Episode 1 The Adventure Show

Hello, and a very warm welcome to a brand new series

of The Adventure Show, bringing you the best action

and adventure from across Scotland

and around the world.

And this year, we're covering

the Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William

and delving into the world of extreme triathlons

and mountain marathons.

And we're not just going to be spectators either,

we're going to be taking on some serious challenges,

both on dry land and in the water.

And I'm back again too, showing you some of the finest

mountains in Scotland.

I'll also be checking out some of the best

of what the continent has to offer.

We're starting off with the premier canoe slalom

on the River Tay in Highland Perthshire.

It's great to be back at one of the most important

races of the season at the spiritual home of Scottish paddling.

It's really good to come back to the home water, you know.

Just to see all the youngsters

on this water is great

and for us, coming up to this river, they all seem to love it.

There's always a big buzz about.

Later in this month's Adventure Show,

Deziree will be exploring the wilds of Wester Ross

on foot and by boat...

Oh, no! I'm sorry!

..and Cameron will be heading up one of Perthshire's iconic hills

Ben Vrackie, and we'll be taking to the skies...

Yeah!

..for a sport that's always full of surprises.

You never know what the next thermal is going to bring.

I banked over the turn and there's an eagle on my wingtip

and I'm flying with it and we're going up together

and he's looking at me and I'm looking at him

and he's going "Cawww!" and I'm going "Hello, how are you doing?"

You know, it's a good climb and up we go.

All of that is to come, but first to the Grandtully Premier Slalom.

Now, after the success of Scottish paddlers in last year's Olympics,

I think it's fair to say that this is a sport that's riding high.

We've got a lot of up-and-coming athletes. I see a lot of talent,

Like, I look at them and I admire them so much

for the hours they put in already.

We're pushing to be one of the best nations in the world now

and hopefully that will encourage some youngsters

to get involved in the sport

as they see the success of our better athletes.

After the Olympics,

I think even more youngsters will start as well.

The people that are paddling now are young and very, very fast.

MAN SHOUTS

And we've no shortage of action from the water.

In this programme, we have the men's and women's K1 class where

they use double-bladed paddles

and we've the single-bladed C1 and C2 classes

where the racers kneel in the boats.

Heading up the C2 class

are Tim Baillie, who grew up in Aberdeen, and Etienne Stott.

They put in the performance of a lifetime

to win Olympic gold at London 2012.

We've had a lot of almost...

close-but-no-cigar sort of races

where we've felt we've performed pretty well and just little bits

haven't worked out and so, yeah,

winning the Olympics is absolutely a crowning glory.

And we've put Tim and Etienne to good use.

They're showing us what this year's Grandtully is like.

Getting up some speed now to cross the start line.

The water's quite shallow at the top of the course here,

so the boat is draggy, you can see the bows lifting up in the water.

-We're really pushing hard.

-So you've got to get up your momentum,

slide down the top four and just try and steer it into gate two

and put the burners on and race across the three,

try to hold the bow up, have to be a bit careful to get out of there.

Working hard out and just steering a little into four,

got a boost through there,

turn it back hard in five, try and work hard to get above the rock.

We need to be careful not to chip

the side of the boat on the underwater rock there

and a very tight sequence approaching now,

bit of water over the bows there, just slowing us

up a little bit as we work to a tight manoeuvre here,

downstream in the eddy.

Working hard to get away again, keep the speed up,

trying to be careful into the upstream,

try and hold the boat upstream as far as we can and out.

Trying to keep the bows down through these gates,

keep the boat down in the water into the ups

so we can use the eddy water to bounce around.

And now working into the final sequence.

The physical effort of the run has really filled up your arms

with lactic acid. It's going to be hard work from now on.

We've got to be very precise around these final turns.

Yeah, working as hard as we can, but also being careful not to hit

the last couple of gates, and round the last up

and then really trying to get our stroke rate up

and go as fast as we can to the finish.

And across the finish line,

Tim leans forward to steal a few hundredths.

We'll find out later on in the programme whether Tim

and Etienne can take the top spot here in Grandtully,

but first we're starting with the women's K1.

Today, the water level here at Grandtully is extremely low,

which is going to make for some tough racing.

You really have to attack the course and keep the boat running

cos there's not much time on the course at all to make up on,

like, staggers, like, everyone could do them forward, basically,

so you really have to be the fastest you can on them.

The bottom of the course is very physical cos you've got

a couple of ups and then there's some down sets,

so you're zigzagging across the river

and they're really testing you physically down there.

Each competitor has two runs down the course

and it's the fastest time from either the first or second

run that counts, with two seconds added for a touch on a gate

and 50 seconds if you miss it entirely.

In the women's K1 class,

the first run proved to be a closely-fought contest.

Just four seconds separated the top three paddlers...

They're all highly experienced racers, with both Lizzie

and Fiona former Olympians.

Just behind them in fourth is a potential hope for the future,

under-18 paddler Kimberley Woods.

We're joining the action for the second run as Lizzie Neave

takes to the water and there's still all to play for.

Whoa! Putting the power on at the top,

getting as much speed as she possibly can.

And Lizzie, of course, and Fiona Pennie, such great rivals.

