0:00:05 > 0:00:09Welcome to the Western Way - a long-distance walk that
0:00:09 > 0:00:13starts at the Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point
0:00:13 > 0:00:16in the country, and finishes in the Highland town of Oban.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22I'm doing this new walk for one very simple reason, to celebrate
0:00:22 > 0:00:26some of the finest landscape you'll find anywhere in the world.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31That's a bold claim, but stay with me and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46The total distance of this new Western Way is 250 miles.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's a route that's already taken me from sea level to mountain summit
0:00:49 > 0:00:53and I've achieved two long-held ambitions,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56to visit the volcanic island of Ailsa Craig
0:00:56 > 0:00:59and the ancient seat of the Lords of the Isles on Islay.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03It's been a memorable journey so far
0:01:03 > 0:01:06and what lies ahead is no less exciting.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12I've just taken the short ferry ride between Islay and Jura,
0:01:12 > 0:01:17an island that I haven't set foot on for well over 30 years.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21So for that reason alone I want to potter about a little bit for a
0:01:21 > 0:01:24while and discover how much the island has changed
0:01:24 > 0:01:26since the last time I was here.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And I've just realised that, psychologically at least,
0:01:31 > 0:01:37I'm roughly about the halfway point on my journey along this Western Way.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42I say psychologically because Jura is the final island on my journey,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and for that reason alone I think it will be well worthwhile just
0:01:45 > 0:01:48lingering here for a bit longer.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53The Mull of Galloway is a long way behind me
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and I'm already at the halfway point.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Ahead is about 125 miles of great walking.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Once I've explored Jura, I head back to the mainland
0:02:05 > 0:02:10and an area that deserves to be better know - the Cowal Peninsula.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Then I'm on familiar ground as I travel the West Highland Way
0:02:14 > 0:02:17and onwards through the rugged Black Mount hills surrounding
0:02:17 > 0:02:18Glen Kinglass,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21some of the wildest land in the west,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23before journey's end at Oban.
0:02:24 > 0:02:30All that's still to come. First it's a return visit to somewhere special.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38For two Scottish islands that are separately by only
0:02:38 > 0:02:40a few hundred metres of water, it would be hard
0:02:40 > 0:02:44to imagine two places that were so different.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50Islay is fairly low-lying, is very fertile and is quite well-populated,
0:02:50 > 0:02:57while Jura is mountainous, bare and relatively devoid of people.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Jura is the eighth largest island in Scotland,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03yet in terms of population it's only ranked 31st.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05For someone like me
0:03:05 > 0:03:09who actively seeks out the wild places, these are the
0:03:09 > 0:03:11ingredients of heaven on earth.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16MAN WHISTLES
0:03:16 > 0:03:18I'll be heading into the hills shortly,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20but before I do
0:03:20 > 0:03:23I want to find out more about this island. And who better
0:03:23 > 0:03:26to tell me about what it's like to live and work here than Grant Rozga?
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Come on.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33He was born and brought up in Jura and has no plans to leave just yet.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36I caught up with him as he worked on the family farm.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40We've got about 100... 150 header, head o' yow.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44We've just finished the shearing, actually, in the last few days.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Cattle-wise, we've got about 30, 35 cattle now.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Compared to Islay, it's not brilliant at all,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53but you just really have to make do with what you can.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55It's pretty good.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59Some fields down behind you that we've brought back in
0:03:59 > 0:04:01and it's getting there.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04What was it like growing up? Did you ever feel
0:04:04 > 0:04:06disconnected from the outside world?
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Not disconnected, but I suppose it's just very different.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And in some ways we've maybe not got the opportunity to do certain
0:04:13 > 0:04:16things that you've maybe got the chance in other places, but in other
0:04:16 > 0:04:19ways it was just free-range here, we could just do what we wanted.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23We were always on the beach or just knocking about on the farm or
0:04:23 > 0:04:26whatever, always up to nonsense.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28So where did you go to school, Grant?
0:04:28 > 0:04:31In Craighouse, which every day that meant a trip over for my mum
0:04:31 > 0:04:33and dad to Knockrome
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and then the school bus would come up to Knockrome and down to Craighouse.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And then high school was a bit different,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42obviously we went to Islay High School,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45which entailed a ferry journey as well, which was pretty good
0:04:45 > 0:04:48because some days if it was stormy we would all have our fingers crossed.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Going down to the ferry we would think, "This is the day we're
0:04:51 > 0:04:53"going to miss this exam," or whatever.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56So it was good, there was always a wee bit of drama.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00After leaving school Grant studied sports therapy in Glasgow,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02but he couldn't wait to return home.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06And he's not someone to take this dramatic landscape for granted.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09He's a hill runner and regularly takes part in the annual
0:05:09 > 0:05:15Jura Fell Race, a gruelling run over seven mountain tops.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17This year I managed to break the four hours -
0:05:17 > 0:05:19you get a special wee cup
0:05:19 > 0:05:23from the distillery for doing that, that's pretty good going.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26But anyone who gets round the course is going well, is going well.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28- It's a tough race.- It's tough.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32The terrain is just... it's very, very hard going.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34The path isn't always there.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37If you stray from the path at all it can be...you can get into trouble
0:05:37 > 0:05:41quite quickly, especially if it's misty and the paths themselves are...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45it's scree, there's small stones in with boulders and you've
0:05:45 > 0:05:49got to be quite nimble to get out of the way if something's coming down.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51The day is good, the fell race day itself,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54but the things you see on the island -
0:05:54 > 0:05:55it just blows you away.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59No matter how many times you've been up, you see some great sights.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01So despite the fact that you've lived your life here,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05these natural attractions are still quite special to you, you still get excited by them?
0:06:05 > 0:06:06Oh, definitely.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Put a rucksack on and a tent and just go for it for a few days.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14There's always something new to see or... It's a stunning place.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19There's more to Jura than just the elemental landscape.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22There's a vibrant community too.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Over 15 years ago the local residents came together to
0:06:25 > 0:06:27form a Development Trust,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30with the aim of ensuring the long-term viability of the island.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36But whilst looking ahead they are also celebrating the past,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40making audio recordings of those with long-term connections
0:06:40 > 0:06:41to the place.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45It was an ambitious project that's since received a national award
0:06:45 > 0:06:49and has preserved those memories for future generations.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54We've just passed Sandy Buie's gate. We still say Sandy Buie's,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Sandy Darroch's, all the old folk that were here.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00And we say Annie Campbell's house
0:07:00 > 0:07:05or Burnside, or... The old names still stick, which is nice.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09And Mrs Leonard's house, which is all derelict now,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12but we still remember the people that lived there.
0:07:14 > 0:07:20Heading up this oral history project is a comparative newcomer to Jura.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Jane Carswell came to the island six years ago
0:07:23 > 0:07:27and welcomed the opportunity to delve into its roots.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Because it isn't my birthright knowing this place, it was
0:07:30 > 0:07:33a complete surprise to me when I first turned up.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35And now having got to know members of the community
0:07:35 > 0:07:38so well, I feel really steeped in this place.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Can you give me an idea of some of the stories
0:07:41 > 0:07:43that perhaps surprised you?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45I remember interviewing one man who lived
0:07:45 > 0:07:48way on the west coast of Jura in the late 1920s.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51When the war came along he had to, with his uncles,
0:07:51 > 0:07:56go over to the west coast and, sort of, look out for bodies.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58There was tremendous wreckage then.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02You can't visualise, no use even trying to visualise it.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05It was piled mountainous high with wood
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and stuff from ships that were getting torpedoed.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11And quite a few bodies were washed ashore too,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13dragged above high-water mark.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16We used to cover them with wreckage and driftwood and that
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and inform...the police.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22The procurator fiscal used to come and take them over by horse
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and sledge.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Most of them were taken away,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30but there was one chap, a Norwegian, he was buried in Inverlussa...
0:08:30 > 0:08:35for a good number of years in the cemetery at Inverlussa.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38But the war graves came eventually, I think
0:08:38 > 0:08:41it was only about maybe 25 year ago...
0:08:41 > 0:08:42they dug up the graves
0:08:42 > 0:08:46and took him away to Norway where he belonged to.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51How important is it to have these collections
0:08:51 > 0:08:54available for generations in the future?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I think it's really important.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I don't think you can appreciate a place unless you know its history.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03You understand what you've got in common with people,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06what they've been through, the unique things about their lives
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and also the common human experiences.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And because it's voices, people's voices, they're telling you
0:09:12 > 0:09:16first-hand what's happened to them and it's incredibly powerful.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26I'm always fascinated to discover the history behind the landscape.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Yet for me, these places really come alive when I walk out into them
0:09:30 > 0:09:32with just myself and my tent.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I've just been looking for a nice flattish bit of ground.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41The ground here is a wee bit tussocky and a wee bit rough,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44but I've got a nice soft airbed,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47which should, hopefully, even out any sort of bumpy ground.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50And it's great on a long walk like this.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54I tend to mix it between bed and breakfasts and camping,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56but camping is my preference, I have to say.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01You don't have to worry about being locked out at night.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04You don't have to worry about noisy neighbours in the next room.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09You just have to make the usual kind of decisions when camping -
0:10:09 > 0:10:13which way to put the door so that I get a nice view in the morning,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17and I think I'll turn it round so that I'm looking out to Islay.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25There is a bit of a trend at the moment for an outdoor activity
0:10:25 > 0:10:29called wild camping...
0:10:30 > 0:10:33..almost as though something new.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36But people have been wild camping since time immemorial and it's been
0:10:36 > 0:10:38called various things over the years,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40but today it's known as wild camping.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46Wild camping on the slopes of the Paps of Jura.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And I know simply by saying that there'll be people all over
0:10:51 > 0:10:55the country drooling at the very thought of it.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57WIND WHISTLES
0:11:00 > 0:11:04I decided to set up camp early today because I want to spend
0:11:04 > 0:11:09the afternoon climbing a little hill that I want to use as a viewpoint.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16In hillwalking circles Jura and the Paps of Jura are synonymous.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20These three very fine mountains, each of them over 2,500 ft,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Beinn a' Chaolais, Beinn an Oir and Beinn Shiantaidh.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27And the curious thing about these three hills is wherever you see them
0:11:27 > 0:11:31from the mainland it always appears that there's only two of them.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34It's almost as though there's one hiding behind the other two
0:11:34 > 0:11:38and I've seen them so many times from various points on the mainland
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and I've thought, "That must be the Paps of Jura but it can't be
0:11:41 > 0:11:43"because I can only see two."
0:11:43 > 0:11:46So today I want to climb this little hill where hopefully I'm going
0:11:46 > 0:11:50to see the three of them and I want to take a photograph and with a
0:11:50 > 0:11:53bit of luck that photograph could be a rarity.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10The hill you can see behind me here
0:12:10 > 0:12:15is Beinn a' Chaolais, it's the most westerly of the Paps of Jura.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19And Pap is an unusual word, it's from the Norse and it means breasts,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23so it's probably quite unusual that there's more than two of them,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25there's actually three of them here.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33I first climbed the Paps of Jura way back in 1973, would you believe?
0:12:33 > 0:12:37And I often wonder why I've never come back to Jura since then.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39I think it's partly
0:12:39 > 0:12:42because there's this feeling that Jura is very remote.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44It's actually no further north than Glasgow,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48but it could be, by the feel of it, somewhere between Scotland
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and Greenland and it does have that feeling of remoteness.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55But it's a wonderful island and it's just fantastic to be back here.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I feel as though these hills are playing with me,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11they're enticing me.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Every so often they almost reveal themselves, reveal something of
0:13:14 > 0:13:18their beauty, and then they suddenly just cover themselves up again.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Just when I thought I was finally going to be in a position to
0:13:22 > 0:13:25get a photograph of all three Paps of Jura it looks as
0:13:25 > 0:13:28though they've decided not to allow it.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Mountains can be so coy and contrary.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47It's absolutely pointless
0:13:47 > 0:13:49trying to take photographs in this sort of foggy murk.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52When the mountains go into this sort of mood there's absolutely
0:13:52 > 0:13:54nothing you can do about it.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56I'm so disappointed.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58I guess it's a good excuse to come back another time, but I'm not
0:13:58 > 0:14:01going to leave it another 30 years.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03In fact, I can't!
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Well, that's me
0:14:18 > 0:14:21completed the islands section of this Western Way walk
0:14:21 > 0:14:23and what a memorable
0:14:23 > 0:14:28section it's been, on the islands of Holy Isle, Arran, Islay and Jura.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32I've just taken the ferry from Tarbert Loch Fyne across to
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Portavadie in the area of Cowal.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38And, you know, it's an area I don't really know very well,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41but it does feel like coming onto another island.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44There's an atmosphere of isolation,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48that it's hidden away from civilisation, and yet it's only
0:14:48 > 0:14:51half an hour, as the eagle flies, from Greenock.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02The fickle finger of fate
0:15:02 > 0:15:06has been instrumental in the development of the Portavadie area.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Back in the 1970s, the Scottish Office identified
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Portavadie as one of the areas in Scotland for mass industrialisation.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18They wanted to build giant concrete oil rigs
0:15:18 > 0:15:22here off the coast of Loch Fyne.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24A great big hole was dug
0:15:24 > 0:15:27and some say it was the deepest hole in Europe.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32A whole block of houses was built to house all the workers.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36And then overnight someone had the bright idea it would be much
0:15:36 > 0:15:39better to build oil rigs out of steel rather than concrete
0:15:39 > 0:15:41and the whole proposal vanished.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47The ghost town lay as a festering sore on the Portavadie landscape
0:15:47 > 0:15:50for many, many years, until 2009,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54when someone had the idea of using the site as a yachting marina.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58In 2010, the whole development was opened,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03with luxury accommodation, holiday homes and a top-class restaurant.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07It's totally transformed the whole of this area.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Other than the ghost town,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13a ghost town in which no-one has actually ever slept.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31You know, I can't think of a better way of exploring this
0:16:31 > 0:16:35whole area of Cowal than by following the 57-mile-long Cowal Way
0:16:35 > 0:16:39that runs from Portavadie to Inveruglas on Loch Lomondside.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The area of Cowal is named after one of the chiefs
0:16:45 > 0:16:50of the four ancient tribes of the Kingdom of Dalriada
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and the area is sequestered from the rest
0:16:53 > 0:16:56of the Scottish mainland by Loch Fyne and Loch Long
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and the great barricade
0:16:58 > 0:17:02of mountains at its northern end that are known as the Arrochar Alps.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09And it's this accessibility by sea that made this such a populous area
0:17:09 > 0:17:14from prehistoric times right through to late medieval times.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Today, it's a lovely quiet area of low-lying hills, lovely glens
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and lots of natural woodland and forests.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26But it's full of all those little secret places where you can go
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and hear the echoes of those former times.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38And I'm reminded of that just a few miles into the Cowal Way.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41This is Asgog Castle.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45It was built in the middle of the 15th century by the Lamont clan,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48who for generations were the most powerful force on this peninsula.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Their rule came to an end in 1646,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57when this castle was besieged by the infamous Campbells,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00a siege which ended with a guarantee of clemency for the Lamonts.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07But the Campbells reneged on that promise with horrific consequences.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09The castle was sacked, burned
0:18:09 > 0:18:15and 200 of the Lamont clan were unceremoniously slaughtered.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18What a stark reminder of our turbulent past.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35You know, I've been so blessed with the weather today.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39I honestly can't think of anywhere else I would rather be,
0:18:39 > 0:18:44with the open road ahead of me and the long shadows of the evening
0:18:44 > 0:18:49and just over that hill the thought of a hearty meal and a soft bed.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I'm off to Tighnabruaich.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04The Cowal Peninsula is often called Argyle's Secret Coast
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and not surprisingly is little known to most walkers.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11That's something one local resident, Jim McLuckie,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14is on a mission to change.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18After 27 years in the Army, he put down his roots here,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21just north of Tighnabruaich.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25When I came here, I was very aware that the likes of Fort William
0:19:25 > 0:19:30and the Lake District to the south were absolutely chock-a-block.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35I just thought, "Here's a superb area which is so easily accessible,
0:19:35 > 0:19:41"but unknown." So what could we do to make it more attractive to walkers?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45From that came the idea of a long-distance footpath from one
0:19:45 > 0:19:49end of the peninsula to the other end of the peninsula.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54- We're just coming into the old Victorian Caladh estate...- Uh-huh.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55..and of course
0:19:55 > 0:20:00a lot of these huge trees would've been planted in Victorian times.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03They were bringing seeds from everywhere - you get the giant
0:20:03 > 0:20:05trees from North America
0:20:05 > 0:20:09and all of the stuff that the then botanists were bringing back.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Jim's spent a lifetime exploring mountains
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and wild places around the world.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16It was a passion that started
0:20:16 > 0:20:20when he was a young lad growing up in the shadow of the Pentland Hills.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25My brother and his two friends went up there with me one day
0:20:25 > 0:20:27and they wanted to climb a cliff,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30which I decided was a bit too much for me, so I was instructed to
0:20:30 > 0:20:34walk round the side of the cliff and we never met up at the top.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38So there I was aged 11, I think, on the top of the Pentland Hills
0:20:38 > 0:20:42thinking, "Hmm, right, I'd better make my way home."
0:20:42 > 0:20:44HE CHUCKLES So that started me off.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47I made my way home from there and I thought, "Well, I quite enjoyed that,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
0:20:49 > 0:20:52My brother wasn't so popular when we got home, because by the time
0:20:52 > 0:20:56- he got home crying, at night... - Having spent ages looking for you.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Having spent ages combing the Pentland Hills for his wee brother -
0:20:59 > 0:21:01I was in bed.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02THEY LAUGH
0:21:05 > 0:21:07So is this where we leave the beach?
0:21:07 > 0:21:10This is it, this is where we go into the jungle.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12The jungle. I was just going to say that...
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- but I thought I'd let you say it. - The woodland path, shall we say.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20It means that we can get up over this next headland.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22So we've got a bit of a handrail here.
0:21:22 > 0:21:23What does that indicate?
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Oh, well, I've heard it described
0:21:25 > 0:21:28as the Hinterstoisser Traverse, which I believe is on the Eiger.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Ah, which is on the North Face of the Eiger.- I don't think it's quite at that level,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35but there's a little bit of a ledge along here and it's a 10ft drop.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Many people regard this as being one of the highlights of this
0:21:38 > 0:21:42section of the route and I tend to agree with them.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It's fairly straightforward, run your hand along the landline
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and there is actually an awkward step here, which is a big step up,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53so you can use the rope to give yourself a pull
0:21:53 > 0:21:55and then you're up and over.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- Was there originally a path up here or...- Yes.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59..is it one's been created?
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Yes, there was a path right the way through here.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06Because of the school back there at Caladh the local farmer's
0:22:06 > 0:22:10family at the other end of this path used to come through here every day.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13And obviously at times it's become overgrown...
0:22:15 > 0:22:20..but the path has always been here, it's always been a public footpath.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22The route is very, very varied,
0:22:22 > 0:22:28from this lovely coastal-community scenery right the way through
0:22:28 > 0:22:33to the Arrochar Alps and where you're walking through fantastic countryside
0:22:33 > 0:22:34with Munros all around you.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44- We've got a hole in the wall here, Cameron.- OK.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48And it's duck down and get through and the next bit is the same,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50but I like it.
0:22:50 > 0:22:51A bit of a fat man's challenge.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53THEY LAUGH
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Oh, yes, this looks a bit difficult.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- It looks like a fat man's challenge. - This is a tight squeeze, Cameron.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01If you're wild camping and you've got a big rucksack on, you might
0:23:01 > 0:23:04have to unship it to get through there.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06- I'll just take a deep breath in. - A deep breath, yes.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08Try and slim myself down...
0:23:10 > 0:23:12..and emerge on the other side.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16You can do another little bit of jungle bashing for the next 400 yards or so.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Tell me, what does this area of Cowal mean to you personally?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Oh, it means everything.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Apart from anything else I'm a Lamont, I belong to the Lamont clan.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I may not have been terribly aware of that
0:23:30 > 0:23:33when I was a boy in Midlothian, but I became aware of it
0:23:33 > 0:23:36when I came to Lamont country and joined the Lamont Society.
0:23:36 > 0:23:42All right, another wee awkward bit here, Cameron. Just mind your step.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47- This is where poles are handy.- Poles are essential, really, aren't they?
0:23:48 > 0:23:52And, as I said, they become more like crutches the further on we go.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54More like Zimmers in my case.
0:23:54 > 0:23:55THEY LAUGH
0:23:59 > 0:24:01One of Jim McLuckie's aims
0:24:01 > 0:24:03when he planned this route was that it would link a number
0:24:03 > 0:24:08of historical sites between the ferry at Portavadie and Loch Lomond.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I've been following the Cowal Way along the length of the lovely Glendaruel,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18which is really an extraordinarily beautiful long glen.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22But at the Clachan of Glendaruel I saw a signpost pointing out
0:24:22 > 0:24:25this church and there's a couple of things I just want to check out here.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27This is Kilmodan Church,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31the cell of St Modan who was a contemporary of Columba.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35But what I want to have a look at here is...apparently there are three
0:24:35 > 0:24:36entrances to this church,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40three entrances in which three separate families would enter.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And while they wanted to go in and talk to God
0:24:43 > 0:24:45they just didn't want to talk to each other.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00While the church is really quite unusual, this is what I really
0:25:00 > 0:25:04want to show you, tucked away in a little corner of the graveyard.
0:25:09 > 0:25:16Wow, look at the treasures in here, these wonderful stone carvings.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20These date back to the 14th and 15th century and it's
0:25:20 > 0:25:24believed there was a school of stone carvers near Loch Awe and these
0:25:24 > 0:25:28people travelled the district carving beautiful stones like this,
0:25:28 > 0:25:34making freestanding Celtic crosses, carving out gravestones and making effigies.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38They were very much the travelling journeymen of the day,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Just absolutely fantastic.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45I could stay here for hours,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48but I've a schedule to keep and other places to see.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51This is the kind of landscape that takes me
0:25:51 > 0:25:56back to many of my earliest explorations into the hills.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Growing up in Glasgow, I'd yearned for those days
0:25:59 > 0:26:02when I could escape from the bustle of the city
0:26:02 > 0:26:04and lose myself in the mountains.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16You know, after all the low-level walking
0:26:16 > 0:26:21on the Cowal Way, it's wonderful to get a little bit of height.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23I've just climbed up over the old hill path that
0:26:23 > 0:26:27runs from Lochgoilhead and down to Ardgartan on the shores of Loch Long.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30It's just great to be up here.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I've got Ben Donich away behind me here and the Brack over there
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and then I can see, away in the distance,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39like the beacon that it is, Ben Lomond.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44So from here my route goes down through the Forest of Ardgartan.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48And, you know, the Forestry Commission have done a fantastic job here creating lots of
0:26:48 > 0:26:51waymarking trails and car parks
0:26:51 > 0:26:53and I hope one of those trails might take
0:26:53 > 0:26:56me along the lochside to Arrochar, where I might even get
0:26:56 > 0:26:58a wee cup of coffee.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Well, I made it to Arrochar and I'm delighted to find a cup of coffee
0:27:23 > 0:27:25with my name on it.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I'm almost at the end of the Cowal Way now.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I won't be seeing many more of these little signs.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I've just passed the old farm at Corriegrogan,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55here in the very heart of the Arrochar Alps, an area that's been
0:27:55 > 0:27:59very prominent in the development of outdoor activities in Scotland.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05There have been three great waves of exploration in the Arrochar Alps.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Away back at the end of the 19th century when the pioneers sailed up
0:28:09 > 0:28:14Loch Long on steamers, or else they sailed up Loch Lomond to Tarbert and
0:28:14 > 0:28:18then climbed the hills of the Cobbler and Beinn Narnain and Beinn Ime.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And then during the years of the Great Depression,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25when the guys would escape the tedium of the dole queue and come
0:28:25 > 0:28:29north here and climb these hills that were pretty accessible to Glasgow.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33And then again in the 1950s, when a bunch
0:28:33 > 0:28:36of Clydeside shipyard workers, who called themselves the
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Creagh Dhu Mountaineering Club,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40really pushed the standards of rock climbing
0:28:40 > 0:28:44in Scotland by some of the great routes that they put up on the
0:28:44 > 0:28:46steep flanks of the Cobbler.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Now it's time to leave the Arrochar Alps, but I'll
0:28:54 > 0:28:57still be surrounded by big hills as I head north through The Trossachs.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02Ahead of me is the largest inland stretch of water in Britain
0:29:02 > 0:29:04and one of Scotland's most famous lochs.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Not being much a swimmer, I've decided to cross Loch Lomond in the style
0:29:12 > 0:29:17of the medieval monks or some of those early mountaineering pioneers.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20I'm heading for Inversnaid, where I hope to renew acquaintanceship
0:29:20 > 0:29:23with a dear old friend of mine - the West Highland Way.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40The West Highland Way was created away back in 1980 and it's fair to
0:29:40 > 0:29:45say at the time many of us in the outdoor community in Scotland
0:29:45 > 0:29:49weren't very happy about the idea of a signposted long-distance trail.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53We felt it was a foreign concept in a country where we already had
0:29:53 > 0:29:56a de facto freedom to roam.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00But today tens of thousands of people walk the route every year.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02It's been a phenomenal success.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06I've walked it four or five times myself and I've always
0:30:06 > 0:30:07thoroughly enjoyed it.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Towards the end of the 19th century,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30the poet and Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins
0:30:30 > 0:30:32came here to Inversnaid
0:30:32 > 0:30:36during a time when he was working in the deprived areas in Glasgow.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39And when he was here he wrote a poem,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43a poem that has become one of the great homages to wild nature.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49"Where would the world be once bereft of wet and wildness?
