Mountain William Whiskerson

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# William Whiskerson Mouse explorer

# Finds adventure Round every corner

# Where will he go? Who will he meet?

# His amazing adventures Will make you squeak!

# William Whiskerson Mouse explorer! #

Here comes William Whiskerson in his amazing travelling globe.

Greetings, adventurers.

I am William Whiskerson, the famous mouse explorer.

William can see hills and a lake.

But which part of the United Kingdom is he in today?

Cheesephone, reveal my location!

The Cheesephone shows William where he is on a map of the world.

Hello, William.

Today you're in the Highlands of Scotland,

in a place called Cruachan. Cruachan is surrounded

by large mountains, and lakes, known as "lochs".

It's beautiful.

Oh!

I've got a message coming through on my Cheesephone.

Hello, William, my name's Euan. Welcome to Cruachan!

Would you like to join me on a mountain adventure today?

That sounds like an amazing adventure.

Lock the location, Cheesephone.

The map shows William where to meet his new friend.

Explorers away!

William sets off to find Euan and his dad.

Pleased to squeak you, Euan.

Pleased to squeak you too, William.

What are you wearing, Euan?

I'm wearing my hiking clothes.

My fleece, my rucksack and my hiking boots.

Look!

I've also got my lovely new scarf

to keep me nice and warm on our mountain adventure.

The weather on mountains can change very quickly,

so it's important to wear the right clothes.

Now, which mountain are we going to climb?

That one over there - Ben Cruachan.

Come on, then!

The explorers set off on their adventure.

The mountain they're going to climb is called Ben Cruachan.

It's a special mountain called a Munro.

This is because it's more than 1,000 metres high.

It's nearly as tall as the highest mountain in Scotland - Ben Nevis.

William Whiskerson, the great mouse explorer,

makes his way to the top of the mountain.

Ah! I've made it to the top of the mountain!

I'm going to plant my cheese flag to show that I've made it to the top.

-Haha!

-Er, William?

-Yeah?

We've got a long way to go, I think!

Oh!

Crumbs!

William notices something special about the sheep on the mountain.

Look at their funny curly horns.

They've got wool on them as well!

Why have they got wool?

To keep them warm.

Oh! Just like my scarf.

The sheep that live on Ben Cruachan

are called Scottish Blackface sheep.

Can you see why?

The explorers continue their adventure up the mountain,

when William spots some plants.

Look at all these thistles. They look really spiky.

When William catches up with his friends,

they spy some more things that grow on the rocks.

Look, there's all the moss, Euan. Look how much water's in it, look!

-Oh! The water's coming through the rock.

-It's absolutely soaking.

-And this is an orchid.

-An orchid is a very delicate plant.

They also find a plant called a yellow mountain saxifrage.

It's got a nice bright yellow, hasn't it, William?

-It's a lovely yellow plant, isn't it?

-Yes!

Feel that, Euan.

Urgh!

-Mucky, isn't it!

-Yeah!

-It's all wet!

It's wet, have a feel!

There are lots of plants that grow on the mountain,

like heather, and foxgloves.

William even finds a Scotch bluebell.

Ah! Lovely blue flowers!

William knows you should never pick wild flowers,

in case they don't grow back.

Finally, the adventurers make it to the top of the mountain

and look down at the valley below.

Wow! It looks so far away!

How far do you think that is?

I don't really know.

I think it might be a zillion miles!

Don't be silly, William! It can't be that far!

As they head back down the mountain,

they come across a large pool of water.

Wow! Look at all this water!

Cheesephone, what can you tell me about water and mountains?

When it rains, the rainwater runs down the mountain into streams.

The streams then flow into rivers,

and into lakes,

and then into the sea.

So all the water runs down the mountain!

Look! What's that?

That's a dam.

A dam is a large wall that is built to trap water.

The dam at Ben Cruachan traps rainwater in a lake

as it runs off the mountain.

This mountain holds a secret.

Inside is a power station. A power station

is a place where you make electricity.

William and Euan continue their adventure.

They're going to go inside the mountain to visit the power station.

Oh, it's getting dark.

The lights are on, William.

Oh, there ARE some lights.

Wow! Look at that!

Wow, William!

It goes a long way.

When they arrive at the power station,

they meet John, who works there.

We are now overlooking the machine hall where we make the electricity.

The machine hall looks huge. How big is it, John?

It's so big, you could fit the Tower of London inside.

Wow! That is big!

It's very noisy!

That's the sound of electricity being made.

The rainwater collected by the dam

travels into the mountain through steel pipes.

Underneath the large units is a machine called a turbine.

Once the water arrives, it makes the turbines turn.

As the turbines turn, they generate power in the form of electricity.

This is called hydroelectric power, because it is made using water.

We use electricity to power lots of things in our homes,

like washing machines, TVs and toasters.

Above the machine hall is a special room called the control room.

Inside the control room, workmen are busy sending out the electricity

made at the power station to all the homes around the local area.

Wow! Look at all these buttons and dials! Heehee!

Thank you so much for showing me round the power station, John.

It was my pleasure, William.

Come on, William. I think we deserve a drink after our adventure.

Ah! Good idea!

Explorers Away!

That is one amazing mountain.

I've got a little present for you

-so you can remember your adventure on the mountain with me.

-Oh!

Euan gives William a piece of mountain rock.

It's been an amazing mountain adventure.

Explorers Away!

Can you remember where William went today?

William visited his friend Euan on a mountain in Scotland.

On his journey, William saw plants...

and lots of water.

Can you remember what it was stored in?

It was stored in a dam.

Next, he went INSIDE the mountain, where he got to see a power station.

William had a fantastic adventure with his friend Euan.

Time to fly, explorers!

We're off on another adventure!

See you soon, William!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd