Ayr to Stewarton Great British Railway Journeys


Ayr to Stewarton

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For Victorian Britons,

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George Bradshaw was a household name.

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At a time when railways were new,

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Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them to take the tracks.

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I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand how trains

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transformed Britain -

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its landscape, its industry, society and leisure time.

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As I crisscross the country 150 years later, it helps me

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to discover the Britain of today.

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I'm beginning a journey across southern Scotland,

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exploring the people and pastimes that make this country distinctive.

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Long before my Bradshaw's guide,

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this region had produced key creators of the modern world -

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the philosopher David Hume, from Berwickshire,

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the economist Adam Smith, from Kirkcaldy,

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the developer of the steam engine - James Watt, from Greenock.

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No wonder that the Industrial Revolution took root here.

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My journey this week will take me across Scotland from west to east.

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Beginning at the Firth of Clyde,

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I head through the Scottish Lowlands to Glasgow.

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Then north to Stirling and Perth,

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close to where the kings of Scotland were crowned.

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I'll travel on east to Fife

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and the famous university town of St Andrews,

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finally heading south to Scotland's capital, where my journey ends.

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On today's leg, I'll hug the coast up to the North Ayrshire town

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of Kilwinning, before heading to the historic harbour at Troon.

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I'll then make tracks northeast to Kilmarnock,

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before ending my journey in rural Stewarton.

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'On this first part, I get to grips with an ancient sport...'

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Good, and let go.

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HE GIGGLES

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'..learn how being overweight could bring a heavy penalty...'

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The way they worked out the passengers was

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exactly the same way as the goods on it - they were done by weight.

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So you wanted quite a small breakfast

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-before you went down to the train?

-Well...

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'..and cap it all off with a touch of tartan.'

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Maybe try that one on for size?

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You'll ne'er look so bonny as in a Bonnet Toun bonnet.

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Bradshaw's tells me that about ten miles out in the sea

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is Ailsa Craig,

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a huge basalt rock 1,100ft high and two miles around.

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I'm getting off the train at Ayr to discover what use is made

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of the craig in this land of ice and granite.

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The wild character of the Scottish coastline shows much evidence

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of a landscape shaped by glaciers and volcanoes.

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And dominating the seascape, this famous rock, which is

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also the source of Scotland's prized curling stones.

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'I'm lucky enough to be visiting the family-owned factory that

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'still makes them. Bill Hunter is the manager.' Hello, Bill.

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-Good to see you.

-Good to see you, sir.

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Bill, I've come in search of Ailsa Craig granite. Have I found it?

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You have found it, and this is the one piece of it.

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Ailsa Craig is...

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It's been used now for well over 100 years,

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and it is now proved to be the best granite for making curling stones.

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It's part of the volcano from Arran.

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When the offshoot came out, it cooled down so fast there's

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no chance of quartz to grow, so it's now classified as a microgranite.

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'That means it's a rock that is much more densely packed,

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'containing crystals smaller than grains of rice,

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'and it makes a difference to the stones' resilience.'

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When the two stones hit off each other, they don't shatter.

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If you're working with other granites, they are quartz-rich,

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so when the two stones hit, they will shatter.

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This is the only company in the world

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that actually uses Ailsa Craig granite.

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'Kays of Scotland was founded back in 1851, and every 12 years,

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'it harvests around 2,000 tonnes of granite.

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'The company supplies stones to 55 countries around the world.'

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It doesn't look much like a curling stone at the moment.

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-What do you do to it next?

-Come into the factory and we'll show you.

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Thank you.

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'The process begins with a stone-cutting machine,

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'which carves from the granite a shape like a cheese wheel.

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'Then it's on to the grinder,

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'to bring the stone closer to its finished weight of 44 pounds.

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'Finally, it's off to the experienced hands

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'of the polisher, who removes a further ten pounds.

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'This expertise has been carefully passed down the generations

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'of the family.

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'The current owner is Jimmy Wyllie.'

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Hello, Jimmy.

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Hello, Michael.

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That's a little bit smaller than the curling stone I expected to see.

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-What is that?

-Yes, this is the miniature gift wheel that we do.

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This is exactly the same material from Ailsa Craig

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-as the large stones.

-Beautiful.

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And you're actually part of the family.

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Yes, born and bred, as they say.

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Third generation of my family in the business.

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My grandfather got into the business well over 100 years ago,

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and I think that probably about...

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More than 12 or 13 of the family at the last count

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-are involved, over more than 100 years.

-Extraordinary.

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Do you ever do any curling yourself?

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Yes, now that I'm an old man, I decided I'd better take it up

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again, so yes, I've been curling again in recent years.

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-And how's it going?

-Er...

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Not as good as I would like.

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Does it take its toll on the joints?

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-Because I'm thinking of having a go myself.

-Yes.

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The modern way of delivering the stone involves really quite a bit

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of physical manoeuvring, you might say,

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and maybe you should have a little lubrication before you try.

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MICHAEL LAUGHS

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'Well, ever the willing guinea pig, now's my chance to curl.

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'I feel very lucky to have a Scottish world champion,

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'Sheila Swan, to teach me.'

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-Hello.

-Hi, Michael. Nice to see you.

-Very good to see you.

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When were the rules of curling established?

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The Royal Caledonian Curling Club,

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the governing body for curling in Scotland,

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was constituted in 1838 and they're generally known as the mother club

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of curling and contributed to the major rules of the game.

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It's fundamentally a Scottish sport, then.

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Yes, the sport originated in Scotland back in the 15th century.

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It's remarkable that this sport was born when the Scots discovered

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the fun that could be had throwing stones onto a frozen river.

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What's been your role in the sport?

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Development manager for the Royal Caledonian Curling Club

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and I'm responsible for adults, disability

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and competitions within the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

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Her coaching has brought huge success to the Scottish junior team,

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but teaching me is one of her tougher assignments.

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So this is the hack. It's a bit like a starting block in athletics.

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Your gripper foot will go on top of the hack, your toes up on the slope.

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Your slider foot will be parallel to

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but slightly in front of your gripper foot.

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From there you bend at the knees, hips and waist.

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So you hold on to the stabiliser and the stone.

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And you keep your back nice and flat. That is the ready position.

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Steady, you will pull back your stone and your sliding foot

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and then go, your stone moves forward, sliding foot behind.

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Curling resembles bowls, but players slide a stone down a 45-metre

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stretch of ice known as a curling sheet.

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Points go to teams that get more of the stones closer

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to the centre of a target, called the house.

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Bend at the knees, hips and waist.

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Lift your bottom up a little bit. Excellent, that's ready, steady...

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pull back and...go.

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Good. And let go.

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SHE LAUGHS

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That was very good for a first attempt.

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So where does all the brushing come into it?

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OK, sweeping does three things. It keeps the ice clean.

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If a little bit of dirt gets under the stone it will deviate

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from its line quite sharply.

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It makes it go further, not faster, and it also keeps it straighter,

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because curling stones always go in a curve rather than a straight line.

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Sweep, Michael!

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Hard, Michael! Hard! Hard!

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Hard, hard, hard!

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-We're in!

-Well swept!

-House!

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-Brilliant!

-Well done.

-Well done.

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I've headed back to Ayr station to take the mainline north.

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I love to see Scottish stations so beautifully kept.

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Louis Wall and his team of green-fingered volunteers

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look after 21 of them.

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Louis, I must say this station looks absolutely splendid.

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-Do people appreciate what you are doing?

-Absolutely.

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It cheers them up.

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Stations used to always look glorious,

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but I think we've improved on days past.

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-Have you won any awards in the past?

-Oh, yes.

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Last year we came up with the national award,

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the award for the United Kingdom.

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And we came top in that category of best floral display.

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-Well done to you.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

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My next stop is Kilwinning, which lies 25 miles southwest of Glasgow.

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From one traditional activity to another.

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I shall be getting off at Kilwinning

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because Bradshaw's tells me that an archery club is held here

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which was established in 1488 and at which the popinjay is held.

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What is "popinjay"? I'm all a-quiver.

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Kilwinning is a historic Ayrshire town.

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The settlement and its 12th century abbey are thought to be named

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after St Winin.

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Today the abbey is just a ruin,

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but Bradshaw's is generally reliable on places of interest.

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It may look like a festival of umbrellas,

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but it is in fact an archery competition with a long history.

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I'm meeting Stuart Wilson

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from the Ancient Society Of Kilwinning Archers.

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-Hello!

-Hello, Michael. How are you?

-How are you doing, Stuart?

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Excellent, apart from the rain.

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Bradshaw's tells me that you've had an archery club here since 1488.

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1483, in actual fact, is the date we go for.

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Its history has been a bit indistinct in that time.

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Bradshaw's talks about a popinjay. What's that?

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Popinjay is an English word, in actual fact, for parrot.

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An old English word.

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The Scots word for it is papingo,

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and that's what we'll be doing today, shooting at the papingo.

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What is this handsome object here?

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This is the Ancient Society Of Kilwinning Archers silver arrow.

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The first medal on it is 1697, which is before the Act Of Union.

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And the earliest part of the trophy is this part along here.

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This was donated by an archer called David Muir.

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A medal goes on for the archer who hits the pigeon or,

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as we would say, "dings doun the doo".

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-Dings doun the doo.

-Indeed.

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There are a few interesting medals on here.

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-We've even had a politician on here.

-No!

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Mr Stanford was a professor of Greek

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and he stood for Parliament in Glasgow, but he didn't get elected.

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I know the feeling!

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But he did stand the following year for Paisley

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and he got elected for that.

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But he decided he didn't like it and within the year he resigned.

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I know that feeling, too!

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Back in the 15th century,

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every district in Scotland had a review of its troops

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called a wappenshaw,

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where they would show their weapons and their skill.

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And the challenge for the archers was a target on top of this tower.

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Right, Michael, this is what we are going to be shooting at.

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This is the papingo. MICHAEL LAUGHS

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What's it made of?

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This is wood and it's supposed to represent a pigeon.

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This will go on the end of the pole.

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We are going to push it out to our mark.

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So it just fits like so and it's loose at the moment,

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and we very carefully slide this out.

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-So, lift from here...

-Lift from there, gently, and slide out.

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In days of old a live pigeon was used. We're more humane these days.

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Keep it going. Keep it going... Right, now, hold it there.

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You can let go now.

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Well, Stuart, I have done some weird things in my time,

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but pushing a papingo out on a pole

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from an abbey tower rates right up there!

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Despite my evident sporting handicaps,

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I'd be so happy to score a birdie.

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-Whoa!

-Oh, that was close.

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That's what you've got to do.

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And I expect you to get a bit closer than that after I've taught you.

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But that is absolutely impossible, Stuart,

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how does anybody hit the papingo?

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Well, it's been done.

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If you look at my bonnet, you will see there are three rosettes,

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and the rosettes were given for hitting the wings.

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Returning from my training session,

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it's time to focus on how the oldest archery competition in the world is going.

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CHEERING

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He's done it, he's dinged doun the doo.

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Well done.

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That was fantastic, you hit the papingo.

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Yes, it's absolutely spectacular.

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How many years have you tried?

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This is actually my first year.

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-No!

-Absolutely first year.

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They're really nice because they tell you up a bit, down a bit,

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right, right.

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I just let go and as it was going up,

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it was as if it just went into slow motion,

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and I saw it hit. It was fantastic.

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My go.

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Good luck!

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So I have just one arrow to hit a target 103 feet up

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but looks the size of my thumb.

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Here we go. Right.

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Let me stand one foot on the step, one foot on the gravel.

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Bring the bow up into the vertical.

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I'll give you some guidance with my arrow again.

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Out more to the vertical. Out to there.

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That's better.

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-It's not the easiest of angles.

-When ready.

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That's a good shot.

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That wasn't as bad as I thought.

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That was close.

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I feel good for that, thank you so much.

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APPLAUSE

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The first award today for dinging doun the doo

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goes to Johan Kangasniemi.

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APPLAUSE

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-Congratulations, Johan.

-Thank you.

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-How does it feel to hold that?

-Impressive.

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I did not plan on this when I showed up this morning.

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-I'm really, really grateful.

-Well done.

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APPLAUSE

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I've so thoroughly enjoyed being a medieval archer

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that it's a pity not to celebrate the doo with a dram,

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but my bed for the night is still three stops away.

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At my next destination, Bradshaw promises me salmon and rabbits.

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As the goon who failed to ding doun the doo,

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I'm on my way to Troon.

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Troon is famous today for its royal golf course,

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but in the 19th century it was the town's railway which caused waves.

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I'll find out why in the morning.

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I'm up early on a stunning morning to meet local historian

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Bill Fitzpatrick at the site of the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway

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which began here at the coast.

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Hello.

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Excellent to see you, what an astonishing view.

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Beautiful view.

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Bill, I believe that the first railway line in Scotland was hereabouts.

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Yes, the Duke of Portland had many coal mines in Kilmarnock,

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and he decided to build a port down here

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to shift his coal, mainly to Ireland.

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His original idea was a canal but he then replaced it with a plateway,

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which would run wagons pulled by horses on it.

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These early rails were specifically engineered to take a flat wheel.

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The plateway rail is L-shaped to keep the wagon wheel on track.

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And there were frequent places where one vehicle could pull across

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to the other track to allow a faster horse to pass.

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A horse could pull about five tonnes in two hours

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from Kilmarnock down to here, which is about 10 miles.

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And what date was all this?

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The act was passed about 1808 and the railway was opened by 1812.

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It's easy to forget how dependent the world was

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on horsepower before the coming of steam.

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Horses were the universal mode of land transport from personal steed

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to omnibuses.

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This was strictly for coal, was it?

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It was strictly for coal

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but almost from the beginning, they seem to have carried passengers.

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The railway company couldn't carry passengers

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but it could license people and it could toll people for carrying passengers.

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The way they worked out the passengers

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was exactly the same way as goods on it.

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-They were done by weight.

-My goodness!

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So you wanted to have quite a small breakfast before you went down for the train.

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Well, I've no doubt they had all that thought out before they did.

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The railway also went on to become the earliest line in Scotland

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to use a steam locomotive, and the towns of Troon and Kilmarnock

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benefited significantly because of its development.

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Is there any vestige of the line left?

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This end has gone and the Kilmarnock end has gone,

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but the bit between Barassie and Kilmarnock is pretty well still there,

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re-laid and worked as a proper railway line.

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So if I were to take a train over those tracks,

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-I'd have a distinctly historic feeling.

-Yes.

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And that's exactly what I intend to do.

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Because this is the 21st century's big, bold answer to hauling coal.

0:20:060:20:11

I'm embarking on this freight train at Barassie Station

0:20:130:20:17

to travel along this historic route.

0:20:170:20:19

These days, moving coal from the port at Hunterston

0:20:190:20:23

to West Burton power station in north Nottinghamshire

0:20:230:20:26

is a relatively stress-free business.

0:20:260:20:29

In order for the train to change direction from the mainline

0:20:290:20:33

north to the branchline east, this 3,300 horsepower locomotive

0:20:330:20:39

has to swap ends.

0:20:390:20:42

So we brought the locomotive all the way down the train

0:20:420:20:46

so we can change ends.

0:20:460:20:48

Small impact coming up.

0:20:500:20:51

Boom! Very neat.

0:20:510:20:54

Then it's all about pulling this huge weight back up to cruising speed

0:20:540:20:58

because it's important not to hold up passenger traffic.

0:20:580:21:02

I notice the locomotive, powerful as it is,

0:21:090:21:12

was quite slow to pick up. What kind of weight are we hauling?

0:21:120:21:15

The train that we're hauling today is upwards of 2,200 tonnes,

0:21:150:21:20

so she's very heavy

0:21:200:21:21

and obviously very difficult to initially get moving.

0:21:210:21:24

It's a very powerful machine but because of the weight of the train,

0:21:240:21:27

it lets you know where the gradients are,

0:21:270:21:29

so part of our route knowledge is knowing where the gradients are

0:21:290:21:32

and knowing how to use them to our advantage.

0:21:320:21:35

Scott, were you aware this is the oldest railway line in Scotland?

0:21:350:21:38

I was aware of the history involved in this particular part of the line

0:21:380:21:43

we are travelling on,

0:21:430:21:44

Having initially been built to transport coal from the coal fields round about Kilmarnock up to Troon.

0:21:440:21:50

-You imagine they were using horses in those days.

-Absolutely, yes, yes.

0:21:500:21:54

-It was about 1812, was it?

-It was 1812. And I suppose you can understand it,

0:21:540:21:58

because this is very much on the level, isn't it?

0:21:580:22:01

Yes, it is pretty much, yeah.

0:22:010:22:03

Although we have got quite a gradient as we go into Kilmarnock station.

0:22:030:22:06

Pretty much not noticeable with a passenger train

0:22:070:22:10

but with the weight we are pulling today it is very noticeable.

0:22:100:22:14

I am now returning to the comfort of a passenger service as I head north towards Glasgow.

0:22:210:22:26

A short journey north will bring me to Stewarton.

0:22:320:22:35

Bradshaw's tells me that,

0:22:350:22:36

"Considerable manufactures of woollen tartans, caps and Scotch bonnets are carried on here."

0:22:360:22:43

It might have added Balmorals, Glengarrys and Tam O'Shanters,

0:22:430:22:48

because it is a town of hats to which I am headed.

0:22:480:22:51

Stewarton, in rural northern Ayrshire,

0:22:580:23:01

doesn't seem an obvious place for a Victorian manufacturing hub,

0:23:010:23:06

but in the 1840s it was.

0:23:060:23:09

I am meeting Keith Mackie, the owner of Robert Mackie,

0:23:100:23:13

a company that manufactures traditional Scottish bonnets.

0:23:130:23:18

So I believe I am not only in Stewarton but in Bonnet Toun. What's the history here?

0:23:200:23:26

Well, bonnet making in Stewarton can be traced back 400 years.

0:23:260:23:31

I can trace it back in my family 11 generations.

0:23:310:23:35

What sort of products were you producing, traditionally?

0:23:350:23:38

By today's standards you would call them berets, if you like.

0:23:380:23:42

Rather course, hand-knitted berets.

0:23:420:23:45

-And the customers for these hats were who?

-Everybody.

0:23:450:23:48

This is way before the days of central heating.

0:23:480:23:51

If you went outside you wore a hat and that hat would have been a very simple bonnet.

0:23:510:23:56

And tell me about the industry in Victorian times.

0:23:560:23:58

This company was started by Robert Mackie in 1845,

0:23:580:24:02

and with the advent of very soon after that the railways coming to Stewarton

0:24:020:24:08

and finer rolls were available from Australia,

0:24:080:24:13

he invented the first knitting machine for bonnets.

0:24:130:24:17

The steam powered machines speeded up the manufacturing process and improved the overall quality,

0:24:170:24:24

allowing the company to make bonnets for Scottish regiments.

0:24:240:24:27

Different regiments had different hats. Some had Glengarrys, some had Balmorals.

0:24:290:24:33

And they had different dicing and different pom-poms, touries, different plumes to signify the hat.

0:24:330:24:39

They certainly confer on the wearer a sense of pride.

0:24:390:24:44

The fabric comes off the machine in a spiral and is cut into that shape.

0:24:450:24:49

-OK.

-I don't want to be rude, but that doesn't look like anything at all, really.