Lizzie was the Olympic boat last year in London,

four years before that it was Fiona Pennie over in Beijing

but Lizzie finished the first run in second place

with a time of 108.65,

2.39 seconds behind Fiona Pennie.

So what can Lizzie do to improve on that?

Number four on her jersey.

Alongside Fiona Pennie, they used to train together all the time.

They've now split up and changed coaches

and they're training individually and the idea is to get them

both faster without watching what each other is doing.

Lizzie with the Union Jack on the paddle blades there.

Can she improve on her time?

108.65 it was, the first time down.

Now she heads towards 15.

And when the sun comes out it keeps us all nice and warm,

but Lizzie Neave will be absolutely boiling at this stage of the course.

All the effort put in and she powers on down towards the bottom

and heads towards the last upstream gate.

Round that and powers on to the finish.

Well, this is looking quicker than her first run,

but is it good enough to beat Fiona?

No, not quite. 107.8.

That may be enough for a podium finish,

but no win here today for Lizzie Neave.

So, Kimberley Woods here looking really good so far.

Dipping very tight to that gate, did very well,

hoping for a nice, clean line through here,

so lying in fourth position after the first run,

Kimberley Woods didn't pick up any penalties in the first run.

So, Kimberley, junior, under-18, but here competing well for a top spot.

And very good, long reach, this girl has.

Technically pretty competent, strong.

And then coming into upstream gate 12,

a nice powerful spin on that left hand

and getting the blade in, turning the boat and the blade,

moving the boat around the blade rather than the other way round.

And very nicely done. The gate was just swinging there.

She turned it perfectly, and she's tight there into 17.

So, Kimberley looking good so far.

Oh, a little bit slow around 19, tiring a little bit

as she comes into the last gate and a sprint to the finish.

And as she comes to the line, she looks absolutely exhausted,

finishing at a time of 109.73.

That puts her currently into third place

and it's a great run

for this rising star.

Here is Louise Donnington, third after the first run,

a time of 110.24.

Nice and smooth round the top section, absolutely fine,

now this bit here.

This is where the time can be made up if you keep it nice and smooth,

get the boat in the right position and just get through these

downstream gates - has she done it?

Doesn't have to correct too much, just a bit of bow rudder there.

And flies around. Yeah, not looking too bad...

Oh, a little mistake there! Had to correct.

That'll cost her a bit of time.

Unfortunately, she's clipped gate eight, that's going to be

a two-second penalty and it's knocked her off her stride.

Out of line for gate 10. My goodness, she needs to refocus

if she's got any chance of reining in Fiona's first-run time.

She was looking so smooth and so sweet in the middle section

until gate number eight when it just went a wee bit wrong there.

Just lost the bow of the boat in the white water

and had to do some evasive action.

It could have cost her too much time but we'll see.

Looks like she's still got plenty left in the tank, though,

as she batters on down to the bottom.

But that two-second penalty is costly.

It brings her total time to 110.13

and that'll keep her off the podium.

So on the course now,

Fiona Pennie who was quite far ahead of everybody else.

And Fiona now is really, really showing her class.

Absolutely fantastic paddler, totally motivated.

She told me earlier on that she wants to continue until 2016.

To stay in the elite level until Brazil would be a tremendous

achievement, but she has now relocated from Nottingham to London,

so that she can train full-time on the artificial river down there

that was built for the Olympics. And Fiona absolutely looking superb.

Very long reach, strong shoulders and hands,

driving the boat forward - certainly the fastest paddler

we've seen through the middle part of the course. Nicely done, Fiona.

Just a little bit...you could see the paddle slightly in the water,

not completely clean,

but she is in a class of her own by the looks of it today.

Leant back slightly before there.

Two strokes of the right hand, she wouldn't have liked to do that.

Oh, just slightly fluffed that, but Fiona pushing on into 17,

and straight across the river to catch 18 upstream. Nicely done.

So, here she goes, powering through 19 to the finish.

And that is another great run from Fiona, 106.47,

almost identical to her first run

and easily enough to secure the top spot,

so confirmation of those results...

Yes, it was a tough race - physical, very physical,

still out of breath now, but, yeah, you really had to push.

Yes, I did a very good first run and I was pleased,

it was very solid and it's all about tightening the lines up

and trying to go a bit faster in the second run.

Congratulations to Fiona Pennie -

a winner here at Grandtully once again.

Now, you can call it good planning or you can call it luck.

I prefer the former, but we spoke to Fiona before this event

and she revealed her tricks of the trade for getting down this

river as fast as possible.

Fiona, competition on natural rivers are quite unusual for you,

so this is quite a different option for you.

Yes, I'm sure nowadays most of our races are on artificial courses

and coming back to paddle on a natural course,

you sort of have to think a little bit differently.

Are you going to show us some of the things actually on the river?

I'll stand at the side and watch you.

-I'll not follow you down cos I'll end up swimming.

-I'll give it a try.

First up, the stagger.

This is a sequence of downstream gates set across the current.

It's much harder than it first appears. The key is getting

the boat on the correct line before moving across the current.

You come out of this gate.

What's important is that we turn before the gate, do a big sweep,

do a rudder before the gate, sweep through, another sweep,

rudder before the gate.

On down to the next section -

sweep, rudder,

rudder before the gate and away.

We change where we put the weight in the boat, you know,

we lean back a little bit for the pole.

It makes it easier to turn the boat,

and then when we go away from the gate again, leaving the gate,

we tend to put the weight on the front of the boat to try to get

the boat to squirt forward.

When it comes to the upstream break-out gates,

there are two techniques. This is the basic three-stroke break-out.

Coming down the current into the eddy, sweep into the gate,

bear rudder around the pole and sweep out of the gate and away.

That's a fairly safe way of getting around the poles here,

unlikely to hit the poles.

It's just something we do when the water's a little more tricky

around the gate and we can't predict what's going to happen.

When conditions are more favourable, there's a faster option,

the reverse stroke breakout.

We come a lot closer to the gate when we're coming into the eddy.

So come down, getting the bows right under the gate,

neck around the pole, reverse and rudder and out.

You use a lot of strength to do the upstreams very quickly

and obviously we've had lots of hours in the gym to get that strength.

You just learn the spacing.

You have to know how far away from the pole you want to be when

you start initiating the turn on the boat, when you come around the gate,

and then, you know, just a lot of practice.

Let's face it, I don't think I'll be trying those any time soon,

but we will be seeing plenty of those techniques later on.

That's all to come.

Right now, we're heading to the north-west Highlands with Deziree Wilson.

On a cold, slightly dreich day, typical of this year's spring,

Deziree has joined Backcountry enthusiast Andy Toop

for an unusual journey.

Well, at first glance it looks like we're just out for a nice walk

but that's not the whole story.

Although we're on foot just now, around the corner there's a loch

and then further along our route we've got a river to negotiate

so what's the secret?

Well, today I haven't got my trekking poles with me,

but I've got paddles.

This is packrafting.

It is a combination of rafting on one-person dinghies,

small enough to fit in a backpack, and hiking when the river runs out.

The whole idea of having the ability to link the blue bits together

on a map is, I suppose, the idea of packrafting.

The ability to travel through

and immerse myself in the wilderness, in the Backcountry, is the appeal.

So, how does it work? It's easy.

When you're hiking, the raft is packed in your rucksack,

and when you reach a piece of water, you take it out,

blow it up, and off you paddle.

At least that's the theory.

-I can let the bag inflate or I can try and catch wind.

-OK.

Close it up.

And once you're there, put it on your thighs.

Yes, yes, that's good.

Oh, look at that!

If you take the beach dinghies from your childhood,

those ones that cost a fiver -

take one of those and make it a real grown-up's dinghy

that's the same size and shape.

The boat's super stable.

-And I'm in.

-OK.

'I came across packrafts with a bunch of guys adventuring in Alaska.

'So, we bought packrafts on a whim, I suppose.

'The way it opens up the areas you can travel through is just unbelievable.

'You find yourself in places where maybe no-one's been.'

-Such a great craft for beginners.

-Yes.

-They're super friendly.

-Yeah.

There you go, you are a packrafting professional already.

'To be self-sufficient with regards to my mode of travel

'and having those options.

'I can take un-navigated paths,

'un-navigated rivers, that's the appeal.

'It's new, it's exciting, it feels like real adventuring to me.'

-Do you want some help with yours? Are you OK?

-I'll be OK, thank you.

That's good. I reckon just here keeps it out of the wind

as much as possible.

We wouldn't want it blowing away as it's the best part of £1,000.

It seems a lot for what is a kiddy's dinghy

but they're incredibly robust.

As neat as possible, getting all the air out

-because that's what's going to give us our minute pack size.

-OK.

There are so many permutations, so many hills, glens, tops.

You can just get lost for days and days.

-Lost in a good way, you know?

-Yeah, I was thinking,

it's pretty unlikely we're going to meet anybody else around here today.

And I'm not noticing the weight of it that much at all.

It doesn't really feel like I'm carrying a rucksack

that's much heavier than what I would be used to carrying

for a day hike anyway.

That's the river down there. We're going to head out...

then you see the river down there.

That sort of ultralight revolution that's come through from the States,

we are down at 2.5 kilos and, you know,

you're looking at other crafts which are closer to 12 or 15 kilos, and

you just couldn't lug those around with your own personal kit as well.

There's lots of other kit that we have that makes all this possible.

Maybe a few years ago it wouldn't be possible.

Even with the same boats cos everything else is so heavy

but it's good the way things are advancing.

If we drop down here, we can see most of the rapid.

It's going to swing left and hopefully there'll be

an eddy down there and stuff, what do you reckon to that?

If I just tuck in behind you and then just follow your line.

The nature of these rivers in these tucked-away glens,

you are running them blind, there's no guidebooks.

If we couldn't see...

The few times we couldn't see, it was getting out and having a look.

We had to walk a wee bit down where it was too shallow.

Again, that's all just part of it.

I really like that element of just not really knowing what was coming next.

Every section was a wee bit different,

you're having to do something a little bit different with boat,

a bit different with the paddle.

There's just something quite fun about it.

You feel like you are journeying just that little section as well.

Oh, no! Sorry!

It's definitely an adventure off the beaten path.

It's part of the drive, part of the passion that fuels this thing for me.

It's why I keep doing it, I keep finding myself soaking wet,

sitting on some windswept loch in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

But every time I still get that good feeling.

Oh, goodness! Oh!

That is not my natural environment, I have to say,

but I did really enjoy it.

Time for another?

To find out more about packrafting

and the other items in this month's programme,

don't forget to join the bigger Adventure Show community

and follow us on Facebook.

Welcome back to the Premier Slalom here at Grandtully.

Now it's time for the kneeling C1 discipline.

In C1s you've actually got to tie yourself into your boat

so these are Velcro straps which hold yourself in place

rather than wedging your knees in the kayak.

Does that make it more difficult to get out

if you have to get out of the boat?

It takes a wee bit longer, but not normally a problem at competitions.

The Grandtully Premier Slalom is unusual because it uses a natural river.

Every day the water can be different

and how the course is set plays a huge part in shaping the race.

We always have the issue with the canoes

that you have righties and lefties

so you've got to make the course balanced to suit those

because you can't have it more biased in one way

but I think you've always got to find a balance of technical moves

to challenge the paddlers and also a bit of physical.

On a natural river like this where you can't actually move

the boulders around and create eddies and so on,

what are you looking for to make a really nice, fluid course?

We're always looking to see where the water runs,

if a wave runs in a certain way,

can we set the gates where the paddler has to use

that bit of water to get the best out of the course, really.

So you're always looking to try and

work with the water instead of against it.

In the first run down for the C1 paddlers, two under-23 competitors

from south of the border were fighting it out for the fastest time.

Thomas Quinn had a clean run through the gates

and came home in a time of 107.84 seconds,

but even quicker, Adam Burgess limboed his way down the course

in a time of 105.87.

With the rest of the field about seven seconds off the pace,

the scene is set for a showdown between these two paddlers.

First up is Thomas Quinn.

It is the fastest time from either run that counts

so Thomas will be keen to put pressure on Adam Burgess.

So, Thomas Quinn.

There's the man - he finished in second place,

1.97 seconds so he can do this here,

he can make a big, big run down this course,

he could take the leader's...

And he's trying pretty hard for it as well.

Working very hard indeed, you can see the cadence of the paddling,

really, really working hard, incredibly hard to get round.

Using the speed of the river, getting across quickly.

Oh, this is looking good.

If he keeps this clean, this could be very impressive indeed.

Thomas Quinn was from the Lower Wharfe Club,

working really, really hard to go around 12 there.

Was he a wee bit wide?

Just using a little push off that rock, that is allowed.

If it's there, you are allowed to use it.

And a little limbo to get through 14.

Now, what's he got left at the end here? A lovely pirouette through 15.

And still he looks like he's working very hard,

still it looks like he's got lots of gas left in the tank

as he batters on down towards the bottom of the course.

1.97 he has to make up from the last run to take

the leader's place on this Premier Slalom at Grandtully.

Through 19 and off towards the finish for Thomas Quinn.

And he crosses the line in the time of 106.24,

faster than his first run but not enough for top spot.

And he looks so disappointed.

And here is our leader, Adam Burgess, coming down now.

A really fine first run he put in, 105.87, with no penalty points.

What's he got in the second run?

He uses that stopper to lift up and over.

So, he's going through three now.

He knows he's in the lead.

Clearly he wants to improve on that,

but he doesn't know how anyone else has done up to this point

so he'll be wanting to get nice and clean and nice and fast.

So far, so good for the Stafford and Stone paddler.

Thomas Quinn really was working so hard at this point

and got really quick during the middle section of the course.

Adam Burgess doesn't look as quick but he's very smooth.

His lines are fine so he knows he's ahead.

He doesn't have to do anything really to stay ahead,

keep it nice and clean, keep it nice and careful.

And he knows he's got the power left.

It doesn't look like he's had to work ridiculously hard in

the top section of the course but he can really make up some time here.

And here we go.

He keeps it going all the way down to 18,

and nicely round that.

Home and free through 19 and off to the finish

and looking pretty good for Adam Burgess.

And it is, that tremendous time, 103.66,

two seconds faster than his first run and three seconds clear of the field.

A triumph of technique and strength.

So, at the end of the men's C1 competition,

Thomas Abbot was third in a time of 111.37.

Thomas Quinn pushed hard but could only maintain second place at 106.24

while the clear winner here today was Adam Burgess with 103.66.

I had a little bit of an error to correct

on gate two that time, which I did,

and the same as this morning, just kept it really smooth and it worked.

Obviously now with the Olympic success in C2,

how much difference has that made now to your motivation

and the motivation of the team and the funding and so on?

It was definitely a really inspiring day watching Dave and Richard

and Tim and Etienne get the medals.

I also paddle C2 as well

and we were one place behind those guys to make the team that year,

so I guess I am looking forward to 2016 to hopefully making the team in both classes.

Now it's time for the discipline

that everyone's talking about, the men's C2 event.

In canoe slalom, young and inexperienced paddlers compete against the stars.

For gold medallists Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott,

this is one of the great things about the sport.

In football or whatever, the really big sports,

it's very hard for there to be

that connection from the top of the sport to the bottom

but in canoe slalom, it's a nice, friendly sport and it's much easier.

It's one of the things I think Tim and I are both really keen on.

When we were younger, because we were in this sport,

we had access to the top athletes and when you see them

and you realise that they're just very similar to you,

they do things differently but they're no different,

they're not superhuman in any way,

that's a really powerful message to people to say

you can do what you want to do, you can do anything you like.

I noticed yesterday when you were here doing some practice on the river

that a lot of the younger paddlers saw you coming and moved out of the way

cos you're Olympic champions, everyone's looking at you.

Your life has changed quite a bit, I'd imagine, since the Olympics.

Yeah, I mean, our lives have changed.

A lot of the things we've done since the Olympics you would never

have the opportunity to do if you didn't win an Olympic medal but

at the same time, to be fair, people are probably moving out of the way

because they see a big C2 with 160 kilos of people in,

looking fairly out-of-control half of the time, so, I think...

That's the nice thing about canoeing, it's a really small sport.

Everyone's known us for years and arguably we're

at the pinnacle of the sport, winning the Olympic gold medal.

I remember watching it, the race, and we were joking before,

you know, we might get a one-two and no-one actually believed that

but the actual race, I can still remember it now,

it was absolutely electric.

A fantastic experience and it is fantastic for the sport.

Obviously everyone knows Tim and Etienne,

they've been racing on the circuit for years, but is it different now

being against these guys because they're now Olympic champions?

I think definitely getting in at the start, I was quite...

"This doesn't happen very often to me,

"getting on the water with the Olympic champions."

Yes, I had a little smile at the top. I thought, "That's good."

So, as we head into action for the first run,

the stage is set for Tim and Etienne

to show the kind of paddling that won them an Olympic gold medal.

And in the first run they're on top form once again,

working hard all the way down the course,

their years of experience are paying dividends.

But they're not having it all their own way.

Rhys Davies and Matt Lister,

the under-23 silver medallists from last year's European Championships,

are snapping at their heels.

And on the first run, Rhys and Matt were just one second behind Tim and Etienne,

but with two penalty seconds, their total time was 114.13 seconds,

whilst Tim and Etienne had a clean run with a time of 111.57.

We're picking up the action as they start their second run down the course.

And here they come, Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott,

first after the first run by 2.5 seconds,

ahead of Rhys Davies and Matt Lister.

Olympic champions and winners here at Grandtully many times in the past.

They just seem to attack this course.

Oh, a bit of work to be done getting around three though,

it's not easy, those two upstream gates so early in the course.

Dropping down now, towards the bottom section.

Not sure if these guys are as smooth as they were first time around.

Obviously you post a good time,

second time you can really go for it and if you're going for it,

that's when, potentially, mistakes could be made, but...

Looking at 15, the gate swinging there but they're safely through.

Heading across to 16.

Keeping the power on.

And all eyes on that final time to see if

they've improved on that first time of 111.57.

Well, Tim and Etienne's strength really paying off here

through the final gate.

And they're home in a time of 111.04,

just half a second faster than their first run.

So, let's see if the younger team can knock the Olympic champions off first place.

So, here's Rhys Davies and Mark Lister

who are in second place after the first run.

Big hit on three there.

That will cost them two seconds and they can ill afford it

cos they're 2.5 seconds off the pace,

or they were after the first run.

114.13 was their time.

But they're certainly putting the work in, there is no doubt about that.

Rhys and Matt from the Bala Canoe Club under-23 paddlers.

Wearing number 50, that means they've left their bib at home -

they should be wearing number one on their jerseys.

Carrying on towards the bottom section of the course,

to gate number 15, upstream gate.

Oh, they were way high in the air there.

Working pretty well as a team.

2.5 seconds is easy to make up, or is it?

Carrying on down towards the bottom section of the course

and they're still working extremely hard.

Paddles going in together like a well oiled machine.

Is it good enough, though, to take the lead?

And as they cross the line, not quite.

113.87, plus two penalty seconds.

So, it's their first run of 114.13 that counts for Matt and Rhys

and that's good enough for second place.

But, proving why they're Olympic champions,

Tim and Etienne are first in 111.04.

So, justice has been done and the Olympic gold medallists

have retained their position as C2 canoers winning here in Aberfeldy.

Still to come, we have got the Blue Riband men's kayak event.

Now though, we're swapping water for air

as we head 20 or so miles west to take to the skies around Loch Tay.

You're just using the natural uplift of thermals

and the wind on the hillside and it's just a fantastic feeling.

Essentially you're just flying like a bird.

You're part of the wind, you know, there's no engine noise,

there's no distraction, it's just you and the wing and the air.

It's just like the purest form of enjoyment.

It's so natural and so broken down

to the bare essentials, almost.

It's just you

and a wing and you're on your own in the sky.

This is hang gliding.

Flying free as a bird, where after launching it's a question

of finding thermals or rising air to keep you in the sky.

In the mountains we might be looking for rock faces

that are basking in glorious sunshine, heating up,

getting almost red hot, bubbling the air around it,

and then when you fly into that air

it can be quite an exhilarating lift up

cos you might be flying along maybe in some sinking air

and the glider's coming down and then you get near that rockface

that's basking in glorious sunshine, the nose of the glider will pitch up,

your instruments start screaming at you going, "Beep! Beep! Beep!

"We're going up, we're going up!" And you start circling,

doing a 360 and before you know it you're hanging onto the glider

and you're shooting up towards the clouds

and it's got to be one of the most exhilarating sensations you can ever imagine.

One friend described it to me, "It's like being Superman."

This year the initial round in the British Open series has come to Scotland.

It's the first time for 10 years the competition has come north of the border

and it's attracted hang gliders from across the UK.

I've flown all around Europe, in Hungary and Spain and France

and various other places. On a good day you just can't beat Scotland.

You can be at 10,000 feet above Ben Nevis,

able to see the sea in the West Coast and the East Coast,

flying with eagles, you know,

it's just an unbelievable place to fly in terms of scenery

and conditions - on the right day!

One person who's at the top of the sport is David Matthews.

He's won this event twice before and has high hopes for today.

Winning's everything.

No, it's become more important over the last few years

because I think once you have won a couple of competitions,

I think the pressure is then on you to carry on staying at the top there if you can.

But it's not everything,

the most important thing is to just have fun, really.

I mean, on a good day like this, if we get some nice thermals

and a reasonably high cloud base,

to float around the Scottish Highlands is the best thing, you know.

The competition almost comes second to that, but not quite.

I'm just getting ready and organised with the radio.

The secret is to be organised and be ready but not necessarily be

the first person to take off

so I'm not going to risk that at the moment.

Strategy is everything.

Before the task starts

there's a period of time to allow all the pilots to launch

and then, like sailing, it's a question of circling round,

maintaining height and waiting for the start of the race.

Brothers Jem and Myles Kynaston from North Wales

began flying when they were teenagers.

Once you get up to a certain height you're reading the clouds, so you

decide where the best flight path is, by looking at where the clouds are

and the top of those cumulus clouds mark the top of the thermals,

so the ideal scenario is to climb in a thermal to cloud base

and then see where the next most promising-looking cloud is

and glide to that one.

You start with taking off,

so you think about the wind direction, the wind strength.

You want to look in the direction they are sending you

so it could be over the back of the hill or it could be out in front

or it could be anywhere and with this you want to be thinking,

"How am I going to get high to go over there?

"Who am I going to follow?"

because that is what I am going to do, probably!

"Which bits of the sky are working well and which places to avoid?"

And then with me, a lot of the time is,

"Where's the bottom landing field?"

Because you always need to know all your options.

Hopefully you won't need it, but there you go.

Even though the course obviously can track a straight line,

pilots will be choosing their own lines to follow

for the optimum conditions.

That could be to do with the terrain, it could be to do with the clouds,

so if you see a rockface in basking sunshine in front of you

you might think, "That's going to kick up a thermal, I'll fly to that

"get my climb and glide on,"

or you might see a cloud out over a loch somewhere

and think, "That cloud's working, I'll fly for that cloud,

"see if I can get taken up in a thermal."

So people will be taking different routes but what will happen is, gaggles will form.

That's what you call them, you call them a gaggle of gliders

and they'll get underneath a thermal

and you'll get one person come in and maybe start going up well

and everyone will be watching from maybe a kilometre away

or two kilometres away and like hornets coming in,

they'll just suddenly all pile into the same thermal

if it's a strong one, so suddenly from flying on your own, you can have

gliders coming in from every angle, coming underneath you,

above you, climbing up together and going off on a glide.

Everyone flies with their own safety margins.

I personally fly with quite a high safety margin

but I would hope that I have as good a chance as anybody

of getting round to goal and beating them.

The winner is the pilot who passes all the waypoints

and makes it to the finish line in the fastest time.

Today first place goes to Gordon Rigg,

-who flew the 56.6 kilometre course in just over two hours.

-Yes!

But this is just the first stage of the British Open series,

so there's still all to play for in future rounds.

You need to be able to read the sky all the time

and if you can't read the sky then you'll either get into trouble or

you'll just not do very well on a day when you're in a competition.

But you don't need to be a physicist or meteorologist,

but it probably would help!

And our thanks to everyone in the British Open Hang Gliding Series.

Let's hope they will be back in Scotland again before too long,

providing those spectacular views of our landscape.

Down from the skies and we're heading east to join Cameron McNeish on terra firma.

This time his wild walk celebrates a great hill - Ben Vrackie.

I'm in the village of Moulin which sits on the hillside

high above Pitlochry in Highland Perthshire

and the hotel behind me here has been looking after wayfarers like me

since the 18th century.

The hotel is actually quite a new build in Moulin terms because

people have been living hereabouts for the best part of 4,000 years.

This is the Baledmund Standing Stone

and people reckon it's about 3,000 years old.

I just love to touch ancient stones like this.

You can almost feel its antiquity.

And it's believed that further up the field here, there's some

evidence of ring dwellings which suggest that people

have been living here since this stone was first erected.

The village of Moulin was named after an old castle

that once stood here, the Black Castle of Moulin.

It was built in 1326 by the Earl of Atholl,

but unfortunately in 1500 they had to deliberately destroy it

because within the walls there was an outbreak of the Black Plague.

Ben Vrackie is a corbett,

that's one of Scotland's mountains between 2,500 feet and 2,999 feet.

It actually stands at 2,759 feet, a fairly substantial hill.

The name Ben Vrackie or Ben Y Vrackie

as it's seen in the Ordnance Survey maps, means "speckled hill"

and that refers to the geological mishmash

that makes up this mountain - the schistose quartzite and epidiorite,

quite an unusual kind of conglomerate.

It's quite nice how the landscape suddenly becomes quite rugged, quite craggy.

The route's beginning to reveal itself now.

You can see the path going up into that top gully where the snow is,

so we climb up the ridge to the summit.

There's a temptation to think that the ascent of Ben Vrackie's

just a nice gentle walk up a moorland path

but in actual fact this last mile

takes in two thirds of the entire ascent.

It might well be hands and knees stuff.

It's quite interesting just looking at the view down there,

down the length of Strathtummel,

but today that is the main road north,

whereas at one time higher up the hillside was where

all the activity took place.

There was a main road came through this pass here

and down to Killiecrankie on the other side,

a road that was once used by no less a person than Mary Queen of Scots,

going to a big deer drive in Glen Tilt.

It was after Culloden when General Wade was told to come north

and pacify the rebellious Highlanders.

He thought the best way to do that was to build a system of roads

in the Highlands, but instead of following the roads

that originally would have been higher up in the hillside,

he decided he would build the roads down in the glens

and the glen bottom so he built his road from Perth to Inverness

along these valley bottoms, right along Strathtummel.

Earlier on I mentioned the unfolding views

and you can see that to good effect now.

We're high enough to see Ben Lawers away across there

and to the right of it the mighty Schiehallion,

the fairy hill of the Caledonians.

Indeed, away to the south I can just see the dim outline

of the Campsie Fells just north of Glasgow.

For a wee hill, it's a steep little climb at the end.

The proverbial sting in the tail.

Oh, wow!

Look at that! That's fantastic.

You know, lots of people say this is one of the finest viewpoints of Scotland

and being up here today I can understand that.

And you've got the benefit of a direction indicator up here

to show us what we're looking at and according to this,

Ben Nevis, our highest mountain, I can see across there, yes,

I can see Ben Nevis over in that direction. And the hills of Glenshee

just over in this direction so it's not bad at all.

You know, on some days, when you get to the summit of the mountain

you want to spend as little time as possible there because it is so cold

and windy and it can be quite miserable

but today is not one of those days.

This is a day to linger and just enjoy it,

and enjoy the spaciousness, the wide-open views.

I'm going to leave you now.

I'm just going to sit here for a while

and simply enjoy what feels like the roof of Scotland.

Welcome back, and now it's time for the men's K1 class.

Now, one of Britain's top paddlers, Olympic silver medallist

Campbell Walsh retired last year so he's not competing,

but there are plenty of other talented individuals

hoping to make their mark here at Grandtully.

It's a shame that Campbell Walsh retired last year

because he's definitely the one I wanted to beat, really.

But, it's great, he's a good paddler

and it's a shame to see him go but he had a great time.

Under-23 paddler Joe Clarke took up canoe slalom when he was 11

and he's someone with his eyes on the next Olympics.

I live in Lee Valley at the moment in London on the Olympic course

so just training there and push on for the 2016 Olympics and beyond.

Another bright hope for the future is Bradley Forbes-Cryans from Edinburgh.

He's currently an under-18 paddler

but someone determined to make his mark in this sport.

For this year me and my coach Neil Caffrey really want to push to try

and make the senior team before we make the jump out of juniors

and we want to try and get into the under-23 team as well because

that means we're allowed to do two of the senior World Cups this year.

So being at that level and competing at that level, even though

you're very young, would be just great for your potential career.

Yes, the way we look at it is, it's all good experience in the bag.

Time now for the K1 paddlers to take to the water for their first run.

And we're picking up the action with another young competitor,

under-23 paddler Joe Coombs.

So, Joe Coombs in the top of the course, from Warrington Canoe Club.

And he's pushing now for a place in the senior squad

and blasting through that little stopper there.

Using it again to accelerate out through gate four.

And, as we've discovered today,

it's not quite as technical as it has been in previous years.

There's a lot of sluggish slow water

so it'll be fitness that will be the winner here.

That's nicely done.

Looking pretty quick here.

They get some practice runs.

But it is all about today making sure that you warm up well

and you don't blow too much of your strength in the warm-up

so when you compete you're absolutely fired up and going very strong.

So, Joe, coming down into the upstream gate 15.

Nicely done, just slightly stalled,

tipped the boat a little too far up there and stalled slightly

but a very nice tight line into 16 and round into 17.

Go on, keep pushing on.

And that looks like a fine run for Joe as he comes through 19

and a quick sprint into the finish.

And he's through the gate in 99.01.

That is a pretty competitive time.

This is number nine, Mikey Wilson,

this is his first year as an under-23 paddler.

He was a member of the Junior 18 British team last season

so this is him stepping up. He'll have five years at under-23.

Going nice and fast.

Again leaning back, just getting through nice and smoothly,

using the speed of the river to his advantage.

Not doing any checks, that's fine, absolutely fine, nice and sweet.

Such a big step up from Junior 18 to under-23

but he seems to be stepping up quite comfortably and confidently.

Paddles for the Stafford and Stone Club.

And heads on down towards 16 and the slowest part of the course.

But if you've still got some puff left you can make a big difference.

And closing it down and finishing off towards the bottom.

This looks like a good run from Mikey Wilson.

Coming up to the line, crosses it in 99.8, just behind Joe Coombs.

So Huw Swetnam sprinting on this top part of the course.

Huw has been in the British squad on and off for the last few years.

That's nicely done.

And you could see the tip of the boat, or the tail of the boat,

just touched a little rock there and stopped the spin.

Huw nicely lined up here. He has got two or three gates to go.

It's beginning to blow a little bit, the breeze has got up slightly

which will make it a little bit more difficult

but Huw in the fastest part of the course here, doing pretty well.

Trying to keep the bow downstream.

So, once again, watching these guys on this very slow water,

it really is going to be tough and powerful work.

So that's nicely done.

Just a little dip of the shoulder to get underneath 11.

And pushing through.

Yes, very nice, keeping the paddles completely upright

so you don't clip the double gate.

Some double and some single gates.

And...

Oh, a little bit of a fluff there.

So... Here...

Oh, he came out too low on 17

so Huw is just feeling it now,

puffing a little bit, blowing his cheeks out

as he comes through 19 and sprinting into the finish.

Huw's through in 98.32, that is the fastest time so far

and there are only a few paddlers left on this first run.

So this is Bradley Forbes-Cryans.

Bradley, from the Forth Club in Edinburgh,

had a pretty successful year last year. A Junior 18 paddler.

Oh! That's disappointing for Bradley.

He got a big smack on gate number three there,

so a two-second penalty right away

and he'll be furious with that

because he has been expecting a lot of himself today.

He is a very, very talented young paddler, this guy.

He puts a lot of work in.

Determined.

I spoke to him last year

and he wants to represent Team GB in the Olympics in the future.

That is what he said.

It doesn't matter. He started with that big hit

but he's got the power and experience

and the ability, despite the fact he's only a young man,

he knows how to do something special here on the River Tay at Grandtully.

He knows this water very well indeed,

although he is based at the canals in Edinburgh.

SHOUTING

His coach screaming his head off at Bradley to get the job done.

Now, that two-second penalty,

he worked so hard in the middle section of the course

to try and make that up but will he be paying for it now

as he comes down to the bottom half and starts putting that last...

Upstream gate and then puts the power on and heads towards the line.

And Bradley crosses the line is 99.72 plus two penalty seconds.

That's still an impressive run from this Edinburgh youngster.

Last down the course for the first run is Joe Clarke.

So, on the top of the course, Joe Clarke.

Under-23 paddler but a real talent.

He has had an exceptional start to the year.

He came out of his winter training very well. Strong and focused.

That's nicely done. It's a little bit tricky here.

You've got to be very careful.

So, Joe, dipping under those two gates,

trying to keep the straightest line down the river

to maximise the speed of the boat,

trying to get as low resistance on the underside of the kayak

as possible. So just a slight stall there coming in.

just twisting round, very nicely done, under gate.

Just drifted out slightly as he came in to the upstream gate of number 12.

But Joe looking good so far.

Definitely very neat. Nice and tight.

Slightly off-line there. Trying to keep tight into 15, through 15 well.

And a nice low, tight line, 16.

Joe looking really strong.

Very few paddle strokes between the gates,

very effective technique.

This is shaping up to be an amazing run from Joe Clarke,

coming up to the line, he's across in 93.88,

smashing the rest of the field by a phenomenal five seconds.

He is in a class of his own today.

And that first run proved to be pivotal

with none of the top five able to improve on their places

second time down the river.

So this is how it finished.

Bradley Forbes-Cryans managed

99.8 on his second run to come in fifth.

Mikey Wilson's first run was also in 99.8 but

he remains in fourth as his other run was quicker than Bradley's.

Joe Coombs was in third with 99.01,

with Huw Swetnam coming in second with 99.32.

Then there's that huge five-second gap and a great performance

behind it that puts Joe Clarke in first place with a time of 93.88.

Joe, a very, very fine win for you. Congratulations.

Thank you very much, it has been a great day today.

What about this race? Because no water in the river, just about.

It adds a wee bit of an extra dimension to the race.

Well, not only have you got to go around the poles,

you've got to avoid all the rocks as well so, for sure,

definitely a lot more difficult compared to usual

but it was a great race nonetheless.

That's it for this month's Adventure Show.

Next time we will be in Fort William where the best

mountain bikers in the world will converge

for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

Please join us for that if you can. In the meantime, from Grandtully,

thanks for your company. Bye for now.

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