0:00:02 > 0:00:0660 years ago, an extraordinary man called Harold Briercliffe
0:00:06 > 0:00:10wrote a series of books about his great passion - cycling.
0:00:10 > 0:00:16Largely forgotten, these overlooked gems were the culmination of a lifelong journey. His destination?
0:00:16 > 0:00:20The whole of Britain on two wheels.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22Over half a century later,
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and equipped with one of his reliable cycle touring guides, I'll be re-tracing his tracks...
0:00:27 > 0:00:31And riding his very own bicycle - a Dawes Super Galaxy.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34This was the ultimate touring machine of its day.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I'll be taking it on one of Harold's classic journeys
0:00:37 > 0:00:42through the magnificent countryside he explored all those years ago.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I'm going in search of Britain by bike.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Welcome to Scotland. Today I'm in the Highlands.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The western Highlands of Scotland.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Truly a wilderness. Mountains clad in bracken and heather.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24Lonely glens. Lochs with castles standing proud on their shores.
0:01:24 > 0:01:30This is Kintail, a rugged, unspoilt area of the North West Highlands
0:01:30 > 0:01:32opposite the Isle of Skye.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Cycling author Harold Briercliffe simply loved the Highlands.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41There are roughly 300 miles of mountains and lochs and glens and coastline.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45He described it as "the most vivid and rugged landscape in Britain".
0:01:45 > 0:01:51He also said that he best way to discover it was by bicycle, and who am I to argue?
0:01:51 > 0:01:57This beautiful landscape has a vivid and sometimes bloody history.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It's seen rebellions and incursions, from warrior queens and invading armies,
0:02:01 > 0:02:05intruders of different kinds, and not all of them human.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07It's a place that outsiders are drawn to.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13Some to celebrate its wildness, others to try to overcome it.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I'll be uncovering the evidence of their visits on my journey.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Today's route is 23 miles long, starting near Glen Shiel
0:02:20 > 0:02:22on the shores of Loch Duich,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26heading over a mountain pass and north up the coast to Kylerhea,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28close to the Isle of Skye.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Then it's back down to Glenelg and inland to Glen Beag
0:02:31 > 0:02:35before finally heading along the lonely path to Sandaig,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38the unlikely setting of for international best-seller.
0:02:43 > 0:02:49My journey starts here at the picture perfect location of the Ratagan Youth Hostel.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51We know Harold Briercliffe came here,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54not just because he wrote about it in his 1948 Touring Guide,
0:02:54 > 0:03:01but also because we've got hold of some of his old photographs taken from almost exactly this spot.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05Harold captured some wonderful views on his Scottish travels.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10He was a prolific photographer, taking pictures to illustrate his guidebooks
0:03:10 > 0:03:12and articles for cycling magazines.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Here is one with the view from the hostel front, looking along the loch,
0:03:15 > 0:03:23of Harold's wife, Mamie, down at the lochside - with their trusted bikes, of course!
0:03:23 > 0:03:26And this magnificent view of the mountains
0:03:26 > 0:03:31on the north side of Glen Shiel, known as the Five Sisters of Kintail.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Rochdale-born Harold was an intrepid cyclist
0:03:43 > 0:03:46so his routes aren't always easy -
0:03:46 > 0:03:52this one begins with a climb up the 1100ft Mam Ratagan pass.
0:03:52 > 0:03:58The gradient is mostly one in ten, steepening to one in seven,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03and close to the summit there is a great coil of two hairpin bends.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09This is pretty hard work
0:04:09 > 0:04:13and all you can see around are trees and trees
0:04:13 > 0:04:15and more trees.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22At the top I'm going to meet up with Chris Marsh
0:04:22 > 0:04:27from the Forestry Commission and talk to him about these trees
0:04:27 > 0:04:31and the plans for the forest in the Highlands in the future.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35The growth of trees planted by the Forestry Commission
0:04:35 > 0:04:38prevents a continuous panorama being presented
0:04:38 > 0:04:43during the ascent, but at clearings the picture of Loch Duich,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46backed by the Five Sisters, is striking indeed.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51This may look like natural woodland, but it is in fact an immigrant crop,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55planted in regimented rows, grown to be cut down,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58replanted and harvested all over again.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Ratagan Forest was established by the Forestry Commission in 1923
0:05:02 > 0:05:05to meet the demands of the national timber industry.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11The dominance of the invading Sitka spruce has been a thorny issue ever since.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14When the Forestry Commission started in the early 20th century,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18they spent a lot of time looking at species from around the world
0:05:18 > 0:05:23and Sitka spruce was chosen because the environment from which it comes from,
0:05:23 > 0:05:29the west coast of America, is perfectly suited to the west coast of Scotland.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It seems to me that a lot of people have a problem with the Sitka spruce
0:05:33 > 0:05:35because it's an invader, because it's come from so far away.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Can you appreciate that strength of feeling?
0:05:39 > 0:05:43Yeah, I think the Sitka controversy
0:05:43 > 0:05:48is as much a visitor's perspective
0:05:48 > 0:05:54to see an alien tree planted in geometrical shapes on what's perceived to be a wilderness.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57But of course, these hills have been managed
0:05:57 > 0:06:01for centuries and look the way that they do because of that management.
0:06:01 > 0:06:07Many of these slopes would have been closed-in birch woodland with hazel scrub and holly and rowan.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Those, over centuries, would have disappeared through this grazing pressure,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14muir burning, heather burning.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19So a lot of the native woodland ended up being confined just to gullies and ravines.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25And then the broad open slopes were the areas the foresters came and planted in the '20s.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30But it's not just the planting, it's the harvesting that most upsets people.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35I know this is a really difficult balance because you're undertaking a commercial enterprise,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39it's time to chop them down, they've all got to come down.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43But you must see, as anyone else sees, how incredibly ugly that can look.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47It's more than just a scar, it can look like a warzone.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53Trees were established here to establish a national timber resource and that can't be forgotten about.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56But certainly in an area like this
0:06:56 > 0:06:58the environmental importance
0:06:58 > 0:07:01of these habitats come up and up the agenda.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06So when the first phase of trees are being harvested, the second phase -
0:07:06 > 0:07:11we're using Scots pine instead of Sitka spruce - but the trees are also being planted
0:07:11 > 0:07:15in a more randomised structure at greater spacings.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19So we're starting to get more of those environmental associations
0:07:19 > 0:07:23which the first phase of densely planted Sitka spruce wasn't giving.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35It's perhaps unrealistic to think that one day this landscape
0:07:35 > 0:07:41will be covered in huge swathes of Caledonian Forest, and some people probably think that the Sitkas
0:07:41 > 0:07:44are native, after all they've now been here for 80 years,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47which is longer than some visitors to Scotland.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56Harold mentions in his books some very well known early visitors to this part of the Highlands.
0:07:56 > 0:08:03In 1773, Dr Johnson and his travelling companion James Boswell came on this very road.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06They struggled a bit, despite the fact that they had horses,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08both up the hill and down it.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12I can't say that I'm struggling downhill. I was going up, though!
0:08:12 > 0:08:201st September 1773, going downhill on the other side was no easy task.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26As Mr Johnson was a great weight, the two guides agreed he should ride the horses alternately.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31As he rode upon it downhill, it did not go well and he grumbled.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Hello!
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Johnson and Boswell came here not just to take in the wonderful views,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44but because they were on their way to Skye.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49For centuries, this crossing was the principal gateway from the mainland
0:08:49 > 0:08:54to the Hebrides - a short stretch of water known as the Kylerhea race.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00In the late 18th century, drovers bringing their cattle from the Hebrides over to market
0:09:00 > 0:09:03would wait for these waters to be calm and then drive the cattle across.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07They'd have to swim to the mainland.
