0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm Helen Mark, and I grew up in Scotland,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10but for the last 31 years, I've made Northern Ireland my home.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12It's making my eyes water!
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I have always felt comfortable in Northern Ireland,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16but I've never really examined why,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19and I often wonder if the many people from Northern Ireland
0:00:19 > 0:00:22who have settled in Scotland feel the same.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- You're really Glaswegian? - Oh, don't tell me that!
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Your mother's going to be furious with you!
0:00:29 > 0:00:31At the closest point,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Scotland and the North Antrim coast are just 12 miles apart,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37and the migration of people between the two countries
0:00:37 > 0:00:40has been going on for centuries.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- Good test of your sailing skills. - And your stomach as well!
0:00:44 > 0:00:48But it's the modern mix of cultures I'm interested in,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51them and us cheek by jowl.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Just what are the ties that bind us,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56and are they as strong as ever?
0:00:56 > 0:00:59With a Glasgow gig, if you come out without getting bottled,
0:00:59 > 0:01:01you've done well.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02When they start playing that music,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I just feel this Scottishness welling up in me.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21My search for the Northern Irish in Scotland
0:01:21 > 0:01:24begins in the southwest.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26It's a rugged coast with familiar landmarks
0:01:26 > 0:01:30like Ailsa Craig, which is also visible from the Antrim coast.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I'll be back in this area later,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37but I'm going to start my journey by heading inland.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42As soon as you step off the boat, the similarities in the scenery
0:01:42 > 0:01:46between Northern Ireland and here in southwest Scotland are apparent,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51which is not surprising, because there are great areas of land here
0:01:51 > 0:01:55which are actually farmed by families from Northern Ireland!
0:01:55 > 0:01:56So much so that in some places,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59the locals refer to it as Little Ireland.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11One person that knows a lot about the influx of Ulster farmers
0:02:11 > 0:02:12is Seamus Donnelly.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Originally from Ballycastle himself, Seamus is a farm advisor.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21He works with farmers right across the southwest of Scotland.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Today, I've come to see him at a farm near Bladnoch in Wigtownshire,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28which is about 30 miles east of Stranraer.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32I know there's a high concentration of farmers from back home here,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34but the actual figures still come as a shock.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38There's been a big influx over the last 20 years.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42We've seen, just now, something close to 50 farmers have
0:02:42 > 0:02:46moved across in Wigtownshire alone from Ulster, which is roughly 10%.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48- Recently?- In the last 20 years,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50but the majority came in the last eight to ten years,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and even some of the parishes we have here,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57we have got one in every three farmers who come from Ulster.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59If you think about it, land prices,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02for every acre you sold in Northern Ireland,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04you could get between three and four acres here.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07You had the opportunity, also, to become more efficient,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11because in Northern Ireland, the farms tend to be spread out,
0:03:11 > 0:03:13fields here and there,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15whereas in Scotland, you could come across
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- and buy a large area all together. - Yeah.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30What's interesting is that much of Northern Ireland's cultural
0:03:30 > 0:03:34connection to Scotland comes from the fight to develop land
0:03:34 > 0:03:37and the influx of Scottish farmers during the plantation
0:03:37 > 0:03:39of Ulster in the 17th century.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41And yet here we are, 400 years later,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and it's as if the movement is in reverse.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I'm wondering what effect this mass migration has had
0:03:49 > 0:03:52on the tight-knit rural communities here
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and how the farmers from Northern Ireland have settled in.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57So I'm on my way to meet the Robinsons,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01one of the first families to make the move.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Jack and his wife Leslie moved here from Claudy 36 years ago.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Back home, they had 120 acres.
0:04:07 > 0:04:14Today, the family own four farms in the area that total 2,500 acres.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18The first farm they bought is now managed by their son Andrew.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21But at 72, Jack still helps out, particularly with the milking.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Hello, hi! I've caught you at a bit of a busy time.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- Nice to meet you. - How are you?- How are you?