0:30:49 > 0:30:54"Oh, let them be left, wildness and wet.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57"Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet."
0:30:57 > 0:31:01I strongly recommend you get a hold of that poem and read it
0:31:01 > 0:31:02and catch his vision
0:31:02 > 0:31:06of the white horse charging down the Inversnaid Burn, it's tremendous.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08I just wish I could write poetry like that.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Well, well, well.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37You know, I've spent hours,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39literally hours, looking for Rob Roy's cave
0:31:39 > 0:31:42and I've always searched on that side of the path.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45I never actually thought of looking on the Loch side.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49But they've got a signpost now, so it must be true.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51I really have to go down and have a look.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56Rob Roy, the legendary Chief of the Clan MacGregor.
0:31:56 > 0:31:57Let's find his cave.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I think I've found it,
0:32:11 > 0:32:15although it's more of a niche under the rocks than a proper cave
0:32:15 > 0:32:20and not unlike hundreds of other niches under rocks in the whole area.
0:32:20 > 0:32:25I'm a wee bit sceptical because not that long ago I discovered that,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29although this is known as Rob Boy's cave, a number of years ago
0:32:29 > 0:32:32it was known as King Robert's cave after Robert the Bruce.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34And I have absolutely no doubt in my mind
0:32:34 > 0:32:36that at some time in history
0:32:36 > 0:32:39it's been known as Bonnie Prince Charlie's cave.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42It seems we've got hundreds of Rob Roy's caves,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Robert the Bruce's caves and Bonnie Prince Charlie's caves
0:32:45 > 0:32:46all over the Western Highlands.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50And I have this great fear that visitors to Scotland
0:32:50 > 0:32:55will start to think all our national heroes were Troglodytes.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Or, even worse, that 200 years ago we all lived in caves.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Loch Lomond forms part of the Highland Fault Line,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13the major geological divide
0:33:13 > 0:33:15separating the Highlands from the Lowlands.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20I'm now two thirds around of the way up the new Western Way,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22but who's counting the miles?
0:33:22 > 0:33:23Certainly not me,
0:33:23 > 0:33:28because every step through this wonderful landscape is a delight.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32This is my kind of country, and I'm not alone in thinking that.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38The romantic poets simply loved Loch Lomond and surrounding features,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42like this, the Falls of Falloch in Glen Falloch.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46William Wordsworth came here with his sister, Dorothy,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and their good friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52And, while Coleridge waxed lyrical about the falls
0:33:52 > 0:33:55and how it sounded like the rumbling voice of the mountain,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59William and his sister, Dorothy, weren't so enthused.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02They said Glen Falloch should be interpreted
0:34:02 > 0:34:05as "the veil of the awful sounds".
0:34:05 > 0:34:07But it has to be said, Dorothy did go on to be
0:34:07 > 0:34:09a bit of a serial complainer.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Ever onwards, my route continues up the West Highland Way
0:34:19 > 0:34:22to Bridge of Orchy, before it turns left
0:34:22 > 0:34:27through Glen Kinglass and the magnificent Black Mount hills.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Then it's along the shore of Loch Etive,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33before a final stretch down Glen Lonan to my finish point at Oban.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40Someone who loves these wild places as much as I do is Andrew Greig.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43He's an award-winning novelist, a poet,
0:34:43 > 0:34:48a musician and a mountaineer who's explored not only Scotland
0:34:48 > 0:34:50but also the great ranges of the Himalaya.
0:34:51 > 0:34:56These landscapes have formed a consistent background to his work.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58That's an eclectic range of interests,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02so is there a common thread that binds them all together?
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I was thinking, I'm not very good at any of them
0:35:04 > 0:35:06but I stand up for my poetry.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09But I never feel myself a proper mountaineer, I never was.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I kind of followed round the people who were very good
0:35:12 > 0:35:14and tried not to get killed.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16But you do have a passion for landscape?
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Oh, aye, this means the world to me, it always has.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23I was brought up in the country near Bannockburn,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27and we used to go, every summer, we'd go off to the West Coast.
0:35:27 > 0:35:33And I just very, very early on went into these kind of dreamy states.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35I found - and I still do when I walk -
0:35:35 > 0:35:37the head gradually empties
0:35:37 > 0:35:41and I stop thinking and just start being here.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45And then you start to notice that the silence
0:35:45 > 0:35:48isn't actually very silent, there's stuff going on all the time.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52And after about two or three hours of walking I not only get tired,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55I then start having different kinds of thoughts.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59They kind of announce themselves and that's often where poems come from.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Would you agree that the Scottish landscape
0:36:01 > 0:36:04has very rich pickings for a writer?
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Well, yes, you can set stories here,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10because the thing about the Scottish hills, they're the right size.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14It's important. You've been in the Alps and the Himalayas.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17We know they're too big to love, to have a personal relationship with.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20English hills are a wee bit on the small side.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21These are just the right size.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24There's not a hill in Scotland you can't go up and down in a day,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28but they're small enough, at the same time, to have a human history
0:36:28 > 0:36:29and human connections to them.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32It's a funny thing, it's only a tenth of the population,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34if that, of Scotland that lives in the Highlands,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36but it's a huge part of our psyche.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40'Many years ago, Andrew struck up an unlikely friendship
0:36:40 > 0:36:43'with one of Scotland's top mountaineers, Mal Duff.'
0:36:44 > 0:36:48'That led to him joining a series of Himalayan expeditions -
0:36:48 > 0:36:51'somewhat strange, you might think, for someone who doesn't claim
0:36:51 > 0:36:53'to be a high altitude climber.'
0:36:53 > 0:36:56I'd written this long poem called Men On Ice.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59This is purely metaphorical, like most poetry is.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02I'd done some hillwalking, but I'd no intention of climbing anything.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05I met this guy in a pub, Mal Duff, and he said,
0:37:05 > 0:37:08"Oh, you're Andy Grieg, you wrote that Men On Ice.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12"I'm going to the Himalayas to climb the Muztagh Tower in a few months.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14"Do you want to come and write about it?"
0:37:14 > 0:37:16And because we'd both had several drinks,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18I said, "Oh sure, that sounds fine."
0:37:18 > 0:37:20We went off our separate ways into the night,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23I never thought I'd see him again - this is true -
0:37:23 > 0:37:25and then there was a bang on my door and he walked in the house
0:37:25 > 0:37:27about a week later in South Queensferry
0:37:27 > 0:37:29and said, "It's there if you want it."
0:37:29 > 0:37:32So I said, "What?" He said, "Oh, the Muztagh Tower."
0:37:32 > 0:37:34And at this point I said, "Well, actually, Mal,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37"I've never climbed anything and I'm scared of heights."
0:37:37 > 0:37:39And he did look a wee bit taken aback, and then he said,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41"Well, you'll get used to it."
0:37:41 > 0:37:44So he said, "Well, I'm going to have to...
0:37:44 > 0:37:47"There's no question of you going to the top, that's a serious mountain.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49"But the call at 21,000 will do fine
0:37:49 > 0:37:54"and you've got a crash course coming up ahead of you in Glencoe."
0:37:55 > 0:37:57And that winter had a terrific storm.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00A couple of army guys died in it, you probably remember,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02and the whole place was closed for about four days.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06We were climbing the day that storm was just about to begin
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and I'd done my first route with Malcolm,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12and we got to the top of it and I said, "What's that called?"
0:38:12 > 0:38:15And he said, "Well, call it what you want, it's new."
0:38:15 > 0:38:18So my first route I did with Mal Duff was a first ascent.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20It's in the guide books, I'm so chuffed.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22I mean, I just seconded, I was following on,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24squawking and doing what I was told.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27How important has been the climbing experience
0:38:27 > 0:38:29in your career as a writer?
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Well, it changed my life. It made me write prose.
0:38:32 > 0:38:33I had no intention of writing prose.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35Norman MacCaig always used to say to me,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37"Not writing prose, I hope, Andrew."
0:38:37 > 0:38:41And I could always say, "No, I don't touch the filthy stuff, Norman."
0:38:41 > 0:38:43So I was a poet, and therefore poor,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47but, by that mistake I was telling you about,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49because someone mistook poetry for the truth,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53that got me involved in Himalayan and the deal with the Himalayas,
0:38:53 > 0:38:54I had to write a prose book.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57And I discovered I liked writing prose.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00I liked it because it had a readership, a much bigger one.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Also I could make a living by it,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07and, above all, probably, I could sit down every day and do it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09You can't do that with poetry.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11So most of the time with poetry you feel a complete fraud,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15because you're not writing, so you're a waste of space, really.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Whereas the prose books are only done by writing five, six days a week
0:39:19 > 0:39:22and I do somewhere have a latent Scottish work ethic.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25I can look the world in the face and say, "Yes, I write books,
0:39:25 > 0:39:27"the kind you can read."
0:39:34 > 0:39:38What I love about physical activity is it locates me in the present
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and that is what my books, I think, are all about.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45It's reawakening you and re-enchanting you to being here.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51BOTH: # On Raglan Road of an autumn day
0:39:51 > 0:39:54# I saw her first and knew
0:39:54 > 0:39:59# That her dark hair would weave a snare
0:39:59 > 0:40:03# That I might one day rue
0:40:03 > 0:40:07# I saw the danger, yet I walked
0:40:07 > 0:40:11# Along the enchanted way
0:40:11 > 0:40:16# And I said let grief be a fallen leaf
0:40:16 > 0:40:19# At the dawning of the day. #
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I don't think there's any doubt that the West Highland Way
0:40:37 > 0:40:39is one of the most popular walks in Scotland,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43if not the most popular walk in Scotland.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47And, on a day like this, with blue skies and beautiful colours,
0:40:47 > 0:40:49it's easy to understand why.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52I've come over the Mam Carraigh from Bridge of Orchy
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and arrayed across the horizon
0:40:54 > 0:40:57are the Munros of the Black Mount Deer Forest,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00culminating in this big hill behind me here -
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Stob Ghabhar, the Hill of the Goats.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05That's a hill I first climbed as a spotty 18-year-old
0:41:05 > 0:41:08and I've been up and down there so many times over the years,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11in all conditions and all weathers, and I have to say
0:41:11 > 0:41:13it's always been a real friend to me,
0:41:13 > 0:41:15it's always been very kind to me.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18And nestling in a little hollow below the mountain there
0:41:18 > 0:41:21is an establishment that's been offering hospitality
0:41:21 > 0:41:25to travellers for well over 200 years.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28It's called the Inveroran Hotel and that's where I'm bound for now.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Today's proprietors have been looking after walkers
0:41:34 > 0:41:37and other guests for the last five years.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41Originally from Northern Ireland, Elaine Muirhead fell in love
0:41:41 > 0:41:44with the peaceful surroundings, stunning scenery
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and the wildlife that makes full use of her garden.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51She's also proud of the hotel's history, even though
0:41:51 > 0:41:55some of the reviews back then were not flattering.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58We have different writings from people who have been here,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01famous people who have been here,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Darwin being one of them,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06Dorothy Wordsworth being another one.
0:42:06 > 0:42:12I think initially she was very happy to have the comfort of Inveroran
0:42:12 > 0:42:17and the fact that there was a fire, but she was less than complimentary,
0:42:17 > 0:42:20let's say, about the food that was offered to her.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25She did say that the bread and the eggs were fusty.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29But even before it was a hotel drovers would stop here.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31They came all the way from Fort William
0:42:31 > 0:42:34all the way down to Glasgow, so a considerable journey
0:42:34 > 0:42:36for them with a herd of cattle.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40And in the original building the drovers came in
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and they had a fire and it was like two levels,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47and I think all of their cattle were on the first floor
0:42:47 > 0:42:50and the drovers slept above the cattle.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Do you ever lie here at night
0:42:53 > 0:42:55and think of what it must have been like
0:42:55 > 0:42:58perhaps in the early 18th century?
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Guests have often said to me that
0:43:00 > 0:43:03they've felt presences in certain rooms
0:43:03 > 0:43:07and, you know, whether you believe in that kind of thing or not,
0:43:07 > 0:43:12this place has such a history and such energy
0:43:12 > 0:43:15that maybe there is something in that.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17I'd never be one to say that there is
0:43:17 > 0:43:19but maybe, maybe there is something there.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31At this point my route parts company with the West Highland Way
0:43:31 > 0:43:35as I'm turning west into the Black Mount hills.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37It's a wild and uncompromising area
0:43:37 > 0:43:40and one of my favourite parts of the country.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45And this homestead is about as remote as it gets.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Four years ago Llinos Proctor moved here,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53where she now lives with her stalker husband and two young children.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56We're quite privileged to be able to live here, really.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58It can be hard at times in winter,
0:43:58 > 0:44:01but it's not bad waking up every morning to this view
0:44:01 > 0:44:04and the wildlife that we get on the doorstep.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06We get hen harriers coming through
0:44:06 > 0:44:08in the autumn through our garden sometimes,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10and obviously all the stags and the hinds, the red deer
0:44:10 > 0:44:12that are just around and about all the time.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15You get to see the changing of the seasons, with the colours
0:44:15 > 0:44:18changing on the hills and it's a pretty special place to be.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23'Originally from Anglesey, Llinos came up to Scotland in 2003.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28'She's an ecologist and has worked in many parts of the Highlands,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30'but this place is very special.'
0:44:32 > 0:44:36In the autumn we're woken up by stags roaring in the night.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39In the springtime you get the skylarks singing above your head
0:44:39 > 0:44:42while you're hanging washing out on the line,
0:44:42 > 0:44:44so you can't escape the nature and the wildlife here.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46If you didn't have the background that you have in ecology
0:44:46 > 0:44:49and natural history, how difficult would it be
0:44:49 > 0:44:51to settle in an area like this?
0:44:51 > 0:44:54It's hard for me to answer that question
0:44:54 > 0:44:58because I grew up walking with my dad in Snowdonia and the Anglesey Coast,
0:44:58 > 0:45:01so I'm used to being outside and walking,
0:45:01 > 0:45:03I've always loved hills and I've always felt
0:45:03 > 0:45:05they've been part of me, I suppose,
0:45:05 > 0:45:07and what makes me happy is being out in the hills
0:45:07 > 0:45:09and enjoying the landscape.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12- That's not too deep. - No, it's quite shallow, this bit.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15I'll follow you cos that looks like the best way.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20This Black Mount Deer Forest is well known amongst hill walkers
0:45:20 > 0:45:23for all the Munros, but what sort of work do you do here?
0:45:23 > 0:45:25I did some work here this summer
0:45:25 > 0:45:28setting up a habitat monitoring scheme for the estate
0:45:28 > 0:45:32looking at the impact the red deer grazing is having on the heather.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And I think they're going to use that information
0:45:36 > 0:45:38to manage the deer herd in the future.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41A lot of sporting estates are a lot more forward-thinking now
0:45:41 > 0:45:45and they realise that the conservation of the landscape
0:45:45 > 0:45:47has a knock-on effect on the health of deer herd
0:45:47 > 0:45:50and they realise that they have to manage both those things
0:45:50 > 0:45:53in order to have a healthy deer population.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55It's not exactly hard work going out in beautiful places
0:45:55 > 0:45:58and setting up quadrats and looking at the heather.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01You've confirmed to me something I've always suspected -
0:46:01 > 0:46:03that ecologists just like to be out in nice places.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05- Yes.- I'm sure there's more to it than that.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07I'm sure if you wanted to be better paid
0:46:07 > 0:46:10you could sit in an office all day, but I'm happy to stick
0:46:10 > 0:46:13with the conservation work and the ecology work.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16You get to go to lots of far flung places where you wouldn't necessarily
0:46:16 > 0:46:20go on a walk to look at the habitats, and that's quite nice to get you out
0:46:20 > 0:46:25into the different corners of the estate and see some new places.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28The very word "ecology" is quite wide ranging.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31I suppose different people would interpret it differently,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34but for me it's not just species-specific.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36It's about seeing how everything interacts
0:46:36 > 0:46:38and has a knock-on effect on each other.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42So it's not just about red deer here, it's about what the red deer
0:46:42 > 0:46:45do to the heather and the vegetation, and then that'll have
0:46:45 > 0:46:48a knock-on effect on other species that use here, as well.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51And, of course, having the deer and the carrion when they die
0:46:51 > 0:46:56or are left out on the hill after stalking brings in eagles and ravens.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00It's just how everything fits together and you can't expect
0:47:00 > 0:47:04to manage one aspect of it without it affecting everything else.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09How important are landscapes like this to you?
0:47:09 > 0:47:10Can you ever see yourself going
0:47:10 > 0:47:12and living in a city or something like that?
0:47:12 > 0:47:14SHE LAUGHS
0:47:14 > 0:47:17I'd be hard pushed to think of somewhere else I would rather be.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19There's something special about here.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42You know, that chat I had there with Llinos
0:47:42 > 0:47:44is probably just exactly what I was needing
0:47:44 > 0:47:49entering a big, wild, remote area like this one in Glen Kinglass.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54Her enthusiasm, her bubbling enthusiasm for living in such a wild
0:47:54 > 0:47:57and remote place was intoxicating, really quite infectious
0:47:57 > 0:48:01and I left here with a renewed enthusiasm
0:48:01 > 0:48:03for the rest of the walk down to Oban.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05But I was also passing some old friends,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08some of the hills looking down I know quite well -
0:48:08 > 0:48:10Stob Ghabhar, the Hill of the Goat,
0:48:10 > 0:48:13Meall nan Eun, the rounded Hill of the Birds,
0:48:13 > 0:48:15and, most intriguing of all,
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Stob Coir'an Albannaich, the Peak of the Corrie of the Scotsman,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21or the Highlander.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Anybody who has seen any of my long walks on television
0:48:47 > 0:48:51will know that I have a particular fondness for sitting up
0:48:51 > 0:48:55against the gable end of an old building,
0:48:55 > 0:48:58having a brew and letting my imagination run riot.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02I'm in a little settlement called Narrachan
0:49:02 > 0:49:06and there are half a dozen remains of former cothouses here.
0:49:08 > 0:49:13I find it curious that, in this land that I'm describing as wild
0:49:13 > 0:49:18and remote and empty, that people lived their lives out here.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22And, although it might be empty of people today,
0:49:22 > 0:49:26you can still sense the ghosts of those people,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29you can still feel the spirit of place.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38On a more pragmatic level, I'm delighted that I'm now
0:49:38 > 0:49:42in the final miles of Glen Kinglass, where the track trundles down
0:49:42 > 0:49:46towards the sea, or in this case a rather special sea loch.
0:49:46 > 0:49:51And I'm looking forward to getting the salt tang in my lungs again.
0:50:10 > 0:50:16I'm so pleased to see Loch Etive, even on a grey afternoon like this.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20I think it's one of our finest sea lochs
0:50:20 > 0:50:23and I just love the way it bites deep into the mountains here.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27And you can see the steep slopes of Beinn Trilleachan on the left
0:50:27 > 0:50:31and the equally steep slopes of Beinn Starav on the other side.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34And it's said that this is all
0:50:34 > 0:50:38the storied land of Deirdre of the Sorrows.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41Deirdre was an early Celtic princess
0:50:41 > 0:50:44who was betrothed to Conchobar mac Nessa,
0:50:44 > 0:50:45the High King of Ulster,
0:50:45 > 0:50:50but instead she chose to elope to Scotland with her lover, Naoise,
0:50:50 > 0:50:52one of the three sons of Uisneach,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54hereditary Knights of the Red Branch.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00It's said that on the slopes of Beinn Starav she lived out her days
0:51:00 > 0:51:03chasing the red deer and watching the golden eagles soar.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08But eventually they had to return to Ulster.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12As she sailed down the waters of Loch Etive, she wrote a song,
0:51:12 > 0:51:14and it was full of the longing
0:51:14 > 0:51:17and the love of leaving a place behind,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19a place that you love dearly.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37It's a long, long walk down Loch Etiveside
0:51:37 > 0:51:40but I'm almost at the village of Taynuilt,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44and beyond the village I'll be onto the last dozen miles or so
0:51:44 > 0:51:46to journey's end at Oban.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49But just beyond Taynuilt there's a place I'm very keen to visit,
0:51:49 > 0:51:52a place with a really interesting history.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54I think you'll be intrigued.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01I'm heading for what's known simply as Angus's Garden.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05It was the creation of Betty and Neil MacDonald back in 1957.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08It's a memorial to their journalist son
0:52:08 > 0:52:11who was killed in Cyprus the previous year.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Today their grandson, Nick Charlton, lives here.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Although he wasn't born at the time of his uncle's death,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22he knows not only the impact this incident had on his family
0:52:22 > 0:52:25but also how, over half a century later,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29that fateful event is still shrouded in mystery.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32Well, it all stems from my Uncle Angus.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37He took a post with The Cyprus Times to work as a war correspondent
0:52:37 > 0:52:41and within a couple of weeks of arriving there
0:52:41 > 0:52:45was shot dead in the street close to where he worked.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49It's not that clear what actually happened.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54His colleague at The Cyprus Times was Nicos Sampson,
0:52:54 > 0:52:58who then went on to become very active in supporting
0:52:58 > 0:53:00the Greek movement in Cyprus.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05He became de facto President for a few days in the '70s, much later on.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09And he'd got a reputation in the '50s for being
0:53:09 > 0:53:16the first reporter on the scene at any number of killings at that time.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19There is a suggestion that Sampson was first on the scene
0:53:19 > 0:53:22of these shootings because he'd actually shot the person!
0:53:22 > 0:53:24- There is that suggestion. - Quite incredible.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27It would seem incredible, but credible, too.
0:53:29 > 0:53:3315 or 20 people were killed, I think, in similar circumstances.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35He was tried, I think,
0:53:35 > 0:53:40for the shootings of British Police Officers,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43but acquitted, basically because there'd been
0:53:43 > 0:53:45forced confessions or torture.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47What were your grandparents' thoughts on him?
0:53:47 > 0:53:51The story was he was shot by a sniper.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55I think that's slightly disingenuous.
0:53:55 > 0:54:01There were people who he was working with that were directly involved
0:54:01 > 0:54:05in shootings, and Sampson clearly got the scoops.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08So is this a garden of remembrance?
0:54:09 > 0:54:14I think it is, but also a garden of forgetfulness.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18I think when you see what's around here
0:54:18 > 0:54:22it is a diversion from your everyday life
0:54:22 > 0:54:26and takes you away from some of your troubles.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31The mysteries of history always intrigue me
0:54:31 > 0:54:35and the story of what really happened to Angus McDonald in 1956
0:54:35 > 0:54:38will now almost certainly never be solved.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44But this large wild garden created in his memory is an inspiring
0:54:44 > 0:54:49natural monument to someone whose life ended tragically early.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58You know, I've actually been dreading
0:54:58 > 0:55:01these final dozen miles down Glen Lonan,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05because it's a tarmac road and I don't really like walking
0:55:05 > 0:55:06long distances on tarmac roads.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09But it's actually not that bad. It's a very quiet road
0:55:09 > 0:55:12and it's taken me through this lovely, crumpled,
0:55:12 > 0:55:16low-lying landscape with lots of little rocky knolls
0:55:16 > 0:55:19and some really fine woodland.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21And, you know, I think I can smell the sea.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40There's a lovely sense of history here in Glen Lonan.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45The hillsides on either side of the glen are positively littered
0:55:45 > 0:55:49with ancient artefacts, tumuli,
0:55:49 > 0:55:53old cairns, doons, the Celtic forts.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57And there's none more impressive than the 13ft tall monolith
0:55:57 > 0:56:02of Clach Diarmuid, the Stone or the Pillar of Diarmuid.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06Diarmuid was one of the great heroes of Celtic folk mythology
0:56:06 > 0:56:10and he was a contemporary of the great Finn MacCool,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12the leader of the Fianna Warriors.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15And Diarmuid came to prominence because he ran away with Grainne,
0:56:15 > 0:56:18who had been betrothed to Finn MacCool.
0:56:18 > 0:56:23And it's said that this big standing stone marks his final resting place.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29But also this road later in history, between the 11th and 13th century,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31became known as the Royal Road
0:56:31 > 0:56:35because it was down here that Scottish kings were carried
0:56:35 > 0:56:38when they had died and were being taken to their final resting place
0:56:38 > 0:56:42on St Columba's Holy Island of Iona.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49And it's kind of strange for me to finish this long journey of mine
0:56:49 > 0:56:52on this Royal Road and in the footsteps, if you like,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55of royalty and of Celtic heroes.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02I'm now in the final two miles of the New Western Way.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04I know I've said this before,
0:57:04 > 0:57:08but this is a route I'd recommend wholeheartedly.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12It's been a fantastic experience, both a journey of discovery
0:57:12 > 0:57:15and a chance to revisit places I've known through the years.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20I started by climbing to the top of that lighthouse
0:57:20 > 0:57:22at the Mull of Galloway,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26and I'm finishing it at an equally distinctive landmark -
0:57:26 > 0:57:28McCaig's Tower high above Oban.
0:57:31 > 0:57:33Well, that's it - 250 miles,
0:57:33 > 0:57:38all the way from the most southerly point in Scotland to Oban.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42And what a memorable journey it's been -
0:57:42 > 0:57:47some fabulous coastline walking, some great hills
0:57:47 > 0:57:51and the opportunity to visit five very different islands.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56You know, you can do this whole walk in a oner if you want.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Or, if you fancied it, you could break it down
0:57:59 > 0:58:02into bite-sized chunks, maybe five different weeks.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06However you do it, I think you'll find it to be a great adventure,
0:58:06 > 0:58:12seeing some of the finest landscapes in this beautiful country of ours.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15And, as I stand here looking out over Oban Bay
0:58:15 > 0:58:20towards the Isle of Kerrera, I have the genesis of an idea in my mind
0:58:20 > 0:58:26that next year my walking project won't finish here but begin here.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29I hope you'll join me then, bye-bye.