0:09:07 > 0:09:15So far my journey has taken me from Ratagan along the Mam Ratagan pass, skirting the village of Glenelg
0:09:15 > 0:09:21and north to the Kylerhea race, and one of Harold's favourite locations.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26Immediately north of the ferry stands the youth hostel of Glenelg.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31Its situation at the road end, without another dwelling in sight on the mainland,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35is amongst the grandest of all the Scottish hostels.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39This used to be the Glenelg Youth Hostel. It's now a private residence.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44It does do B&Bs, but Harold would have been very sad that the youth hostel has been lost
0:09:44 > 0:09:48because he felt that places like this, and the Ratagan Youth Hostel,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52where we started, were crucial stepping stones to explore great outdoors
0:09:52 > 0:09:54for the adventurous explorer.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58And with every one that closes, it makes it that bit harder for walkers
0:09:58 > 0:10:02or cyclists or runners who are trying to get into the landscape.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05And doing so on a very small budget.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14In his book, Harold sings the praises of the Scottish Youth Hostelling Association,
0:10:14 > 0:10:20which had been set up in the 1930s to allow young people to travel and experience other cultures.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Not simply a dry bed for a weary cyclist, in the late 1940s,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31the hostels were a symbol of freedom and hope -
0:10:31 > 0:10:36a world in which outsiders were not invaders, but welcome guests.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41The SYHA has done much to open up the Highlands to the cycling visitor.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Thousands of wayfarers who might never have ventured into the Highlands
0:10:45 > 0:10:52have used the hostels and, for small outlay, have seen the finest mountain scenery in the British Isles.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Following Harold's suggestion, I'm now retracing my tracks,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03heading south, back along the military road towards Glenelg
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and the Bernera Barracks.
0:11:05 > 0:11:12You feel so far away from any sort of major city or town.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14You feel a long way away from pollution.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17From noise pollution as well.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18It's so quiet!
0:11:20 > 0:11:22And it really does feel fresh.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25You can feel it on your skin, in your lungs...
0:11:27 > 0:11:32It's like an inner and outer body wash.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Despite the peace and serenity of this coastal road,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43it has a chequered military past.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47More than 147,000 Scots were killed in the Great War
0:11:47 > 0:11:52and the casualties from the highland regiments were particularly high.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00I can see the ruin of the Barracks just over there.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04But the Bernera Barracks don't relate to a modern war,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07rather to a bloodsoaked conflict some 200 years earlier,
0:12:07 > 0:12:12just a few years after the Act of Union between Scotland and England.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15In the early 18th century, the barracks were an outpost
0:12:15 > 0:12:20of English-speaking authority in a Gaelic-speaking world.
0:12:20 > 0:12:27When Boswell, a Lowland Scot, brought Dr Johnson through here on their way to the inn at Glenelg,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30he gazed on the lit Barracks with longing.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34As we passed the barracks at Bernera, I would fain have put up there.
0:12:34 > 0:12:40At least I looked at them wishfully, as soldiers have always everything in the best order.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47Historian Jim Hunter is meeting me here to explain why Bernera Barracks
0:12:47 > 0:12:51were built to house an army of outsiders in hostile territory.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56Even with no roof on and no glass in the windows and massive great cracks
0:12:56 > 0:12:59down the walls, these are still very impressive buildings.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01When were the barracks first built?
0:13:01 > 0:13:08They were built in the early 1720s, not long after the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13The Jacobite movement aimed to restore the Catholic House of Stuart
0:13:13 > 0:13:16to the throne, but the Jacobite Highlanders
0:13:16 > 0:13:23were also fighting to defend the old clan system from the intrusion of a London-based government.
0:13:23 > 0:13:31It was from Highlands that they launched a number of rebellions, the most spectacular being in 1715.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35And the last one, in many ways the most successful one,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37being the one that started in 1745
0:13:37 > 0:13:41when a Highland army led by a Stuart Prince,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44famously known as Bonnie Prince Charlie,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47marched south out of the Highlands,
0:13:47 > 0:13:52conquered Scotland by capturing Edinburgh, and then towards the end of 1745,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56invaded England and got, by the beginning of December 1745,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00got as far south as Derby, about 120 miles from London.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05That really terrified the British establishment, the Government of the day.
0:14:05 > 0:14:11And it's around that sort of incursion,
0:14:11 > 0:14:17that rebellious activity in the Highlands, the notion of Highlands as reservoir of rebels
0:14:17 > 0:14:21and dangerous people of that kind, it's around all of that
0:14:21 > 0:14:25that you get the push to establish garrisons here,
0:14:25 > 0:14:31construct roads, generally subject the area to effective British control, British rule.
0:14:31 > 0:14:37Was it a success? Were the barracks a successful place to be stationed?
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I think militarily they weren't a success at all.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44They were built after one rebellion
0:14:44 > 0:14:47in order to prevent another one and manifestly they didn't
0:14:47 > 0:14:50because another rebellion followed 20, 30 years later.
0:14:50 > 0:14:58In fact, the roads which were intended to allow the British army to move rapidly into the Highlands
0:14:58 > 0:15:03were used very effectively by the Jacobite army to move very rapidly out of the Highlands.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And to conquer Scotland in an astonishingly short space of time.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09From a military point of view, they weren't a success.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13We've seen in more recent conflicts how difficult it is
0:15:13 > 0:15:19for a military force to establish control over a wild mountainous area.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Just as in Afghanistan in current times,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26in the Highlands 200, 300 years ago it was very difficult to do that.
0:15:26 > 0:15:32What changed this area from being that lawless, clan wilderness
0:15:32 > 0:15:35into being more sophisticated?
0:15:35 > 0:15:40It began to change radically in the later part of the 18th century,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44after the last Jacobite rebellion in 1745, 1746
0:15:44 > 0:15:50had been definitively crushed at the Battle of Culloden, about 100 miles east of here.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54The old society then began to fall apart.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58The former clan chiefs gradually evolved into landlords
0:15:58 > 0:16:01that began treating their land as a commercial asset.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Sheep farming was introduced on a very large scale
0:16:05 > 0:16:08and part of what was associated with that
0:16:08 > 0:16:12was the removal of very large numbers of people who were being evicted
0:16:12 > 0:16:14to make way for the new sheep farms.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The area was comprehensively depopulated.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Once the old Highland culture was broken,
0:16:19 > 0:16:24there was little need for the army to remain here and the barracks were abandoned.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29The last people to use them were victims of the Highland Clearances, families seeking shelter
0:16:29 > 0:16:34after being forcibly evicted from their land to make way for sheep.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Where are we with Highlands right now?
0:16:37 > 0:16:44If your equivalent is standing here in 100 years' time, how will he reflect on this period of history?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47I think it will be seen as a period of remarkable change.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51For many decades, for the better part of 200 years,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54the Highlands were an area where people were leaving,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57either for overseas or to cities in the south.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02But we have seen in the last 20, 30 years a reversal of that pattern.
0:17:02 > 0:17:08I would think and hope that if we were to be able to come here 100 years from now,
0:17:08 > 0:17:11we would see a place that was flourishing.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18The next stage of my journey
0:17:18 > 0:17:22takes me briefly south then east at a fork in the road.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27I'm heading into Glen Beag, a dead-end, which is slightly unusual for Harold.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30But what I find there makes it worth it.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34These amazing structures are known as brochs.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38The word comes from Old Norse and means "a fortification".
0:17:38 > 0:17:45Although in ruins, these erections are the two finest brochs on the mainland of Scotland.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49The lower broch has a wall 11ft thick and 30ft in height
0:17:49 > 0:17:55despite some 7ft in masonry having been taken when the Bernera Barracks were built.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Hundreds of these dry stone towers were constructed during the Iron Age,
0:18:00 > 0:18:05but the people who built them and why they built them are shrouded in mystery.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10Playwright and local broch enthusiast Eddie Stiven tells me more.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13This is some structure!
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Who built it? What was it used for?
0:18:20 > 0:18:25They were built about 2,000 years ago, which would tend to mean it they were built
0:18:25 > 0:18:28by the people who were here before the Scots got here,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30who people generally refer to,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33and certainly the Romans referred to them, as the Picts.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36The painted people.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39They were partly Celtic, partly indigenous,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41they are a bit of a mystery.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45It is a bit of a mystery why they built these buildings here.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I think way you get more information about the people
0:18:48 > 0:18:53at that time is the information in the legendary material that was written and handed on orally.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57A lot of that has been recorded both in Ireland and in the Highlands of Scotland.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00There are two main cycles,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05and they speak about warrior queens in this area.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12There is a cycle which is usually called the Ulster Cycle.
0:19:12 > 0:19:18And in that set of stories, the boy hero of Ulster, who is called Cu Chulainn,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23he came to Skye across the water for his training in arms
0:19:23 > 0:19:29from a wonderfully named warrior queen, Scathach.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30The shadowy one.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36And she taught him what I guess was early Celtic martial-arts training,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38according to the legends.
0:19:38 > 0:19:45And she, in turn, had an enmity with a warrior queen who lived on the mainland and, who knows,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47it may have been here.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51The stories of warrior queens led to much speculation about Pictish society,
0:19:51 > 0:19:56but one thing is clear - they must have been a skilful and determined people
0:19:56 > 0:20:00to build such advanced and puzzling structures.
0:20:00 > 0:20:06These walls are hollow, intramural galleries going all the way up.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I believe there is an engineering reason for that
0:20:09 > 0:20:12because it keeps the structure lightweight.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16If it were to be built of solid stone, it would collapse under its own weight.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20The hollow walls contain stone staircases, and inside each broch
0:20:20 > 0:20:25there may have been several wooden floors or platforms.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28As you can see, there are ledges, or scarcements, they call them,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32which would have perhaps taken a floor here,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37and right up the top you can see another one, maybe an observation gallery floor
0:20:37 > 0:20:39that you could look over the top from.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44There are several hundred of these brochs scattered across Scotland
0:20:44 > 0:20:48in all sorts of locations, but that variety and number
0:20:48 > 0:20:52simply adds to the mystery of why they were built.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Do you think this was a defensive structure?
0:20:55 > 0:21:01It may have been, it may have been in defence of attacks
0:21:01 > 0:21:04from other tribes living locally.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06So, there was no major outside threat
0:21:06 > 0:21:09that this society was defending against.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15But the most common theory these days is they were built for status.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20You know, "This is what I can build, this is my house," and show off a bit.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24When you consider that in the rest of the British Isles at that time
0:21:24 > 0:21:29outside of the classical buildings built by the Romans,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34everybody else was living in fairly simple rude huts,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37this is a pretty impressive structure for its age.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Strongholds, dwellings, status symbols or simply shelter from the harsh winter weather,
0:21:42 > 0:21:48whatever these brochs were used for, the people who built them must have been a force to be reckoned with.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50No wonder the Romans didn't make it this far north.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Though, if they had, their road-building skills would have been welcome.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Because of the remoteness of the North West Highlands,
0:21:58 > 0:22:02it is as well to go prepared for mechanical and tyre trouble.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06A few spare spokes, plenty of repair material
0:22:06 > 0:22:12for covers and tubes, even spare cotters and brake blocks, are all advisable.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16It says much for the reliability of the modern lightweight bicycle
0:22:16 > 0:22:20that it stands up to the rough hammering of Highland roads.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28Harold mentions in his book that there are no smooth roads round here at all.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29He would love this.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Cyclists' paradise, brand new tarmac.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Retracing my tracks west down Glen Beag,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I turn left again at the coast, heading southwards.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Then it's on to high ground on the headland of Sandaig
0:22:43 > 0:22:46as the road sweeps past the edge of the cliffs
0:22:46 > 0:22:50to reveal some breathtaking views across the Sound of Sleat.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59The road is rough and in all the nine miles there are only two farms,
0:22:59 > 0:23:05the roadmender's house at Shantaig and the shoreside farm of Rarsaidh.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12What Harold would not have known about, because it was hidden from view,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17was a cottage down on the bay that would soon become one of the most famous places
0:23:17 > 0:23:21in this part of Scotland thanks to the arrival of two outsiders,
0:23:21 > 0:23:26the naturalist Gavin Maxwell and his otter who he brought from Iraq.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31Maxwell was the author of the highly influential book Ring of Bright Water,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35which made him and his otters unforgettable.
0:23:35 > 0:23:42Gavin Maxwell was a remarkable figure - one-time explorer, special agent and even shark hunter!
0:23:42 > 0:23:46He moved here to a house that was known in his books as Camusfearna.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50And helping to care for the otters that were his passion was a young Londoner
0:23:50 > 0:23:55who would later become a famous naturalist and television presenter.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01To hear more about their extraordinary lives here, I'm meeting up with Terry Nutkins,
0:24:01 > 0:24:07who's agreed to show me where he and Gavin Maxwell and Edal the otter once lived.
0:24:07 > 0:24:14- Right, Clare. So, here is your first view of Camusfearna.- And that is where the house was, down there.
0:24:14 > 0:24:21Just to the right of that telegraph pole is where we lived and that is where Gavin Maxwell is buried.
0:24:21 > 0:24:29Maxwell chose this place for its remoteness and isolation - even now, it's still a tricky spot to get to.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Who needs a bridge?!
0:24:32 > 0:24:34This is it.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38This is where the house stood that we lived in at Camusfearna.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44Of course, Gavin Maxwell, Gavin Maxwell's ashes are below this stone.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46This is where the house stood.
0:24:46 > 0:24:52Now, the stone's in this position quite literally because Gavin Maxwell's desk was here.
0:24:52 > 0:24:58And this is where he sat and wrote Ring of Bright Water and the trilogy and the life of the otters.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Absolutely. On this very spot.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05It was a masterpiece. It was beautifully written.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10Um... It inspired people,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15especially people that lived in places like London and Manchester, to come and see wildlife.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17And it was all there.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20It's on our doorstep, really. It is only Scotland.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24It was quite an adventure for a young boy who was born
0:25:24 > 0:25:29in the middle of London, in Marylebone, overlooking a railway station.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34It was quite incredible to come from that concrete jungle into this wilderness.
0:25:34 > 0:25:41He may have left behind the noise, the people and the pollution, but also gone were the comforts of life.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45We didn't have electricity, we didn't have running water, as such.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49We had paraffin lamps and Tilley lamps, and that is how we lived.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52It was a very different lifestyle. I loved it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:58But, as Terry found out, adventure and danger go hand in hand.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Edal, the otter, bit these two fingers off.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05She attacked me and it took me quite a while to get away from her,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08but when I did get away from her, I found my hands were like mincemeat,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10they had been torn to shreds.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Did that change your relationship with otters?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16You don't keep an otter as a household pet.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20That is one thing Gavin learned and we all learnt - they are not domestic dogs or domestic animals.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24And they are unpredictable, being wild animals.
0:26:24 > 0:26:30Maxwell's remote existence with the otters had captured the public imagination,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33but the popularity of the book shattered the dream.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38Maxwell was suddenly famous, and even this place offered no escape.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41He couldn't cope with it. He was not a strong man that way.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46So, he could not deal with it, but he did not want anyone to know that. So he started drinking more.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47He started smoking more.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52And the pressures became more because we started spending more money.
0:26:52 > 0:26:59And next thing, agent on the phone - "You have to write a sequel. We're broke."
0:26:59 > 0:27:03So, he wrote The Rocks Remain, the sequel to Ring of Bright Water, which was a disaster
0:27:03 > 0:27:05because it was written in a hurry.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And it didn't have the same beauty,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10the same anything, as Ring of Bright Water.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13But that was the beginning of the end, really.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19One night in 1968, Camusfearna burned to the ground.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Maxwell escaped, but Edal the otter died in the fire.
0:27:23 > 0:27:30It was all very sad and Gavin... was devastated by it.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Because this is the place he loved, this was his Ring of Bright Water.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37This was his haven.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Harold's route has taken me to the edge of the mainland,
0:27:47 > 0:27:52the gateway to Skye along the military road that brought troops both in and out,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57past the mysterious ruined brochs and down to the remote place
0:27:57 > 0:28:01where one writer brought millions of people closer to nature
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and encouraged them to experience the great outdoors.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Harold would have approved.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11We have seen throughout this journey how outsiders have come in,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and whether it's 18th century invaders or Sitka spruces,
0:28:14 > 0:28:19they found it hard to leave and they've changed the look of the landscape,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22but they haven't changed its essential soul, its nature.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26This is still a wild and remote part of Scotland.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32Thoroughly worth the effort of getting here, hard to get to - and pretty hard to leave as well.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:42 > 0:28:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk