 0:10:07 | |
Yes, indeed. It seems a long way. The ovens are 60 metres long. | 0:10:07 | 0:10:12 | |
And does the heat vary at different places in the oven? | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
Yes, indeed. The heat varies right through the oven, | 0:10:15 | 0:10:17 | |
so we end up at the end with a nice flash of hotter temperature | 0:10:17 | 0:10:23 | |
to make the shortbread a nice golden brown, | 0:10:23 | 0:10:24 | |
because that's exactly how it should be. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:26 | |
-I'm going to introduce you to Pauline. -Pauline, hello. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
-Hello. Pleased to meet you. -You too. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:30 | |
May I have a pair of gloves and then I can join in your work? | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
Indeed, yes. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:35 | |
-If you take two of the trays. -Two trays. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:38 | |
And then place three thistles in each of the compartments. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:41 | |
Two, three. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:43 | |
Two, three. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:45 | |
One, two, three. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:48 | |
This is like waltzing, isn't it? One, two, three. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:50 | |
We got an empty one there, whoa! | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
Sometimes its easier to do two at a time. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:56 | |
-Oh, is it? Right. What, left hand, right hand? -Exactly. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:59 | |
OK. Let's try the double-handed approach. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
-One, two... -Do it simultaneously. -..three. | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
One, two... | 0:11:05 | 0:11:06 | |
..three. | 0:11:08 | 0:11:09 | |
They go past pretty fast, don't they, Pauline? | 0:11:09 | 0:11:11 | |
They do, really. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
You'll be a natural. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:14 | |
This is a merciless process! | 0:11:14 | 0:11:17 | |
Stop the conveyor belt! I want to get off! | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
Shortbread has been attributed to Mary, Queen of Scots, | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
who, in the mid-16th century, | 0:11:24 | 0:11:25 | |
was said to be very fond of Petticoat Tails, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
a thin, crisp, buttery shortbread | 0:11:28 | 0:11:30 | |
originally flavoured with caraway seeds. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
My next task is to feed 21st century shortbread | 0:11:34 | 0:11:38 | |
into its wrapping machine. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:39 | |
The two-handed technique. | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
They're coming pretty fast and furious just at the moment. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:46 | |
Get in there! Get in there! | 0:11:46 | 0:11:47 | |
-You've really got to keep your wits about you, haven't you? -You do. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
They're coming... | 0:11:50 | 0:11:51 | |
You've got to be one step ahead the whole time. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
I'm going to have to leave a gap there. I missed a few there. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:57 | |
It's like that nightmare in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, isn't it, | 0:11:57 | 0:12:00 | |
where you unleash forces that you cannot control | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
and they descend relentlessly upon you. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
The demands of mechanisation cannot be assuaged. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
Is there anyone to take over? | 0:12:13 | 0:12:15 | |
Phew, what a relief. Thank you very much. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:17 | |
Hello. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:20 | |
Now this looks to me like the ultimate raw deal. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:23 | |
Oh! | 0:12:26 | 0:12:27 | |
Got to be pretty nimble. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:29 | |
Ah! | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:12:33 | 0:12:34 | |
Oh, no! | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
This is definitely the worst ordeal I've been set today. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
This is... | 0:12:40 | 0:12:41 | |
Help! Somebody, help! | 0:12:44 | 0:12:46 | |
Well, Jim, I really enjoyed that, | 0:12:50 | 0:12:51 | |
and I've done a lot of factory visits, | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
and I'm not trying to butter you up, | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
but this one really took the biscuit. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
Well, that's what we're all about, Michael. Thank you. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
'I've had a busy time learning about two of Scotland's | 0:13:00 | 0:13:03 | |
'finest Victorian products, | 0:13:03 | 0:13:05 | |
'and I'm hoping that at my final stop of the day | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
'I can sample them both.' | 0:13:08 | 0:13:09 | |
Ah, good evening. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:12 | |
Hi, there. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:13 | |
I see your pub's called The Mash Tun. What does that mean? | 0:13:13 | 0:13:15 | |
That's correct. Well, a Mash Tun is a large receptacle used | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
in the whisky-making industry. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
It's somewhere that they used to mix up all the ingredients, | 0:13:21 | 0:13:23 | |
hence a good name for a pub. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:26 | |