0:04:29 > 0:04:33What size of a herd have you got here, all these lovely Holsteins?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36We have about 200 at the present time.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39How many did you have on your original farm
0:04:39 > 0:04:40back in Northern Ireland?
0:04:40 > 0:04:44- We had 60 cows back in Ireland. - And now you've got 200.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49- Yes.- That's a big difference in your life, isn't it?- Yes, it is, aye.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51But my son is capable. He has taken it over from me,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55so I've got five sons altogether.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58There's one here, one a few miles away on a dairy farm,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02and we've got a son up in Ayrshire, David,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and he has got 140 cows.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Then we have got a son up near Stranraer, and he has got 300 cows.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13We've got a son in Canada, and he keeps a big herd.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14But they're all farming.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Would you have been able to do that if you'd stayed in Northern Ireland?
0:05:18 > 0:05:19I would say not a hope.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23I think it would have been totally impossible, for me, anyway.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30There wasn't the same opportunity for us to have increased.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Land was too precious or too expensive.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- We saw no other way than we were just going to be in it, didn't we?- Mm-hm.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39And this is Andrew here, we saw him in the dairy.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He was just a baby whenever we came over, he was 11 months.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44So the wee fella at the end was born here.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Nine months, the old story, you know new house, new baby,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50I proved it to be true!
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Coming up the lane,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53I don't know whether you noticed how small the house looks.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55It looks like a room in a kitchen, doesn't it?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57And I was thinking that coming up,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01"We're going to be lying in a row in the loft or something!"
0:06:01 > 0:06:05It's quite like a TARDIS, it's a funny house.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- You see, it was meant for your family.- It is funny, you know.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11So there you were, you had this big family, and you came over.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14I mean, that is a really big step to take.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Why do you think it was so easy for you to settle in?
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Well, I think the Irish were well accepted by everyone
0:06:22 > 0:06:28in the community, like both farmers and farm workers and everyone.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30And, er...
0:06:30 > 0:06:33over the years, there have been a lot of Irish come across
0:06:33 > 0:06:36for the potato harvest, and they were well accepted.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Very quickly, we felt part of the community,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43and we never felt that anyone resented us being there.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Really? Even though they were taking lots and lots of farms?
0:06:46 > 0:06:48But then you were giving big prices.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52You were offending one man, but the other man, you are of benefit
0:06:52 > 0:06:56to him because the land prices were so expensive in Ireland.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00You brought this money over. So it balanced it out, you know.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02You know what I mean?
0:07:02 > 0:07:04I know it saddens you when you look at the photograph,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08because your second daughter here died when she was in her late teens.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09She was 19.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12And, you know, when you had this tragedy in the family,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14it must have been...
0:07:15 > 0:07:18..a time when you could see how much you had become
0:07:18 > 0:07:22part of the community in the way that they supported you.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Definitely. They were absolutely tremendous.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27They couldn't have been better and kinder and more thoughtful.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29I must say, I was really touched.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33People that I hardly knew nearly, you know, they were just great, and
0:07:33 > 0:07:36the church was packed, wasn't it, Jack, with mourners and everything?
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Someone said, our predecessor said he'd never saw
0:07:39 > 0:07:43such a big funeral in that church, and he was over 70.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47So the children,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51do they consider themselves to be Northern Irish or Scottish?
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Well, I would say if Northern Ireland was playing Scotland,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58they would probably support Northern Ireland, especially the older ones.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Do you still consider yourselves to be, or have you...?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I would say I am dual, you know. I couldn't...
0:08:07 > 0:08:13Like, I'm 72, so we came here 35... Half my life I've lived here.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22It's not just farmers from Ireland that have become an integral part
0:08:22 > 0:08:24of the local economy of Wigtownshire.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Just a mile from the Robinson farm
0:08:27 > 0:08:31is Scotland's most southerly whisky distillery, Bladnoch.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33It used to be owned by the United Distillers Group,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37but it became uneconomical for such a big company to run,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and in 1993, the distillery was mothballed.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43A couple of years later,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48the buildings were sold to Raymond Armstrong, a builder from Banbridge.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So, what brought you to this part of Scotland?
