0:00:04 > 0:00:08This is a story of Britain, but a Britain that we very rarely see.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Britain as an undiscovered country.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15We're travelling from the Southern tip of England
0:00:15 > 0:00:17to the far North of Scotland
0:00:17 > 0:00:19exploring the very best the British countryside has to offer.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22But we'll be taking the long way round
0:00:22 > 0:00:25because this journey is all about getting off the beaten track.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28We're looking to reclaim the hidden and the overlooked...
0:00:28 > 0:00:34to find the pieces of our history that might have slipped between the cracks.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36And there she is,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38the Hidden Valley.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43We asked you to share your secret places, and we'll be sharing our own.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Yeah, remote is certainly one word to describe this place.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51This is Secret Britain.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11We're on the final leg of an epic adventure which is taking us the length and breadth of Britain.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Oh, eh. This is lovely stuff!
0:01:15 > 0:01:18We've discovered open spaces in the crowded south,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21explored the contrasts of east and west, and found hidden gems
0:01:21 > 0:01:26in some of the best-loved areas of the Peaks and Lakes.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It's absolutely amazing.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32And this time we're travelling from the Borders
0:01:32 > 0:01:37right up to the most northwesterly point on the UK mainland...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Cape Wrath.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44We're each taking a very different route to the furthest edge of our island.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49To find the secret stories hidden in our last great wildernesses.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And I'm starting here
0:01:55 > 0:01:56in Northumberland.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06Where the world famous Hadrian's Wall attracts nine million visitors a year.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14'But few ever make it where I'm going.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21'A quiet corner of Northumberland National Park.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26'A lost world shaped by a hidden history.'
0:02:26 > 0:02:30I'm heading for College Valley which is in the north of the park.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35Now, they only allow 12 cars in it a day to preserve its tranquillity
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and today, I'm one of them.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49Right, well,
0:02:49 > 0:02:56I've got my visitor's pass and that means I'm allowed through this gate.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Privileged access, you know!
0:03:01 > 0:03:05'A payment of £10 means you can be one of the few
0:03:05 > 0:03:09'to experience a beautiful secret space.'
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Right.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19And this is it.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21College Valley.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Officially the quietest place in England.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'It's somewhere you can really lose yourself in the landscape.'
0:03:44 > 0:03:51'I'm walking with Russell Tait who's worked here for more than 20 years as a ranger and sheep farmer.'
0:03:54 > 0:03:58There is not a soul around, it's quite an extraordinary place, isn't it?
0:03:58 > 0:04:03Well, I think in terms of tranquillity that's exactly what you've got here.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09People have used the College Valley for hundreds of years, but it's so difficult to get to that, you know,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12it just keeps it on the quiet side.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'To learn the secret of why the valley is now so peaceful we've got to climb.'
0:04:26 > 0:04:31What a view, when you look down there, the way that the hills just, kind of, bend off round the corner.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'We're heading into the Cheviot range, a ridge of granite
0:04:37 > 0:04:41'that forms the natural geological border between England and Scotland.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44How high have we made it to here then?
0:04:44 > 0:04:47We're just coming up to 500 metres here.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50So quite a bit to go to get onto the top.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Yeah. And it is a hardy, tough landscape, I mean, it's a beautiful day today, but, you know.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00It's a rugged landscape and it's not a place you should come to without being well prepared.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03You know, it's one of them places that the weather
0:05:03 > 0:05:10can change very, very quickly here and people who aren't prepared may get themselves into bother.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Tranquil today, this untamed countryside's troubling secret
0:05:18 > 0:05:22is that for centuries it was a war zone.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26A no-man's land steeped in bad blood and feuding.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30We have had 300 hundred years
0:05:30 > 0:05:33of border warfare, you know, between the Scots and the English
0:05:33 > 0:05:38and we also had the Border Reivers, you know, families who
0:05:38 > 0:05:42would pit themselves against each other so it wasn't necessarily
0:05:42 > 0:05:46the Scots against the English. Very often it was similar people
0:05:46 > 0:05:48from similar parts of the world,
0:05:48 > 0:05:55simply coming into another valley taking cattle, taking possessions and heading back home.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01This area was the Northumbrian equivalent of the Wild West.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04A dangerous place fought over for years.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14But the 1603 union formalised the border between England and Scotland,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18and College Valley was left in peace.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30The only reminder of its turbulent history is the modern border,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34a rather understated testament to its bloody past.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38And this is it...
0:06:38 > 0:06:41it's the border between England and Scotland...
0:06:43 > 0:06:48It's the only fence I've seen here since I came into the valley
0:06:48 > 0:06:52and I can't believe it, there's no barbed wire or passport control or anything.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Anyone could jump over there.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I'm in Scotland!
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Leaving the border behind, the twin cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh
0:07:17 > 0:07:20stand guard at the narrowest part of Scotland.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24This is a famous landscape,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28packed with architectural giants, from the Forth's bridges
0:07:28 > 0:07:31to attention-grabbing castles like Edinburgh.
0:07:33 > 0:07:39It's a Mecca for tourists, but I'm on the hunt for something you might otherwise miss.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44A 2,000-year old piece of history which sits unseen in modern Scotland.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47It's a UNESCO listed Roman site...
0:07:47 > 0:07:49but it takes a bit of finding.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57Well, this is the strangest gateway into a World Heritage Site I've ever wandered through.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Is there really anything waiting for us?
0:08:06 > 0:08:13'Beyond the industrial estate the countryside opens up to reveal what I'm searching for.'
0:08:17 > 0:08:23Allow me to introduce you to the less well-known Scottish little sister of Hadrian's Wall...
0:08:23 > 0:08:26this is the Antonine Wall.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33This is all that remains of the northernmost border of the Roman Empire.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37'Built in 142 AD,
0:08:37 > 0:08:43'this ridge was once a wall nearly 10 feet high which spanned Scotland from coast to coast.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:55Here that's just 37 miles from the Firth of Forth in the east to the Firth of Clyde in the west.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Today the wall is almost invisible,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04buried underneath 21st-century Scotland.
0:09:04 > 0:09:10But if you look closely, it's still there, running through back gardens,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13alongside roads and through woodland.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Here at Falkirk, just to the west of Edinburgh,
0:09:18 > 0:09:23it breaks through the surface and you can see the line of the wall,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26the outline of a fort
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and a mysterious set of craters.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35These pits on the north side of the wall, the Scottish side, originally would have been about three feet deep
0:09:35 > 0:09:39and buried in the bottom would have been sharpened stakes hidden under foliage.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43So anyone trying to scamper across here would have come to a pretty sticky end.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51'The wall was only garrisoned for 20 years, then abandoned to become a forgotten footnote of history.'
0:09:55 > 0:09:57It's the high watermark of Roman military might...
0:09:57 > 0:10:04still visible on the landscape almost 2,000 years later, but only if you know where to look.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15For the Romans this was the end of the civilised world.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Everything to the north was considered uninhabitable wilderness.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25That's where I'm heading next.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28But first I'm crossing the ancient border of the Antonine Wall
0:10:28 > 0:10:31and taking a quick detour to nearby Dunmore.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'You expect castles and fortifications in Scotland
0:10:36 > 0:10:40'but I'm looking for a more exotic architectural treat.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47'The lush woodland hides a historical fashion statement.'
0:10:57 > 0:11:00I love big high walls like this.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02It's all very Secret Garden.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05You just want to know what's looming beyond them, and you step through
0:11:05 > 0:11:09that lovely doorway onto this beautifully-manicured patch of grass
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and then you see that...
0:11:13 > 0:11:18a big, giant stone pineapple.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I mean, who came up with that idea?!
0:11:27 > 0:11:31The culprit is John Murray, the eccentric 4th Earl of Dunmore.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38In the middle of the 18th century, he built the pineapple
0:11:38 > 0:11:41as a way of celebrating his own sophisticated tastes.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48It's not as bizarre as it might seem because in the 1700s pineapples were a bit of a status symbol.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51And you could actually rent them by the day and people would
0:11:51 > 0:11:55park them up on their dining room table and that would suggest that they'd travelled
0:11:55 > 0:11:58to some far-off land like the Caribbean, so it's like renting a supercar
0:11:58 > 0:12:00and parking it on your driveway for the weekend.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04But this was no folly.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It topped a set of greenhouses where the fruit was grown.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15A piece of whimsy with a purpose.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22In its day this would have been a thing of wonder, a true spectacle.
0:12:22 > 0:12:28Today, it's a secret slice of exotica in the heart of Scotland.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Beyond Dunmore the Lowlands march ever northwards
0:12:35 > 0:12:39to the edge of the Grampians and the tiny town of Kirriemuir.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44It sits on the edge of the Angus Glens.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Five valleys so picturesque that local legend has it they're God's handprint on the land.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02And perched on the top of the cricket pavilion is an ancient optical device...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04a camera obscura -
0:13:04 > 0:13:07a way to capture and celebrate the stunning views here.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It was donated to Kirriemuir in 1930
0:13:12 > 0:13:18by the town's most famous son, JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Like Barrie, Morag Cable was born here.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28James Barrie wanted something that children could enjoy
0:13:28 > 0:13:30bearing in mind that at that time,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33in 1930, there wasn't television
0:13:33 > 0:13:35or computers or anything like that
0:13:35 > 0:13:39so the camera obscura was a wonderful thing to put up.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56The camera obscura is the dark chamber which we're in.
0:14:02 > 0:14:09Up on the roof here there is a window and behind it, a mirror which sits at 45 degrees.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And the image comes through the window, reflected off the mirror
0:14:14 > 0:14:16and down through the fixed lens
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and goes straight through and ends up on this table.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It is a nice way to look at the surrounding landscape,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47cos you get a panoramic view, you get a 360-degree view.
0:14:49 > 0:14:56In 1930 I think this would have been the most wonderful thing for children to come and see.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57It would have been like magic,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00like Barrie would have enjoyed his bit of magic.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Crossing the rocky heart of the Highlands I'm heading towards Oban.
0:15:18 > 0:15:25This is the picture postcard vision of Scotland, packed with Munros, the name given to all peaks
0:15:25 > 0:15:30above 3,000 feet and loved by so-called Munro-baggers,
0:15:30 > 0:15:35who attempt to scale all 283 of them.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39But I'm going somewhere that's fallen off the tourist trail.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Somewhere with its own secrets to share.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51Loch Etive is a 19-mile sea loch just north of Oban.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54It pushes inland at Dunstaffnage Castle,
0:15:55 > 0:16:00the seawater boiling and surging over a sill known as the Falls of Lora.
0:16:15 > 0:16:22It cuts between steep mountains on either side, but is never wider than a mile from shore to shore.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32We might call it a loch, but this narrow tongue of water is actually a spectacular fjord.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51Loch Etive in Gaelic translates as "little, ugly one".
0:16:51 > 0:16:53First impressions?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56That's not entirely accurate.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02Today the loch is deserted, a well-kept secret among locals and the kayakers
0:17:02 > 0:17:06for whom it's on the list of the best places to paddle in Scotland.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13'Marine Scientist Mark Carter's lived here for 12 years.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15'And he's taking me on a tour.'
0:17:15 > 0:17:17All set?
0:17:17 > 0:17:21'The best way to explore Etive's riches is from the water.'
0:17:25 > 0:17:28So Loch Etive, it's a sea loch, isn't it?
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Yeah, down at Connell and Dunstaffnage it's joined to open ocean,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35so from there you can go literally right round the world.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39The area is really very special, we're at the both northern
0:17:39 > 0:17:41and southern limits of species,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43we've got the Gulf Stream offshore
0:17:43 > 0:17:45which then comes into the North Atlantic Drift.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48That brings us our climate and makes it very warm.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50We've got the continental shelf which comes up
0:17:50 > 0:17:55from the Bay of Biscay that sort of area, that brings us some warm currents.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00We've got the boreal Arctic currents coming down and it's that junction of the warm and cold,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04so we get both warm and cold species all at the same time.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15'These special conditions mean the waters here are home
0:18:15 > 0:18:19'to more than 80,000 salt and freshwater species,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'from tiny bacteria through to eels and cod.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26'Although the glassy water only gives a hint of the world beneath.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31'I'm hoping to spot a few of Etive's larger residents though.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:34There is maybe the chance of us catching a glimpse of some common seals?
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Seals and kayaks don't normally go, so we have to be very careful as we approach.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Right, are they quite close to this point we're at now then?
0:18:41 > 0:18:44They're literally just half a mile ahead of us on the reefs.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57Right, Matt, can you come over to me now?
0:18:57 > 0:19:00If you look very carefully over there,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05see where the rock comes down, you've got two little bits sticking up,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- and they're seals. - Oh, yeah, I can see them.
0:19:11 > 0:19:12That's the Loch Etive colony.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17'It's a rare glimpse of some of Etive's shyest inhabitants.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20'We leave them to the serenity they enjoy here.'
0:19:22 > 0:19:26Today this loch is hard to visit, with no road access
0:19:26 > 0:19:33for half its length, unlike its more celebrated cousins, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38There's quite a few impressive things
0:19:38 > 0:19:42about Loch Etive, of course, there's the magnificence of these mountains
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and hills and the beauty of the water
0:19:45 > 0:19:48that just seems to cut and carve itself through the landscape.
0:19:48 > 0:19:55But I think the most special thing, the most impressive thing is that we have paddled and paddled today.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01We've travelled about 13 miles and we haven't seen anybody.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05We have simply had this place to ourselves.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14But 170 years ago this peaceful place was rather more crowded.
0:20:14 > 0:20:19Etive's secret past is as a tourist hot spot.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Queen Victoria fell in love with the Highlands in the 1840s
0:20:23 > 0:20:27and where she led, thousands followed.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34A paddle steamer ferried Victorian tourists from the sea up to the end of the loch.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Etive was their gateway to Scotland.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44From here their journey was by horse and carriage.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53'And I'm following their trail,'
0:20:53 > 0:21:00driving the 14-mile route they took up to the honey pot of Highland tourism...
0:21:03 > 0:21:04..Glen Coe.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Glen Coe is the jewel in Scotland's craggy crown.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29It's a mountain wilderness with towering peaks and rock faces hung with clouds,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34formed when a super-volcano exploded more than 420 million years ago.
0:21:38 > 0:21:45A main road runs straight through the middle and gives visitors easy access to its spectacular views.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50But driving through this great glen doesn't do it justice.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52To experience this huge landscape fully,
0:21:52 > 0:21:57and to uncover its secret history, I'm going to walk it.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04And on a rainy day like today, it's easy to identify
0:22:04 > 0:22:09with its history of clan warfare and the infamous massacre of 1692.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16This is where the familiar story of the MacDonald clan took place,
0:22:16 > 0:22:2038 members of the clan were murdered by their treacherous neighbours the Campbells.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24And so the Victorians would flock here to soak up the morbid atmosphere.
0:22:30 > 0:22:36The south side of the valley is bordered by the majestic mountains known as the Three Sisters.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40And they conceal a secret chapter in the story of the massacre.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44On that cold February night, running from the sound of gunfire,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48some of the MacDonald clan fled here and began to climb.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53I'm following their route, into the mist.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00It's certainly a wild and windy day.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02'It isn't the easiest path.'
0:23:04 > 0:23:07How am I going to get over this?!
0:23:09 > 0:23:15'But the place I'm heading for has a long history and many names.'
0:23:17 > 0:23:24This place is known as the Hanging Valley, the Lost Valley, the Valley of Capture and the Hidden Valley.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27It is pretty difficult to find.
0:23:27 > 0:23:33'The very inaccessibility of this place is why it's managed to stay so secret.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:40It's a tough old scramble,
0:23:40 > 0:23:45and generally I find the better the scramble the better the reward.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52'And finally I find the special place
0:23:52 > 0:23:57'the MacDonalds were heading for on that cold night more than 300 years ago.'
0:23:59 > 0:24:02And there she is...
0:24:02 > 0:24:04the Hidden Valley.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Looking very moody under the mist.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Definitely worth the climb.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29'Invisible from the glen, this flat valley floor is entirely unexpected.'
0:24:32 > 0:24:37The treacherous climb to this valley was the MacDonalds' only hope.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39It was their secret refuge.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Somewhere they knew they'd be safe.
0:24:46 > 0:24:52'Today it's a peaceful place, a part of Glen Coe you can have entirely to yourself.'
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Beyond the glen I'm heading deeper into the Highlands, to Corrour,
0:25:04 > 0:25:09somewhere many pass through, but few ever take the time to explore.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18But even here I'm following the trail of those intrepid Victorian tourists.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22'And today I'm relying on a triumph of 19th century
0:25:22 > 0:25:27'technology to reach a place almost forgotten by the 21st.'
0:25:37 > 0:25:43'I'm up early to join the passengers on the Caledonian Sleeper at Crianlarich.'
0:25:43 > 0:25:49It's an iron road linking the rest of Britain to the more remote areas of the Highlands.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54This is the West Highland Line,
0:25:54 > 0:26:00and incredibly recently it's been voted the best railway journey in the world.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04The majority of these people here would have got on in London about 12 hours ago
0:26:04 > 0:26:08and here they are waking up to views like this.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24This extraordinary feat of engineering opened in 1894
0:26:24 > 0:26:28to service the tourists desperate to jump on the tartan bandwagon.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42'But it was a troublesome line to construct, running across
0:26:42 > 0:26:46'miles of soggy peat bog which threatened to consume the tracks.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50'It was so ruinously expensive that the builders joked the bog
0:26:50 > 0:26:54'was not just swallowing the line, but also their money.'
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Well, these views and this scenery is hardly surprising
0:27:02 > 0:27:05because we are in the heart of the Highlands,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08but what is surprising is where I'm getting off.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20This train is my route to a secret place.
0:27:21 > 0:27:28'But as I head through Rannoch Moor it seems an unpromising spot to disembark.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31'All signs of life have disappeared.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34'There's no roads, and no houses here.'
0:27:36 > 0:27:38But there is a station.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48This is Corrour.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54Officially the highest and most remote railway station in the UK.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04'Most people take this train directly north,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07'few ever get off here.'
0:28:25 > 0:28:29'It redefines "the middle of nowhere".'
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Yeah, remote is certainly one word to describe this place.
0:28:43 > 0:28:49It's such a quaint lovely little station, it feels like a toy station on a model railway.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54You know, with like spongy hills and little bits of gravel placed as your stones.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Matchbox there.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01And there's no taxis,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04there's no tannoys,
0:29:04 > 0:29:06there's no barriers to get through.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13And a whopping view.
0:29:24 > 0:29:30When Corrour station was built it didn't even appear on the public timetable.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35it was used exclusively by guests of the private estate here
0:29:35 > 0:29:38who came to hunt and shoot.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40You have to feel grateful
0:29:40 > 0:29:44to the Victorians for the colossal effort they went to putting this line in.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47If it wasn't for them
0:29:47 > 0:29:49people wouldn't be able to experience this.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54I mean, the nearest road, even these days, is over 10 miles away.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03'But there is one unexpected home comfort.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05'A small cafe run by Lucy Millns.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13'And I want to know what it's like to live and work somewhere so remote.'
0:30:16 > 0:30:20It does look idyllic, but obviously it has its complications living here.
0:30:20 > 0:30:26It does, there's things that you can't really think of before you come here.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29You know, and then you get here and think "Oh, yeah."
0:30:29 > 0:30:31And then something that seems so normal
0:30:31 > 0:30:34to somebody is actually quite a big thing for us,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36like the rubbish. How do you get rid of it?
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Of course. You can't put the bins out.
0:30:38 > 0:30:43No, there's no-one to come and collect the bins. Well, there is, but they're 16 miles away.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46- 16 miles away?! - It's a bit of a trip.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50- "I'm just going to put the bins out, I'll be back in an hour." - Yeah, at least.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54How busy are you then?
0:30:54 > 0:30:56There are some days
0:30:56 > 0:31:02we don't see anyone for a good few hours, so it can be really quiet,
0:31:02 > 0:31:06you watch the trains go by and no-one comes off.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10And do you all run to the window when you hear a train arriving? Run up to the glass?
0:31:10 > 0:31:16We did to start with. It was like "Everybody, train, stop what you're doing."
0:31:16 > 0:31:19But, yeah, you count how many people get off.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23But not doing that so much now.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31Corrour is a moment frozen in time,
0:31:31 > 0:31:38a window on an ancient landscape opened up by intrepid Victorian engineers.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55You know, so many people only witness this landscape by looking at it whizzing past it
0:31:55 > 0:32:01from a train carriage, but if you do make the effort, come up here,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04fill your lungs with this air, you really feel a part of it,
0:32:04 > 0:32:08and if it wasn't for that tiny, little train station at the bottom,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13this would only ever be the privilege of some very extreme walkers.
0:32:28 > 0:32:34Leaving Corrour and heading north, the landscape tells its own turbulent stories.
0:32:36 > 0:32:41Mountains wear the ancient scars of glaciers and volcanoes.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48But Scotland's coasts are also rich and beautiful.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52North of Aberdeen, the Forvie Nature Reserve
0:32:52 > 0:32:55is home to the largest range of sand dunes in Scotland.
0:33:04 > 0:33:10For Alex Geddes the coast between here and the village of Collieston
0:33:10 > 0:33:13is his own piece of Secret Britain,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16a special place where he can escape city life.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23I think when you look around here you realise how beautiful the area is,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25I mean, really, you could be anywhere in the world at all.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28Who'd believe this is Scotland?
0:33:31 > 0:33:38It gives you such an inner feeling of peace and tranquillity and that's why we love coming out here so much.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43'If you just listen,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46'we're 10-15 minutes away from a major city.
0:33:46 > 0:33:53'But here you're so alone, the tranquillity, you can sit here for ages'
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and when I leave here I feel as if I've been
0:33:56 > 0:33:59on a week's holidays and I've maybe only been out one or two hours.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13This is the area that's called Hackley Bay.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16A beautiful little inlet just south of Collieston.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23It's so lovely sitting down there, out of the wind, just enjoying the sea coming in.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30I've got to say this is probably my favourite place.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37My mind's never far away from here
0:34:37 > 0:34:44and although my head might be in work, my heart is actually out in the nature research.
0:34:50 > 0:34:57Beyond Forvie is one of the best-known features of the North of Scotland, Loch Ness.
0:34:57 > 0:35:02This is part of the Great Glen, a huge flooded fault line...
0:35:02 > 0:35:06a watery divide running from the east to the west coast.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12Here the land meets the North Atlantic,
0:35:12 > 0:35:18and 550 Hebridean islands are strung out along 240 miles of coastline.
0:35:22 > 0:35:29I'm heading to North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, in search of a precious, secret habitat.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36This island is no slouch when it comes to beauty.
0:35:36 > 0:35:43The white shell sand beaches and turquoise water look almost Caribbean in the sunshine.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50It's hard to believe I'm still in Britain.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01I tell you, it's a real treat for me to be here.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05Ever since I was a little lad I've always wanted to come to the Outer Hebrides.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08I think even its name - the Outer Hebrides
0:36:08 > 0:36:13conjures up the idea of a place that is completely inaccessible.
0:36:23 > 0:36:29'It is undeniably hard to get here, but it's far from deserted.'
0:36:29 > 0:36:355,000 people live and farm here, and the island is also home to thousands of birds.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47I'm meeting conservationist Julia Gallagher.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Julia, how're you doing, all right?
0:36:49 > 0:36:51- Ah, hi, Matt. - What's going on out here?
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Well, I'm just having a look, actually.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58We've got some eider ducks just at the front of the shore here, you see them floating around.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02They're females, but they've actually got some youngsters with them.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Oh, lovely.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10What've we got coming here,
0:37:10 > 0:37:12right on cue, we've got some oystercatchers.
0:37:12 > 0:37:18You see those wonderful red beaks and red legs.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20You hear them before you see them.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Yup. It's absolutely delightful here.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32Uist's staggering beauty has a purpose.