And I see that you stand just behind the railway station. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:28 | |
Any connection with the railways? | 0:13:28 | 0:13:30 | |
Yeah. This used to be the station refreshment rooms, initially, | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
and then, obviously, once the railway station closed down in '65, | 0:13:33 | 0:13:38 | |
it was then renamed The Mash Tun. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
After the day that I've had, could I have a glass | 0:13:40 | 0:13:44 | |
of your local malt whisky and a stick of shortbread, please. | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
Certainly. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:48 | |
Thank you. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:50 | |
There we are. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:51 | |
Now, do not try this at home. | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
Ah! | 0:13:56 | 0:13:57 | |
A rush of sugar, butter and alcohol. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:02 | |
'Refreshed and ready for the day ahead, | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
'I'm continuing my journey by train from my nearest station, Keith.' | 0:14:14 | 0:14:18 | |
'This small area of Scotland is known as the golden triangle, | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
'because of the pure local water which allows companies to flourish | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
'despite their remote location. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:30 | |
'Today, I'll visit another industry that also benefited greatly | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
'from the arrival of the railways.' | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
My first destination today is Elgin, which my Bradshaw's tells me is | 0:14:40 | 0:14:44 | |
"a borough five miles from the sea on the River Lossie. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:47 | |
"It contains five chapels, a prison, a library, assembly rooms, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:52 | |
"literary and horticultural societies, breweries, | 0:14:52 | 0:14:55 | |
"gas and water works, woollen factory, | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
"grammar school and free school." | 0:14:58 | 0:15:00 | |
Now, amongst those, I know that the woollen factory still exists, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:05 | |
so no material change there. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:07 | |
'Elgin was a favourite hunting ground of early Scottish monarchs. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:15 | |
'With its ancient cathedral | 0:15:15 | 0:15:16 | |
'and lying either side of the River Lossie, | 0:15:16 | 0:15:18 | |
'it grew steadily throughout the medieval period, | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
'until by the 17th century it boasted fine buildings | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
'that reflected the prosperity of its merchants. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
'When the railways arrived in the 1850s, business in the town boomed, | 0:15:30 | 0:15:34 | |
'and firms like cloth manufacturers Johnstons of Elgin blossomed. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
'James Sugden is a director.' | 0:15:40 | 0:15:41 | |
-James, hello. -Good morning. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
Michael, good to see you. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
You're lost in your archives, I can see, which is not surprising | 0:15:49 | 0:15:52 | |
because your company goes all the way back to 1797. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:55 | |
Why was it that the woollen industry took off in this particular place, | 0:15:55 | 0:16:00 | |
quite a remote place? | 0:16:00 | 0:16:01 | |
We had a local supply of fibre from our sheep, | 0:16:01 | 0:16:04 | |
and we had, also, that very important ingredient - water. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:08 | |
Soft, Scottish water. | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
During the 19th century, what were the developments in the business? | 0:16:10 | 0:16:14 | |
James Johnston made tweed for the local market. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:16 | |
As time went on, he moved into finer fibres, and with the advent of | 0:16:16 | 0:16:21 | |
Queen Victoria, we moved into design fabrics, particularly tartans, | 0:16:21 | 0:16:25 | |
and then the local estate tweeds. | 0:16:25 | 0:16:27 | |
Because Queen Victoria actually rescues the tartan | 0:16:27 | 0:16:31 | |
from being a, kind of, banned thing | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
to being a fashion item in a short period of time. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:36 | |
Yes, she made it very fashionable, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
and we produced a lot of tartan and still do, but the other thing | 0:16:38 | 0:16:42 | |
that her advent to this district brought | 0:16:42 | 0:16:44 | |
was this estate tweed business, | 0:16:44 | 0:16:46 | |
making bespoke design fabrics for the upper class. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:50 | |
This is what the servants wore indoors, | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
but I suppose what they wore on the moors, as well? | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
The ghillies, the keepers, the stalkers, | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
they wanted camouflage, | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
but then they also wanted fabrics that were distinctive | 0:16:59 | 0:17:01 | |
and so, often, the wives of the laird would insist on | 0:17:01 | 0:17:04 | |
little quirky over-checks and colourings | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
that were perhaps not just camouflage, | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
but were their own idiosyncratic designs. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
When did you get your railway here? | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
1852, and that's when our export business really took off. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:17 | |
I think in the next 40 years, our turnover went up by eight times | 0:17:17 | 0:17:22 | |
and it was all based on the export business, | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
but export in those days could have been considered London. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
And does that impact of the railways show up in your archives? | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
This was 1859, and here's a customer in London still in existence, | 0:17:31 | 0:17:35 | |
A Gagniere & Company, who are cloth merchants, | 0:17:35 | 0:17:37 | |
and there's a lovely entry here which says "by rail all the way", | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
so that cloth came off the mill here, was taken to Elgin station | 0:17:41 | 0:17:45 | |
and went all the way to London, probably within a couple of days. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
1859. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
1859. Great. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:52 | |
James Johnston seized the opportunities afforded | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
by the railway, and also expanded his business | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
by negotiating a supply of a fine thread first made popular in Europe | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
some years earlier, by Napoleon Bonaparte. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
What's this book showing us? | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
This ledger here shows us the first purchase of cashmere fibre... | 0:18:09 | 0:18:13 | |
Ah! | 0:18:13 | 0:18:14 | |
..which was really James Johnston's first venture | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
into exotic soft handling fibres, | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
and this was in 1850 from a company called A Buxton in London. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:25 | |
And cashmere, this is a goat? | 0:18:26 | 0:18:30 | |
It's a goat, largely bred in Mongolia, | 0:18:30 | 0:18:34 | |
and it's the soft underfleece of the animal, | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
so when the fleece comes off the animal, 50%, 60% is coarse hair | 0:18:37 | 0:18:43 | |
and the down is what we extract | 0:18:43 | 0:18:45 | |
to make, obviously, what people know as cashmere today. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
This is cashmere? | 0:18:48 | 0:18:49 | |
That's pure cashmere from Mongolia, this is our raw material today. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
Most of our raw material comes from that area. | 0:18:52 | 0:18:55 | |
Hmm, it is very, very soft. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:56 | |
And is that the finest thing you do now? | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
No, we do have one other fibre called Vicuna, | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
which I'll show you a sample of. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:03 | |
That's lovely soft stuff. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:07 | |
Is that more expensive than the cashmere? | 0:19:07 | 0:19:09 | |
Yes, it's ten times the price of cashmere. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:12 | |
Ten times. | 0:19:12 | 0:19:13 | |
And cashmere's ten times the price of wool. | 0:19:13 | 0:19:16 | |
Lovely. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:17 | |
Your company clearly has an amazing history, | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
but also, I think, a present and future, | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
and I'm going to go and look at your factory. Thank you so much. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:23 | |
-Thank you for coming, Michael. -Bye. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
'As with many companies, | 0:19:28 | 0:19:29 | |
'its success relies on the stability and loyalty of its workforce.' | 0:19:29 | 0:19:33 | |
'Generations of the same families | 0:19:35 | 0:19:37 | |
'have trodden the floors of this factory. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:39 | |
'They've taken raw fibre | 0:19:40 | 0:19:42 | |
'through every stage of the production process | 0:19:42 | 0:19:44 | |
'from design to weaving, to dyeing, to hand-crafted finishing. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:50 | |
'Yarn Manager Mike Matheson is from such a family.' | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
-Hello. -Hello. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
-You have the most wonderful colours here. -Yes. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
Beautiful dyes. Have you been in the business very long? | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
Yes, I've worked here since I left school, since I was 16, | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
served my apprenticeship here, | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
for 36 years I've been with Johnstons. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:18 | |
Congratulations. Were you an Elgin man, born and bred? | 0:20:18 | 0:20:21 | |
Yes, born and bred just up the road near Elgin. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:24 | |
My family are all Elginners, come from Elgin. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
Any of them in the business before you? | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
Erm, yes, my great-auntie was here in the '50s, and then my mother, | 0:20:33 | 0:20:36 | |
she started here in the '60s and I started here mid '70s. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
Will it go on through your family, do you think? | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
Yes, my daughter, my younger daughter, she's 24 | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
and she works in the dye house, | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
so we're following on a sort of a family tradition, | 0:20:47 | 0:20:49 | |
of one of us being in Johnstons. | 0:20:49 | 0:20:51 | |
Well, let's hope it goes on for a long time yet. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:53 | |
-Thank you. -Bye, now. -Bye. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:55 | |
I wonder whether, even in a state-of-the-art textile house, | 0:20:56 | 0:21:00 | |
fine knitwear requires a human touch, | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
in its design and its finishing. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
Marketing assistant Kirsty Cunningham should know. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
During the 19th century, | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
the company was having to adapt to new tastes and demands. | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
Is it the same today? | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
Absolutely. We're very fortunate to have a big team of designers | 0:21:16 | 0:21:20 | |
based here in Elgin, woven designers, and we also have | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
a set of designers in our knitwear factory in Hawick | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
and both teams work really hard to keep up with | 0:21:26 | 0:21:30 | |
the fashions of today, but at the same time they're very fortunate, | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
especially the designers here in Elgin, | 0:21:33 | 0:21:35 | |
as they have fantastic resources like our archive room | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
where they can look through manuscripts | 0:21:38 | 0:21:41 | |
or swatches of fabric that date back to the 1800s. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
And when you are exporting, do you think that it's helpful | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
not only that you're Scottish, but that it's a rural Scottish industry? | 0:21:47 | 0:21:51 | |
Yeah, I think definitely. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
I think buyers today look for authenticity of product | 0:21:53 | 0:21:56 | |
and I think we're very lucky in that our product is 100% made in Scotland | 0:21:56 | 0:21:59 | |
and it has been for 215 years. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
So, in spite of all these fantastic machines | 0:22:02 | 0:22:05 | |
we have in the factory nowadays, Michael, | 0:22:05 | 0:22:08 | |
one thing that is very special to Johnstons of Elgin | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
-is the teasel head. -The teasel? -Yes. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
Now, we use these teasels to raise the pile of the cashmere | 0:22:15 | 0:22:18 | |
during the finishing process. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
Now, if you look, you'll see there's very small little hooks | 0:22:21 | 0:22:23 | |
-on the end of the teasel. -Yeah. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:25 | |
And it's those hooks that lift up the pile of the fabric, | 0:22:25 | 0:22:28 | |
and create that lovely rippled effect, | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
so if you look at this piece of cashmere here, | 0:22:30 | 0:22:32 | |
-you'll notice there's almost a ripple... -Yes. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:35 | |
..and a shine, and that comes from the teasel. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:37 | |
And you've found nothing better? | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
Nothing that will replace the teasel. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:41 | |
And where do you get these things? | 0:22:41 | 0:22:42 | |
We buy these from Spain. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:44 | |
So in the land of the Scottish thistle | 0:22:44 | 0:22:46 | |
-you need the help of the Spanish teasel? -Indeed. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
'Cutting it fine, I'm bound now for Inverness | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
'where I'll change trains. | 0:22:57 | 0:22:59 | |
'I'm now directed south to the winter resort of Aviemore | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
'along one of the most picturesque lines in Scotland.' | 0:23:11 | 0:23:14 | |
Hi, I'm Michael, pleased to meet you. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
This main line from Inverness down to Edinburgh hadn't been built | 0:23:24 | 0:23:28 | |
when my Bradshaw's was published, | 0:23:28 | 0:23:29 | |
and my guidebook gives me a clue as to why. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:32 | |
It says of Inverness-shire that | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
"The surface is, in general, extremely rugged and uneven, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:38 | |
"consisting of vast ranges of mountains separated from each other | 0:23:38 | 0:23:42 | |
"by narrow and deep valleys." | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
So no wonder the railway was constructed so late, | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
and there's no better place to get an idea of the challenge | 0:23:48 | 0:23:52 | |
presented to the railway engineer by this terrain | 0:23:52 | 0:23:56 | |
than in the driver's cab. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:57 | |
I'm riding the famous Inverness to Aviemore direct line. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
It was opened in the 1890s to cut journey times south from Inverness. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:10 | |
And with two major rivers to cross | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
and a mountain pass of 1,315 feet to conquer, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
building it was no mean feat. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:19 | |
Gordon, I can hear the train wearying | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
as it goes up this steep gradient. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:26 | |
Do you ever think about what it must have been like | 0:24:26 | 0:24:28 | |
for the engineers planning and building this line? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
I couldn't imagine the work that must have gone into this. | 0:24:30 | 0:24:33 | |
It's a beautiful line, I must say. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
At the moment, luckily, we're not seeing snow, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
we're seeing some beautiful heather. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
We're just at the right time of year now | 0:24:39 | 0:24:40 | |
to be seeing the heather coming out. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
In winter, sometimes, its like a toboggan run, | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
just made for the train, because the snow is cleared for the train, | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
but on either side there's maybe three, four or five feet of snow. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:53 | |
This line really is a railway connoisseur's delight, | 0:24:53 | 0:24:58 | |
because just outside of Inverness, | 0:24:58 | 0:25:00 | |
standing to the east of the famous Culloden battlefield, | 0:25:00 | 0:25:04 | |
the longest masonry viaduct in Scotland, measuring 544 metres, | 0:25:04 | 0:25:10 | |
spans the River Nairn. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:11 | |
This is a moment I've really been looking forward to. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:16 | |
The line is descending quite steeply towards the Culloden Viaduct, | 0:25:16 | 0:25:20 | |
and very often you don't get a good view of a viaduct when you're | 0:25:20 | 0:25:24 | |
actually on it, but fortunately, as we approach it now, I can see it | 0:25:24 | 0:25:27 | |
curving round to the right. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:29 | |
I'm getting a very, very good view of it, | 0:25:29 | 0:25:31 | |
and it really is a spectacular piece of architecture and engineering. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:37 | |
Built over five years, using local quarry stone and completed in 1898, | 0:25:45 | 0:25:50 | |
like the rest of the line, | 0:25:50 | 0:25:52 | |
the Culloden viaduct was engineered by Sir John Fowler | 0:25:52 | 0:25:55 | |
and Murdoch Paterson. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:56 | |
I'm now headed to Aviemore to meet Anne Mary Paterson, | 0:25:59 | 0:26:03 | |
who's written a biography of her great-grand-uncle. | 0:26:03 | 0:26:06 | |
Hello, Anne Mary. | 0:26:08 | 0:26:09 | |
Oh, hello. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:12 | |
Hello, good to see you. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:13 | |
So, here you are admiring your great-grand-uncle's railway line. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:17 | |
That's right, yes. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:18 | |
I came over that viaduct just now, and it's a great structure. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:22 | |
What did he think of it? | 0:26:22 | 0:26:23 | |
He thought it was his masterpiece, but by the time | 0:26:23 | 0:26:27 | |
it was nearing completion, he was ill, | 0:26:27 | 0:26:33 | |
because he was long past retiring age, in his early 70s, | 0:26:33 | 0:26:37 | |
and he had been out in all weathers and so on | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
without proper protective clothing. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
Did he get to see the viaduct completed? | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
No, he didn't see it completed. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:48 | |
He was staying in the station master's house at Culloden | 0:26:48 | 0:26:51 | |
and he realised that he was never going to go on a train across it, | 0:26:51 | 0:26:55 | |
so he asked the railwaymen if they would push him across on a bogie | 0:26:55 | 0:26:59 | |
and he could look and see if everything was all right | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
and give them orders about what should be done. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
So they pushed him across and back again | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
and then he went to the house and he just died shortly after. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:11 | |
You must be very proud of your ancestor. | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
Yes, I am. | 0:27:14 | 0:27:15 | |
That was why I decided that I was going to write about him. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:20 | |
-Thank you, Anne Mary, very much. Bye-bye. -Bye-bye. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:24 | |
Small towns in northern Scotland are home to major industries | 0:27:31 | 0:27:35 | |
that grew rapidly once the railways reached them. | 0:27:35 | 0:27:39 | |
The worldwide fame that they've since acquired | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
hasn't gone to their head. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:43 | |
They remain proudly Scottish, | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
commercially independent, rooted in their historic communities | 0:27:48 | 0:27:51 | |
and reliant on the skills of local people. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:54 | |
'On the next leg of this journey, I ride a picturesque railway.' | 0:27:55 | 0:27:59 | |
I have no words, I'm out of superlatives. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
'I visit Scotland's smallest station.' | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
Nearly everyone has joined the queue to get off at the single door | 0:28:06 | 0:28:10 | |
that opens on the incredibly short platform at Beauly. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
'And I go on a spa break, Victorian-style.' | 0:28:13 | 0:28:16 | |
After you've been hosed down with warm, salty water, | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
your doctor will probably have prescribed you | 0:28:21 | 0:28:23 | |
a glass of sulphurous water. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
And would I be cured? | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
You might well be. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:28 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 |