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Well, it's a few years ago now, but I was in search of a holiday home.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58By accident, I came across the place, and the cottage did fit the bill.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01It would have suited me to have bought the holiday cottage,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04- but it didn't work out like that. - But it came with a distillery.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Unfortunately, they wouldn't sell it without selling it all.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08And what did you know about whisky?
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Absolutely nothing! Absolutely nothing.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14I'm interested in old cars, and sometimes you get an old car
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and you think, "If I put a carburettor on it..."
0:09:17 > 0:09:21This place had been closed down, a lot of the plant
0:09:21 > 0:09:25and equipment had been removed, so we had to put it back together again.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28The production of whisky is quite a basic thing,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31it's not exactly rocket science.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35You know, I never did science at school, I avoided it like the plague,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40but they tell me water boils at 100 and alcohol boils at 78.4...
0:09:40 > 0:09:43- Is that all you need to know? - That's all you need to know, yes.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46'Raymond is not the first person from across the water
0:09:46 > 0:09:48'to take an interest in this distillery.'
0:09:48 > 0:09:51100 years ago, it was owned by a Belfast company,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55and some of the equipment they installed is still going strong.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00So, as you can see, there's a lot of our equipment here
0:10:00 > 0:10:03is made in Northern Ireland, in this case Belfast.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06The distillery was built by local farmers, but it was
0:10:06 > 0:10:12bought in 1911 by Dunville's, Royal Irish Distilleries in Belfast.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14So a lot of the plant they would have got made in Belfast,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16it's just handier.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18We're closer to Belfast here than we are to Glasgow,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so inevitably, they made it at home.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25Yet, this company, they actually made equipment for the Titanic.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29All these connections back with Northern Ireland, it's great.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- I think so.- Yeah!
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The Irish relationship with Scottish whisky goes right back
0:10:34 > 0:10:37to monks making the trip from the north coast of Ireland
0:10:37 > 0:10:39across to the island of Islay.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43But whereas the Irish can claim to have invented whisky,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45it's Scotland who first industrialised the process
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to create a global brand.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Today, there are more than 100 different distilleries in Scotland
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and many of their whiskies come to age
0:10:53 > 0:10:56here in the warehouses at Bladnoch.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The first thing that hits me, it's the smell.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02It's almost intoxicating, Raymond. It's making my eyes water!
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- It's wonderful.- And I noticed you've sort of bare-earth floors as well.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Yet, although it looks poor, perhaps, it's an attribute.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Most distillers would want to store their whisky in a warehouse
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that has earth floors, certainly a malt-whisky distillery.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20And how many barrels are there in this particular warehouse?
0:11:20 > 0:11:23This one, I think there's about 17,000. Quite a lot.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Not all Bladnoch whisky, obviously.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Unfortunately not, no, We get a lot of income...
0:11:28 > 0:11:32I mean, we need the casks that are in here from other distilleries,
0:11:32 > 0:11:33we need the income.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36- And then they pay you rent for that. - Yes, they pay us...
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Each of those barrels represents 20p, the butts 30p a week.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Well, I haven't got great maths,
0:11:42 > 0:11:43but that probably is a hell of a lot of money.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46It comes to, I suppose, about 600,000 a year.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49I mean, this is a business that...
0:11:49 > 0:11:52We need to obviously run the business just like anybody else's business.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58I always find myself so seduced
0:11:58 > 0:12:00by the traditional atmosphere of distilleries
0:12:00 > 0:12:04that it's easy to forget Scottish whisky is big business.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Exports alone were valued at more than £4bn last year.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Bladnoch is just a small part of this.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12But for the local community,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16having their distillery back must be a big deal.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18Was there pressure to open the distillery?
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Because at the end of the day, it's created quite a lot of jobs.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24There was local pressure, for sure.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27People in the area, they had a tradition of this area having
0:12:27 > 0:12:32distilled from 1870, nearly 200 years of distilling history,
0:12:32 > 0:12:37closed down by a big company and then we come along, and we managed,
0:12:37 > 0:12:41with the help of local people and so on, to get it going.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47But you came as a stranger into this area a stranger.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51- Do you feel part of the community? - Yeah, of course I do, absolutely!
0:12:51 > 0:12:55I mean, I use the word "home" very often for the wrong place.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57I mean, my home, I suppose, is in Northern Ireland,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00but when I'm in Northern Ireland, I'll say to my wife, like,
0:13:00 > 0:13:02"When are we going over home?"
0:13:02 > 0:13:07- And this becomes home.- This is home, yeah.- Shall we drink to that?
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Absolutely, I'm delighted! To home!
0:13:15 > 0:13:19What's interesting is that I got no sense from Raymond
0:13:19 > 0:13:24or the Robinsons that they had any difficulty settling in
0:13:24 > 0:13:28to what is a close-knit rural community, and I think in my
0:13:28 > 0:13:32particular circumstances, having married into a farming family,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36and obviously I was made very welcome, but it was more than that.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I was made to feel comfortable, as though, you know,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44I was akin to them and the community that I lived and worked in.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45And in a way, that is
0:13:45 > 0:13:48like a lot of the people that I have been speaking to.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Looking around at the landscape,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53I get a real sense that this land is also our land,
0:13:53 > 0:13:58that there's a common experience that comes not just from the soil.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02We share a culture and a language, and I'm not talking about English.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04This is the land of Burns,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08so while I'm here, I want to take a closer look at Scots.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13From Bladnoch, I'm making my way to New Cumnock in East Ayrshire.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Burns stayed here, and it's now home to the poet Rab Wilson.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22Skeely Fowk.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Craw crouse, an aye, be cockapentie,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Lat ither airts aa chaw, tak tent ae
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Scotia's makars, sculptors, limners,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Thae skeely fowk whase wark defines us.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Lochhead, Stoddart...
0:14:36 > 0:14:39'Rab Wilson is a poet who writes in Scots and English.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42'An ex-miner, he's part of a growing group of writers
0:14:42 > 0:14:44'on both sides of the water,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48'who are trying to keep the Scots language alive.'
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Steek bi steek, add mair bawbees,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Tae heize up oor economy,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Gin ye're frae the Broch or Inverary,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Auchinleck or Castlecary,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Gin ye are prood o yer native laund,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Then come an jyne Scotland the Brand,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Oor kintra's unique, we ken that's true,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10But thon ither thing unique?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12That's you!
0:15:12 > 0:15:14That's great! I have to say,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17and I'm a bit ashamed to say that, as a Scot,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20I probably got about 50% of what's there,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and there are some words that I'm completely stuck on, erm...
0:15:24 > 0:15:26"We hae a routh!"
0:15:26 > 0:15:29A "routh", it means riches, we have this in plenty, you know.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33That's a good word. This is Scots, this is native Scots.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Do you think, though, that it's dying out?
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Well, I must admit, there are words here, in this poem,
0:15:40 > 0:15:42that I would not use on a daily basis.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46But as a poet who embraces Scots language
0:15:46 > 0:15:53and uses it a lot in his work, then I will use a dense Scots
0:15:53 > 0:15:55because I just love the language that much.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57And I think these words, just like, eh...
0:15:57 > 0:16:03just like any old beautiful items of another age, why no' restore them?
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Why no' make them live again and bring them back into common parlance?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Well, I come from the Scottish Borders originally,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14and when we were there, if we started using Scots words,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17which lots of other people in my town were using, like,
0:16:17 > 0:16:22"I cannae do this or I wouldnae do that", Oh, well, slap!
