0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm on the very edge of Scotland,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10virtually the most southern bit of land in the country.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I'm on the Mull of Galloway.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Now, I have to confess, I don't know this part of the world very well
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and I suspect that's the case for most Scots.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26And that's why it's known as one of Scotland's best-kept secrets.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30I'm here to start a long walk,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34a walk that's going to explore the West Coast of Scotland,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36visit some of our finest islands
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and finish in the West Highland town of Oban.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And I'm going to call it The Western Way.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56The total distance is around 250 miles
0:00:56 > 0:01:00and what weather to start me on my journey -
0:01:00 > 0:01:04bright sun, clear blue skies and perfect visibility.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09But there's something I must see before I head off north.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15There are very few lighthouses in Scotland
0:01:15 > 0:01:17that are actually open to the public.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19This one is operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board
0:01:19 > 0:01:24and it is open so I'm going to make full use of that.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28One, two, three, four, five, six...
0:01:28 > 0:01:3115, 16...
0:01:31 > 0:01:3355, 56, 57...
0:01:33 > 0:01:37HE MUTTERS NUMBERS
0:01:44 > 0:01:47115 steps.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It's like climbing a mountain before I even start my walk.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52There's still some more to go.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04There are few things more romantic than a lighthouse.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06These lonely outposts of civilisation
0:02:06 > 0:02:09guiding our sailors round the wild and rocky coast.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I just love them. And this is a great one.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16It was built in 1830 by the Stevenson family.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20That's the family of the great novelist Robert Louis Stevenson.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23And it's often been said that the young Stevenson
0:02:23 > 0:02:26learnt his descriptive powers of landscape
0:02:26 > 0:02:31from coming to these lonely places with his father and grandfather
0:02:31 > 0:02:35when they were designing and building lighthouses like this one.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37And when you start a long walk,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39it's good to start from somewhere prominent
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and you can't get much more prominent than a lighthouse.
0:02:53 > 0:02:54Wow!
0:02:54 > 0:02:57You know, I always think of lighthouses as things
0:02:57 > 0:03:00that tower up from the landscape but a few of them
0:03:00 > 0:03:03actually have basements that go down into the land itself.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08And it's been suggested that this would make a fantastic bar.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10I've got to agree.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16A pint of Guinness, please. Yeah, that would work.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I wish I could say I've just walked 20 miles
0:03:34 > 0:03:39and have stopped for a well-deserved break but that's not strictly true.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40I've come about 200 metres,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43but there's no way I could pass a cafe like this one
0:03:43 > 0:03:45and I have gone for the healthy option.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49Well, almost.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52You need to be well stocked up for a long journey,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55or at least that's always been my excuse.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And what a journey it's going to be.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01From here, our new Western Way follows the Rhins of Galloway
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and heads up the coast of Ayrshire to Ardrossan.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08After a short ferry journey, I'll walk through Arran,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11taking in its highest peak Goat Fell en route
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and there's no apology for our diversion
0:04:14 > 0:04:19to two very different islands - Islay and Jura.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Looking further ahead, I'll be travelling up
0:04:21 > 0:04:25somewhere that walkers should explore more - the Cowal Peninsula
0:04:25 > 0:04:29and after that, I'm on familiar ground, the West Highland Way
0:04:29 > 0:04:31and the rugged Black Mount hills
0:04:31 > 0:04:33surrounding Glen Kinglass
0:04:33 > 0:04:35before the final stretch into Oban.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The Rhins of Galloway run between the Mull of Galloway
0:04:43 > 0:04:45and the town of Stranraer
0:04:45 > 0:04:51and within the folds of what is a low-lying and cliff-girt landscape
0:04:51 > 0:04:54lies a folklore as rich as any.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56It's a folklore that comes from
0:04:56 > 0:05:01what was once a very harsh, uncompromising landscape
0:05:01 > 0:05:04where survival was a constant struggle
0:05:04 > 0:05:07against the harsh land and hungry seas.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20A long time ago,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23sailors away out here in Luce Bay were in the habit of throwing
0:05:23 > 0:05:28titbits of food overboard to appease the fairy folk
0:05:28 > 0:05:30to ensure safe passage.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34One day, one of the sailors decided he was going to play his bagpipes
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and walk into the cave where the fairies reputedly lived.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41He thought he could walk right under this peninsula
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and come out in Clanyard Bay on the west side.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46He duly set forth playing his bagpipes
0:05:46 > 0:05:50with his dog following and the other sailors saw him enter the cave
0:05:50 > 0:05:54and the music get quieter and quieter as he went further in.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59They rushed across the peninsula to see him arrive at the other side,
0:05:59 > 0:06:00but he never did.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Some time later, the dog turned up, completely hairless,
0:06:03 > 0:06:08whining in terror but the piper was never seen again
0:06:08 > 0:06:12and today, it's said that if you wander quietly over the Rhins
0:06:12 > 0:06:15on a still summer's evening, if you listen carefully,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20you might just hear the sound of bagpipes deep below you underground.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24BAGPIPES SOUND FAINTLY
0:06:27 > 0:06:31I can't believe what a fantastic landscape this is,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33and what's prevented me coming here before?
0:06:34 > 0:06:36There's few people who know this area better
0:06:36 > 0:06:39than naturalist and writer Keith Kirk
0:06:39 > 0:06:42who was born and bred locally.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44I left school at the ripe old age of 14.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48I was allowed to leave because I was 15 during the summer holidays
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and from then on, I spent a lot of time with people
0:06:51 > 0:06:54out and about in the countryside that knew about the countryside
0:06:54 > 0:06:55and you just learn from them.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58You can read as many books as you want,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00but really, you've got to get the hands-on experience
0:07:00 > 0:07:02and there's a lot of good outdoor people,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05whether they're naturalists, gamekeepers, fishermen,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07you can learn a lot from them
0:07:07 > 0:07:09and that's the way I did it through the whole of my life.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Still doing it to this day.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Them days, you said to your mother, "I'm away,"
0:07:14 > 0:07:17and she'd say, "When are you coming back?" and I was on the edge of town
0:07:17 > 0:07:19so we just spent days, weekends out in the countryside
0:07:19 > 0:07:22whether it would be fishing, bird nesting, climbing trees.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24No computers in them days.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Was there a defining moment when you thought,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life"?- Possibly.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33If you go back to probably my first interview
0:07:33 > 0:07:36just before I left school and the job I described to them
0:07:36 > 0:07:38was probably what I'm doing now,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42which I'm told at that point in about 1970 was not around.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Keith has been a countryside ranger for Dumfries and Galloway Council
0:07:46 > 0:07:49for the last 26 years.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more passionate
0:07:51 > 0:07:53about his home patch.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I personally believe that we can probably double the number of people
0:07:56 > 0:07:59and walkers coming into Dumfries and Galloway
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and you wouldn't, as a walker, really notice any difference
0:08:02 > 0:08:04because we have just got so much open area
0:08:04 > 0:08:07that people would just disappear into.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08But you've got no Munros down here.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12No Munros but that has its good points and its bad points.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13It means we don't get the Munro baggers
0:08:13 > 0:08:17but we have the Galloway Hills and they are spectacular.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19What you do for a living,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21you could probably have gone and worked anywhere in Scotland.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Why have you stayed here?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25I've been away just on holiday
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and I've looked at other places but by guns, it's good to be back.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It's a spectacular place. I've got everything.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34From where I live in Castle Douglas,
0:08:34 > 0:08:3620 minutes I can be on the sea,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I can be in probably our highest hills that we've got
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and I can be in forests, I can be on the coast, anywhere you want.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44It's just...access is so easy.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48We're here below a very impressive-looking castle.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Yeah, Dunskey Castle behind us. It's a spectacular sight.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55It's been in ruin, I believe, from the late 1600s.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Some information will say it's 12th-century.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Some people say it's 14th.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I believe what you see now is 16th-century,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05but there would probably have been something on the site prior to that.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It's an area that a lot of people would refer to
0:09:07 > 0:09:09as Scotland's best-kept secret.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Is there much truth in that?
0:09:10 > 0:09:14That is one thing that has or has been said. This best-kept secret.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Well, we don't really want it to be a secret.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18It's a beautiful area, beautiful and tranquil.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33I've taken a wee diversion from the coastline
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and I've come inland to the Galloway Forest Park
0:09:36 > 0:09:40and I've come here to climb what is the highest hill in
0:09:40 > 0:09:43the Southern Uplands, the highest hill in Galloway.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45It's called the Merrick and as a hillwalker like me,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48it seems a bit churlish not to come into this area
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and not climb the highest hill.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06700 years ago, this whole area was a refuge for fugitives,
0:10:06 > 0:10:11those outlaws who defied the power structures of the time.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Probably the most famous of those outlaws
0:10:13 > 0:10:16were Sir William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Indeed, the Bruce knew this area well.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21He was born at Turnberry just up the Ayrshire coast
0:10:21 > 0:10:24and probably spent a lot of time hunting here.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26And he put that local knowledge to good use
0:10:26 > 0:10:29in the first battle of his independence campaign,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32the Battle of Glen Trool.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Now, it's said that it wasn't a battle as such,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38it was a fairly insignificant skirmish but in propaganda terms,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40it was very, very important.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42It was important in the recruitment
0:10:42 > 0:10:45of a lot of the local lairds and local men
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to form his independence army,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53which eventually went to win the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07I often think these Galloway Hills have an otherworldly feel to them.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The tops of the hills themselves appear as islands
0:11:10 > 0:11:12above great swathes of forestry
0:11:12 > 0:11:15but it's the place names that are really curious,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19names like the Wool Slock, the Nieve of the Spit,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22the Murder Hole, the Lump of the Eglan.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26There's a Tolkien-esque mindset at work here.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28I can't think of anywhere else in Scotland
0:11:28 > 0:11:31with such a curious set of place names.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37And the name the Merrick means 'the crooked finger'
0:11:37 > 0:11:38or 'the branch finger'
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and that's the branch finger of this whole range,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43the Range of the Awful Hand.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47It's a lovely dramatic name for quite a dramatic mountain range.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's very easy to underestimate these hills.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54From what was a nice warm and sunny day down below,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57I'm now struggling against gale-force winds.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11The Merrick is one of the most popular,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15if not THE most popular hill in the Southern Uplands,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17but it's not always been the case.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Back in Robert the Bruce's time in the 14th century,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24these hills were isolated and remote
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and on a blustery day like today, that still feels the case.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Well, I have to say, that was wild.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37That was a really tough climb but not because of the climb itself
0:12:37 > 0:12:39but because of the fight into this gale-force wind.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45But I'm glad now to be at the summit of the Merrick at 814 metres.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47Yay!
0:12:50 > 0:12:54On a good day, it's said you can see the Lake District in the south,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56the Crianlarich Hills in the north
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and even the Mountains of Mourne in the west
0:12:59 > 0:13:01but I can't really see too much in the distance today
0:13:01 > 0:13:05cos it's quite hazy but it is very, very windy
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and tomorrow, I'm quite looking forward to getting back on the
0:13:09 > 0:13:11coastline and get a bit of a respite from the wind.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Now I'm making my way north along the eastern side of Loch Ryan.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31This small area between Stranraer and Cairnryan
0:13:31 > 0:13:35has a rich vein of history and it's not too surprising
0:13:35 > 0:13:38because Cairnryan is the start of the shortest sea crossing
0:13:38 > 0:13:41to Ireland and has been a port since Roman times.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51You know, it's absolutely amazing the difference
0:13:51 > 0:13:54that 70-odd years can make.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57I'm sitting here in a lovely, peaceful tranquil spot
0:13:57 > 0:14:00but during the dark days of the Second World War,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04this was an enormous, a massive railway siding
0:14:04 > 0:14:07capable of taking up to 2,000 wagons.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10It was part of the Cairnryan Military Railway.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15At that time, there were great fears that our major ports
0:14:15 > 0:14:18like Greenock and Liverpool would be so heavily bombed
0:14:18 > 0:14:20they'd become unusable
0:14:20 > 0:14:24so two temporary harbours were set up here in Scotland -
0:14:24 > 0:14:28one at Faslane and this one here at Cairnryan.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Thousands of troops were stationed here and the military railway
0:14:32 > 0:14:38carried the troops and supplies between Stranraer and Cairnryan.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Today, that military railway is part of the Loch Ryan coastal path.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53At the end of the war, the entire North Atlantic U-boat fleet
0:14:53 > 0:14:57sailed into Loch Ryan here and surrendered.
0:14:57 > 0:15:0186 German submarines. What a sight that must have been.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Further north, my route takes me a couple of miles inland
0:15:09 > 0:15:15and on to higher ground before it drops down again to the coast.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17This is a landscape full of history,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20one where there is evidence of man's activity
0:15:20 > 0:15:22going back down through the centuries.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I've just passed a really interesting little church.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34It was built in 1850 as a chapel of ease,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37a kind of convenience church for the local people here
0:15:37 > 0:15:41who found the distances to the official parish churches
0:15:41 > 0:15:43just too much, just too vast.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46A number of them were built in the 19th century
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and this one behind me is one of the smallest churches in Scotland.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51It seats about 70 people.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Here's a nice wee reminder to keep Scotland tidy
0:16:14 > 0:16:16and in the local tongue.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19"Be ye Man - or Bairn - or Wumman,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22"Be ye gaun - or be ye comin,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26"For Scotland's Pride - no Scotland's shame
0:16:26 > 0:16:28"Gather yer litter - an tak it Hame!"