0:37:32 > 0:37:37The land has a sandy secret which bursts into life every spring and summer.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44A wildflower meadow which seems to grow out of the beach.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49This is the machair.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Sand blown on top of peat to create a unique habitat.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Machair is only found in the British isles
0:38:01 > 0:38:05and 70% of it is right here in the Hebrides.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19It's a paradise for bees, insects and birds.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25In May and June all these fields just come completely alive with all the birds that that are really vocal,
0:38:25 > 0:38:30so you have your lapwings that make this wonderful evocative call,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33so they're really very much reliant on this type
0:38:33 > 0:38:35of habitat to put their nests down
0:38:35 > 0:38:38and it's essentially all to do with the open areas of ground.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Birds like lapwings, they're ground nesters and they just dig
0:38:41 > 0:38:44a little scrape out, it's not a very elaborate nest.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48And they also need to be able to see predators and having
0:38:48 > 0:38:50this low vegetation they can see for miles around.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55But there is one bird that owes its very existence to the machair.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57The elusive corncrake.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00That's the one that everybody knows
0:39:00 > 0:39:02and most bird-watchers come up to see.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06They're very lucky if they can see it, but they can certainly hear it,
0:39:06 > 0:39:07a very distinctive call.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10SOFT SCRAPING
0:39:12 > 0:39:16The corncrake was once familiar in meadows throughout Britain,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20but intensive farming has pushed it towards the brink of extinction.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Here on Uist it's thriving in the safe haven of the machair.
0:39:31 > 0:39:37It owes its survival to the unique way this land is managed.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41Crofters still use traditional, low-intensity farming methods
0:39:41 > 0:39:45to grow barley, oats and rye for animal feed.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52John Allan MacLellan is a crofter here.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57He's working hard to preserve these farming traditions and with them, the machair.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03How proud are you John Allan of having the machair here?
0:40:03 > 0:40:09Well, extremely proud, extremely proud of having the machair.
0:40:09 > 0:40:16When you think of how hard people have crofted over the years to have the habitats we've got here.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19If it had been done any other way bar crofting it just wouldn't be there,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22To be quite honest, the machair just wouldn't be there.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26It would have probably blown away years ago.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32And how would you sum up a crofter's life in the Outer Hebrides?
0:40:32 > 0:40:36I've been on Uist all my life, brought up and worked on a croft
0:40:36 > 0:40:41from the age of four or five.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45I think it's just a fantastic way to live.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50It's probably not the best-paid job in the world,
0:40:50 > 0:40:54but it's a cracking way to live, I would say.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56DISTANT BAGPIPES PLAY
0:40:58 > 0:41:01Is that your ringtone?
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- No.- I thought it was your ringtone.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06No it's a local boy who plays the pipes.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08That is great!
0:41:08 > 0:41:13Here we are just stood on a lovely little hillock in the most spectacular landscape
0:41:13 > 0:41:15and then a piper starts up.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Yup. You'll only get that in Uist, eh?
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Remote and inaccessible.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26Uist is full of life.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30A secret world of productive and protected beauty.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Back on the mainland I'm moving on towards Ullapool in search
0:41:41 > 0:41:45of a place that will allow me a glimpse of Scotland's prehistoric lost world.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53But the further north I go, the harder it's getting.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59Today, the weather and some of Scotland's least popular residents have taken against me.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01This is a wild and fierce environment.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06Today's a summer's day and I'm being pelted by rain and eaten alive by midges.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12But it seems that our ancestors refused to be put off by the bugs.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17These fields are filled with remnants of Iron Age settlements.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22There are signs of habitation here dating back more than 6,000 years.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28'Prehistory is breaking through the surface of the land here.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31'And as I walk on, I'm heading further back in time.'
0:42:35 > 0:42:38I've been following the river for about two miles upstream now
0:42:38 > 0:42:43and it's just got louder and louder, but I still can't see anything.
0:42:48 > 0:42:54But this ancient landscape is about to reveal itself in all its geological glory.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17That is quite a vision.
0:43:17 > 0:43:19It looks like someone's taken a giant knife
0:43:19 > 0:43:22and gouged it through the earth.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29This is the Corrieshalloch Gorge.
0:43:29 > 0:43:36300 feet deep, more than a mile long, with its main waterfall, the Falls of Measach plummeting 150 feet.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49It's a box canyon - a narrow channel with sheer drops on three sides
0:43:49 > 0:43:54formed when glacial meltwater forced its way down between faults in the rock.
0:43:58 > 0:44:05It's a rare geological phenomenon, and looking into the gorge is like looking into a primitive world.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09Its rocky walls clothed in damp greenery.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24'Alex Scott is an expert on the botany here.'
0:44:28 > 0:44:32Is this pretty much how it would have been, I don't know, 1,000 years ago?
0:44:32 > 0:44:33I think it probably is.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35We have other plants round us
0:44:35 > 0:44:38that tell us that it's been a woodland for a long time
0:44:38 > 0:44:43- because we have ferns. - I've always loved ferns.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46That's a very, very good taste that, loving ferns
0:44:46 > 0:44:53because they're really an ancient group and the ferns are really taking us further back in time
0:44:53 > 0:44:55because in the carboniferous period
0:44:55 > 0:45:02when the coal that we use today was being laid down, it was tree ferns, club mosses that produced all that.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04So ancient ancient?
0:45:04 > 0:45:07- Very ancient, as ancient as you can get.- Hmm.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14'Corrieshalloch has given me a glimpse of primordial Scotland.'
0:45:15 > 0:45:20A real sense of how it would have looked in the distant past.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27But I'm leaving its wonders behind as I travel even deeper into this great wilderness.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35To the east lie the rich waters of the North Sea.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38The ports here were once the biggest providers of herring in the world.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40The so-called "silver darlings"
0:45:40 > 0:45:43were landed in their millions.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48Just South of Wick, at Ulbster, a forgotten story of man's talent
0:45:48 > 0:45:52for improvisation is carved into the structure of the rocks.
0:45:56 > 0:46:02The only inlet for fishing boats sat at the bottom of a 250-foot sheer cliff.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Not the easiest place to land a catch.
0:46:08 > 0:46:14So the resourceful 18th century fishermen built a staircase known as the Whaligoe Steps.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24The last fishing boats left here more than 60 years ago, and Iain Sutherland,
0:46:24 > 0:46:29now in his 70s, is one of the last people to remember it in use.
0:46:29 > 0:46:34He's dedicated 40 years to a personal labour of love -
0:46:34 > 0:46:38preserving and renovating the 350 steps.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45'I had to go up and down here seven times in one day.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48'I was in my bed for the next two days recovering.'
0:46:48 > 0:46:53It's easy enough to come down, going up's a different problem altogether.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58The first time I came down the steps
0:46:58 > 0:47:01was about 1948 or '49
0:47:01 > 0:47:06and my granduncle John Miller
0:47:06 > 0:47:11and his brother were still fishing from here.
0:47:13 > 0:47:18And it wasn't till later that I just realised what it really was to earn a living here.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23It was a very hard life.
0:47:33 > 0:47:38This is where they landed the herring here from the boats down there.
0:47:38 > 0:47:44Each would land about a basket or so of herring.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49The old winch is still there, that winch was installed about
0:47:49 > 0:47:541890 and that was a great boon for hauling up the boats.
0:47:56 > 0:48:02Well, I've had a love affair with this place since I was literally born.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07And it's undiminished, still the same yet, I still feel the same way about it,
0:48:07 > 0:48:13and I will do anything I can to keep it that way and help it being that way.
0:48:31 > 0:48:3520 miles north of Whaligoe the land runs out at John O'Groats,
0:48:35 > 0:48:39the most obvious place to end a journey across Britain.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41But that's not where we're heading.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47Our alternative journey south to north finishes at Cape Wrath,
0:48:47 > 0:48:50the most northwesterly point on the British mainland.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56It's the most sparsely inhabited part of the UK.
0:49:01 > 0:49:0525,000 acres of wind-lashed rock and sea,
0:49:05 > 0:49:10a wet desert, without trees or shelter.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14A true wilderness with some final secrets for us to discover.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21We're heading for Kervaig, a tiny bay on the north coast.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25I'm walking in from Kinlochbervie in the south.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29While I'm starting at Faraid Head and travelling in from the east.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34But first we have to get there.
0:49:34 > 0:49:40Cape Wrath is 100 miles from the nearest city, and closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45You don't end up here by accident.
0:49:49 > 0:49:56'It's also the wettest and windiest place in the UK and today it's throwing everything it's got at me.'
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Cape Wrath is certainly living up to its fearsome name.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14Some people are always searching for solitude,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16that chance to get lost in the landscape,
0:50:16 > 0:50:20but there are very few places you can actually do it in this country.
0:50:20 > 0:50:26This is one of those places though, no noise, no hustle and bustle,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28just this.
0:50:31 > 0:50:37'Finally I've reached a landscape that is untouched and truly wild.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42'And it's a privilege to be here.'
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Virgin sand, can't resist it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57But this very lack of human influence has a special appeal
0:50:57 > 0:50:58for the cape's modern landlord.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04And twice a year the wilderness is invaded.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Today this land is owned and managed by the Ministry of Defence.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28And David Halpin is the Officer Commanding.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32- Hi David. - Hello, Julia. Welcome to Cape Wrath.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34You've brought the weather with you, I see.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38I don't think it's me, I have this feeling it's like this most of the time.
0:51:38 > 0:51:39I think you're probably right.
0:51:41 > 0:51:48'The MoD have been here since 1933, using the Cape as an enormous live bombing range.'
0:51:49 > 0:51:54I can guess why it's such a good place for you guys to practise,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I mean, the conditions must certainly test your soldiers.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01Yes, indeed, I mean, one of ideal places about Cape Wrath
0:52:01 > 0:52:04or the Parph as it's known locally is its extreme terrain
0:52:04 > 0:52:06it's arduous, it's isolated
0:52:06 > 0:52:11and it gives us the ability to train our service men and women in difficult climates.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Does the topography and the geography of the place help?