0:16:22 > 0:16:24"Speak properly."
0:16:24 > 0:16:26And that was it, so you stopped using them,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28you just didn't dare, because it hurt!
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Yeah, well, I was exactly the same.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35When I went to the big school at Cumnock Academy, then,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38if you said "aye" instead of "yes", you know, then you would have
0:16:38 > 0:16:43been told, "It's no' aye, it's yes," and you would have been corrected.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46And...so that, to me,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49is hopefully something that they were beginning to get away fae now.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52You know, where we're starting to embrace Scots again
0:16:52 > 0:16:54and celebrate it, the way it should be.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56When I first arrived in Northern Ireland, I was, you know,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00quite surprised by the number of words that they were using,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05say, "A wheen of barley into the soup", it was a known measure.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06And then my husband, who is a farmer,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10he would use the word "sheuch", that's a ditch, I knew that already,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and there they were using it in everyday language,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15not knowing that they were actually speaking Scots.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19I think the words we use are very similar. I mean...
0:17:20 > 0:17:25If I was going over there and into the rural areas in Northern Ireland,
0:17:25 > 0:17:31I would maybe struggle a bit with the local dialect, you know.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34But there's nae doubt
0:17:34 > 0:17:39that I would recognise the words that were being used.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43There's nae doubt about that, you know, and it's just wonderful
0:17:43 > 0:17:48when you hear that, when you hear a word that you recognise fae hame
0:17:48 > 0:17:49or fae your childhood.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54You know, there's some kind of bond there,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58there is some kind of linguistic and national bond
0:17:58 > 0:18:00that I feel still very, very much exists.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Not only is Ayrshire the birthplace of Scots poets,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07but it's also home
0:18:07 > 0:18:10to some of Scotland's most famous links golf courses.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12I've come to Royal Troon.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14It's where Northern Irish golfer Alan Dunbar
0:18:14 > 0:18:16recently won the Amateur British Open,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and I want to find out why golfers from Northern Ireland
0:18:19 > 0:18:21feel so at home here.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- Conditions... - Wind coming from the right,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26so maybe aim just down the right side of the fairway a little bit.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27OK, will do.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Nice shot, well done!
0:18:33 > 0:18:34Good! Your turn.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Kieron Stevenson is the club's golf professional.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43He's played golf in this part of Scotland all his life.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46He's also a regular visitor to Northern Ireland.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48And the courses are very similar,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52the coastlines are almost identical, very rugged,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55you're controlled by the weather when you're playing golf,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57so it's...challenging.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00And how did the links courses evolve?
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Essentially, links land is the land that literally links
0:19:06 > 0:19:09the sea to the good farmland.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13It was land that couldn't be used for grazing.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18The grass was very poor, and it was cheap for people to buy,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20to build golf courses on.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Essentially, it's as simple as that,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25land that linked the sea to good land.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27And our Northern Irish golfers
0:19:27 > 0:19:29do really well on these courses, don't they?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32They do, I think it's because they've all grown up playing
0:19:32 > 0:19:38these golf courses, such as Portrush and County Down and Portstewart.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41You take Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell
0:19:41 > 0:19:47and our most recent amateur winner, Alan Dunbar, who, I believe,
0:19:47 > 0:19:49is a member of the Rathmore club at Portrush.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51They all grew up playing links golf.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Well, what's the secrets of links golf, then?
0:19:54 > 0:20:00It's a totally different style of golf to inland golf.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04You have to keep the ball low, you have to allow for wind conditions,
0:20:04 > 0:20:10and those are the same in Ireland as they are over here.
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Keep the ball low?
0:20:11 > 0:20:14You have to keep the ball low, because if you play,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18as a lot of people do, throwing the ball up into the air,
0:20:18 > 0:20:23the wind will affect the ball, and it puts you in trouble.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26That's where I went wrong, so I have to go and look for my ball now.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I'm used to playing inland, that's my problem.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34There's been close ties between Northern Irish
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and Scottish golfers since the game was invented.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42But just down from Royal Troon on Barassie Beach,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45there are other sports that are also making a connection.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Today, it's Windfest, an annual water-sports festival.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Unfortunately, it's also one of the calmest days of the year.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57The kite-surfers are making the best of it
0:20:57 > 0:21:00by using a winch to tow them across the bay.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07The festival attracts windsurfers and kite-surfers from across the UK,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and, like the golfers, they know the coast of Northern Ireland well.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Local windsurfer and amateur wave-sailing champion Scott McDowell
0:21:14 > 0:21:17has a very special connection.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19And I heard you boarded a windsurf
0:21:19 > 0:21:21and you headed off to Northern Ireland.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22Yeah, we did a charity event.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25My friend's wee boy had cancer,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28so we did a charity crossing from Barassie to Ireland.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32We had lunch about one, and then I got a phone call to say we were
0:21:32 > 0:21:35going to do a trial run, so we arrived at the beach at one
0:21:35 > 0:21:38o'clock, and we rigged up a sail, and then went out on the windsurfer.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42We just took off and to how far we were going to go, got out past the
0:21:42 > 0:21:47harbour, then we kept going, and we just did the whole crossing that day.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Just up the coast from Larne, I think we landed.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52What sort of a welcome did you get when you arrived?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Not a lot, I was the only one there!
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Just a rocky cove, so I landed on the beach,
0:21:58 > 0:21:59and then I had to sail back out
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and get back in the support boat and sail home.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12The conditions still haven't picked up enough for serious competition,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16but before I leave, I want to catch up with Nathan Calderwood.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18He's been living here for 12 years,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21but he still makes regular trips home to the North Antrim coast.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I learned to windsurf in Lough Neagh when I was younger,
0:22:24 > 0:22:25about maybe 12 or 13,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and then progressed on Magilligan, Magilligan Point,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32and then onto Portrush. We've got the West Strand, East Strand,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34we've Castlerock, we've got Whiterocks,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38so you're spoilt for choice when it comes to windsurfing venues.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Isn't it great to think that, you know, the sport of windsurfing
0:22:41 > 0:22:44can create a new connection between Northern Ireland and Scotland?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47Well, without a doubt, and I think my connection to Northern Ireland
0:22:47 > 0:22:50is still there, and it's going to influence everybody else,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52because, you know, opportunities to travel across,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54I know the coastline over there... So, yeah,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58go to Northern Ireland with my Scottish friends, yes, very good.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06After the windless Windfest at Troon,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08it's time to head about 40 miles north
0:23:08 > 0:23:10to tiny village of Tighnabruaich.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I am now entering Argyll and Bute, the southern end of the Highlands,
0:23:18 > 0:23:19and it's a different world.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Whereas the landscape of southwest Scotland felt familiar,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29this all feels about as Scottish as you can get.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31The abundance of small bays and islands
0:23:31 > 0:23:34on what's known as Scotland's secret coast
0:23:34 > 0:23:38could be straight off the cover of a shortbread box.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Yet even here, at the heart of this remote community,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44is a lady from Magherafelt.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Joyce King owns and runs the Burnside Bistro.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50She's had two children here,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52and her daughter Megan now helps run the cafe.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- It's lovely to meet you.- And you!
0:23:57 > 0:23:59She first discovered the village on a holiday,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03but a visit to the Highland Games a month later sealed the deal.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Just fell in love with the place, just the peace, the quiet,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09the people who remembered me from a month before,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and almost like coming home
0:24:11 > 0:24:14or finding somewhere where I could feel like it could be home.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22Joyce's first job today is a trip to the shops to buy some fish.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23In this part of Scotland,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26that means a five-mile drive across the peninsula,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30followed by a 20-minute trip on the local ferry.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33This makes shopping a lot more interesting than just going
0:24:33 > 0:24:35to the local supermarket, doesn't it?
0:24:38 > 0:24:39The thing is, Joyce,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42I was meeting some farmers living down around Stranraer,
0:24:42 > 0:24:46and they had come over and settled on farmland because they felt
0:24:46 > 0:24:50that the landscape was very similar to what they'd left back home.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52I'm sure it is.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55But I can't say that about you. You're from Magherafelt and...
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- I know! - It doesn't look a bit like it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- That's what I love about it, isn't it?- Is it?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02It's just the roughness, beside the water,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I couldn't live anywhere else, I think, now.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08But you're also away from everything else, you know.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12- I think that's what I like about it. You know?- But you're a gregarious...
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Joyce gets most of her seafood from a supplier at the port in Tarbert.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18Apart from catching it yourself,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20there can't be much of a fresher way to shop.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Hiya, Neil, James. How are you doing? I'm well.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29- That's super, that's great. - And do you always buy them closed?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31They have to be closed. If they're open, they're dead.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34That'll keep us going for the day.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Back at the cafe, the summer tourist season is drawing to a close.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42But there's still a steady stream of familiar faces
0:25:42 > 0:25:45to keep Joyce busy, including Sheila Black,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49another Ulster migrant, originally from Belfast.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- Do you miss Northern Ireland still? - Yes.- You do?- Yes.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55That was a very definite answer.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00I was getting this wonderful aroma, and this is what it's from!
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I've promised you this for quite a while, fresh mackerel.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06For a while? Years, years!
0:26:08 > 0:26:10The season is over, isn't it, really?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Quieter now, I can sit like this and have a wee chat.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17- You just know so many people. - Well, that's it.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Everybody knows you, but then how many years?
0:26:21 > 0:26:2520 years in here, and you're bound to know everybody.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27I know, but that doesn't happen to everyone,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29it seems to have happened to you.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Is it something about you being you or being Northern Irish
0:26:32 > 0:26:34that means that you can do it?
0:26:34 > 0:26:39Well, they like the welcome, it's a Scottish-Irish thing, isn't it?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42We're all the same people, really, aren't we?
0:26:42 > 0:26:45And it is that warm welcome I think people really like.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49You always wish that you would be accepted even more than what
0:26:49 > 0:26:53you are maybe, because people say, "You'll never be a local,"
0:26:53 > 0:26:56but hopefully, a couple of generations down the way,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00my children can feel like their children are locals.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02How are the langoustines doing?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05The langoustines are cooked, we'll have them with a wee garlic dip.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07And the mussels are almost there.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11- Let's say somebody walks into the restaurant.- Yes.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And they ask you about where you come from,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17what would you say you felt, more Scottish or Northern Irish?
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Northern Irish. It's funny, that, isn't it?
0:27:21 > 0:27:25You think you want to wish you were born in Scotland,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27but yet the old roots are always still there,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30and you will always say you're from Northern Ireland.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- Can you be both? - Yes, I think I am both.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37I think I'm definitely an Ulsterwoman,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41and now I'm trying my best to have the Scottish...connection
0:27:41 > 0:27:46that I'll always have now that I've had my children here.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49But it is interesting, you come to a part of Scotland where you do...
0:27:49 > 0:27:51You know, there's a town name
0:27:51 > 0:27:54in which you have to roll your Rs, Tighnabruaich.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Can you not? Go on! Tighnabruaich.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08It seems there are lots of reasons that bring people to Scotland
0:28:08 > 0:28:13economics, similarities of culture, a chance of a new life
0:28:13 > 0:28:16but whatever the reason, it seems to me that everyone I've met
0:28:16 > 0:28:18has been welcomed with open arms,
0:28:18 > 0:28:23and they've become an integral part of the community they've moved to.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28And I think that that is something everyone can be really proud of.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd