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Hello. Today, I am on a journey on the West Coast of Scotland, | 0:00:20 | 0:00:23 | |
where the lowlands meet the Highlands in Argyll and Bute. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
I'm starting my journey | 0:00:33 | 0:00:34 | |
near Altnafeadh in the Highlands, | 0:00:34 | 0:00:36 | |
discovering how stepping off the West Highland Way reveals | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
a hidden world of beauty beyond the beaten track. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
Well, it can be absolutely amazing. | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
It can be the best day of your life. | 0:00:46 | 0:00:48 | |
From up there, everyday life no longer exists. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:52 | |
Then I'll head down into Glencoe, | 0:00:52 | 0:00:55 | |
where the bloody events of 400 years ago still resonate today. | 0:00:55 | 0:01:01 | |
Moving just a couple of miles along the valley, | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
I'll come face-to-face with a modern-day scourge of Scotland - the midge. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:09 | |
And one woman's bid to fight back against this feisty foe. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:13 | |
So on a good day, or a bad day, if you are staying at this campsite, | 0:01:13 | 0:01:16 | |
-how full would this get? -It could get completely full. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:19 | |
We could get up to 1 kilo of midges, which is about 2 million midges over a single night. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
-A single night! -Yes. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:24 | |
I will head south for an exhilarating experience | 0:01:24 | 0:01:28 | |
near Connel at the tidal cascade known as the Falls of Lora. | 0:01:28 | 0:01:32 | |
-What's ahead of us? -Oh, some rather interesting water | 0:01:33 | 0:01:37 | |
which, if we don't get the amount of edging right, | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
will result in a certain amount of getting very wet. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:43 | |
Before finishing my journey at Ardmaddy Castle with an initiation into the art of warfare. | 0:01:43 | 0:01:47 | |
Yeah. I'll take that! | 0:01:50 | 0:01:53 | |
And along the way, I will be looking back | 0:01:53 | 0:01:55 | |
at the best of the BBC's rural programmes from this part of the world. | 0:01:55 | 0:01:59 | |
Welcome to Country Tracks. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:01 | |
Argyll and Bute covers much of the West Coast of Scotland, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
as well as the chain of islands known as the Inner Hebrides. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:12 | |
It was one of the first areas to be settled | 0:02:12 | 0:02:14 | |
by those travelling over from Ireland sometime around the sixth century, | 0:02:14 | 0:02:19 | |
and is a land of breathtaking beauty. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:22 | |
The mainland alone boasts over 185 miles of coastline, | 0:02:22 | 0:02:26 | |
but today, this area is more famous as a gateway to the Highlands, | 0:02:26 | 0:02:30 | |
attracting over 2 million tourists a year, | 0:02:30 | 0:02:32 | |
including many walkers drawn here by this mountainous landscape. | 0:02:32 | 0:02:38 | |
And it's amongst these hills that I'm starting my journey. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
Now, when it comes to walking up the Highland hills or mountains, | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
I don't have a huge amount of experience. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
But thankfully, the guy that I'm about to meet | 0:02:48 | 0:02:51 | |
is a man who has quite literally written the book on it. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:54 | |
He's going to take me on a walk with a fearsome name. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
But he assures me it is not as bad as it sounds. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:01 | |
I'm heading to the foot of the Devil's Staircase, | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
part of the hugely popular West Highland Way, | 0:03:08 | 0:03:11 | |
to meet Ronald Turnbull, the man who has written guides | 0:03:11 | 0:03:14 | |
to many of the major routes and who knows the history of these hills inside out. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
-Hi, Ronald. -Joe, hello. -Good to see you. Thanks for coming to meet me. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:29 | |
-Shall we get started? -OK. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
Ronald, Devil's Staircase is quite an intimidating name. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:41 | |
-Why is it called that? -It's a wonderful name, isn't it? | 0:03:41 | 0:03:43 | |
The name was given to it by the soldiers who built it. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
The path was built in 1745 after Bonnie Prince Charlie's rebellion. | 0:03:46 | 0:03:51 | |
They built hundreds of miles of paths - roads, they called them, | 0:03:51 | 0:03:55 | |
they were wider than this is now - all over the Highlands | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
as a way of pacifying the Highlands after the rebellion. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
And what was it they hated so much about this stretch that they gave it such an austere name? | 0:04:00 | 0:04:06 | |
The soldiers, you have to think of them, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:08 | |
they got sixpence a day extra for the work of building these roads. I don't think it was worth it. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:13 | |
They had no midge repellents, they had awful boots. You have to think about things like that. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:18 | |
You have lovely modern boots here. | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
Their boots fell to pieces after 400 miles. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
When Bonnie Prince Charlie was marching his army into England, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
every 300 miles, he had to hold townspeople to ransom | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
for 1,000 pairs of shoes because they'd fallen to pieces. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
They were living up here in tents, days, even weeks on end, | 0:04:33 | 0:04:37 | |
in tents that didn't keep the water out. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
In clothes that didn't keep the water out, bitten by midges, | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
and their work was hauling boulders and gravel and wheelbarrows up here. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
So...it's a bit surprising they didn't call the whole path the Devil's Footpath! | 0:04:48 | 0:04:54 | |
Pretty miserable existence. But I'm pleased they persevered, anyway. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:58 | |
It's a good path. | 0:04:58 | 0:04:59 | |
But the Devil's Staircase is just one small part of the 96-mile West Highland Way | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
that stretches from the outskirts of Glasgow in the south | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
through to Fort William in the north. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:13 | |
And how many walkers would come and do this route in a year? | 0:05:14 | 0:05:18 | |
Officially, the figure is about 10,000. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:21 | |
-That is significant, isn't it? -It is a huge number of people. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
If you come here on a morning when the ones who start it on a Saturday from Glasgow | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
are all coming through together, it will be one group of people behind the other. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
All the way along the path. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
You can walk down the path and past 200 people in an hour, sometimes. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:38 | |
Despite the popularity of this route, Ronald is encouraging walkers | 0:05:42 | 0:05:45 | |
to leave all this behind and go off the beaten track to see the beauty of these mountains | 0:05:45 | 0:05:51 | |
from a different angle. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
So, this is so popular, | 0:05:54 | 0:05:55 | |
why would you write a book about the West Highland Way? | 0:05:55 | 0:05:59 | |
Well, for some people, including myself, | 0:05:59 | 0:06:01 | |
it's quite frustrating to be walking in a beautiful woodland path by rivers and all that | 0:06:01 | 0:06:06 | |
but in the bottom of the glen, looking up at all these wonderful mountains. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:10 | |
So the point of the book is that on each day of the walk, | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
if you are feeling adventurous, you can go high | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
and actually experience the top level, rather than the bottom level. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:24 | |
And how rewarding can it be if you stray off the path and get a bit of that height? | 0:06:24 | 0:06:28 | |
Well, it can be absolutely amazing. It can be the best day of your life. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:32 | |
On the other hand, it can be the worst day of your life, | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
very easily, it can be the worst day of your life, | 0:06:36 | 0:06:38 | |
when the rain is pouring down, and then somehow, paradoxically, | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
it even can be both at once. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:44 | |