0:16:43 > 0:16:48Travellers on the A77 going down to the ferry ports at Cairnryan
0:16:48 > 0:16:52may be surprised to learn that there is a fantastic footpath
0:16:52 > 0:16:55that follows the coastline much more directly.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I've climbed up here on that footpath and I have to say,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02the feeling of spaciousness is absolutely sensational.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05You can see behind me out across the mouth of Loch Ryan
0:17:05 > 0:17:07out into the Irish Sea
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and away north to the seas and my route ahead.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16It's great to be up here, even on such a windy day as this.
0:17:30 > 0:17:36I'm really impressed at the variety of this section of Ayrshire coast.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39From high moorlands, I've dropped right down
0:17:39 > 0:17:43to this rough and rocky coastline here at the port.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Now, there's been a long tradition of smuggling
0:17:46 > 0:17:47on this section of the coast,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50but there aren't all that many inlets or bays
0:17:50 > 0:17:53where the smugglers could sail out from.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57I'm just wondering whether this bay here was used by smugglers.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59And in fact, there's a dead giveaway
0:17:59 > 0:18:02because the wee river that flows out into the bay
0:18:02 > 0:18:04is called Shallow Wreck Burn.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16I've never been one to slavishly follow a straight line in my walks,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and The Western Way is going to be no exception.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22This high land lying just off the coast of Southern Ayrshire
0:18:22 > 0:18:26is somewhere I've always wanted to visit.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Like many of my generation of Glaswegians,
0:18:29 > 0:18:34I spent a lot of time as a youngster on the Clyde coast.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37My parents had a holiday caravan in Saltcoats
0:18:37 > 0:18:40and we spent all our holidays and all our weekends
0:18:40 > 0:18:43here on the Costa Clyde.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47I can remember gazing out over the waters of the Firth of Clyde
0:18:47 > 0:18:49at the mountains of Arran
0:18:49 > 0:18:51and slightly further south to this big pudding shape
0:18:51 > 0:18:54of the Ailsa Craig.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Except I didn't know it as the Ailsa Craig until I was an adult.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01My father told me it was called Paddy's Milestone
0:19:01 > 0:19:05and that gave it a sense of romance, a notion of foreignness.
0:19:05 > 0:19:06Very exciting.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13I've been joined by Crystal Maw who is one of the RSPB wardens
0:19:13 > 0:19:15responsible for looking after Ailsa Craig.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20This island supports over 70,000 breeding sea birds
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest,
0:19:24 > 0:19:27yet there is more to Ailsa Craig than just its wildlife.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29From the middle of the 19th century,
0:19:29 > 0:19:34the island was quarried for a rare type of granite known as Ailsite
0:19:34 > 0:19:36used for making curling stones,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39not just in Scotland but around the world.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45The first thing that strikes me coming ashore Ailsa Craig here
0:19:45 > 0:19:47is the amount of industrial heritage.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- I never expected to see a railway line.- I know.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Well, it was going to be used every day
0:19:53 > 0:19:55with bogies being pulled by engines.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58There's an engine room just up ahead of us.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02They would have been pulling fuel from the mainland, supplies, food.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06- They would've been taking out the granite.- Where does this line go to?
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Does it just come up to the lighthouse area here
0:20:09 > 0:20:10or does it go further?
0:20:10 > 0:20:11From what you can see nowadays,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14it just goes up to the lighthouse and to the end of the buildings as well.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18- There's a tea room over there.- You mentioned the magic word - tearoom.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22- Where? - You won't get many scones today.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25But, yes, just a few metres that way was the tea room.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27And what's the story of that?
0:20:27 > 0:20:29The wives of the workers would have come over in the summer
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- and visitors would come over every day.- Just for tourists?
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Yeah, and they would have had their tea.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37So how many people actually lived here at one time?
0:20:37 > 0:20:41I think in the late 1800s, when the quarrying first started,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45it would have been about 30 men who covered both the quarry work
0:20:45 > 0:20:46and the lighthouse-keeping
0:20:46 > 0:20:49and then as time went on, quarrying got bigger,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51demand for the granite got bigger,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54it would have been up to about 100 men.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57The quarry and the men it employed have long since gone
0:20:57 > 0:21:01but the industry today is still thriving.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04- Last year, they took a few thousand tonnes.- Few thousand tonnes?
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- Yes.- Wow. - But now, it's not dynamited.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11There is enough stone loose at the bottom of Ailsa Craig
0:21:11 > 0:21:14to just get collected and taken over.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19This small island, really just a big lump of rock,
0:21:19 > 0:21:20has an amazing history.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22It's been a prison,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25a haven for Roman Catholics during the Scottish Reformation
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and it boasts a 16th-century castle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32But it's the bird population that makes Ailsa Craig
0:21:32 > 0:21:34a site of international importance.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Here, you'll find guillemots, kittiwakes and razorbills
0:21:38 > 0:21:43but dominating the air are 36,000 pairs of gannets.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45It's got the steep cliffs,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49big area for them to nest on which is quite inaccessible for predators
0:21:49 > 0:21:51so they feel quite safe. They need the height as well.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55When the chicks fledge, because they're so bulky,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58they just have that height and they launch themselves off
0:21:58 > 0:21:59and they glide for a few kilometres
0:21:59 > 0:22:01and then come down safely on the water
0:22:01 > 0:22:05instead of having to lift off from the ground and not getting very far.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10The big thing that affected the wildlife was rats being introduced
0:22:10 > 0:22:15early on in the 19th century and they completely eradicated the puffins.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18From thousands and thousands of puffins blackening the skies,
0:22:18 > 0:22:24there was zero so now the island has been cleared of rats
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and the puffins are slowly making a comeback.
0:22:29 > 0:22:30Back on the mainland again
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and I've been following the Ayrshire Coastal Path,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38a 94-mile trail that finishes just south of Greenock.
0:22:38 > 0:22:39I'm on the beach north of Troon
0:22:39 > 0:22:42with photographer and author Keith Fergus.
0:22:42 > 0:22:47He's written a guide to this long-distance walk and I'm amazed.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50You wouldn't expect a route so close to our urban centres
0:22:50 > 0:22:52to be so attractive.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55The beach to Irvine is around six miles long.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Lovely walking all the way.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59You get some lovely dunes here as well.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Lots of flora and fauna in the summer months and some great views.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08This has always been a place that's been with me
0:23:08 > 0:23:10since I was a wee boy, essentially.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Growing up in Glasgow, it was the closest stretch of coastline to us,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15about 15 or 20 miles from our home
0:23:15 > 0:23:20so we used to always come down for day trips.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Coming down to the Ayrshire Coast and seeing the Arran profile
0:23:25 > 0:23:27across the water was really quite something.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29It's a coastline of castles, isn't it?
0:23:29 > 0:23:30It is a coastline of castles.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33My own personal favourite is Dunure Castle,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37which, around the 15th century, was the seat of the Kennedy Clan
0:23:37 > 0:23:40and nearby was Crossraguel Abbey.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Now, the abbeys in those days were quite powerful establishments
0:23:43 > 0:23:45and there was a chap called Allan Stewart
0:23:45 > 0:23:48felt he owned the rights to Crossraguel Abbey.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52So arguments took place between the two men,
0:23:52 > 0:23:57but it came to a head when Gilbert, along with 16 of his men,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00captured Allan Stewart and took him to Dunure
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and what took place was an episode called the Roasting of Allan Stewart.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08And he was taken down into what's ominously titled the Black Vault
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and here, Stewart was stripped, he was bound
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and he was roasted over an open fire
0:24:14 > 0:24:16until he signed the deeds over to Gilbert.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18But what came to light about a week later
0:24:18 > 0:24:20was that the signing of the deeds
0:24:20 > 0:24:23hadn't been done in front of a witness.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Gilbert wasn't a man to let this worry him,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29so again, he was bound, put over an open fire and roasted
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and until this time, in front of a witness, he signed the deeds over.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Lots of little stories of bloodshed and battles and things like that,
0:24:39 > 0:24:40which intrigues me and again,
0:24:40 > 0:24:45just adds to the interest and the spice of the Ayrshire Coast.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Tell me a wee bit about your own background, Keith.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52How did you eventually become a full-time author and photographer?
0:24:52 > 0:24:56Well, just from leaving school, I was getting into the printing trade,
0:24:56 > 0:24:57which is one I really loved.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- What was your role there? - It was what's called pre-press,
0:25:00 > 0:25:02so really before the plate-making side of things,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05before the images are put onto paper.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08I served my time, a four-year apprenticeship,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11but like many industries, redundancies came.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14And around the same time, from my early '20s onwards,
0:25:14 > 0:25:19I really got into hillwalking and also into photography at that point.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Now, the photography was really just a means of capturing memories,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26but then I was being told that I was actually quite good at this.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30So after that, I got a few postcards off the ground.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32With the contacts I have in the printing trade,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37I managed to get them printed and it really just stemmed from that.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40My kids were only five and two at the time,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44so it was a big decision, but one that I really felt I had to do.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46It was a wee rat gnawing away at me
0:25:46 > 0:25:50that if I didn't do it then, I probably never would've done it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- And no regrets about doing it? - Absolutely not, no.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58It's a lot of hard work, but for a lot of the time,
0:25:58 > 0:25:59you're out and about and outdoors
0:25:59 > 0:26:02doing something that I really, really love,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06walking in some of the finest scenery in the world,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10taking photographs of these magnificent places
0:26:10 > 0:26:15and actually making a small but decent enough living from it.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I'm getting close to the end of my section
0:26:32 > 0:26:33of the Ayrshire Coast Path
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and it's been quite a nostalgic journey for me,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38because I've passed through some of the little towns
0:26:38 > 0:26:42that formed the background to many of my early teenage holidays
0:26:42 > 0:26:44in the sixties.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Some of you might find this hard to believe,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52but 50 years ago, during the summer months,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56this South Ardrossan Beach would've been jam-packed with people.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59The bairns would be building great big sandcastles,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02the parents would be lying back in their swimming costumes
0:27:02 > 0:27:05trying to tease every moment out of the Scottish sun
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and the granddads would be paddling out into the shallows,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11trouser legs rolled up to their knees,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14pipe in mouth, bonnet on head.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Not quite Torremolinos, but, you know, we absolutely loved it.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I've covered nearly 100 miles of this Western Way walk.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Now it's time to give my legs a rest
0:27:28 > 0:27:30and let the CalMac Ferry take the strain.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37It's about 12 miles from Ardrossan to Brodick on the Isle of Arran
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and in that dozen miles, it feels as
0:27:39 > 0:27:42though you're going to another country, it feels like going abroad.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44And while I spent a lot of time
0:27:44 > 0:27:46as a young teenager on the Ayrshire Coast,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50I didn't actually visit Arran until I was about 19 or 20.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52And I'll tell you something,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54it opened up a completely new world to me.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00My route through Arran takes me over its highest point, Goat Fell,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and then back down to sea level
0:28:02 > 0:28:04for a beautiful walk
0:28:04 > 0:28:06along the North Eastern Coast.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Then there are two more ferry journeys,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11first over to the Kintyre Peninsula
0:28:11 > 0:28:13and then onwards to Islay and Jura,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17amongst the most southerly of our Western Isles.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Isle of Arran is often referred to as Scotland in miniature,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27but I'll tell you,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30there's absolutely nothing miniature about Arran's mountains.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32When I first came here,
0:28:32 > 0:28:36I was astounded by the tight and narrow ridges and aretes,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41by the great granite up-thrusts and by the isolated summits.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45The hills of Arran simply blew my mind.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48But before I go there,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50I want to learn a little bit about the island's coast
0:28:50 > 0:28:52and how best we can protect it.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Sometimes, we're showing photographs of the marine life
0:28:57 > 0:29:01to people visiting Arran and if we ask them where it is,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03they will guess that it's maybe the Caribbean
0:29:03 > 0:29:05or the Red Sea or something like that,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08but actually it's just here, it's just a few metres offshore.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11And that's one of the problems - because people can't see it,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15they don't appreciate it to the extent that it should be appreciated.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19And also, it means they're not seeing the damage.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21In 1995, two Arran divers realised