0:24:500:24:54

-It is then, what we call linked, with an invisible seam, it is very hard to see.

-Beautiful.

0:24:540:25:01

-If you smell that you'll smell the wool oil.

-Yeah.

-And it feels quite rough.

0:25:010:25:07

So the next stage is washing.

0:25:070:25:09

And then it has been what we call "milled" or "felted."

0:25:090:25:12

And that is feeling a bit softer now.

0:25:120:25:14

It is getting nearer all the time, I had no idea it was so elaborate.

0:25:140:25:18

And then the next stage is dyeing.

0:25:180:25:21

So it is dyed either black or indigo.

0:25:210:25:24

-I have a feeling, though, that it is still not quite finished.

-It's got a long way to go

0:25:240:25:28

I never knew there was so much to it. But just as with the curling stones,

0:25:280:25:33

the tradition of passing down the skills is very much alive.

0:25:330:25:38

Keith wants me to meet bonnet supervisor Paula Wilson.

0:25:380:25:42

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Good to see you, I'm Michael.

-Pleased to meet you, Michael.

0:25:430:25:47

Have you been making hats for very long?

0:25:470:25:49

-Yes, I've been making hats for 30 years.

-That's a long time.

-That is a long time.

0:25:490:25:53

-And your family as well?

-My mum worked here as well, she was here for 25 years, and my dad worked here.

0:25:530:25:59

And at the moment my sister and my niece work here.

0:25:590:26:02

-It is a big business in Stewarton, even today.

-Yes, it is.

0:26:020:26:05

Even when the body of this Glengarry is complete,

0:26:050:26:08

there are still those all-important embellishments to be added.

0:26:080:26:12

Theresa is making pom-poms.

0:26:120:26:14

Hello, Theresa. What shall I do?

0:26:140:26:16

-Just put your finger in there, Michael.

-Put my finger in there, are you kidding?!

0:26:160:26:20

Yeah, it's all right, everything will be fine.

0:26:200:26:22

Whoa! Now what do I do?

0:26:240:26:27

And now, pull it really tight.

0:26:270:26:29

-Oh, it's shaping up quite nicely, isn't it?

-That's it.

0:26:320:26:35

Would you like to give it a wee bit of a trim?

0:26:370:26:39

Give it a trim, right. So, any little bit of surface stuff?

0:26:410:26:46

Just take those off.

0:26:460:26:47

-How's that looking?

-It's looking lovely, Michael.

-Thank you.

0:26:490:26:53

For me, one of the bonnet's most iconic appearances is in this famous railway film.

0:26:530:26:58

They won't see us! It's all no good!

0:26:580:27:02

Jenny Agutter, sporting one of the factory's finest.

0:27:020:27:06

Now, I wonder whether I can carry it off?

0:27:060:27:09

Want to try that one on?

0:27:090:27:10

-Fits perfectly, how's that?

-Very nice. You suit that, Michael.

0:27:140:27:18

You'll ne'er look so bonny as in a Bonnet Toun bonnet!

0:27:180:27:22

A Martian visiting Scotland might be surprised to see archers shooting arrows at a wooden bird.

0:27:290:27:35

Or curling players sweeping the ice before a slithering piece of granite.

0:27:350:27:41

With the advent of the railways, trains have brought competitors and tourists

0:27:410:27:46

to help to sustain these splendid traditions.

0:27:460:27:49

You might think them peculiar, but if so,

0:27:490:27:52

I'll ask you to keep your opinion under your Tam O'Shanter.

0:27:520:27:55

Next time, I meet a seagoing beauty...

0:28:000:28:03

She was the last of the Clyde-built excursion paddle-steamers to work on the Clyde.

0:28:030:28:07

..discover how a Victorian icon nearly met his end...

0:28:070:28:11

ROARING

0:28:110:28:13

..and rise to a bake-off challenge.

0:28:160:28:18

There is always a point where a dough says to you that it's had enough.

0:28:180:28:23

-Oh.

-And I believe that was about two minutes go.

0:28:230:28:26

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