When you are battling against the wind | 0:06:44 | 0:06:46 | |
and the rain is coming in here, and out at the bottom... | 0:06:46 | 0:06:50 | |
And, there is a sort of strange happiness that creeps over you | 0:06:52 | 0:06:55 | |
when you know that you are strong enough to cope with this. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
Share with me a sense of the vista that you see from the top of these mountains. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:06 | |
There's this stretch here, the Black Mount, we have just seen the northern end of it there. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:10 | |
It's six miles of high-level ridge, way up above Rannoch Moor. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
From there, you're looking right across the width of the moor. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
You are seeing mountains which are 40 and 50 miles away on a clear day. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:21 | |
And you see all the small lakes down there, sparkling away in the sunlight. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:26 | |
And the miles and miles of heather. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 | |
The chances are that you will see deer, certainly more deer than people up there. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:33 | |
And when you are up there, when you hit the heights of these mountains, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
how removed to you feel from everyday life? | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
Well, everyday life no longer exists. Especially if you spend the night up here. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:45 | |
Almost invariably, I sleep on the top of a hill if I possibly can | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
because it is so beautiful at sunset and in the morning. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
It is the best time of the day. Most people, you know, they start at 9am and they get down again at 5pm. | 0:07:51 | 0:07:57 | |
So that is work, 9 till 5 - | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
but actually, before 9am and after 5pm | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
is the time when it is really wonderful in the hills. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:05 | |
Not just that there's nobody else there, but the light is amazing. | 0:08:05 | 0:08:10 | |
It is beautiful at that time of day, and the wildlife comes out as well. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
It's clear you've got the bug and there is no chance of you losing it. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
When I lose my legs, I suppose I'll lose it. Not until then. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:21 | |
When Ben Fogle came here on his West Coast journey, | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
he took to the roads, searching out the places that made Western Scotland special to him. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:34 | |
Between Fort William and Mallaig in the Highlands of Scotland | 0:08:36 | 0:08:39 | |
is a wild and spectacular landscape, full of high mountains, | 0:08:39 | 0:08:43 | |
deep lochs and stunning, unspoiled coastline. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:48 | |
It's a landscape steeped in history and legend, | 0:08:48 | 0:08:52 | |
with stories of exiled kings, of secret agents and hidden gold. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:56 | |
And even monsters of the deep. | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
And linking all of this history and landscape, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:01 | |
is the world-famous Road to the Isles. | 0:09:01 | 0:09:04 | |
That's the name given to the A830. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:08 | |
The 44-mile stretch of road | 0:09:08 | 0:09:10 | |
that runs from Fort William in the east to the fishing port of Mallaig in the West. | 0:09:10 | 0:09:15 | |
It's one of the most beautiful roads in the world. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:20 | |
But most people just whip along it to catch the Skye ferry. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:23 | |
Not me, however. I'm going to be taking it nice and leisurely, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:26 | |
stopping along the way to learn more about the charms of the road. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:30 | |
Right from the outset, this journey impresses. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:36 | |
That massive bulk rearing up behind is Ben Nevis. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
At more than 4,400 feet, it's the UK's highest mountain. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:44 | |
'But I'm not stopping, as I'm off to see something | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
'that to Scottish folk is even more significant - | 0:09:51 | 0:09:53 | |
'the Glenfinnan Monument. | 0:09:53 | 0:09:56 | |
'It was here in August 1745 | 0:09:58 | 0:10:01 | |
'that Bonnie Prince Charlie stood before his army of 1,200 men | 0:10:01 | 0:10:05 | |
'with plans to take back the British crown for the Stuarts.' | 0:10:05 | 0:10:09 | |
And it was on that spot that he planted his standard. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:13 | |
Or was it? | 0:10:15 | 0:10:16 | |
Iain Thornber is a historian whose research | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
on Bonnie Prince Charlie has thrown this into doubt. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:23 | |
-Hi, Iain. -Hello, Ben. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:24 | |
So, was this the spot that Bonnie Prince Charlie | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
raised his standard, or wasn't it? | 0:10:27 | 0:10:29 | |
Well, he certainly raised his standard at the head of Loch Shiel. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
But where is a matter of some debate. | 0:10:32 | 0:10:35 | |
He was here to reclaim the Crown. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
But talk me through the scene. What would it have been like here? | 0:10:37 | 0:10:40 | |
When he arrived he was very disappointed, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
because he was expecting thousands of clansmen | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
to be waiting for him here, because he had sent word in advance | 0:10:45 | 0:10:48 | |
that he was going to be raising the standard. | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
But when he arrived, in fact, | 0:10:51 | 0:10:52 | |
there were only 200 or 300 local people standing around. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
And then he waited, and eventually they heard the pipes | 0:10:55 | 0:10:58 | |
from up on the glen behind us and then the Camerons appeared, 800 of them. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:03 | |
I have to ask, what is this sword you've got in your hand? | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
This is a basket-hilted claymore, and it was made about 1727, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:12 | |
and was actually carried here at Glenfinnan in 1745. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:16 | |
-See these grooves running down the blade? -Yes. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
These are called fullers, F-U-L-L-E-R-S. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
And this was intended to lighten the blade, | 0:11:21 | 0:11:25 | |
otherwise it would have been top-heavy. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
-Can I feel how...? -Absolutely. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:29 | |
It's remarkably well-balanced, isn't it? | 0:11:31 | 0:11:33 | |
I thought it was going to go straight down, but... | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
It is very light. If you were swinging it the whole day, you wouldn't get tired. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:40 | |
So this actually saw battle, this would have killed people? | 0:11:40 | 0:11:44 | |
Yes, yes, as far as I know, and I have no reason to doubt it, | 0:11:44 | 0:11:48 | |
it was actually used at the Battle of Culloden as well. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
So it may have killed a few Englishmen. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
So, if the monument doesn't mark the spot, | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
where exactly did Bonnie Prince Charlie raise his standard? | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
Well, 20 years ago, a scrub fire a quarter of a mile away | 0:11:59 | 0:12:04 | |
revealed an interesting inscription. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
-Looks Latin to me, I'm not very good. Can you translate? -Yes. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:11 | |
It says, "In 1745, in the name of the Lord, | 0:12:11 | 0:12:14 | |
"the standards of Charles Edward Stuart, | 0:12:14 | 0:12:19 | |
"triumphing at last, were erected." | 0:12:19 | 0:12:22 | |
So basically insinuating that this was the place | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
-that Bonnie Prince Charlie erected the standard. -Absolutely. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
And to me, it is the preferred place | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
because it's on an elevated position, | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
rather than down on the plain at the head of the loch. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:38 | |
There are amazing views behind. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:40 | |
Indeed, that glen above the viaduct, | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
obviously the viaduct wasn't there in these days, | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
that's where the Camerons came down. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:47 | |
They heard the pipers, they could see them coming down the hillside. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
They come across to here, and this is where they gathered. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:54 | |
-Where do we think the staff would have been raised? -We've got this indication here, | 0:12:54 | 0:12:58 | |
there's an arrow with the numerals IV, meaning four. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
And if you start pacing from the point of the arrow, | 0:13:02 | 0:13:04 | |
see where it takes you. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:06 | |
One, two, three, four. Into this little pit. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:08 | |
Into this depression here which was obviously carved out. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:12 | |
When the inscriptions were revealed, | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
there was a round stone in here with a hole in it. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:17 | |
Obviously, that is where the staff was put. | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
Having followed in the footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie, | 0:13:25 | 0:13:29 | |
it's time for me and Iain to travel a further nine miles up the road | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
to Lochailort, where the most famous fighting unit of them all began. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:37 | |
Believe it or not, we're looking at the birthplace of the commandos. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:45 | |
-The commandos, as in the SAS? Special forces? -Absolutely. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:49 | |
It was called the special training centre. | 0:13:49 | 0:13:51 | |
What would this building have been used for? | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
This building was the camp canteen and also the cinema. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
-Remember, there were 3,500 troops stationed here. -All around here? | 0:13:57 | 0:14:02 | |
Yes, they were in Nissen huts and tents. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:05 | |
Getting them used to the hardy conditions. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:08 | |
Absolutely, because they then had to go out and climb the hills | 0:14:08 | 0:14:11 | |
and live under extreme conditions. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:13 | |
We're looking out here to these two buildings, | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
these were the ammunition sheds. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
They were heavily protected, with bars on the windows | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
because they also doubled up as the cells. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
Beyond that, you see, there's a gully going up | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
and it's still now called Snipers' Valley. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
Snipers' Valley, up here in Scotland. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
Because the detachments had to crawl up there on their tummy. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
On either side there were people with machine guns, using live ammunition, | 0:14:34 | 0:14:38 | |
so they really had to keep their heads down. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:41 | |
So obviously, the commandos were the birth of whole new form of warfare, really. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:47 | |
Yes, at the outset of the war, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:48 | |
Churchill was very concerned to get small groups of men | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
who could go in and do the maximum amount of damage. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
He had difficulty selling it to the government, | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
because some of them said, "That's not cricket." | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
He replied, "Hitler is not going to be playing cricket!" | 0:14:59 | 0:15:03 | |
And this, presumably, was where they were billeted. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:05 | |
Yes, this is in Inverailort House, | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
or Inverailort Castle, as it became known, | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
which was requisitioned by Lord Lovat in 1940. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:14 | |
And the owner had no idea what was going to happen, | 0:15:14 | 0:15:17 | |
and suddenly one day she got a telegram saying, | 0:15:17 | 0:15:19 | |
"Your house and estate is requisitioned, don't bother coming back." | 0:15:19 | 0:15:23 | |
It was a terrible shock to her. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:25 | |
There were many well-known people stationed here during the war. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
But undoubtedly, the most famous of them all was actor David Niven. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:34 | |
Pictured here with an impressive haul of fish, | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
in these never before seen photographs. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
One of the escapades he was involved with, and I think also enjoyed, | 0:15:39 | 0:15:44 | |
was trying to get some salmon out of the river to feed the locals and the troops. | 0:15:44 | 0:15:48 | |
They were using hand grenades and nets. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
We've got some lovely photographs of all this happening. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
From Lochailort, the A830 starts to twist and turn | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
as the landscape becomes wilder. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:07 | |
It takes you past pine-covered islands and wide open sea lochs. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:12 | |
Like Loch nan Uamh, | 0:16:12 | 0:16:13 | |
where Bonnie Prince Charlie left for France after the Battle of Culloden, | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
and which looks pretty much the same as it did back then. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
It's well worth taking time to sit and take in the silence | 0:16:20 | 0:16:25 | |
and the unspoiled beauty of this landscape. | 0:16:25 | 0:16:28 | |
Now, there's a spot just off the road that you simply have to see. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:35 | |
It's one of my favourite stops | 0:16:35 | 0:16:37 | |
and never fails to stun me with its sheer beauty. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
These are the world-famous Silver Sands of Morar, | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
and to find out what makes them that colour, | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
I'm meeting up with local geologist David Bird. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:50 | |
So, David, what I want to know is, why this sand is so white | 0:16:50 | 0:16:55 | |
and so light. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:56 | |
-It's incredible. -It is, yes. | 0:16:56 | 0:16:58 | |
The sand here is, like all sand, made of quartz grains. | 0:16:58 | 0:17:02 | |
Quartz is a very resistant mineral, | 0:17:02 | 0:17:03 | |
it doesn't get broken down as easily as some of the minerals | 0:17:03 | 0:17:08 | |
in the rock, especially the ones which give it a dark grey colour. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
They're broken down by the water. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:13 | |
And it leaves the quartz grains behind, | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
and the quartz grains are this lovely white colour. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
So why does the sand here differ from the sand we get in England? | 0:17:18 | 0:17:22 | |
The sand you get elsewhere is that lovely golden colour. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
That's derived from pre-existing sandstone | 0:17:25 | 0:17:27 | |
that's been worked by rivers or glaciers, and in these sandstones, | 0:17:27 | 0:17:32 | |
the quartz is usually bound together by calcite | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
or some iron mineral which gives it its rusty golden brown colour. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
This sand here is derived from these rocks. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
The sand grades are almost entirely quartz. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:44 | |
There's a little bit of mica in them as well, and it's very reflective. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:48 | |
If you catch this sand in the sunlight, it seems to sparkle. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
That's where we got the name the Silver Sands of Morar. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
Even on a cloudy day like this, the scenery is quite breathtaking. | 0:17:56 | 0:18:00 | |
You could be forgiven for thinking you were in the Caribbean, | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
with the white sand, the clear blue water and the odd yacht. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:07 | |
It's hard to tear yourself away, | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
but I've still got a few miles left to drive before my journey's end. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:14 | |
Oh! So, here I am at the end of the road in Mallaig. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:33 | |
It has to be said, that 40 odd miles from Fort William | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
must be one of the most beautiful, not only in the British Isles, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
but possibly in the world. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:41 | |
And for many, Mallaig isn't the end of the road but the beginning. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:45 | |
It's from here that you catch the ferries to the small Isles, | 0:18:45 | 0:18:49 | |
and like this one just departing, to Skye. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
My journey's taking me into Glencoe, | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
a beautiful vista | 0:18:57 | 0:18:58 | |
which formed the backdrop to a very bloody event | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
in the Highlands' history. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:03 | |
In an imposing and dramatic landscape like this, | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
it's quite easy to get a sense of history. | 0:19:11 | 0:19:13 | |
Generation after generation looked up at these walls of rock | 0:19:13 | 0:19:17 | |
on either side. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:18 | |
It was MacDonald clan that settled in the glen and farmed this land. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:23 | |
And today, their name is still associated with Glencoe | 0:19:23 | 0:19:26 | |
and famously, the day that so many of their number | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
were massacred back in 1692. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:32 | |
The Protestant William of Orange had just taken to the Scottish throne, | 0:19:34 | 0:19:38 | |
as Catholic James VII fled. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
Fearing an uprising from the so-called Jacobites, | 0:19:40 | 0:19:44 | |
still loyal to the ousted king, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:46 | |
a decree was sent out to all the clans. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
They must sign an oath of allegiance to William | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
and his wife, Mary, by 1 January 1692, | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
or be considered traitors | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
and punished with the utmost extremity. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:00 | |
No-one knows when that decree reached Glencoe, | 0:20:01 | 0:20:05 | |
but the chief of the clan set out from here on 29th December | 0:20:05 | 0:20:09 | |
with just two days until the deadline. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
Travelling conditions were tough. There was thick snow on the ground. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
He eventually signed the oath of allegiance two days late. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:20 | |
Even so, he returned here believing his clan was safe. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:24 | |
He couldn't have been more wrong. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:26 | |
The authorities in Edinburgh | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
decided to make an example of the MacDonalds, | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
to strike fear into the hearts of other Jacobite sympathisers. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:39 | |
When 120 redcoat soldiers arrived in Glencoe, | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
asking for food and board, | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
the clan put them up, in accordance with the Highland code, | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
which demanded hospitality be provided | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
to any people passing through. | 0:20:51 | 0:20:53 | |
What neither the MacDonalds nor the troops themselves knew | 0:20:53 | 0:20:57 | |
was that the reason they had arrived was to wipe out the clan completely. | 0:20:57 | 0:21:01 | |
The troops stayed with the MacDonalds for 12 days, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
sharing their houses and their food. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
Then, at 5am on 13 February 1692, | 0:21:09 | 0:21:14 | |
Captain Robert Campbell shared his orders. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
That on his mark, the troops were to kill their hosts as they slept. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:21 | |
The MacDonalds numbered about 600. | 0:21:31 | 0:21:34 | |
The soldiers' orders were that no-one was to be left alive. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:39 | |
At signal rock in the west, a fire was lit, | 0:21:39 | 0:21:42 | |
giving the go-ahead for the slaughter to begin. | 0:21:42 | 0:21:45 | |
Then all the way up the valley, as soldiers saw that sign, | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
they set about their bloody business. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
In the moments that followed, the clan chief was shot in the back, | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
reports tell of a young boy begging for his life, | 0:21:58 | 0:22:03 | |
and people were tied up and executed. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
But the wholesale slaughter didn't go exactly to plan. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:09 | |
Only 38 MacDonalds died here. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:12 | |
It's thought many of the soldiers were appalled by what they had been asked to do | 0:22:12 | 0:22:16 | |
and had no appetite for this cold-blooded killing of their hosts, | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
some of whom were warned in advance | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
and given a chance to flee before the bloodshed started. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
For those MacDonalds who were warned and fled the massacre, | 0:22:27 | 0:22:30 | |
knowing these hills and retreating to a spot | 0:22:30 | 0:22:33 | |
where the army couldn't find them saved their lives. | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
Julia Bradbury followed in their footsteps to discover | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
the hidden valley that offered them a safe haven. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
On a rainy day like today, it's easy to identify | 0:22:51 | 0:22:54 | |
with its history of clan warfare | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
and the infamous massacre of 1692. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
This is where the familiar story of the MacDonald clan took place. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:07 | |
38 members of the clan were murdered | 0:23:07 | 0:23:09 | |
by their treacherous neighbours, the Campbells. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
And so Victorians would flock here to soak up the morbid atmosphere. | 0:23:11 | 0:23:15 | |
The south side of the valley is bordered by the majestic mountains | 0:23:21 | 0:23:25 | |
known as the Three Sisters. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:27 | |
And they conceal a secret chapter in the story of the massacre. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:31 | |
On that cold February night, | 0:23:31 | 0:23:33 | |
running from the sound of gunfire, | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
some of the MacDonald clan fled here and began to climb. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:39 | |
I'm following their route into the mist. | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
Certainly a wild and windy day! | 0:23:49 | 0:23:51 | |
'It isn't the easiest path.' | 0:23:51 | 0:23:54 | |
Not sure how we're going to get over this. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
'But the place I'm heading for has a long history and many names.' | 0:24:00 | 0:24:06 | |
This place is known as the Hanging Valley, | 0:24:08 | 0:24:10 | |
the Lost Valley, the Valley of Capture and the Hidden Valley. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:15 | |
It is pretty difficult to find! | 0:24:15 | 0:24:18 | |
'The very inaccessibility of this place | 0:24:19 | 0:24:22 | |
'is why it's managed to stay so secret.' | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
It's a tough old scramble, | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
and generally I find the better the scramble, the better the reward. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:36 | |
'And finally I find the special place the MacDonalds were heading for on that cold night | 0:24:40 | 0:24:45 | |
'more than 300 years ago.' | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
And there she is - the Hidden Valley. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:54 | |
Looking very moody under the mist. | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
Definitely worth the climb. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
'Invisible from the glen, this flat valley floor is entirely unexpected. | 0:25:15 | 0:25:20 | |
'The treacherous climb to this valley | 0:25:22 | 0:25:25 | |
was the MacDonalds' only hope. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
'It was their secret refuge. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
'Somewhere they knew they'd be safe. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:33 | |
'Today, it's a peaceful place. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:39 | |
'A part of Glencoe you can have entirely to yourself.' | 0:25:39 | 0:25:43 | |
Glencoe's secret hideaway. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
Well, I've travelled just another mile down the glen | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
to the Red Squirrel campsite. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:02 | |
But I'm not here to spend the night under canvas. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:05 | |
I'm here tracking down a bloodsucking carnivore. | 0:26:05 | 0:26:08 | |
The creatures I'm interested in blight many a visit north of the border. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
And leading me to them is expert Dr Alison Blackwell. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:20 | |
So, Alison, basically you spend your life | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
trying to find what most people are trying to avoid - midges. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:28 | |
That's right. I mean, we make a living of tracking midges, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
finding out about how they interact with the environment, | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
whereas most people want to keep away from them. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
Yeah. I know nothing about them at all. I've seen them and know they're very, very small. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:42 | |
What are they and why are they such a pest? | 0:26:42 | 0:26:45 | |
They're tiny biting flies. Just like any fly, they've got | 0:26:45 | 0:26:49 | |
two pairs of wings, six legs. It's the females that bite. | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
They need a blood-meal to mature their eggs. The males are nice. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
They just sugar-feed on plant nectar, so they don't harm you at all. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:59 | |
So, every time you feel a bite, it's a female and you're basically | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
-contributing to the continuation of the midge species? -Yes. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
The Highland midge, which is the one that bites most people, is really clever | 0:27:05 | 0:27:09 | |
in the fact that it can lay its first batch of eggs without taking blood-meal. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
It uses its own fat reserves to mature its eggs. | 0:27:13 | 0:27:16 | |
But every subsequent egg batch has to have blood-meal. | 0:27:16 | 0:27:19 | |
They have two cycles every year, | 0:27:19 | 0:27:21 | |
so we have two big batches of midges occurring in Scotland - | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
beginning of the summer and then halfway through. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:27 | |
And they spend the winter time in the soil as larvae, | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
just a few centimetres below the soil surface | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
where they act as mini-earthworms, | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
helping break down decaying organic matter. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:37 | |
It's always Scotland in my mind that we associate with midges. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:41 | |
Is that fair? Are they all over the country, really? | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
Midges occur everywhere in the UK, almost everywhere in the world. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
Scotland has a great habitat and they love breeding in damp, acidic soil which we have here. | 0:27:47 | 0:27:52 | |
And we've got vast areas - | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
uninhabited area for them to breed in. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
They're absolutely tiny. So why are they so painful? | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
Why do they irritate so much? | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
Partly because they are so small, you don't notice them biting you. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
But also they have a different way of biting you than mosquitoes. | 0:28:05 | 0:28:09 | |
Mosquitoes kind of inject their mouthparts into your blood capillaries and suck, | 0:28:09 | 0:28:13 | |
and it's relatively painless until you start reacting. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:17 | |
Midges are bit more primitive and they have a set of shearing scissors as mouthparts | 0:28:17 | 0:28:21 | |
and they cut a hole in your skin | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
which creates a pool of blood which they then feed from. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
And that biting itself can be very painful. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
And then, as they feed, they pump in saliva to keep your blood flowing. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:33 | |
And our body reacts to that saliva, and that's why some of us | 0:28:33 | 0:28:37 | |
come up in big, red lumps and itch for days afterwards. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
Just how to combat these critters | 0:28:42 | 0:28:44 | |
has left experts scratching their heads - | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
not to mention their arms and legs - for generations. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:50 | |
But now Alison's able to forecast exactly where | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
the miserable midges are going to be, | 0:28:53 | 0:28:55 | |
by enlisting the help of a neat gadget. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:58 | |
Right, so here we are. But what is it? | 0:29:01 | 0:29:04 | |
It's a midge trap, and we use them across Scotland to help us | 0:29:04 | 0:29:08 | |
monitor midge numbers and help with our online midge forecast. | 0:29:08 | 0:29:12 | |
OK. I mean, it looks like a tiny patio heater or something. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:15 | |
How does it work? | 0:29:15 | 0:29:16 | |
It's very similar to a patio heater in the fact that it burns propane gas to produce carbon dioxide. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:22 | |
CO2 in our breath can be detected by midges from about 200 metres away. | 0:29:22 | 0:29:25 | |
-200 metres away, in every direction? That's incredible. -Every direction. So, the trap produces CO2. | 0:29:25 | 0:29:30 | |
It comes out of the top of the trap here, and as it comes out it gets warmed up | 0:29:30 | 0:29:34 | |
to body temperature and also it passes over some smelly attractants | 0:29:34 | 0:29:39 | |
that makes the CO2 smell like the kind of odour that a cow would produce, basically. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:44 | |
-OK. -And we've got flashing lights in it as well, | 0:29:44 | 0:29:46 | |
which add to the attractiveness of the trap. | 0:29:46 | 0:29:48 | |
They're actually starting to swarm now, I can see a few of them, so where's the smelly cow bit? | 0:29:48 | 0:29:53 | |
Smelly cow goes in the top - comes off like this, and if you... | 0:29:53 | 0:29:58 | |
-That's it, there? -..Place your nose there... | 0:29:58 | 0:30:02 | |
-Oh yeah, wow. -It's kind of like rotting mushrooms. -It is mushroomy! | 0:30:02 | 0:30:07 | |
OK, yeah. And suddenly they're all around us. | 0:30:07 | 0:30:09 | |
We're standing in the worst place now, we're giving them extra, | 0:30:09 | 0:30:12 | |
we're telling them there is a free meal here. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:15 | |
Exactly. Each trap represents about four-cows-worth of CO2. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:20 | |
Wow, four cows, that's quite a lot of CO2. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:22 | |
So, they get sucked in and where do they end up? | 0:30:22 | 0:30:25 | |
They end up down here in a collecting tray which comes out, | 0:30:25 | 0:30:28 | |
and they get collected in the bottom. | 0:30:28 | 0:30:30 | |
OK, so not many there at the moment, why's that? | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
This has just been set up and normally we'd put some | 0:30:33 | 0:30:35 | |
water in which would help drown the midges. | 0:30:35 | 0:30:38 | |
So on a good day, or a bad day if you're staying at this campsite, | 0:30:38 | 0:30:41 | |
just how full would this get? | 0:30:41 | 0:30:43 | |
It could get completely full, we can get up to a kilo of midges | 0:30:43 | 0:30:46 | |
which is about two million midges over a single night. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:48 | |
In a single night? That is staggering! | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
OK, so you've got all this, | 0:30:51 | 0:30:52 | |
you've collected two million midges in a night, | 0:30:52 | 0:30:55 | |
how does that help with the midge forecast? | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
What we're doing with the midge forecast | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
is trying to help people out and about plan their days | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
around what the midges are going to be like. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:04 | |
So very much like the pollen forecast, | 0:31:04 | 0:31:06 | |
we do a prediction of midge risk from one to five. | 0:31:06 | 0:31:09 | |
Um, for nearly every town in Scotland on a seven-day basis. | 0:31:09 | 0:31:14 | |
The forecast runs on a set of models, | 0:31:14 | 0:31:16 | |
but we need live data from traps like this to help us | 0:31:16 | 0:31:19 | |
verify our model output and modify it if we need to. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:23 | |
OK. And the good news or bad news for Glencoe, | 0:31:23 | 0:31:26 | |
where does this fall on the midge scale of things? | 0:31:26 | 0:31:29 | |
Um, Glencoe is often right at the top of our scale - | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
a nice, big, red five is not uncommon. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:34 | |
At the minute, it's a kind of five/four - | 0:31:34 | 0:31:36 | |
the nice warm weather recently has bumped the numbers up. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
Really? So there's a little swarm on the way is there? | 0:31:39 | 0:31:43 | |
-I think so. -Oh, OK! Well, I hate the idea that this thing is working hard | 0:31:43 | 0:31:47 | |
and I'm holding the basket in my hand | 0:31:47 | 0:31:49 | |
so all the midges are escaping again so will we put this back on? | 0:31:49 | 0:31:53 | |
-Good idea! -We'll let it do its job. | 0:31:53 | 0:31:56 | |
Thanks to Alison's forecast, more tourists might make it | 0:31:58 | 0:32:01 | |
out of Scotland without the tell-tale sign of a midge bite. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:05 | |
When Neil Oliver came to this part of the world, | 0:32:05 | 0:32:07 | |
he found that working here can also leave its mark | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
when he visited Glensanda on the banks of Loch Linnhe. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
The entrance to the loch is guarded by Glensanda Castle, | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
once home to the MacLean clan, | 0:32:23 | 0:32:25 | |
descendants of the Vikings who roamed these waterways. | 0:32:25 | 0:32:29 | |
A thousand years ago, | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
the islands of the west coast were ruled by Vikings. | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
More Norwegian than Scottish. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:37 | |
In fact, the name of this place - | 0:32:37 | 0:32:39 | |
Glensanda - is old Norse and it means the glen of the sandy river. | 0:32:39 | 0:32:44 | |
But it's not the sand that's drawn me here, it's the rock. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:53 | |
This tanker is about to be loaded with 85,000 tonnes of granite | 0:32:57 | 0:33:02 | |
from Europe's biggest super quarry. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:04 | |
It's the rock that will make the roads of Britain roll. | 0:33:04 | 0:33:09 | |
It's quite terrifying actually. Just the sheer mass of it. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:15 | |
It's just a big, steel cliff. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
Glensanda Quarry sits at the mouth of the Great Glen Fault - | 0:33:18 | 0:33:23 | |
an area rich in granite. | 0:33:23 | 0:33:25 | |
Although the quarry's on the mainland, | 0:33:27 | 0:33:29 | |
it might as well be an island. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:31 | |
You can't get here by road because there aren't any, | 0:33:33 | 0:33:37 | |
but who needs roads when you have the sea | 0:33:37 | 0:33:40 | |
and water deep enough for huge ships? | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
Europe's biggest super quarry relies on the coast. | 0:33:48 | 0:33:51 | |
Rock and machinery all come and go by sea - | 0:33:51 | 0:33:54 | |
a challenge for deputy manager, David Lamb. | 0:33:54 | 0:33:57 | |
-David! -Hello, Neil, welcome to Glensanda. Nice to meet you. | 0:33:57 | 0:34:02 | |
-That was all very exciting with the boat. -It certainly was. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
-So where does it all happen? -It all starts at the top of the hill, basically at the top of the mountain. | 0:34:05 | 0:34:10 | |
It's 2,000 feet from sea level to summit, | 0:34:11 | 0:34:14 | |
but suddenly I get the full picture. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:17 | |
Well, from here you really do get a sense of super quarry! | 0:34:20 | 0:34:23 | |
You certainly do, it's a big hole, isn't it? | 0:34:23 | 0:34:25 | |
How much of the mountain have you already taken away? | 0:34:25 | 0:34:29 | |
Out of this area we've already taken 100 million tonnes. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
And how much remains to be taken? | 0:34:32 | 0:34:35 | |
There's still almost 800 million tonnes left to go. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
So you're kind of scratching the surface at the moment? | 0:34:38 | 0:34:42 | |
A big scratch but only a scratch so far. | 0:34:42 | 0:34:44 | |
-Can we go and blow things up? -We certainly can, Neil, come on. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:47 | |
100 million tonnes of rock extracted in 20 years. | 0:34:53 | 0:34:56 | |
Now, with 18 tonnes of explosive primed, | 0:34:58 | 0:35:01 | |
I'm about to see how they do it. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:03 | |
EXPLOSION | 0:35:06 | 0:35:10 | |
-That's fantastic! -Pretty impressive, isn't it? -Can we do that again? | 0:35:12 | 0:35:16 | |
-Right now?! -If you're happy to wait another few days, yes! -Wow! | 0:35:16 | 0:35:21 | |
It's the way it's just the slow motion ripple... | 0:35:21 | 0:35:24 | |
Where does all this material go? I mean, who uses it? | 0:35:27 | 0:35:31 | |
A lot of the rock goes into road-building - | 0:35:31 | 0:35:34 | |
into construction, sub bases for roads, your motorways, | 0:35:34 | 0:35:38 | |
almost all the rock for the English side of the Channel Tunnel | 0:35:38 | 0:35:42 | |
was supplied from Glensanda. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:43 | |
The granite here is hard enough to withstand the pounding of trucks | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
and trains under our roads and railways, | 0:35:53 | 0:35:56 | |
but what's really special is this quarry's coastal location. | 0:35:56 | 0:36:01 | |
The rock's crushed, | 0:36:01 | 0:36:02 | |
graded and washed before it even gets to the quayside. | 0:36:02 | 0:36:05 | |
There, it's loaded onto huge ships to be sent anywhere in the world. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
The rock might not stay around long | 0:36:16 | 0:36:18 | |
but the workers can sometimes stay here for weeks on end. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:21 | |
At least they've got some big toys to play with! | 0:36:21 | 0:36:24 | |
It's like Jurassic Park in here. | 0:36:24 | 0:36:27 | |
-Do you like it here? -Yes, very nice. -Why? Is it the big toys? -Big toys. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:35 | |
-Big toys and the views on a good day. -The views on a good day are nice. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
-How much do you pay for a set of tyres on them? -8,000 a tyre. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:42 | |
So 32,000 for four tyres. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
-So, it's not the sort of vehicle you keep for a hobby, is it? -No. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:48 | |
It kind of feels like the wild west out here. It's like Frontier Town. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:52 | |
You get used to it. You get used to it. | 0:36:52 | 0:36:56 | |
Hardworking lifestyles are nothing new on the west coast, | 0:36:58 | 0:37:02 | |
but this machinery is new - it's on a whole different scale. | 0:37:02 | 0:37:06 | |
New connections to the wider world are changing these communities. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:13 | |
Neil Oliver there, having quite a blast. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:17 | |
On my journey along the west coast of Scotland, | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
I've headed south to the village of Connel... | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
..and the natural wonder of the Falls of Lora. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
The Falls of Lora are a tidal cascade and when they're in full flow | 0:37:33 | 0:37:38 | |
they provide the ultimate ride for thrill-seeking kayakers | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
who surf the waves created by these unique currents, | 0:37:41 | 0:37:45 | |
risking wipe-out in the swirling undertow. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:48 | |
I'm heading down to the water's edge to experience the power of the Falls for myself, | 0:37:51 | 0:37:56 | |
putting my safety in the hands of kayak instructor, Tony Hammock. | 0:37:56 | 0:38:01 | |
So this is the Falls of Lora - what are we looking at, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:07 | |
where's all this water coming from? | 0:38:07 | 0:38:09 | |
OK, Falls of Lora is a tidal overflow | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
at the mouth of Loch Etive, which is about 16 miles long. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
And there's about 30 square km of water out there | 0:38:15 | 0:38:19 | |
and every time the tide goes up and down, the sea tries to fill it up | 0:38:19 | 0:38:25 | |
and it can't because this entrance here is only 300m wide. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:30 | |
This is basically a bottleneck and that's what's making the water rush through? | 0:38:30 | 0:38:34 | |
That's right, yeah, and when the tide level in the sea drops, | 0:38:34 | 0:38:38 | |
the water tries to pour out of Loch Etive | 0:38:38 | 0:38:41 | |
but it can't keep up so as - this hand's the sea, this is Loch Etive - | 0:38:41 | 0:38:47 | |
as the sea drops, the water pours out | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
through this constriction creating the gradient. | 0:38:50 | 0:38:54 | |
The tide outside drops, the whole thing drops, | 0:38:54 | 0:38:56 | |
and then you get to low water outside in the sea | 0:38:56 | 0:38:59 | |
and Loch Etive hasn't caught up yet, | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
so the sea level outside starts to rise again, | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
but the water is still pouring out of Loch Etive. | 0:39:05 | 0:39:08 | |
Eventually you get to the same level, the sea's rising outside, | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
the water pours back into Loch Etive, | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
the whole thing goes up and up | 0:39:14 | 0:39:16 | |
and when you get to the high tide in the sea, | 0:39:16 | 0:39:18 | |
Loch Etive still hasn't got there | 0:39:18 | 0:39:21 | |
so you've still got this current pouring out. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
And as it pours over the rock shelf and hits the slower water, | 0:39:23 | 0:39:27 | |
it creates the hydraulic jump - the waves. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:29 | |
That's the Falls, isn't it, as it goes over that rock shelf? | 0:39:29 | 0:39:33 | |
This is actually really tame today. This is just an average tide. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:37 | |
When you get the big spring tides | 0:39:37 | 0:39:40 | |
when the sun and the moon are in line | 0:39:40 | 0:39:42 | |
at the spring and summer equinoxes, | 0:39:42 | 0:39:44 | |
the range is more than double what it is today. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
You get about a four metre range. An astronomical amount of water. | 0:39:47 | 0:39:50 | |
Wow. And it's all power... Do you get big waves then? | 0:39:50 | 0:39:53 | |
Yeah, over by the north bridge pier, | 0:39:53 | 0:39:56 | |
over there, you get waves about one and half metres high that break. | 0:39:56 | 0:40:00 | |
When it's really big, it's pretty scary in a sea kayak. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
We do go out there. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
You get experts turning up and we go out and play with them. | 0:40:05 | 0:40:08 | |
-We usually get a good thrashing, actually. -Fantastic. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
Now, I'm a bit of a novice, | 0:40:11 | 0:40:12 | |
so a day like today - is that going to be OK for me? | 0:40:12 | 0:40:15 | |
With your expert guidance, of course. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:17 | |
-Hopefully. -Hopefully. There we go. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
There's the element of jeopardy, in-built. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:21 | |
Yeah, we'll see how it goes. | 0:40:21 | 0:40:24 | |
'Now, I'm not the most experienced kayaker in the world, | 0:40:27 | 0:40:30 | |
'so even with these lower summer tides, | 0:40:30 | 0:40:32 | |
'it'd be dangerous for me to go out there alone. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:35 | |
'Fortunately, though, Tony is going to be my guide in a two man kayak, | 0:40:35 | 0:40:39 | |
'but even so, | 0:40:39 | 0:40:40 | |
'I've got my work cut out to avoid capsizing | 0:40:40 | 0:40:43 | |
'in these treacherous currents.' | 0:40:43 | 0:40:45 | |
Right, then, Joe. Are you ready for this? | 0:40:48 | 0:40:50 | |
-For your Falls of Lora experience? -Yeah, it feels quite stable. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
-Well, that's deceptive. -It's nice to be out on the water. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:57 | |
-It'll be stable if we paddle it right. -So, what's ahead of us? | 0:40:57 | 0:41:01 | |
Some rather interesting water which, | 0:41:01 | 0:41:04 | |
if we don't get the amount of edging right, | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
will result in a certain amount of getting very wet. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:10 | |
Tony, how fast is the water going up here, where it rushes across? | 0:41:17 | 0:41:22 | |
Today, it's probably doing seven or eight knots. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:25 | |
On the really big tides, it's more like 12. | 0:41:25 | 0:41:28 | |
It absolutely hurtles through here. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
So, here we go. What do we do here? | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
OK, when I say, right knee up. Three, two, one, go. | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
OK, edge a bit, now. Whoa! | 0:41:36 | 0:41:40 | |
There we go. And this time, we're right out in the current. | 0:41:40 | 0:41:44 | |
Suddenly, you see the bridge moving over the top of you | 0:41:44 | 0:41:46 | |
-and realise how fast you're going. -You don't get a feeling of speed | 0:41:46 | 0:41:50 | |
until you look at the shore going past. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:52 | |
It feels like we're standing still, but we're whizzing along. | 0:41:52 | 0:41:55 | |
OK, let's get some power on for the tide of the rapid, here. | 0:41:55 | 0:41:59 | |
Whoo! | 0:41:59 | 0:42:00 | |
-Big whirlpool on your right. -It was a whirlpool, wasn't it? | 0:42:02 | 0:42:05 | |
Here we go. It's a bit choppy. | 0:42:06 | 0:42:09 | |
I tell you, that's fantastic. | 0:42:09 | 0:42:12 | |
It's much harder to paddle in the moving water. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
You've got to put your arms into it. | 0:42:14 | 0:42:16 | |
It's like paddling in treacle, isn't it? | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
Great experience, though. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:20 | |
'When Matt Baker visited here, | 0:42:26 | 0:42:29 | |
'he headed north into Loch Etive itself, | 0:42:29 | 0:42:31 | |
'taking a more leisurely voyage | 0:42:31 | 0:42:33 | |
'through what was once known as the gateway to the Highlands.' | 0:42:33 | 0:42:38 | |
'We might call it a loch, | 0:42:41 | 0:42:42 | |
'but this narrow tongue of water is actually a spectacular fjord.' | 0:42:42 | 0:42:47 | |
Loch Etive in Gaelic translates as little, ugly one. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:04 | |
First impressions? | 0:43:05 | 0:43:07 | |
That's not entirely accurate. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:10 | |
'Today, the loch is deserted. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:13 | |
'A well-kept secret among locals and the kayakers | 0:43:13 | 0:43:16 | |
'for whom it's on the list of the best places to paddle in Scotland. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:20 | |
'Marine scientist Mark Carter has lived here for 12 years | 0:43:23 | 0:43:27 | |
'and he's taking me on a tour.' | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
All set? | 0:43:29 | 0:43:31 | |
'The best way to explore Etive's riches is from the water.' | 0:43:31 | 0:43:35 | |
So, Loch Etive, it's a sea loch, isn't it? | 0:43:40 | 0:43:42 | |
Yeah, I mean, down at Connel and Dunstaffnage, | 0:43:42 | 0:43:45 | |
it's joined into open ocean, | 0:43:45 | 0:43:47 | |
so from there, you can go right round the world. | 0:43:47 | 0:43:49 | |
The area's really very special. | 0:43:49 | 0:43:51 | |
We're at both the northern and the southern limits of species. | 0:43:51 | 0:43:55 | |
We've got the Gulf Stream offshore, | 0:43:55 | 0:43:57 | |
which then comes into the North Atlantic Drift. | 0:43:57 | 0:43:59 | |
That brings us our climate and makes it very warm. | 0:43:59 | 0:44:02 | |
We've got the continental shelf | 0:44:02 | 0:44:04 | |
which comes up from Bay of Biscay, that sort of area. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:07 | |
That brings up some warm currents. | 0:44:07 | 0:44:09 | |
We've got the boreal Artic currents coming down | 0:44:09 | 0:44:12 | |
and it's that junction of the warm and the cold, | 0:44:12 | 0:44:14 | |
so we get both warm species and cold species all at the same time. | 0:44:14 | 0:44:18 | |
'These special conditions mean the waters here | 0:44:26 | 0:44:29 | |
'are home to more than 80,000 salt and freshwater species - | 0:44:29 | 0:44:32 | |
'from tiny bacteria through to eels and cod. | 0:44:32 | 0:44:36 | |
'Although the glassy water only gives a hint of the world beneath. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:40 | |
'I'm hoping to spot a few of Etive's larger residents, though.' | 0:44:40 | 0:44:45 | |
There is maybe a chance of us catching a glimpse | 0:44:45 | 0:44:47 | |
of some common seals. | 0:44:47 | 0:44:49 | |
Seals and kayaks don't normally go, | 0:44:49 | 0:44:51 | |
so we have to be very careful as we approach. | 0:44:51 | 0:44:53 | |
They're quite close to this point that we're at now, then? | 0:44:53 | 0:44:56 | |
They're half a mile ahead of us. | 0:44:56 | 0:44:58 | |
Right, Matt. If you come over to me now | 0:45:09 | 0:45:11 | |
and if you look very carefully over there. | 0:45:11 | 0:45:14 | |
You see where the rock comes down? | 0:45:14 | 0:45:17 | |
-Oh, yeah. -You've got two little bits sticking up. | 0:45:17 | 0:45:19 | |
-Well, they're seals. -Oh, yeah. I can see them. | 0:45:19 | 0:45:22 | |
That's the Loch Etive colony. | 0:45:25 | 0:45:26 | |
'It's a rare glimpse of some of Etive's shiest inhabitants. | 0:45:26 | 0:45:31 | |
'We leave them to the serenity they enjoy here. | 0:45:31 | 0:45:35 | |
'Today, this loch is hard to visit with no road access | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
'for half its length, | 0:45:40 | 0:45:42 | |
'unlike its more celebrated cousins, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond.' | 0:45:42 | 0:45:47 | |
There's quite a few impressive things about Loch Etive. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:53 | |
Of course, there's the magnificence of these mountains and hills | 0:45:53 | 0:45:57 | |
and the beauty of the water that just seems to kind of | 0:45:57 | 0:46:00 | |
cut and carve itself through the landscape. | 0:46:00 | 0:46:03 | |
But I think the most special thing, | 0:46:03 | 0:46:05 | |
the most impressive thing is that we have paddled and paddled today. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
We've travelled about 13 miles and we haven't seen anybody. | 0:46:09 | 0:46:14 | |
We've simply had this place to ourselves. | 0:46:15 | 0:46:18 | |
'Matt Baker paddling upstream. | 0:46:20 | 0:46:23 | |
'For the final leg of my west coast journey, | 0:46:25 | 0:46:27 | |
'I'm heading further south to Ardmaddy Castle | 0:46:27 | 0:46:30 | |
'on the outskirts of Oban.' | 0:46:30 | 0:46:32 | |
I'm going to a place that's been used | 0:46:35 | 0:46:37 | |
as a training ground for Scottish warriors | 0:46:37 | 0:46:39 | |
for over 500 years, | 0:46:39 | 0:46:41 | |
to learn one of the ancient arts of warcraft. | 0:46:41 | 0:46:44 | |
But first, wherever you're heading in the next seven days, | 0:46:44 | 0:46:47 | |
here's the Country Tracks weather for the week ahead. | 0:46:47 | 0:46:50 | |
. | 0:50:59 | 0:51:06 | |
I'm on a journey down the west coast of Scotland, | 0:51:16 | 0:51:19 | |
through Argyll and Bute. | 0:51:19 | 0:51:20 | |
I began near Altnafeadh, | 0:51:20 | 0:51:22 | |
finding out about the beauty hidden just off the beaten track, | 0:51:22 | 0:51:25 | |
before heading into the valley below, | 0:51:25 | 0:51:28 | |
the scene of the gruesome Glencoe Massacre. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:30 | |
Nearby, I met a woman fighting to beat the bane | 0:51:30 | 0:51:33 | |
of Scottish holiday-makers - the infuriating midge. | 0:51:33 | 0:51:37 | |
Then to the village of Connel, where I went out on the water | 0:51:37 | 0:51:40 | |
to experience the swirling currents of the Falls of Lora. | 0:51:40 | 0:51:44 | |
Now I'm heading for my last stop, a few miles outside Oban | 0:51:44 | 0:51:47 | |
in the grounds of the imposing Ardmaddy Castle. | 0:51:47 | 0:51:52 | |
Today, most people come to the castle | 0:51:52 | 0:51:55 | |
for its glorious walled gardens. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:57 | |
But back in the 16th century, these grounds | 0:51:57 | 0:52:00 | |
had a far more fearsome purpose - for training Scottish warriors. | 0:52:00 | 0:52:05 | |
Sean, the art of the longbow, | 0:52:28 | 0:52:30 | |
you're very much keeping an old tradition alive, aren't you? | 0:52:30 | 0:52:33 | |
Yes, these traditions have been in this country for thousands of years | 0:52:33 | 0:52:37 | |
and it's nice to keep these things alive, and the craft too. | 0:52:37 | 0:52:40 | |
Tell me about this field, it has a special significance, doesn't it? | 0:52:40 | 0:52:43 | |
Yes. This field is called Lon a'Chuspair in Gaelic, | 0:52:43 | 0:52:46 | |
and it means "the meadow of the bow marks". | 0:52:46 | 0:52:48 | |
It's where the MacDougalls of Reray used to practise their archery. | 0:52:48 | 0:52:51 | |
How far back are we talking? Hundreds of years? | 0:52:51 | 0:52:54 | |
-Hundreds of years, maybe as far back as 700-800 years. -Incredible. | 0:52:54 | 0:52:58 | |
Is that why the field is the way it is? It's very long and straight. | 0:52:58 | 0:53:01 | |
Yes, very long, straight and flat. | 0:53:01 | 0:53:03 | |
Why is the longbow such a significant weapon? | 0:53:03 | 0:53:06 | |
-Strength, power, accuracy? -It's a combination of them all. | 0:53:06 | 0:53:09 | |
They're very accurate bows to use | 0:53:09 | 0:53:12 | |
and very easy to kill a large animal with these. | 0:53:12 | 0:53:16 | |
So it follows on that you could kill men with them. | 0:53:16 | 0:53:19 | |
How recently did people continue to use them in everyday life, | 0:53:19 | 0:53:22 | |
like hunting or at war? | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
In the Highlands, it was a cattle economy, | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
so guns came here later than they did in the rest of the UK. | 0:53:27 | 0:53:32 | |
So the Highlanders were using the bows for war much later than | 0:53:32 | 0:53:36 | |
anywhere else. Up until, certainly the 1680s, there were recorded | 0:53:36 | 0:53:40 | |
-incidents of them using the bows in war. -Wow, OK. | 0:53:40 | 0:53:44 | |
-This is a modern one, is it? -It is. | 0:53:44 | 0:53:45 | |
What would they traditionally be made of? | 0:53:45 | 0:53:47 | |
I can see two woods on this one. | 0:53:47 | 0:53:49 | |
Two woods on this one, it's a lamination. | 0:53:49 | 0:53:51 | |
Traditionally, they would've been made of yew which would've been | 0:53:51 | 0:53:54 | |
a combination of the heartwood and the sapwood on the outside, | 0:53:54 | 0:53:58 | |
which makes a perfect natural spring. | 0:53:58 | 0:54:00 | |
Nowadays we can laminate. | 0:54:00 | 0:54:01 | |
So they'd get a strip of wood that was almost a cross-section | 0:54:01 | 0:54:05 | |
of the outer and the inner wood and they'd make one bow out of that? | 0:54:05 | 0:54:08 | |
Yes, exactly what they would do. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:10 | |
-What are these two woods in the modern bow? -Bamboo and ipe. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:13 | |
Bamboo and ipe? Why are they chosen? | 0:54:13 | 0:54:15 | |
Because of the characteristics. | 0:54:15 | 0:54:16 | |
Ipe's excellent on the compression, bamboo's excellent on the tension. | 0:54:16 | 0:54:20 | |
Sounds an obvious thing, | 0:54:20 | 0:54:22 | |
but it's the length of the longbow that gives it its power, right? | 0:54:22 | 0:54:25 | |
It is, partly because the length of the longbow allows us | 0:54:25 | 0:54:28 | |
to draw a long arrow on it. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:29 | |
And the longer the arrow is on the bow, | 0:54:29 | 0:54:31 | |
the more of the energy is imparted to the arrow. | 0:54:31 | 0:54:34 | |
How hard is it to pull it back? How strong do you need to be? | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
It takes a bit of practice, but nowadays, | 0:54:37 | 0:54:39 | |
because we use bows of a lighter weight because it's recreational, | 0:54:39 | 0:54:42 | |
it isn't too difficult to learn how to do it and to get up to speed. | 0:54:42 | 0:54:46 | |
I kind of imagine people would have been lopsided, | 0:54:46 | 0:54:49 | |
with one really strong arm. Was that the case? | 0:54:49 | 0:54:51 | |
Not one strong arm, because you shoot with your back. | 0:54:51 | 0:54:55 | |
But some of the skeletons they found in the Mary Rose, for instance, | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
they have distortions in the spine. | 0:54:58 | 0:55:00 | |
So their bodies had evolved? They'd moulded from constant longbow usage? | 0:55:00 | 0:55:05 | |
Constant use with the heavy war bows, which would be | 0:55:05 | 0:55:09 | |
maybe 120lbs-plus to pull. | 0:55:09 | 0:55:11 | |
That's incredible. Just to give us a sense, what's this to pull? | 0:55:11 | 0:55:15 | |
-This is about 55lbs. -So, over double that? | 0:55:15 | 0:55:18 | |
Right, to give me an idea... | 0:55:18 | 0:55:20 | |
Yeah, OK, that's pretty stiff, isn't it?! | 0:55:20 | 0:55:23 | |
The ones they were firing from hundreds of years ago | 0:55:23 | 0:55:27 | |
were double that strength? | 0:55:27 | 0:55:28 | |
-Yeah. -What sort of distance can you get on a bow like that? | 0:55:28 | 0:55:32 | |
Probably round about 200 yards, but with the big heavy war bows, | 0:55:32 | 0:55:36 | |
240 yards with big heavy arrows | 0:55:36 | 0:55:39 | |
that weighed as much as a quarter of a pound. | 0:55:39 | 0:55:41 | |
Crikey! What sort of damage would a big heavy arrow do? | 0:55:41 | 0:55:45 | |
It would just burst straight through you. | 0:55:45 | 0:55:47 | |
-Even with armour? -Yes. | 0:55:47 | 0:55:49 | |
-How long have you been doing this? -About 15 years. | 0:55:49 | 0:55:52 | |
How long does it take to get really good at it? | 0:55:52 | 0:55:54 | |
You can be proficient within a year or so. | 0:55:54 | 0:55:56 | |
Then you progress as you go along. | 0:55:56 | 0:55:59 | |
OK. And the better guys can do it at all different ranges? | 0:55:59 | 0:56:02 | |
Yes, absolutely. | 0:56:02 | 0:56:03 | |
I am absolutely itching to have a go. Have you got a beginner's bow. | 0:56:03 | 0:56:07 | |
-I have one over here. -Brilliant, let's do it. -OK, sure. | 0:56:07 | 0:56:11 | |
OK, we're kitted out. First of all, what's this? | 0:56:21 | 0:56:24 | |
This is a bracer, to keep your sleeve out of the way of the string | 0:56:24 | 0:56:27 | |
-and protect your arm from the whip of the string. -And this? | 0:56:27 | 0:56:31 | |
This is a tab, to protect your fingers from the pull of the string. | 0:56:31 | 0:56:35 | |
-OK, so you have it either side of the arrow? -That's right. -OK. | 0:56:35 | 0:56:39 | |
-It's obviously a beginner's bow. -Yes. -How powerful is it? | 0:56:39 | 0:56:43 | |
How much strength do you need? | 0:56:43 | 0:56:45 | |
If you pull for 28 inches, you'll have about 30lbs on your fingers. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:50 | |
-That's a quarter of what the big bows used to be like? -It is. | 0:56:50 | 0:56:54 | |
That's the kit. Without any more ado, | 0:56:54 | 0:56:56 | |
I think we should see how it works. | 0:56:56 | 0:56:58 | |
-Take it away. -Sure, OK. | 0:56:58 | 0:57:00 | |
-Feet shoulder-width apart. -Yeah. | 0:57:00 | 0:57:03 | |
-Pick your arrow. -So it's over the top. | 0:57:03 | 0:57:05 | |
Over the top. To the string. | 0:57:05 | 0:57:07 | |
-Wow! -Over to you. | 0:57:15 | 0:57:16 | |
Right! | 0:57:16 | 0:57:18 | |
So, let's lock and load, as they probably don't say with archery. | 0:57:18 | 0:57:24 | |
So, over the top. | 0:57:24 | 0:57:25 | |
-You had the white feather facing you, didn't you? -That's right. | 0:57:27 | 0:57:33 | |
-It just clicks in. -Uh-huh. -Click. | 0:57:33 | 0:57:35 | |
Lock your shoulder down, slight bend in your left elbow. | 0:57:35 | 0:57:40 | |
Don't clamp arrow with your fingers. So slight bend in the elbow. | 0:57:40 | 0:57:45 | |
-Just keep drawing that back, do I? -Yeah. | 0:57:45 | 0:57:49 | |
-When do I let go? -Now. | 0:57:49 | 0:57:52 | |
-Hey, excellent shot. -Wow, really flies, doesn't it? -It does. | 0:57:54 | 0:57:58 | |
Yeah, I'll take that. That's brilliant. Amazing to think... | 0:57:58 | 0:58:02 | |
-You have a competition in August, don't you? -Yes, we do. 6th August. | 0:58:02 | 0:58:06 | |
-6th August. People come from all around? -All over Britain. -Fantastic. | 0:58:06 | 0:58:10 | |
To have it right here, amazing view, hopefully the sun shining, | 0:58:10 | 0:58:14 | |
but more importantly, in almost the home of the longbow, | 0:58:14 | 0:58:17 | |
where people have practised this for centuries. | 0:58:17 | 0:58:20 | |
Yeah, it's a great privilege for us | 0:58:20 | 0:58:21 | |
to be able to shoot on such an ancient field. | 0:58:21 | 0:58:23 | |
-Long may it continue. -We hope so. -Fantastic. | 0:58:23 | 0:58:27 | |
Travelling down Scotland's west coast has been | 0:58:33 | 0:58:36 | |
a truly memorable experience. | 0:58:36 | 0:58:38 | |
From a natural landscape that rises majestically from the earth, | 0:58:38 | 0:58:42 | |
dwarfing all that passed through it, to the history and natural wonders | 0:58:42 | 0:58:47 | |
that define the character of this dramatic slice of the British Isles. | 0:58:47 | 0:58:51 | |
It's a land built by warriors, but today defined by the beautiful | 0:58:55 | 0:58:59 | |
and unspoilt wildness of these surroundings. | 0:58:59 | 0:59:02 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:59:15 | 0:59:18 | |
E-mail [email protected] | 0:59:18 | 0:59:22 |