0:52:13 > 0:52:15It's very important.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17It is the only range in the UK
0:52:17 > 0:52:20where we can use land, sea and air assets all at the same time.
0:52:23 > 0:52:29Access to the cape is restricted during live firing for understandable reasons.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35But the rest of the time,
0:52:35 > 0:52:36if you can get here,
0:52:36 > 0:52:40you're free to explore this extraordinary empty space.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42So what do newcomers think when they first land here?
0:52:42 > 0:52:48- The servicemen?- Yeah.- Well, obviously they think it's awful because they don't want to be here.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51There's no wi-fi, there's no mobile telephone connectivity,
0:52:51 > 0:52:56or very limited, and it's arduous terrain. So it is very, very uncomfortable.
0:52:56 > 0:53:02You're getting absolutely soaked, can I ask you, does one ever get used to this?
0:53:02 > 0:53:06I would personally say that it's a good drying day.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10There's an old saying here that if you can see the Orkneys
0:53:10 > 0:53:13it's going to rain, and if you can't see them, it's raining.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15Right, OK. I shall bear that in mind.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20Well, there's certainly no sign of the Orkneys today,
0:53:20 > 0:53:24and on the east side of the Cape I've run out of road, so I'm getting a lift.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Roberta, morning! How you doing, all right? Well, she's blustery...
0:53:32 > 0:53:34It is a bit windy, yup.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39'Roberta Mackay's been working here as an MoD warden for almost 5 years.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45'Unlike the troops, she chooses to live here year round.'
0:53:48 > 0:53:51Is it really tough weather-wise, living here?
0:53:51 > 0:53:53It can be very tough at times, yeah.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55You're seeing our summer at the moment
0:53:55 > 0:53:58so you can imagine what it's like in the winter time.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01It was very bad this winter, we couldn't get over onto the range
0:54:01 > 0:54:04for about four weeks, there was a lot of snow.
0:54:04 > 0:54:11- Cos to get here it's about 55 miles of single track road.- Yeah, yeah.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14Do you think of going further south? Or do you like it here,
0:54:14 > 0:54:19- the most northwesterly point in Britain?- I enjoy it.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24You've maybe got to be a certain kind of person to live in areas like this,
0:54:24 > 0:54:29you know, you don't have all your home comforts close at hand as it were, but it's good, it's good.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36The weather's beaten me at last.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Well, thank you for saving me.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41You're welcome, Julia. I hope you eventually dry out.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43I doubt it.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46'So I'm catching a lift with David to our final destination.'
0:54:49 > 0:54:53'But I'm determined to get there under my own steam.'
0:54:53 > 0:54:56I've got the offer of one of these
0:54:56 > 0:54:58and to be honest,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00it would be rude not to use it.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14This rough track across the Cape is the only way to reach the beach.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16And it's a cracking ride.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Well, this has to be
0:55:25 > 0:55:29the definition of feeling isolated in Britain.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32You're certainly at the mercy of the elements here,
0:55:32 > 0:55:34being battered by the wind.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39'Back on foot, I'm almost there.'
0:55:39 > 0:55:42I can feel the end point in my toes.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Kervaig beach is just that way.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52And it's a real treat.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01Wow!
0:56:03 > 0:56:06That is a gem.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15The dramatic sands of Kervaig are my reward for struggling through the weather.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Arguably the most secret beach in Britain.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30'But I don't have it to myself for too long.'
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Noisy wheels!
0:56:34 > 0:56:38- How're you doing? - Good. Look at that.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40It doesn't get much tastier than that.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44Goodness me. That was some ride, I tell you.
0:56:44 > 0:56:51'It's overlooked only by a stone bothy for the intrepid explorers who make it this far.
0:56:57 > 0:57:04'Kervaig beach is the perfect place to end our epic adventure.
0:57:04 > 0:57:09'Our travels have brought us to the very edge of Secret Britain.'
0:57:09 > 0:57:11'Now, ahead of us lies nothing,
0:57:11 > 0:57:16'but the cold waters of the North Atlantic and the Arctic beyond.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20'Behind us the UK stretches out,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24'a heart-warming reminder of all the places we've been.'
0:57:32 > 0:57:37'It's a journey that's shown us just how different Secret Britain can be.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42'An adventure through a country we thought we knew.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46'A country where every road can lead to the hidden or the forgotten.'
0:57:46 > 0:57:51There you go. That's where it is if you want to know. X marks the spot.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56'We've found secrets to discover, to reclaim, and to respect.'
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Places to inspire.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02Who could fail to get lost in a place like this?
0:58:02 > 0:58:05Places to remember forever.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12From the most southerly point in England to the very north
0:58:12 > 0:58:17of Scotland, we've seen some of Britain's best countryside in an astonishing new light.
0:58:17 > 0:58:18And we've only just scratched the surface.
0:58:18 > 0:58:23Our Secret Britain is all around us, you've just got to get out there and find it.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:43 > 0:58:46E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk