0:00:04 > 0:00:09For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw was a household name.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13At a time when railways were new, Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
0:00:13 > 0:00:15to take to the tracks.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I'm using a Bradshaw's guide to understand
0:00:18 > 0:00:23how trains transformed Britain - its landscape, its industries,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26society and leisure time.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I crisscross the country 150 years later,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33it helps me to discover the Britain of today.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I'm continuing my journey across southern Scotland,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05now moving away from the Central Belt towards hillier country.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06At the time of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Queen Victoria had bought Balmoral Castle
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and highland dress had become highly fashionable.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17But being sentimental about tartans and kilts
0:01:17 > 0:01:20was no disguise for the fact that the English and the Scots
0:01:20 > 0:01:23had fought bitter battles over many centuries.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34This week, I've been making my way across Scotland from west to east.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37My journey began at the Firth of Clyde
0:01:37 > 0:01:40and continued through the Scottish lowlands to Glasgow.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Now I'm heading north to Stirling and Perth -
0:01:44 > 0:01:46gateways to the Highlands.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I'll then travel east to Fife
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and the famous university town of St Andrews.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Finally, I'll turn south to Scotland's capital.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58On today's leg, I begin in Scotland's ancient stronghold
0:01:58 > 0:02:02before travelling north to the head of the Earn Valley.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Then on to the city with royal connections.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08And my journey will end in the beautiful Highlands.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13'I visit the scene of a bloody battle.'
0:02:13 > 0:02:17And eventually the English are forced back to a position
0:02:17 > 0:02:19where they are in complete chaos.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'Enjoy a lesson in the skills of an ancient craft.'
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It doesn't sound like it sounded with you.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27- You need more porridge. - More porridge!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31'And treat my traveller's taste buds.'
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Mm, I'm slipping into ecstasy.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38Very, very fruity.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50I shall be leaving the train at Stirling to visit the rivulet
0:02:50 > 0:02:54called Bannockburn which, according to Bradshaw's, "runs through a glen.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58"The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade in tartan
0:02:58 > 0:03:00"and woollen cloth in general.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03"Here the celebrated battle was fought between Robert The Bruce,
0:03:03 > 0:03:08"King of Scotland and Edward of England, in 1314."
0:03:08 > 0:03:11And doesn't a spider's web come in to it somewhere
0:03:11 > 0:03:14or have I got my stories tangled?
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Stirling dates back to the 12th century and its striking monuments
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and battlefields are testament to its strategic place in history.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34In 1297, William Wallace defeated the English
0:03:34 > 0:03:37at the battle of Stirling Bridge.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42And in 1314, another Scottish hero fought to remove the English
0:03:42 > 0:03:43from Caledonian soil.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I'm meeting historian Fiona Watson at Bannockburn.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54So here is Robert the Bruce who actually defeated the English.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55He certainly did, right here,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59and he's looking that way - towards England, actually.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02We're quite a long way from England, what were the English doing here?
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Well, it's a long story but in essence, the English King Edward I
0:04:06 > 0:04:09was doing what medieval kings did, expanding.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13He saw an opportunity when the Scottish King Alexander III died.
0:04:13 > 0:04:18But he basically invaded in 1296 and took Scotland for his own.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Stirling Castle was occupied by the English and besieged by the Scots.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28At stake was not just a castle,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but Scotland's independence from England.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Edward II comes in person?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37He does, which is very unusual, by this period,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39for kings to actually fight their battles.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So we have the Scottish king, we have the English king head-to-head.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46- Crown to crown.- Absolutely. - And how does the battle go, then?
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Very badly for the English, it must be said. Bruce has a plan.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52He's trained his men, his spearmen,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56normally the Scottish spearmen are static, defensive,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58but he's trained them to be offensive, to move in formation
0:04:58 > 0:05:00and then get down when they're charged.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Edward doesn't have a plan, he just thinks he's going to turn up,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06bigger, greater, mightier army and the English will win.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11At the start of the battle, nobleman Sir Henry de Bohun challenged Bruce
0:05:11 > 0:05:15to single combat and was swiftly dispatched by the king's axe.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22There's divisions among his commanders, cos he's set them up
0:05:22 > 0:05:25inadvertently between fighting each other.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28So Bruce just has to exert the discipline
0:05:28 > 0:05:31and the genius of his own military abilities.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33He moves forward against the English,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36they're hemmed in by the terrain, they can't fan out
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and eventually the English are forced back to a position
0:05:40 > 0:05:42where they are in complete chaos.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45SHOUTING
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Their situation wasn't helped by the boggy battlefield conditions
0:05:48 > 0:05:51on the flood plain of the River Forth.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57The King is led off the field
0:05:57 > 0:06:00because the English nobles realise that he is about to be captured
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- and that would be a really, really terrible thing.- Checkmate.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Absolutely. And the minute the king's standard is seen departing,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08of course, that means it's every man for himself
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and the English start to flee.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Only one sizeable group of English foot soldiers managed to escape.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19No-one knows for sure how many English infantrymen were killed
0:06:19 > 0:06:22but it was certainly thousands.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Now I remember a story about Robert the Bruce and a spider,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28something about trying and trying again.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30So is there any truth in this at all?
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Well, the wonderful story, it's a wonderful story about the spider
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and it really does capture Robert the Bruce at the beginning of his reign,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39where many Scots - as well as, of course, the English -
0:06:39 > 0:06:41were against him,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44because he had killed a man to become King, it was a dreadful story.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And he went into exile, and we can imagine him in a cave
0:06:47 > 0:06:50somewhere off the west coast of Scotland, thinking it's all over.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53His brothers, many of them had been killed,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55his wife, his daughter had all been captured.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Yeah, why would you go on? And the spider teaches him that.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02But unfortunately, the original story was actually about his friend
0:07:02 > 0:07:04and commander James Douglas,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07but I think everyone realised how much that encapsulates
0:07:07 > 0:07:10those dreadful days at the beginning of his reign, so I like it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Victorians would have enjoyed that romantic legend as they came here
0:07:17 > 0:07:19hunting souvenirs.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Fiona, Bradshaw's says,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26"Upon the top of an eminence
0:07:26 > 0:07:29"is a large limestone on which the Scottish King
0:07:29 > 0:07:33"planted his standard. So highly is this stone valued
0:07:33 > 0:07:37"that fragments of it are frequently cut off and set in rings
0:07:37 > 0:07:39"and worn as a memorial
0:07:39 > 0:07:43"of one of the proudest days in the annals of Scotland."
0:07:44 > 0:07:48- Was that stone here?- Yes, this was the site of the Borestone,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50the stone referred to there,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52it's like a millstone with a wee hole in it,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and that's supposedly where Robert Bruce planted his standard
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and this would have been the Scottish camp.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58What happened to it?
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Well, Burns came, Robert Burns came here in the 18th century,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and he wrote his great poem Scots Wha Hae.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10But in the 19th century, when the railways arrive,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12bringing lots and lots more tourists,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15it seems to have been the thing where they really did take bits of it away
0:08:15 > 0:08:18and they only have a tiny bit left in the visitors' centre.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21So mixed blessing, the railways, I think for Bannockburn.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24To celebrate the 700th anniversary of the battle,
0:08:24 > 0:08:27there's a new addition to the Borestone.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29And it's an offering of which I'm sure
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Robert Burns would have approved.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34"Here lies our land: every airt
0:08:34 > 0:08:37"Beneath swift clouds, glad glints of sun,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39"Belonging to none but itself.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41"We are mere transients, who sing
0:08:41 > 0:08:44"Its westlin' winds and fernie braes,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46"'Come all ye', the country says,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49"'You win me, who take me most to heart.'"
0:08:49 > 0:08:51That was beautiful.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56- I feel my Scottish blood surging from my heart.- Absolutely.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And I wonder what today's visitors make of the history?
0:09:00 > 0:09:02What do you know about the battle?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04Basically that we won!
0:09:04 > 0:09:05THEY LAUGH
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Do you think you get a feeling about the battle and Scottish history?
0:09:11 > 0:09:16Well, you do have a feeling about the battle in Scottish history.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22I mean, after all, Bruce finished the job that Wallace started.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26At this ancient battlefield, I am conscious of centuries of struggle
0:09:26 > 0:09:28between the Scots and the English.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Fortunately, nowadays, their relationship is settled
0:09:31 > 0:09:34in the ballot box rather than by the sword.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41'I've headed back to Stirling station,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44'to travel north towards Perthshire
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'and the hills that so captivated Bradshaw's tourists.'
0:09:58 > 0:10:00My next stop will be Crieff,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02a village where I've had a strong family connection
0:10:02 > 0:10:04and which I know well.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08A late edition of Bradshaw's tells me that, "There are mineral springs,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13"pronounced by high authority, to possess strong purgative qualities."
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I don't think I do wish to be purged particularly,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20but the Victorians believed that hydropathic therapy was good
0:10:20 > 0:10:24for any number of ailments. So I'm willing to take the plunge.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28This part of Scotland has many memories for me.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I've often visited Crieff to see relatives
0:10:31 > 0:10:36and the town's Hydro hotel was a favourite place for family holidays.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41TRAIN ANNOUNCER: This service will shortly be calling at Perth.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56I must alight at the ancient city of Perth, gateway to the Highlands.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59In Victorian times, Perth station was a hub for holidaymakers
0:10:59 > 0:11:05arriving to enjoy the great outdoors or to take the waters at Crieff.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10But the Crieff Junction Railway that opened in 1856 is now just a memory,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15having fallen victim to the Beeching closures in the 1960s.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22'And we find that wherever there is little passenger traffic
0:11:22 > 0:11:24'then there's very little freight either.'
0:11:24 > 0:11:28And, of course, this is ominous from the point of view of the future
0:11:28 > 0:11:30of those lines.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Amongst the crowds in the heyday of Crieff Junction
0:11:33 > 0:11:36would have been the spa tourists heading for the Hydro,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39which opened its doors in 1868.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44Its success derived simply from pure water and mountain air.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48I'm meeting the fifth generation of the Meikle family to run it.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51It is the most stunning countryside that you have here.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55What a place to build a hotel. What is a hydro?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Hydropathic, Greek word for water.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01So originating with its first water supply, 150 years ago,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03so people came from the cities
0:12:03 > 0:12:06having drunk water that wasn't so clear and so good for them
0:12:06 > 0:12:09and drunk water here and felt better miraculously.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And so even in those days, it was a family hotel.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Yes, for leisure, yes. 100 bedrooms, quite small then,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19and within ten years realised that this can be a lot, lot bigger.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23So it grew, doubled in size within 30 years of first being built.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25And it was your family that started all of this.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29My great-great grand uncle, a doctor from Aberdeen chose Crieff,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32its climate, its scenery, the views, the location,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35the ease of which you can get to Crieff by train
0:12:35 > 0:12:36from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39And, of course, finally and perhaps most importantly today,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42the water supply.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Meikle used the pure water for the Hydro's swimming pool,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47douches and steam baths,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52treatments made popular by, amongst others, Captain Richard Claridge.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Claridge had been cured of rheumatism at an Austrian spa
0:12:56 > 0:13:00and wrote a best-seller to promote the cold water cure.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03And the hydrotherapy, did it consist of drinking the waters
0:13:03 > 0:13:04or bathing in the waters?
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Bathing, yes. Our swimming pool's built in 1900.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- No.- There was no heating, there was no way of cleaning the water,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14so, of course, you were diving into this manky, murky, muddy pool.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17There was talk of salmon being in the swimming pool at the time.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Talk of the swimming pool attendants carrying fishing rods,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22but what's your choice? In order to feel better,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24having done your burpees and your lunges
0:13:24 > 0:13:27up in the upstairs public rooms, to go downstairs
0:13:27 > 0:13:29and have a very, very cold swim.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32They cleaned the pool by emptying it out twice a week,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and filling it back up with cold, murky water.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38And here we are, you know, near the top of a hill
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and yet people were able to take the waters.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- How did you get water up here? - Well, it used to be from the burns
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and now, today, for the past 50 or 60 years,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49we've drilled down an artesian well, drilled 150 metres down,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51but then it was just from the streams.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55In the mid-19th century,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59people escaping the poor sanitation of Britain's larger towns
0:13:59 > 0:14:01were attracted to spas.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05They'd been fashionable amongst the quality since Georgian times
0:14:05 > 0:14:07and with the coming of the railways,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10resorts opened their doors to the middle classes.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17For me, it's nice to be immersed again at the Crieff Hydro.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I'm swimming over Victorian tiles
0:14:22 > 0:14:26but the warmth and the cleanliness are 21st century.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36I've headed back to Perth, on the banks of the noble River Tay.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39The city's been a royal burgh since the 13th century
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and was a royal residence throughout the Middle Ages.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44The ancient capital of Scotland,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48it was also one of its richest trading burghs.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52"Perth", says Bradshaw's, "is the handsomest town of its size
0:14:52 > 0:14:57"in Scotland. Its situation on the Tay is very, very beautiful.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00"Some muslin, cotton and silk goods are manufactured here."
0:15:00 > 0:15:03So I'm hoping that they may be able to kit me out
0:15:03 > 0:15:05before I put a toe in the Highlands.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Kilts and sporrans may seem like a cliche on a Scottish tour today,
0:15:13 > 0:15:18but in Victorian times, tartan evening wear was much in fashion.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21I'm meeting Greg Whyte of Morrison Sporrans.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Well, this is our stockroom, if you like.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It's a selection of what we make as a standard.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29- A selection?- Yeah.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32It's an incredible range of different sorts of sporran.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34A lot of it is current dress.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39We, as a company, have been running since 15... Well, for 15 years.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43But we took over Nicoll Brothers, who had a history going back to 1840,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46which would have taken them right through the Victorian period,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48one of their largest customers being the military.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52We still make a lot of military sporrans now.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55The one on the left, Scots Guards.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58One in the middle, Royal Regiment of Scotland, current issue.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04And this rather flamboyant over here is the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10"Sporran" is a Gaelic word meaning purse or pouch.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Perhaps the most ornate were worn by the kilted Scottish regiments,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18who developed their own individual style.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20The whole product is made from horse tail hair.
0:16:20 > 0:16:27It's also stitched in seven different layers.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Which is three layers in here and then another three or four
0:16:30 > 0:16:33up under the cantle itself.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36So it has to have a lot of hair in it and it's a fair weight.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39It's quite a heavy item.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42And this is what it's ostensibly all about,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44you can put whatever you like in there.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46That's the theory, yes, that's the idea.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48I mean the military will not carry very much in it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51But we do make them to accommodate beer cans,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55we make them to accommodate wallets, mobile phones, all sorts of things.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58It looks like you can use almost anything to make a sporran.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Yes, roadkill particularly. These are literally roadkill,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05they're not killed to make sporrans.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Normally sporrans are made from cowskin,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13although some also make use of old fur coats.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17I mean we quite often make them for weddings.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21Granny's coat might get turned into a dozen sporrans for a wedding.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The craftsmanship and skills involved in making these beautiful
0:17:26 > 0:17:30and practical pieces have been handed down the generations.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Many of the patterns and tools used are unchanged
0:17:37 > 0:17:39since the mid-19th century.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45OK, first job in the stage would be to cut the leather.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48So if you just want to grab one sheet of leather there.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51And just pop it up on the machine.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54So if you just place your knife onto the leather.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56You just want to keep it clear of any blemishes.
0:17:56 > 0:17:57That's good, no wastage.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00If you just want to pull the beam press across.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Now at this point everybody has to keep their hands well clear.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- Right.- So grasp the handles, press both triggers.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- My goodness!- Yep.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Swing the machine back.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- Lift it up and then pop the leather out.- Whoa!
0:18:14 > 0:18:15Just push it out from the back.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19And that effectively is the back of your sporran.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Early sporrans were simple Rob Roy pouches,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25usually gathered at the top with a basic drawstring.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29As highland dress grew in popularity as evening wear,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32sporrans became more elaborately embellished.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34OK, so what we're doing now is
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I'm going to show you how to do the front of the sporran.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40We're basically turning the gusset, or the edge of it, over
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and to keep it in place, we have to hammer it.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46I'll give you a couple of strokes and then you can try it.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52- OK.- OK.- So tugging at the leather here?
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Tugging at the leather, pulling it in, give it a good bash.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Avoid the knuckles.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02It doesn't sound like it sounded with you.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04- You need more porridge. - More porridge!
0:19:08 > 0:19:10And what does this achieve?
0:19:10 > 0:19:12It basically breaks the leather and it keeps it in place,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16so it won't spring back.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18I don't think you'll have any trouble out of that any more.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21- Well, let's say it's dead, OK?- Yeah!
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Basically that's what you've done, you've formed the front now, OK?
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Oh, isn't that nice?
0:19:26 > 0:19:30This handmade quality makes them very collectable.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34A 19th century silver engraved sporran with oak finials
0:19:34 > 0:19:37recently sold at auction for over £2,000.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- Right, so there we have the finished product.- Beautiful.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43- One you can try on.- Oh, thank you.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46The only thing is not like that, you better get a kilt on.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48All right, I'll do that. Let me have a look at it.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Oh! "Made in Scotland by Michael Portillo."
0:19:51 > 0:19:54That's a big fib. "For Great British Railway Journeys."
0:19:54 > 0:19:56And a lovely picture of a locomotive.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00- I better go and get my kit on. - You better.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03So, Greg, only one thing needed to pass myself off as a Scotsman.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Indeed and here it is.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Right, that is you fit for the Highlands.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- That's where I'm headed!- Very good.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Now properly attired, I'm heading back to Perth station
0:20:17 > 0:20:20to catch the Highland Main Line.
0:20:21 > 0:20:27In Victorian times, grand trains ran from London to Inverness
0:20:27 > 0:20:31and Aberdeen, passing through these platforms here at Perth,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34and I can imagine them teeming with people
0:20:34 > 0:20:36headed to and from the Highlands,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40responding to the fashion established by Queen Victoria.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43But now the main services to Aberdeen from London
0:20:43 > 0:20:46go across the Forth and Tay rivers
0:20:46 > 0:20:51and these platforms have been turned into something ghostly.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17I'll soon be arriving at the most northerly point of my journey -
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Pitlochry, which Bradshaw's tells me
0:21:19 > 0:21:22"is important as affording facilities
0:21:22 > 0:21:26"to the tourist for visiting the beautiful pass of Killiecrankie.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29"A deep ravine, clothed with the richest verdure,
0:21:29 > 0:21:31"through which the Garry water flows."
0:21:31 > 0:21:35It's at Pitlochry that there begins what Bradshaw calls
0:21:35 > 0:21:37"the romantic scenery for which
0:21:37 > 0:21:40"the Scottish mountains are justly celebrated."
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- TRAIN ANNOUNCER:- We'll shortly be arriving into Pitlochry.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Bye-bye.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04In 1842, the 23-year-old Queen Victoria holidayed in the Highlands.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08She viewed the scenery through eyes coloured by the romantic writing
0:22:08 > 0:22:12of one of her favourite novelists, Sir Walter Scott.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And her visit made a lasting impression.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I'm meeting Pitlochry resident and former Blue Badge guide
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Sally Spavern to discover more about this special relationship.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26- Sally, how lovely to see you. - Good evening, Michael.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30A very historic station with royal connections.
0:22:30 > 0:22:31Yes, absolutely.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35Queen Victoria came to this area of Scotland, Highland Perthshire,
0:22:35 > 0:22:40about six times. First on her honeymoon in 1842,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43but she came on this particular line just six days after it opened
0:22:43 > 0:22:46in 1863 on 9th September.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49She was on her way to visit the Duke of Atholl,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52the sixth Duke who was very, very ill at the time,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56but after he died, her and the sixth Duchess remained great friends
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and she made two further visits to here.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03In 1848, the Queen and Prince Albert
0:23:03 > 0:23:06acquired the lease of Balmoral Castle.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09She became the first monarch since Charles I
0:23:09 > 0:23:11to make a home in Scotland,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15for which she retained a lifelong emotional attachment.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- And I assume that she loved it here. - She absolutely loved it
0:23:18 > 0:23:22and she recorded all of her visits here in her journal.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23On her two final visits,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26she was able to visit much more of the countryside
0:23:26 > 0:23:31and toured around and visited quite a number of places with John Brown.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33In her diary,
0:23:33 > 0:23:38the Queen described Pitlochry as one of the finest resorts in Europe.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And this is why she fell in love with the Highlands.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Following the infamous Highland Clearances
0:23:57 > 0:23:59during the 18th and 19th centuries,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03when landowners evicted tenants to make room for sheep,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07this area became one of the most sparsely populated in Europe.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10But these rugged hills hid a thriving trade
0:24:10 > 0:24:12in unlawful whisky making.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17The drink's popularity had led the Government to impose a tax
0:24:17 > 0:24:20on the distillers which left the industry unprofitable
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and drove it underground.
0:24:24 > 0:24:31By the 1820s, despite 14,000 illicit stills being confiscated every year,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33more than half the whisky consumed in Scotland
0:24:33 > 0:24:36was being enjoyed without payment of duty.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42I've come to visit one of those original, but now completely legal,
0:24:42 > 0:24:43whisky stills.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50Andrew Symington from Edradour distillery knows its history.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- Michael, hi.- How lovely to see you. - Nice to meet you.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Looks like you've got a little welcome in store for me as well.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- I have indeed, yes. - This distillery, tell me about it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Well, legally it's the smallest in Scotland
0:25:01 > 0:25:04because of the size of the stills, which you can see behind you there.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08We have our own springs which we tap in together
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and that's where we get our spring water from.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It's this spring water coupled with malted barley
0:25:14 > 0:25:17that helps to make this spirit famous.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21And tell me about your whiskies, what are the characteristics?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24The characteristics of our two signature ones are sherry cask,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Spanish Oloroso sherry cask so it gives it a very nice dark colour,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29a very rich flavour, fruity flavour, dried fruits,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33- a bit like liquid Christmas cake. - Sounds good!
0:25:33 > 0:25:36After the Excise Act of 1823,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39it became profitable again to make whisky legally,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42although the industry was still tightly regulated.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Whenever the butts were opened or the whisky was being bottled,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48an excise man had to be present.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52The casks are filled in a special building,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53sometimes known as the spirit store
0:25:53 > 0:25:56but here called a duty free warehouse.
0:25:56 > 0:25:57The door is fastened by two locks,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00one controlled by the excise department,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02the other by the distillery management.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Let's have a little go at that.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08This is our signature ten-year-old malt.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It's 40% alcohol by volume so it's not too strong.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Mm, I'm slipping into ecstasy.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I find it quite palatable.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I'm reassured that traditional production on a small scale
0:26:24 > 0:26:26survives in the industry today.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Since you were licensed in the year
0:26:32 > 0:26:34that Queen Victoria came to the throne,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I thought I might venture off and appreciate a view that she had
0:26:38 > 0:26:40- when she travelled to these parts. - Excellent.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44One for the track.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53As I walk through the stunning scenery of Highland Perthshire,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I can see why this countryside made such an impression
0:26:56 > 0:26:58on Queen Victoria.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07This famous vantage point known as the Queen's View,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11looks out over one of the most iconic panoramas in Scotland.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Queen Victoria thought that the view had been named after her.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20In fact, it was after Robert the Bruce's wife Isabella.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29The bitter enmity between Scotland and England,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32fought out at battles like Bannockburn,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36reached a curious outcome when a King of Scotland, James VI,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39ascended the throne of England too.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Many frictions followed,
0:27:41 > 0:27:46but in the 19th century, royalty made sporrans fashionable
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and Queen Victoria could take the train north
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and gaze out upon a United Kingdom.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Next time, I pay homage at the birthplace of golf.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Great shot, Michael.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Discover how a penniless Scot gave away a fortune.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13He wrote The Gospel Of Wealth and in that he said,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16"He who dies thus rich dies disgraced."
0:28:16 > 0:28:19And tread the boards at the Edinburgh Fringe.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21I demand to know where you deposited the handbag
0:28:21 > 0:28:23that contained that infant.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICE: - I left it in the cloakroom
0:28:26 > 0:28:30of one of the larger railway stations in London.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media