0:29:21 > 0:29:27that the once-vibrant sea bed around this island was dying.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29Together with local volunteers,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32they formed the Community of Arran Seabed Trust,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35which appropriately spells out the word COAST.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Today, Andrew Binnie is the organisation's manager.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43He explained what had caused the problems to a coastline
0:29:43 > 0:29:46that looks pristine to an untrained eye like mine.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Marine Scotland have done studies on this
0:29:48 > 0:29:51and they actually produced a Clyde Ecosystem Report
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and the main reason was simply over-fishing.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57We've just fished it too hard for too long.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58There's been poor management.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01For instance, there was a three-mile limit
0:30:01 > 0:30:03on trawling the whole of the Clyde
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and that was taken away in 1984 during the Thatcher era
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and we're now having to fight hard
0:30:10 > 0:30:14to get back to where we were quite a number of years ago.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17In 2008, after many years of campaigning,
0:30:17 > 0:30:22COAST established Scotland's first and only no-take zone
0:30:22 > 0:30:24here in Lamlash Bay.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26It's very simple.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30No-one can remove any marine life whatsoever from this area.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33What this has demonstrated is that a local community
0:30:33 > 0:30:37can have a big influence on how their local marine environment is managed.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42There's no fences out there. There's no barriers in the waters there
0:30:42 > 0:30:47so as fish or crustaceans get bigger, they get more and more fertile.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53So all the egg, all the spawn from those animals is dispersed,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56not just in the no-take zone, but outside the no-take zone as well
0:30:56 > 0:31:00so it has a huge benefit on surrounding waters.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07So I suppose interpretative signs like this are quite a handy reminder.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10It gives a very good idea of what's below the water.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12It's actually quite cleverly done.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14We've got different signs that tell you things
0:31:14 > 0:31:18about different species, so stuff on here about seals and moon jellyfish
0:31:18 > 0:31:21and the kelps and you can see cushion stars there.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23The kids really like the cuckoo wrasse
0:31:23 > 0:31:25because the male cuckoo wrasse starts off as female
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and at a certain stage in his life,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32if there are not enough males around, it converts,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36the odd one converts into male and it becomes more colourful.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38You can tease them by asking them
0:31:38 > 0:31:41to think about what it would be like if they suddenly changed sex.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44- They think that's quite amusing. - That really sticks in their mind.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47Yeah, they remember the cuckoo wrasse.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51And this is us coming out to the north-east corner
0:31:51 > 0:31:53of the no-take zone.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58A marine environment is something we should really feel proud of.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01Personally, we'd like to see a bit more of a visionary approach
0:32:01 > 0:32:03to the way we manage our seas.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06It would be a lot of people and we agree,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08think that it would be good to have
0:32:08 > 0:32:11a return of the three-mile limit exclusion zone
0:32:11 > 0:32:14to trawling within coastal waters.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18We take it for granted, but most people around the world
0:32:18 > 0:32:21don't have anything like these coastlines
0:32:21 > 0:32:24or the diversity of sea life you get off Scotland.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26Are you optimistic about the future?
0:32:26 > 0:32:28If we all do our work and if groups like COAST do their work,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31and if other communities around Scotland
0:32:31 > 0:32:34really take charge of and have a real say in how they manage
0:32:34 > 0:32:35their marine environment,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38it's within our power to completely mess it up,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and we have done that, particularly within Clyde.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45But it's also within our power to manage it effectively.
0:32:45 > 0:32:50And there was some good news in July for this community action group.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53The Scottish Government designated these waters around south Arran
0:32:53 > 0:32:56as a marine protected area.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00A fantastic success story for the local people and their campaign.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09I'm taking a wee break from my journey north
0:33:09 > 0:33:11and I'm travelling from one island to another
0:33:11 > 0:33:16where the community has embraced a completely different culture.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21Holy Isle is only a ten-minute ferry ride from Arran,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24but you enter a very different world.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I first came here over ten years ago
0:33:27 > 0:33:30and I'll never forget being amazed at what I found.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35This island has a spiritual heritage dating back to the 6th century.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39But in the early 1990s, it was bought by the Buddhist community
0:33:39 > 0:33:42at Samye Ling in the Borders.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Today, the monks and nuns use it as a spiritual and recreational retreat
0:33:46 > 0:33:50and you might think you were back in Tibet.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Coming into Holy Isle is pure bliss,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56I love it, yes.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59I mean, it's a wonderful place and it does make a difference
0:33:59 > 0:34:02when you're away from your normal daily responsibilities,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04whatever they are or whoever you are.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10Ani Lhamo might seem an unlikely person to be a Buddhist nun.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12She was brought up in Fort William,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14studied English and Psychology at university
0:34:14 > 0:34:17and then became a computer programmer.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Today, she's Secretary to the Abbot at Samye Ling,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23but this highland is a special place for her,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27somewhere where landscape and religion have been intertwined
0:34:27 > 0:34:28throughout history.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Holy Isle has been associated with spiritual life
0:34:32 > 0:34:34for hundreds and hundreds of years.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39That is the essence of its beauty.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41And then on top of that, you have the fact
0:34:41 > 0:34:43that it is almost like it encapsulates Scotland
0:34:43 > 0:34:45in one tiny island.
0:34:45 > 0:34:51It has everything - the sea, the mountain and it's so peaceful.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Is the island broken up into areas for particular purposes?
0:34:56 > 0:34:58There are the areas that are fenced off for trees,
0:34:58 > 0:35:03there are the areas that are free for the animals,
0:35:03 > 0:35:07there are the places where the humans live
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and there are areas where humans just don't go,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14some, because they physically can't because there are cliffs
0:35:14 > 0:35:18and some, because we want them to be preserved as a natural space
0:35:18 > 0:35:22so that the animals and the plants have them for themselves.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Ani, I'm really taken by this.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29At first, I thought it was just a painting on the rock,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31but it's actually a carving.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35- It's carved, yes. This is White Tara.- White Tara?
0:35:35 > 0:35:40And White Tara is a symbol of compassion and in particular,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45it's the kind of compassion that brings good health and long life.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49And then every aspect of her appearance
0:35:49 > 0:35:52symbolises something connected to that.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56So for example, the white colour of her skin...
0:35:57 > 0:36:02..it symbolises the fact that she's very peaceful and loving.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And then if you look on the palms of her hands,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08her forehead, also the soles of her feet, there's a little eye,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11so she has seven eyes altogether.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14So the idea of that is that she has all these eyes
0:36:14 > 0:36:18that are constantly looking at the suffering of sentient beings
0:36:18 > 0:36:20- so that she's ready to help them. - You say this is White Tara.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23That would suggest there are other shades of Tara.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25Mm, there are, there are 21 altogether
0:36:25 > 0:36:27and they're all a different colour.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32Why Holy Isle? Why are you actually here in Presbyterian Scotland?
0:36:32 > 0:36:35I think it's a series of minor miracles.
0:36:35 > 0:36:36So first of all,
0:36:36 > 0:36:42a couple of Tibetan Lamas ended up in the Borders in Samye Ling in 1967.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47And then the younger brother of one of these Lamas went to America
0:36:47 > 0:36:49and spent a few years in retreat.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52And it's towards the end of 1990,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55the current owner of Holy Isle
0:36:55 > 0:36:59had apparently had a kind of vision or dream
0:36:59 > 0:37:02where the mother of Christ had appeared to her
0:37:02 > 0:37:06and told her that she should give the island to the Buddhists.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Except she wasn't exactly giving.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11She did want some financial remuneration,
0:37:11 > 0:37:14so she approached Lama Yeshe
0:37:14 > 0:37:18and he visited the island and he was very much taken with it
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and he said he'd had a dream when he was in retreat
0:37:21 > 0:37:23that he'd been in a place like that
0:37:23 > 0:37:26and he'd actually told his teacher and the teacher said,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30"It's just a dream, carry on," didn't pay any attention to him.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32But then he said, "That was my dream."
0:37:32 > 0:37:35So then he thought, "This is my island."
0:37:35 > 0:37:38But eventually, he went back to the owner and said,
0:37:38 > 0:37:40"Look, will you accept this amount?"
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Which was less than half she was asking for, and she accepted.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51One of the problems with long-distance walking
0:37:51 > 0:37:53is that you're constantly on the move.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Now and again, you come across a spot
0:37:55 > 0:37:59where you just want to stop and soak up the atmosphere a little bit
0:37:59 > 0:38:03and Holy Isle is most definitely one of those places.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07But instead, I'll be moving on and the hills beckon.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Tomorrow, it's the high hills of the Isle of Arran.
0:38:23 > 0:38:29I'm making my way through the grounds of Brodick Castle and...
0:38:29 > 0:38:32it's hot and sticky here in the trees.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35I'm headed for Goat Fell, the highest mountain in Arran
0:38:35 > 0:38:39and then I'm going to drop down the other side to the high bealach
0:38:39 > 0:38:42between Glen Rosa and Glen Sannox
0:38:42 > 0:38:44and follow Glen Sannox down to the coast.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51I think...I hope, there's going to be a bit of a breeze on the hillside
0:38:51 > 0:38:53and I can get away from the stickiness and the midges.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06The Hills of Arran have always been very special to me.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09It was here...
0:39:09 > 0:39:12about 40-odd years ago that I decided
0:39:12 > 0:39:14I wanted to spend the rest of my life climbing mountains
0:39:14 > 0:39:17and exploring wild places.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I remember that day as though it was yesterday.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21It was a bit like today, it was hot and sunny
0:39:21 > 0:39:23and we'd been up on the high ridges.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25And we were jogging down here,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29jogging because we had to catch the evening ferry from Brodick.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32And I thought to myself what a wonderful day we've had,
0:39:32 > 0:39:37"I want to spend the rest of my life doing this."
0:39:37 > 0:39:39The fateful decision had been made.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43And you know this, I've never regretted it.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51These Arran Hills are the remnants of a volcano
0:39:51 > 0:39:53dating from 60 million years ago.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59Goat Fell itself is 2,866 feet,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01yet in spite of not being a Munro,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04its close proximity to the island's largest community at Brodick
0:40:04 > 0:40:07has ensured a succession of boot prints to the summit
0:40:07 > 0:40:10that stretches back down the years.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13And there's been the odd mystery too.
0:40:13 > 0:40:19In 1889, the body of an English hillwalker, Edwin Rose,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23was found in a howth - that's a sort of stone shelter -
0:40:23 > 0:40:24on the slopes of Goat Fell.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29His skull had been cracked open and his back was broken,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33injuries that were consistent with a long fall.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Shortly afterwards, the police apprehended another hillwalker,
0:40:37 > 0:40:4125-year-old John Laurie, and charged him with Rose's murder.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Now, Laurie confessed to having robbed the body
0:40:44 > 0:40:47but he said he didn't kill Rose.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Despite the support of the mountaineering establishment
0:40:50 > 0:40:54of the time, he was eventually convicted of Rose's murder.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00He continued to plead his innocence until he died in 1930
0:41:00 > 0:41:05in the Lunatic Division, as it was known, of Perth Prison.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12So was Edwin Rose pushed or did he fall?
0:41:12 > 0:41:13I guess we'll never know the answer.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37Oh, my word, this view is sensational.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I can think of very few other places in Scotland
0:41:40 > 0:41:44where the view is as rugged and grand as this.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Look at that ridge coming down from Beinn Tarsuinn,
0:41:48 > 0:41:51over A Chir onto Cir Mhor, with Caisteal Abhail behind it there
0:41:51 > 0:41:54and its tight ridge going down to the Witch's Step,
0:41:54 > 0:41:56the Ceum na Caillich.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59And then in front of me here, North Goat Fell
0:41:59 > 0:42:03with a lovely ridge running out to the Cioch na h-Oighe,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06with the whole of the Firth of Clyde in the background.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08It's absolutely fantastic.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19I've always had a feeling of sadness leaving the high tops behind
0:42:19 > 0:42:22and today, the weather's been exceptional.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26But Arran is about far more than just getting to the summits.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Glen Sannox is a beautiful, tranquil place
0:42:29 > 0:42:32and as the clouds start to cover the mountains behind me,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35a perfect finale to my time in the hills.
0:42:47 > 0:42:48I've come down from the glen
0:42:48 > 0:42:53and I'm now on the route of the Isle of Arran Coastal Way.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56This is a trail that was set up by two local men,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Dick Sim and Hugh McKerrell
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and it was their dream to see a long-distance walking path
0:43:01 > 0:43:04circumnavigate the whole of the island of Arran.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09And in 2003, they invited me to come across
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and officially open the route.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12And while I was here,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16I took the opportunity of walking the route over four or five days.
0:43:17 > 0:43:18In those days, I have to say,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21much of the route was a bit rough and ready,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23but in between times, they've smoothed out a lot of it
0:43:23 > 0:43:26and today, it's a pretty grand route.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Also, in between times, sadly, both Dick and Hugh have passed away,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34but I do like to think that wherever they are,
0:43:34 > 0:43:36they're looking down on their creation,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39the Isle of Arran Coastal Way, with some pride,
0:43:39 > 0:43:40justified pride, I think.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44So, guys, wherever you are, thank you, it was a great idea.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06I've been spending a bit of time searching out a geological feature
0:44:06 > 0:44:09that's known as Hutton's Unconformity.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14In the 18th century, Professor James Hutton
0:44:14 > 0:44:17questioned the orthodox thinking of the time
0:44:17 > 0:44:20that the Earth was 10,000 years old
0:44:20 > 0:44:24and had been formed by one single great cataclysmic force.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31In his travels around Scotland, he had come across layers of rock
0:44:31 > 0:44:35that had been formed and created by different forces
0:44:35 > 0:44:37and at different times
0:44:37 > 0:44:40and these layers led him to believe
0:44:40 > 0:44:43that the Earth wasn't 10,000 years old,
0:44:43 > 0:44:47but probably very many millions of years old.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50Now, I'm at this area here, and to my untrained eye,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53it just looks very similar to other coastal areas,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55but I know many, many geologists
0:44:55 > 0:44:58who get very, very excited at coming to an area like this,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01that actually changed our complete thinking
0:45:01 > 0:45:03about the age of this planet we live on.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18I've just come across this rather nice view indicator
0:45:18 > 0:45:21and there's a lovely bit of writing on here
0:45:21 > 0:45:23that I think describes me to a tee.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26It says, "But tired and hungry though he be
0:45:26 > 0:45:30"and with the very smoke of the little inn curling before his eyes,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34"let him pause for a moment at the entrance of the loch
0:45:34 > 0:45:37"and sitting himself on a granite boulder,
0:45:37 > 0:45:40"quietly contemplate the placid scene before him."
0:45:40 > 0:45:42It's a scene describing Lochranza
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and that's exactly where I'm heading for.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47Lochranza, then the ferry across to Claonaig
0:45:47 > 0:45:49and the low-lying lands of Kintyre.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09I'm crossing over the Peninsula of Kintyre
0:46:09 > 0:46:13and under normal circumstances, I'd probably go north from here,
0:46:13 > 0:46:17but I've found myself so close to a place that I've always wanted to
0:46:17 > 0:46:19visit that I simply can't resist it.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22So I'm following this short bit of road down to Kennacraig
0:46:22 > 0:46:25and the ferry to Islay.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32I'm visiting five islands in the course of The Western Way
0:46:32 > 0:46:35and three are now behind me.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37The rugged sea cliffs of Ailsa Craig
0:46:37 > 0:46:42formed a stark contrast to the gentle scenery of Holy Isle.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46Arran, as it is often said, really is Scotland in miniature.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Now I'm heading for my final two islands
0:46:50 > 0:46:52and I can't wait to explore them.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03You know, I've been promising myself a visit to Islay
0:47:03 > 0:47:08for years and years and I'm really delighted to have finally made it.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10I'm pleased to be here,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14despite the fact that there are no mountains on Islay over 500m.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18But that's not really a problem on a long walk like this
0:47:18 > 0:47:20where mountaintops aren't the priority.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23I'm actually much more interested in discovering what I can
0:47:23 > 0:47:26about the landscapes and the places I'm passing through
0:47:26 > 0:47:29and I suspect I've got quite a lot to learn about Islay.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48Whisky distilling, agriculture
0:47:48 > 0:47:51and tourism are the main industries here today.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55But from Viking times right through to the end of the 19th century,
0:47:55 > 0:47:59a major industry was lead ore and silver mining.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05Here at Mulreesh was the biggest mine on the island
0:48:05 > 0:48:09and it's kind of hard to imagine in this beautiful place,
0:48:09 > 0:48:14this lovely, quiet place, that this was a major centre of industry.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18There's not much left today, other than the old engine house,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22a few bits of rubble and several mine shafts.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46You may well wonder what I'm looking for,
0:48:46 > 0:48:50but I noticed on the map an indication of a chapel
0:48:50 > 0:48:52and that intrigued me,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55because this is a fairly quiet, remote part of Islay,
0:48:55 > 0:48:59not much habitation and a chapel would suggest
0:48:59 > 0:49:01quite a lot of buildings around.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04So I've come looking for a pile of rubble really,
0:49:04 > 0:49:05but I haven't found that.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09What I've found is a couple of mounds of what looks like an
0:49:09 > 0:49:13outer wall and an inner wall, which may well have been the chapel.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Now, the buildings at the iron ore mine were late 19th-century
0:49:19 > 0:49:23and they're still fairly intact, so I would suggest this is much older.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28And I would guess, only a guess, maybe 14th, 15th century,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31possibly even 11th, 12th century.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32But I would also guess
0:49:32 > 0:49:36that this isn't a congregational chapel as such, but a cell,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40a Kil in the Gaelic, as in Kilmartin or Kilhone
0:49:40 > 0:49:45or Kilbeg, a place where a holy man would come and pray and meditate.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49And what a lovely place to come and pray.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Islay is steeped in history
0:49:53 > 0:49:57and there's an undisputed jewel in its crown, Finlaggan.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Between the 13th and 15th centuries,
0:50:01 > 0:50:06this was the seat of the Lords of the Isles and their headquarters.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Surprisingly, the importance of this site
0:50:08 > 0:50:11wasn't realised until very recently.
0:50:11 > 0:50:1430 years ago, a group of local people came together
0:50:14 > 0:50:16to preserve this iconic place.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18It was only in about 1980
0:50:18 > 0:50:22that the schoolmaster at Keills, Donald McKechnie,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25was very keen for Scottish history and thought that this place
0:50:25 > 0:50:29should be made more available to the public
0:50:29 > 0:50:31so they could come and see the ruins.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34And how much did you know about it at that time?
0:50:34 > 0:50:35Oh, very, very little.
0:50:35 > 0:50:38Well, never taught in the school,
0:50:38 > 0:50:42parents were too busy working and nobody went near it.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46We're looking down there on an island and some ruins on it.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49What would that have looked like, do you think, in your mind's eye?
0:50:49 > 0:50:51Oh, a very, very busy place,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55because they would always have folk coming and going
0:50:55 > 0:50:58to the other part of the sea kingdom, as they called it,
0:50:58 > 0:51:03and it's such a fertile place, they'd be able to grow barley,
0:51:03 > 0:51:08to brew the ale and there would be deer and wild boar
0:51:08 > 0:51:13and going up the side of the hill there, there's
0:51:13 > 0:51:17the small crofting township, which would've been in existence then.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Down the shores of the loch,
0:51:19 > 0:51:22there's places where there's been settlements.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26This is probably one of the most significant sites in the Hebrides.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30How proud are you as a local man that this is here on Islay?
0:51:30 > 0:51:33Oh, I am very proud. This was the ancient seat,
0:51:33 > 0:51:38and all the clan chiefs came here for inauguration ceremonies.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40It is the most important site.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45In 1989, excavations at Finlaggan began in earnest
0:51:45 > 0:51:49and continued for the next eight years.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53The driving force behind this work was archaeologist David Caldwell.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Until recently, he had the grand title
0:51:56 > 0:52:01of Keeper of Scotland and Europe at the National Museums of Scotland.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05The physical remains here at Finlaggan are hugely impressive,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08but David's in no doubt that the significance of the site
0:52:08 > 0:52:10goes far beyond the buildings.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12This society, this culture,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16they're what underlies our image of who we are as Scots.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18When we think of people in the Medieval period,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22we think of great towns, we think of great churches, cathedrals,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26we think of streets and merchants and all sorts of activities.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Now, the people who lived here,
0:52:28 > 0:52:30the Lords of the Isles and their people,
0:52:30 > 0:52:32they knew about all that but they didn't go for it.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35They developed an alternative way of doing things.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38I really like the notion of an alternative society in medieval times.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40What made these people different?
0:52:40 > 0:52:44It was a conscious way of looking at things.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48The Lords of the Isles in many ways were seen as kings.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52They had a vast population, they were powerful,
0:52:52 > 0:52:54they could field large armies
0:52:54 > 0:52:57and yet they weren't based in cities.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01There were opinions that they should actually integrate much more
0:53:01 > 0:53:03with the Kingdom of Scots
0:53:03 > 0:53:07and there were other opinions that they should be standoffish.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11And it was those latter opinions, if you like, that won through.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Now, there's a couple of very obvious remains here.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Do these two buildings date back to Medieval times too?
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Yes, the one you're looking at up there is the chapel
0:53:22 > 0:53:24and it was very important to the Lords of the Isles
0:53:24 > 0:53:26to have a chapel on the island
0:53:26 > 0:53:30because it meant that they had a clergy and they had a chaplain,
0:53:30 > 0:53:34a guy who was effectively doing their administration for them.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37And that's probably where the documents would've been written
0:53:37 > 0:53:40and witnessed and there's a graveyard the other side
0:53:40 > 0:53:43and evidence for a commemorative cross.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46And the other building you're looking at started off life
0:53:46 > 0:53:49as a medieval addition to the Great Hall,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51but the way you're looking at it now
0:53:51 > 0:53:55is the way it was transformed into a house,
0:53:55 > 0:53:59a dwelling house, for the big man here in the 16th century
0:53:59 > 0:54:02after the end of the Lordship of the Isles.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06Because the thing about a lot of these archaeological sites
0:54:06 > 0:54:08is that they're not just all one period
0:54:08 > 0:54:10and when you see all these humps and bumps,
0:54:10 > 0:54:14you're looking at buildings and features of different depth.
0:54:16 > 0:54:17This is a substantial mound.
0:54:17 > 0:54:19It's the ruins of the Great Hall,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23the largest, most important building on the island in the Medieval period.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24And you know what?
0:54:24 > 0:54:28It doesn't actually look all that big at the moment, does it?
0:54:28 > 0:54:32But if you saw this with its walls upstanding, you would realise
0:54:32 > 0:54:37it was actually as big in fact say as the hall in Linlithgow Palace.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41You've got a main chamber here and at the far end of it there,
0:54:41 > 0:54:46we know there was a big fireplace where the lord himself would sit.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49And then across the hall, you can see just back there,
0:54:49 > 0:54:50there's a cross wall
0:54:50 > 0:54:54which separated off the service area next to the kitchens.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59It was part of what being a great lord was all about,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02having a great hall where you could entertain important people,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05give them far too much to drink and to eat
0:55:05 > 0:55:08and music playing in the background.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09I have an image of these guys
0:55:09 > 0:55:11actually sitting out in their deckchairs...
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Well, they didn't have deckchairs, all right, but you know what I mean.
0:55:15 > 0:55:16..on a beautiful day like this
0:55:16 > 0:55:18and they would have their goblets of claret
0:55:18 > 0:55:21and they'd be eating their nuts
0:55:21 > 0:55:24and having very learned, educated discussions.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27These were the people that were often seen as savages
0:55:27 > 0:55:29by other parts of the country,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32but I don't think that's a very fair way of looking at them.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35When we walked in here at first,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38I had this distinct feeling that you were almost coming home.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43I've spent so much time since 1988
0:55:43 > 0:55:48thinking, puzzling over this site and what it's all about
0:55:48 > 0:55:49and trying to test it
0:55:49 > 0:55:53to make sure you get the best possible interpretation.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57So it's so much in my mind, I literally do recognise this site
0:55:57 > 0:56:01from long experience on a stone by stone basis,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05so that when I came down here with you today,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09I was looking at it as if it was a large part of me.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34A constant theme of these long walks of mine
0:56:34 > 0:56:39is the fact that I've been following Scotland's less-trodden byways
0:56:39 > 0:56:41as opposed to the busier highways
0:56:41 > 0:56:45and I'm just amazed that I've actually walked
0:56:45 > 0:56:47from the Mull of Galloway all the way to Islay
0:56:47 > 0:56:50following paths and tracks like that.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53And it's also been a real sense of discovery for me,
0:56:53 > 0:56:55because a lot of the areas I've passed through,
0:56:55 > 0:56:57I hadn't visited previously.
0:56:58 > 0:57:00Finlaggan was just amazing,
0:57:00 > 0:57:02because for as long as I can remember,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05I've had an interest in the Lords of the Isles
0:57:05 > 0:57:08and to actually go to their seat was very, very special.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11And the walk I had up Goat Fell,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13although I've been on Goat Fell many times before,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I think that was probably the best conditions
0:57:16 > 0:57:18I've ever had on that hill.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21And it was a real privilege to get something of an insight
0:57:21 > 0:57:24into the Buddhist community on Holy Isle.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28The Ayrshire Coast was as I've never seen it before
0:57:28 > 0:57:30and I'd never actually been to Mull of Galloway
0:57:30 > 0:57:33and I was just totally taken with not only the Mull,
0:57:33 > 0:57:35but the Rhins of Galloway
0:57:35 > 0:57:38and that beautiful walk right up the coastline.
0:57:40 > 0:57:41So here I am on Islay,
0:57:41 > 0:57:44a place that I've been trying to get to for such a long time.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49That brings me to the end of this programme,
0:57:49 > 0:57:52but I'm looking ahead to the future now.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57The Paps of Jura are hiding themselves from me at the moment,
0:57:57 > 0:57:59but I hope by the time I get across to Jura,
0:57:59 > 0:58:01they'll have cleared.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05And then from the Paps, it'll back onto the mainland,
0:58:05 > 0:58:08up the Cowal Way, an area I don't really know at all,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11to Loch Lomond, then up a section of familiar territory
0:58:11 > 0:58:14on the West Highland Way up to Bridge of Orchy
0:58:14 > 0:58:16and then a fantastic stretch of country,
0:58:16 > 0:58:20through the Black Mount, one of my favourite lochs, Loch Etive,
0:58:20 > 0:58:26Taynuilt and lovely Glen Lonan, all the way to journey's end at Oban.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30But that's all to come and I hope you can join me
0:58:30 > 0:58:34as we take that remarkable journey along the Western Way.