0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to the West Highlands of Scotland,
0:00:05 > 0:00:07and to some of the most magnificent scenery
0:00:07 > 0:00:10you'll find anywhere in the world.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13This year I'm taking things slowly,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15spending the spring, summer and autumn
0:00:15 > 0:00:17winding my way up this coastline,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19heading into the mountains,
0:00:19 > 0:00:24and delving into some fantastic hidden corners of our land.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26This is a journey with a difference,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30because my base will be my pride and joy - my campervan.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33That'll carry my bike, an inflatable boat
0:00:33 > 0:00:35and, of course, my walking boots.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39It means I can reach some of the most spectacular parts of Scotland.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Oh, I'm in heaven!
0:00:43 > 0:00:44This is as good as it gets.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00You may recall that a year ago at the end of my Western Way walk,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I said I was going to start this year's journey just up the coast, at Oban.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09But I've been tempted a wee bit further south, to a fantastic group
0:01:09 > 0:01:13of rugged islands that have some of the finest land and seascapes
0:01:13 > 0:01:15in all of Scotland.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21I'm on the island of Luing,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25one of many Argyllshire islands that lie to the south of Mull,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and I'm reminded of the words of the great American poet, Robert Frost,
0:01:28 > 0:01:29who once wrote,
0:01:29 > 0:01:34"Two paths diverted in a wood and I took the path less travelled."
0:01:34 > 0:01:36And that's the point of this journey.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I want to take some of those less travelled roads
0:01:38 > 0:01:40of the Western Highlands.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52You know, you can take the man out the mountains,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56but you can't always take the mountains out of the man.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59And I've got this thing, it's like a compulsion.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Wherever I am I like to try and get to the highest point in the landscape.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04I know it sounds kind of daft,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07but sometimes it's not so daft.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11This is Cnon Dhomhnuill, less than 100 metres in height,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and it's the highest point on the island of Luing,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15the Isle of the Long Ship.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19And you can see why they called it that, what a fantastic seascape!
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Look at that, across there is the Ross of Mull,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Ben More in the distance. It's fantastic.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Then the Garvellachs right down the horizon,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30with Holy Island where Columbus' mother lived,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and the wonderful island of Scarba.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36It just kind of goes on and on. It's absolutely wonderful.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40On a day like this, where else would you want to be?
0:02:51 > 0:02:53The island of Luing is one of a small group
0:02:53 > 0:02:55known as the Slate Islands Of Argyll.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58The other two are Seil and Easdale.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04Easdale is famous for its world stone skimming championships
0:03:04 > 0:03:08and Seil Island is pretty well-known for its bridge over the Atlantic.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15Luing, I would say, was possibly one of Scotland's best kept secrets.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19There's beautiful walks here, marvellous coastline
0:03:19 > 0:03:22and a fascinating industrial heritage.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27And a local community that's vibrant and enthusiastic
0:03:27 > 0:03:30about placing this island on the tourism map of Scotland.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Descending from Luing's highest point, I think I've earned a reward
0:03:37 > 0:03:40for my first summit of this journey.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And I'm in luck, because this place has only just been opened.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49This is the Atlantic Islands Centre,
0:03:49 > 0:03:55a community-run project with an interpreter centre and a cafe,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00and it's this beautifully restored slate building, absolutely fantastic.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03And the important point is I'm their very first customer.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07'Yet, I'm not here just to drink the coffee.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12'I've come inside this lovely building to meet Fiona Cruickshanks.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15'She's the district nurse and her island roots,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20'like the exhibits in this visitor centre, go back generations.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:22What exactly is this?
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Is it some sort of art installation?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27No, this is the lens from the Fladda Lighthouse, which is sitting
0:04:27 > 0:04:28out in the Firth of Lorne.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32My father was the lighthouse attendant and boatman,
0:04:32 > 0:04:35and his father before him, his father before him.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40I'm one of five children, so our job was yearly to go out
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and to maintain the lighthouse, sweeping it all out,
0:04:43 > 0:04:48shining up the brass, painting the walls with whitewash or whatever.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50It's incredibly complex.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52It's amazing. It's got so many facets.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55I didn't realise how many till I had to dust it
0:04:55 > 0:04:58for the opening of the centre the other night.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01It was always my mum's job to do the lens of the lighthouse
0:05:01 > 0:05:06and we had to do the brass or the spiral of the staircase going up.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09We never got to touch the lens.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13You can open it up here and swing this out
0:05:13 > 0:05:15so that you can get in to clean.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Did you have any real sort of adventures going out to the lighthouse?
0:05:18 > 0:05:20There was always adventures,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22especially when my father was involved.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25He had a style of painting of his own, and the last bit to be done
0:05:25 > 0:05:27was always the big tank.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And he would just run along the top with the pot of paint.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33And when my father died, the job went with him,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35which is really quite sad.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37But now, the digital age,
0:05:37 > 0:05:41it's managed from the Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Fiona, we've just left Cullipool on this lovely coastal trail
0:05:44 > 0:05:45below the cliffs here.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I've noticed that a feature of certainly that village,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and a lot of the villages about here, are all these little terraced white houses.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Who lived in these houses?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56The quarrymen. They lived in these.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58They're very small, a bit like the but and ben, but they were
0:05:58 > 0:06:02joined together, terraced, so it was very close-quarter living.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Two rooms and a loft and very often the loft was full of hens.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10According to the health reports that are coming out
0:06:10 > 0:06:13from the late 1800s, there were hens in the loft.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14Horrible.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17But, yeah, the slate quarriers, that's where they lived
0:06:17 > 0:06:18and reared their families.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22There's a lot of houses. There must have been a lot of people employed in this industry?
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Hundreds, yeah.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Was there something special about this slate here that made it
0:06:26 > 0:06:28so popular at that time?
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I think the fact that it was just so robust.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33They said it was the slate that roofed the world,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and certainly there's many buildings in Glasgow
0:06:36 > 0:06:39and worldwide that have slate from this area.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Give me an idea of the kind of life of a slate quarryman.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45I think it must have been horrendous.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47We look at it through romantic eyes
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and look at the conservation area, the cliffs here with the primroses
0:06:51 > 0:06:56and think it's beautiful, but it must have been hell on Earth.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00The dust, the explosives, hanging off the edge of a cliff on a rope,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03splitting their hands, their lungs.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Children, if they fell on the slate
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and you got a bit of slate on your knee, you're left with
0:07:09 > 0:07:13a tattoo of slate, cos it's really difficult to get out.
0:07:13 > 0:07:14As a nurse, I know that.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19You've really got to soak and scrub to get that slate out of the wound.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20And when did it finish?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22The mid 1960s.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24There are quarrymen still alive.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29In my lifetime there was one old boy, Donny Bann, who used to sit
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and split slates on the shore.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35'Of course you can do more with slate than simply roof houses.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37'Today are the annual skimming championships.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40'They'll be held just across the water on Easdale,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43'but I'm determined to be champion here on Luing.'
0:07:45 > 0:07:46Oh!
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'Sadly, Fiona has the benefit of local knowledge.'
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Whoa! Put it there.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52That's a winner. Well done.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59It's a short ferry ride from Luing to Seil,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02just five minutes to get from one island to the next.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07I'm now heading steadily north, and my campervan will eat up the miles.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Once I've reached Port Appin, it's an island hop to Lismore,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and then back on the mainland to wind up through Glencoe,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Sunart and Ardnamurchan.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Then, I'll be travelling through the majestic Kintail Mountains,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26the wild coastline in Torridon,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28the long shore of Loch Maree,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31the isolated Melvaig Peninsular,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to finally finish high above Ullapool.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37All that's still to come.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Right now, I've arrived on Seil.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46The island of Seil has a bigger population than Luing
0:08:46 > 0:08:50but, you know, there's still plenty of space to explore.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55Lots of areas where you can just wander about and see what's round the next corner.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And there's this real sense that it's a very hilly, craggy,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01almost mountainous landscape.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05It's a glaciated landscape with deep glens, a folded,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09crumpled landscape that sort of calls out, "Explore me!"
0:09:18 > 0:09:21You know, I really like the notion of following a footpath
0:09:21 > 0:09:23and having no idea where it's going.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26You get the sense of peering over horizons
0:09:26 > 0:09:28not knowing your destination.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I had thought I might follow this ridge up onto the high point there
0:09:31 > 0:09:33onto the top of the hill.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37But this coastline looks absolutely fantastic.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38I'm going to go that way.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Behind me is Inch Island.
0:09:55 > 0:10:01This low-lying, craggy, bare island.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02It looks quite sombre, really.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Somebody in the village told me that a few years ago,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10a gentleman from London used to come and spend six months of the year
0:10:10 > 0:10:11every year on the island.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13He built a wee hut for himself
0:10:13 > 0:10:16and he lived the life of a hermit, if you like.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20When she told me that, I thought, "What a wonderful thing to do."
0:10:20 > 0:10:22It sounded idyllic.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25But then, when I thought more about it, I'm not sure that
0:10:25 > 0:10:27I, personally, could do that.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I think I'd miss too many things.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45You know, I can't help feeling a tinge of envy when I see
0:10:45 > 0:10:50sailors enjoying weather like this on waters like these.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Because these are amongst the finest sailing waters in the world
0:10:54 > 0:10:55for yachtsmen.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00People come from everywhere to places like Crookhaven on Loch Melfort,
0:11:00 > 0:11:04or to Kerrera, or to Oban to the marinas.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And then sail from here round these islands,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11round by the Ross of Mull, to Colonsay, Oronsay, Coll and Tiree.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14It's just absolutely out of this world.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17I talk a lot about the freedom of the hills,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20but the freedom of these seaways must be something else.
0:11:33 > 0:11:34Oh!
0:11:35 > 0:11:36Wow.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Oh, I'm in heaven.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44This is as good as it gets.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Absolutely gorgeous.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Another day, and another weather system.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57That's Scotland for you.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00But I'm not going to let a little rain deter me.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I'm back on the mainland, and I've come to a remote
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and rarely visited area just a few miles south of Oban.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10No-one lives in these hills and glens today,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12but there's evidence of a vibrant past.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18These are the remains of the Duachy Standing Stones,
0:12:18 > 0:12:23and it's quite interesting seeing them here in this landscape.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27When you first arrive here you think this is just a big empty place,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30but, in actual fact, this signifies that people have lived here
0:12:30 > 0:12:33for well over 1,000 years,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35probably over 2,000 years.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The name "Duachy" means "meeting place".
0:12:40 > 0:12:45And although we don't actually know why these standing stones were built,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47it may have been as a place of worship,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51it may have been a place of human sacrifice,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54it may have been a way of studying the stars,
0:12:54 > 0:12:55we just don't know.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57But meeting place is as good as any.
0:12:59 > 0:13:00There's lots of things that tell us
0:13:00 > 0:13:03that people have used the land here for a long time
0:13:03 > 0:13:06and I'm going off now for a wee search to look for something else
0:13:06 > 0:13:10that I think would tie in with this whole idea of a meeting place.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I've said I'm on a search for something,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but, in actual fact, I'm on a quest.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26It's the quest to find the Suidhe Bhreanain,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29which is the Seat Of St Brendan.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32I've been given some written instructions of how to find it
0:13:32 > 0:13:35because it's apparently not very easy.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37I've been told to cross this ford
0:13:37 > 0:13:40and then go through a couple of gates, and then there's a whole list
0:13:40 > 0:13:43of instructions I've got to follow to the letter.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48So, come and join me on this wee navigational exercise up the hill.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53Gate number one.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56Gate two.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I'm now looking for the old abandoned croft house.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01This must be it.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04And from here, I've got to look for a low hill,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06which I think is that one,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08and about a third of the way up it there's a fence,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11so I've got to make for the end of that fence and then carry on.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21Right. OK, I've got to climb the fence and then follow this wire fence
0:14:21 > 0:14:23for exactly 50 paces.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26So, I'd better climb over and start counting.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30You can count with me, if you like!
0:14:30 > 0:14:31Ready? One...
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Two, three...
0:14:33 > 0:14:37..31, 32, 33, 34...
0:14:37 > 0:14:41..47, 48, 49, 50.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42Spot on!
0:14:42 > 0:14:47I've now got to follow this low wall for 200 paces,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49and I think you're going to run out of fingers and toes!
0:14:49 > 0:14:51OK, here we go.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53One, two, three...
0:14:53 > 0:14:58..188, 199, 190, 91...
0:14:58 > 0:15:03..96, 97, 98, 99, 200.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08So, I've now got to go to my right and step out five paces.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11One, two, three,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13four, five. Wahey!
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Found it! Woohoo!
0:15:15 > 0:15:17St Brendan's Seat.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19The Suidhe Bhreanain.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20HE GROANS
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Woohoo!
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Now, we know a lot about St Columba,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29who brought his message of Christianity from Ireland to Scotland.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32But St Brendan actually predates Columba,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36and he established his first church on Seil Island.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39And it's said that he came up here and carved out this seat where
0:15:39 > 0:15:43he could sit and watch the meeting place at the Standing Stones.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48You know, despite the rain and the wind,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52I'm absolutely thrilled to have found the Seat Of St Brendan.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55He was known as Brendan The Explorer,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59and when I first heard of his story I went to Ireland and I climbed
0:15:59 > 0:16:03a mountain called Brandon, which is named after St Brendan.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08And it was from there that he set sail in his currach to Iceland,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Greenland and North America.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14And today, historians will tell you that when Christopher Columbus
0:16:14 > 0:16:19arrived in the New World, there were already Irish priests settled there.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21He was a real character, was St Brendan.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32But I'm about to delve even more deeply into our past,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35from a few thousand years to many millions.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I've travelled north to Port Appin.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43It's a corner of the West Highlands I don't know well, and that's a pity
0:16:43 > 0:16:46because the landscape here deserves a closer look.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49To help me understand it,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52in fact, to read the many messages concealed in the rocks along
0:16:52 > 0:16:57this coastline, I've enlisted the help of marine geologist John Howe.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03John, over the years I've met a number of geologists and,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07without exception, they're almost nutty in their enthusiasm
0:17:07 > 0:17:09for the subject.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12What is it about geology that gets you guys so excited?
0:17:12 > 0:17:13It's a tremendous science.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17It's the time involved - is what gets me excited.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20I mean, these rocks, these rocks that we're sitting on here,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23these are 700, 750 million years old.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26And I don't know about you, I have trouble understanding
0:17:26 > 0:17:30the processes of how these rocks were laid down
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and the processes that could have deposited such an enormous thickness
0:17:33 > 0:17:35of sand all that time ago.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37What kind of rocks are we actually sitting on?
0:17:37 > 0:17:42This is a big pile of sandstone that's been altered and changed.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45These are the Appin quartzites.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49These sands have all been washed in from rivers from the erosion
0:17:49 > 0:17:51of a continent,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54a continent that's long gone, hundreds of millions of years ago.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57But of course, what we can see in these rocks is how
0:17:57 > 0:18:00those sediments were deposited.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04But also, these rocks are so old they've been squashed and cooked.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07They've been altered, so they're not sort of sandstones, they're actually
0:18:07 > 0:18:09turned into these rocks called quartzites,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11so they're a metamorphic rock.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13And this is why this stuff is quite tricky.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16So, it almost sounds as though you've got to be a bit of a
0:18:16 > 0:18:17forensic detective as well?
0:18:17 > 0:18:18There is a little bit.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23Geology's a lovely science in so much as you do need to have
0:18:23 > 0:18:26a bit of imagination, "arm-wavy", people would say.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28It's a bit of an arm-wavy science.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31So, we need to try and do a forensic analysis
0:18:31 > 0:18:32to try and pull the pieces together
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and work out how these rocks were laid down.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40I think we're seeing some ripples just beginning to emerge round this point.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42So, this is quite nice,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44the rocks would have presumably laid down horizontally.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49They've been folded and bent vertically, and just here
0:18:49 > 0:18:51we're seeing where the rock's broken,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53this nice washed broken face,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57we can see the layers within the rock are gradually pinching out
0:18:57 > 0:18:59down towards here.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02So, this is evidence for a rippled seabed.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06So, what's created the forces to make the rock actually move?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09To actually fold the rock is tectonics,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12so the surface of the Earth is divided up into plates
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and as those plates with the continents and the ocean basins on
0:19:15 > 0:19:19are moving apart, there's enormous stresses and tensions.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22And the recent Nepal earthquake is a dreadful example
0:19:22 > 0:19:24of the kind of forces.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27So, that earthquake is formed from the collision
0:19:27 > 0:19:29of India going under Asia.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33Here we've got, hundreds of millions of years ago, there was a
0:19:33 > 0:19:35large continent that broke apart.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And as it broke apart, there were little seas forming between these
0:19:39 > 0:19:42fragments of continents, and this is the evidence for a shallow sea.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's... It's amazing stuff.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46John, you've been showing us
0:19:46 > 0:19:51some of the small print of the geological history of this area
0:19:51 > 0:19:55but what about the bigger print, the bigger things around?
0:19:55 > 0:19:56What are we looking at here?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00I'm aware of walking below these great cliffs,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03is that all part of this whole geological history?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05It is, it is.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08I mean, this is a wonderful area, I mean, the whole Port Appin area
0:20:08 > 0:20:12is full of these kinds of relics of the more recent past.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16These are sea cliffs and we're standing on a beach, in a sense,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- this is where the... - What, this track?
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Yeah, well, where we are, this kind of raised area with these
0:20:20 > 0:20:23cliffs behind us and the sea is down there,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27so the land has risen up, in a sense, about nine metres here.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30So, we're nine metres above the present day sea level.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35The shape of the landscape here is formed at the end of the last glaciation.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38As the ice melted, the landscape bounced back up.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46So, I guess this is actually a sea arch, although it's now inland.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49It is, it is. It's a perfect, beautiful sea arch.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53If you can imagine this place 10,000, 12,000
0:20:53 > 0:20:56years ago and the waves would have been boiling through here
0:20:56 > 0:20:59and eroding out this arch.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02But of course, the original structure is a fault,
0:21:02 > 0:21:03so the rocks have
0:21:03 > 0:21:08been broken and you can just see that faultline up there.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And so, the sea has exploited the kind of weakness of the rock
0:21:11 > 0:21:12and formed this arch.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15It's tremendous, absolutely tremendous.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18If you think about the power of that sea, a glacial sea,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21a post-glacial sea, it would have come charging through here.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25It would have been an amazing place to be a few thousand years ago.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34John, we've talked a lot about the far distant past
0:21:34 > 0:21:37and how it has affected us today.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42- Can you cast your mind forward, maybe a million, or several million, years...- Gosh.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45..and give us an idea of what things here might look like then?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49That's a, that's a very difficult question.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Looking far ahead, a million years from now, this will be a very different place.
0:21:53 > 0:21:54The climate is changing.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59Geologically, of course, a million years is relatively short-term.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03When you think the age of the Earth is 4,600 million years,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06so a million years is relatively short-term.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08But the changes we're seeing, the rapid environmental
0:22:08 > 0:22:12climatically driven change on Earth, means places like this
0:22:12 > 0:22:16beautiful lush wood, probably won't exist in a million years.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Well see a very different landscape.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23'That really is a sobering thought.'
0:22:26 > 0:22:28For now, though, my roads less travelled take me
0:22:28 > 0:22:34west to a wonderful island that's a firm favourite of mine - Lismore.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39I want to let you into a wee secret.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42I'm doing this journey in a slightly different way
0:22:42 > 0:22:43because the west coast of Scotland is
0:22:43 > 0:22:50so indented with sea lochs, island-studded, a very, very rough seaboard.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53And I want to reach some of these little places that would be
0:22:53 > 0:22:55quite difficult to reach if I was walking.
0:22:55 > 0:23:01Some of those roads less travelled. And I should tell you something else.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04For years and years I've been a passionate campervanner
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and this is my pride and joy.
0:23:08 > 0:23:13This is my mobile bothy. The car that thinks it's a 5-star hotel.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19And some kind people here in Lismore have suggested
0:23:19 > 0:23:21I park up for the night on this verge,
0:23:21 > 0:23:26where I can gaze across at the wonderful peaks on Morvern.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27I tell you,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31you'd be hard pressed to get a view like this from a hotel bedroom.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44One of the great advantages of a campervan is the fact
0:23:44 > 0:23:47that you can carry other modes of transport with you.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50And on this journey, I've brought my bike.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54I kind of got into cycling a number of years ago
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and I've enjoyed some pretty good trips.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59I've cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats, I've cycled through
0:23:59 > 0:24:02France from the English Channel down to the Mediterranean.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06But I'm not going to do anything nearly as ambitious as that today.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I'm just going to have a gentle peddle around this beautiful island.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16In exploration mode, I think, just to see what I can find.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20HE HUMS A TUNE
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Lismore is ten miles long by one mile wide
0:24:31 > 0:24:34and it's not entirely flat either.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40It's one of the most fertile of all our islands in Scotland
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and in actual fact the name's a dead giveaway.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Lismore, it means the big garden, which suggests that people have been
0:24:47 > 0:24:51growing things here since the people who actually named these islands.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56And there's no doubt that there is a green, peaceful feel to the place,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00this low-lying island in Loch Linnhe, surrounded and protected
0:25:00 > 0:25:05and almost watched over by the big mountains of the mainland.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Oh, that looks interesting. I think I'll go and investigate.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28I think this is the point where I have to dump the bike and walk.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34BIRDS CHIRP
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I've always had a real fascination with brochs,
0:25:39 > 0:25:43largely because nobody seems very certain what they were for.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Many historians would claim that brochs like this one were
0:25:49 > 0:25:53built for defensive purposes, that people living outside were all coming
0:25:53 > 0:25:57here to put the barricades up, if you like, whenever there was an attack.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59But there's another school of thought that says
0:25:59 > 0:26:03they were probably the home of a chief or a lord.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05They're fascinating.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09If you think of it, this thing originally was 15 metres tall.
0:26:09 > 0:26:1115 metres, that's 50 feet.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14The walls are three metres wide
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and in between two walls there's a passageway, a passageway that circles
0:26:18 > 0:26:22right round and gradually increases in height until you get to the top.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26They're fantastic places and this is a great example of a broch.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Built 2,000 years ago. And a number of years ago,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32some archaeologists found a Roman brooch in here which
0:26:32 > 0:26:36they believe was left in the foundations as a gift to the gods.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51'On my wee bike trip through Lismore, I can't help
0:26:51 > 0:26:54'but think this must be a rather idyllic place to live.'
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Woohoo!
0:26:56 > 0:26:59'It's an island and that's attractive in itself
0:26:59 > 0:27:01'but it's an island very close to the mainland.'
0:27:03 > 0:27:07It's green and there's a lovely soft quality about the place that
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I find really quite attractive.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Indeed, 200 years ago, there were almost 2,000 people
0:27:14 > 0:27:18living here, with 40 different industries -
0:27:18 > 0:27:22farming, shoe making, dressmaking, smithying,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25all the industries that you need for a vibrant society.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30But then there was a long, slow decline in population right
0:27:30 > 0:27:32up to the present day.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35But there are signs, over the past few years, that the
0:27:35 > 0:27:38numbers are rising gradually and I suspect that the future,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41the outlook for Lismore, is pretty good.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Argyll has some of the roughest and rockiest terrain in Scotland.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57It's an area dominated by long peninsulas, scattered islands
0:27:57 > 0:27:59and narrow lochs.
0:27:59 > 0:28:06It is quite simply a delight to drive through this part of our country.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I'm heading north to Glencoe but before I get there,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12I want to stop off for a wee bike run.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16There's a fantastic new route that's just been opened,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21that goes all the way from Campbeltown to Inverness, it's called the Caledonian Way.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24So I'm going to stop there, get the bike out the back
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and stretch the legs for a wee bit.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35For many miles, this part of the route follows the former railway line
0:28:35 > 0:28:39that once ran between Connel and the Ballachulish slate quarries.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45It's peaceful, traffic free and, of course, there are very few gradients.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49But most importantly, there are some great views out across Loch Linnhe.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57I think I'm going to leave the cycle path at this point because I'm
0:28:57 > 0:29:01quite keen to cycle up into the woods here in search of a memorial,
0:29:01 > 0:29:06a memorial I've never actually found before but it commemorates
0:29:06 > 0:29:10one of the most important events in post-Culloden Scottish history.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18On the 14th May, 1751, Colin Campbell of Glenure, otherwise known
0:29:18 > 0:29:23as the Red Fox on account of his ginger complexion, was carrying
0:29:23 > 0:29:27out his factoring duties here in the Lettermore Woods near Ballachulish.
0:29:28 > 0:29:34Suddenly, a single shot rang out and he fell from his horse, stone dead.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And one of his companions saw someone running off through the woods,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41carrying a musket, and later identified that person
0:29:41 > 0:29:45as Alan Breck Stewart, a well-known Jacobite sympathiser,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49who had been heard to say he had it in for Colin Campbell.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54Thus followed probably the biggest manhunt the Scottish Highlands
0:29:54 > 0:29:56has ever seen.
0:29:59 > 0:30:05Aha, now this is it, the memorial cairn to Colin Campbell of Glenure.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Wow.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11But you know, we've never actually found out who the real murderer was.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15Alan Breck Stewart made good his escape to France
0:30:15 > 0:30:20and instead, a local man, Seumas a' Ghlinne, James of the Glen,
0:30:20 > 0:30:24a Stewart, was apprehended and charged with the murder
0:30:24 > 0:30:26of the Red Fox.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28It was a difficult time in Scotland's history.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32It was only five years after the Battle of Culloden and there had been
0:30:32 > 0:30:38much enmity between the Hanoverian Campbells and the Jacobite Stewarts.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40And it was rather unfortunate that James of the Glen was
0:30:40 > 0:30:43the head of the local Stewart household.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48He was taken to Inveraray and tried.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51Tried by a jury comprising 15 men,
0:30:51 > 0:30:5411 of those men were Campbells.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56The judge was a Campbell.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00He was found guilty and he was eventually
0:31:00 > 0:31:04hanged on the gallows just where Ballachulish Bridge stands now.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19While I'm largely following the less travelled roads
0:31:19 > 0:31:23along the west coast of Scotland, I was tempted to come inland
0:31:23 > 0:31:28through Glencoe, into the big hills and I'm quite keen
0:31:28 > 0:31:33to walk up some less trodden paths up one of the hills here.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36I'm not going to climb any of the big main Munros
0:31:36 > 0:31:38but a wee hill called Beinn a'Chrulaiste.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40It's a smashing wee hill in itself,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44but it's also a finer viewpoint than any of the big mountains.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50And I'm joining someone I first met over 30 years ago.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Dave Cuthbertson is an extraordinary individual.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59He was one of the finest climbers in the history of Scottish mountaineering.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Today, he's an acclaimed photographer, capturing what
0:32:03 > 0:32:08he describes as the infinite variety of Scotland's rock and mountains.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13For three decades, Cubby, as he's universally known,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16was at the cutting edge of the climbing scene, with a succession of
0:32:16 > 0:32:22ground-breaking first ascents to his name, many of them here in Glencoe.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26I've followed his progress over the years and I've always wondered
0:32:26 > 0:32:29what made him such a talented all-round climber?
0:32:30 > 0:32:33I didn't have a natural ability at all. I mean, I found it pretty scary.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36You know? I had no idea what it was about.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39Although I'd done lots of scrambles and all that came easily
0:32:39 > 0:32:44and very naturally, climbing, actually, I found quite intimidating.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49But...I don't know...curiously, I was bitten by this strange bug.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53I was 13, I think, at the time and it was just a fantastic
0:32:53 > 0:32:58pool of climbers and all we wanted to do was more, more, more.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01At what point did you think, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04"I want to do this as an occupation"?
0:33:04 > 0:33:06I went to Dunkeld.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10We used to hitch up after school but I ended up doing this one climb,
0:33:10 > 0:33:15The Chute, it's called, and I ended up doing it by mistake.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19I was looking for the easiest VS on the graded list of climbs
0:33:19 > 0:33:21which featured in the back of the book
0:33:21 > 0:33:24because VS was the top grade in those days.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25I got, I'd got them mixed up.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29I ended up doing the second hardest VS by mistake,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32and I remember thinking it was a wee bit tricky
0:33:32 > 0:33:34but psychology's a strange thing, isn't it?
0:33:34 > 0:33:36Here I am, thinking I was doing the easiest
0:33:36 > 0:33:38but actually, it was the second hardest.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40The whole experience completely filled up my senses
0:33:40 > 0:33:43and I just really wanted to, to do this again.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48It's great being up here away above the jaws,
0:33:48 > 0:33:52the entrance to Glencoe and the Buachaille, just right next to us,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55it's almost so close you could touch it.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59But this is a place you've made your home, Cubby. Why Glencoe?
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Apart from it being a fantastic place to go climbing,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05it made a lot of sense professionally too.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08I think historically it's very important to me.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12It is very much my spiritual home. I mean, it's a quirky place.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16I mean...a lot of people think, "Oh, it's spoiled by the A82,"
0:34:16 > 0:34:21but I kind of quite like that, that proximity to constant noise of the traffic.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25It's so close but in many ways it's so far away.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29Where else can you be climbing on the buttresses of the Buachaille
0:34:29 > 0:34:32and Aonach Dubh, and there's the National Express heading from
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Uig to Glasgow on a Friday afternoon?
0:34:35 > 0:34:37You know, it's bizarre.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40So, when did this metamorphosis take place,
0:34:40 > 0:34:44of the rock climber into landscape photographer?
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Well, I mean, I've always had a sort of interest.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50I remember I bawled my eyes out
0:34:50 > 0:34:57when I was a kiddie, having seen this Kodak Instamatic 110 camera
0:34:57 > 0:35:00and I just thought it looked fantastic and my dad said he couldn't
0:35:00 > 0:35:04afford it but he eventually gave in and he bought me this little camera.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09The thing I remember more than anything is those fantastic
0:35:09 > 0:35:12day breaks, et cetera, when you're sitting there holding the ropes
0:35:12 > 0:35:14with your mate for hours on end and looking out to the landscape
0:35:14 > 0:35:18and just thinking it would be wonderful to do that justice.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21I didn't have a clue what I was doing, to be quite honest,
0:35:21 > 0:35:26but what I did have, I had a vision of what I wanted to capture.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28What was that vision?
0:35:28 > 0:35:30It's a really interesting question, because, I think...
0:35:30 > 0:35:34I think I see my photography now, both as an landscape photographer
0:35:34 > 0:35:40and a climbing photographer, as a retrospective of those early days
0:35:40 > 0:35:45pitted against the elements of Scotland's mountains, really.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49And it was trying to recapture some of these amazing
0:35:49 > 0:35:55memories that I have, of the snow and ice climbs or the rock climbs
0:35:55 > 0:35:58and the landscape that they're in
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and the climber in that landscape, as well.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02When you come to a place like this,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04what are the things that you're looking for?
0:36:04 > 0:36:08This landscape, taking in the Buachaille,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Buachaille Etive Baeg, Bidean, Stob Coire nan Lochan,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14I thought was just a lovely vista.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18Curiously, it wasn't just the composition and the landscape,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21it was the contents of the mountain itself.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25The Buachaille is a mountain that really speaks to me.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30It's one where I climbed a lot and have very strong feelings for.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Quite often, putting that composition together, I think
0:36:34 > 0:36:38about some of those early days climbing,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41pitted against the elements, before I finally press the shutter.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43They are merely subconscious thoughts.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47I don't expect other people to see those elements
0:36:47 > 0:36:52in my compositions, but they're there when I take the picture.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Cameron, do you want to be in my picture?
0:37:03 > 0:37:05- How's that? - One foot in front of the other.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Create a bit of space between your legs. Yeah.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11- Hold the tummy in!- I was just going to say, the belly looks...
0:37:11 > 0:37:16- It's in profile at the moment. I'll just go for this now.- OK.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18That's quite nice, actually.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Okey doke. Shall we just leave it at that?
0:37:24 > 0:37:28My journey has taken me to the islands of Luing, Seil and Lismore.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33I've explored the tumbled Argyll landscape
0:37:33 > 0:37:38and now the splendour of Glencoe, but it's time to move on.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42There's a short drive on the A82, surely one of the most crowded roads in the Highlands,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46before heading west across Loch Linnhe.
0:37:49 > 0:37:55Well, another day, another glorious day, I have to say. And another ferry.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01I'm going across to Ardgour, because I'm really keen to keep
0:38:01 > 0:38:05the roads that we're travelling, to the less travelled roads,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09so it's always exciting going over on this Corran ferry,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11because it's just like going to an island, really.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14Good morning, how are you? Good.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- That's £8. - OK, thank you very much.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21- There we go, sir, thank you. - Thank you very much.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24- Have you got some nice weather for us?- Well, we thought we would.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26It'd be rude not to.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31It's lovely to leave the A82 behind us.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34It's such a busy road, these days.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37I'm going across the ferry here to Ardgour.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40It's like coming into a place of older times where
0:38:40 > 0:38:42things are a bit slower and a bit quieter.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47Thanks now, Jess. See you later, bye-bye.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51This is a special part of Scotland
0:38:51 > 0:38:56and there's much I want to explore, so, I've got a busy schedule.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58First, though, there's one appointment
0:38:58 > 0:39:02I've been looking forward to for a long, long time.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06I'm off to meet someone who is celebrating 60 years
0:39:06 > 0:39:08at the very top of his profession,
0:39:08 > 0:39:12a man who is genuinely a legend in his own lifetime.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16And I think I might need this with me.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Fergie MacDonald is a child of Acharacle and during
0:39:22 > 0:39:26an illustrious career, he's been both a gamekeeper and a poacher,
0:39:26 > 0:39:31a physical education instructor, a clay shooting champion,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33to name just a few.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36He's also proud of his historical knowledge of this area,
0:39:36 > 0:39:42but he is best known as an outstanding accordionist.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46He started playing pure Scottish dance music but in the mid '60s,
0:39:46 > 0:39:51he broke away from this to create a new genre of ceilidh dance.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54He's now universally known as the Ceilidh King.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58But his accordion playing started almost by accident.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00I was a late, late starter.
0:40:00 > 0:40:05I was in Fort William High School, secondary school.
0:40:05 > 0:40:11And I got a most horrible infection in my eyes called conjunctivitis.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15My eyes were closed and it was a year off school then.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18You couldn't do any swatting, as it was called,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20because you couldn't read.
0:40:20 > 0:40:25Dad, who was a postman... And his biggest wage, probably,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29was about £2.50 a week.
0:40:29 > 0:40:35He sent away to Forbes, Dundee, and he got me an accordion,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37a wee Double-Ray, it was called.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42And I remember the price of the accordion was £12.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46From there on, totally self-taught.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49In terms of the landscape and the culture,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53how influential have these things been in your music?
0:40:53 > 0:40:54Totally, I'd say.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57The lochs, the bens, the glens, the woodlands, the burns,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00the rivers, the sea, it's all happening here.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Fergie's music is inspired by this landscape,
0:41:05 > 0:41:10but there is a downside to living here. He never learned to read music.
0:41:10 > 0:41:16I've never learned in my life, but then the disadvantage is,
0:41:16 > 0:41:21you get thrown onto a show somewhere and at the rehearsals,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25the star singer comes along with a briefcase.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27"Now, now, now," he said.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30"I'll do Westering Home and the Bonnie Banks Of Loch Lomond.
0:41:30 > 0:41:36"Here's your music. It's on E flat. You can just..."
0:41:36 > 0:41:39You don't know what he's talking about.
0:41:39 > 0:41:46That was a big disadvantage. I had to rely on members of the band.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51"What's he saying? How does he want us to start?"
0:41:51 > 0:41:53"Do-do-do-do-do."
0:41:53 > 0:41:56"All right, fine. How does he want us to end?" And that was it.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59You've become a champion of ceilidh, ceilidh music.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02What is the difference between ceilidh music
0:42:02 > 0:42:06and what we'd understand as Scottish dance band music?
0:42:06 > 0:42:09When I went to study in Glasgow,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13the Scottish country dancing music was really at its height,
0:42:13 > 0:42:17but it's so regimented, the music is predictable... Regimented.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20Can you give me an example of the two styles?
0:42:22 > 0:42:25There's always a chord.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38- Very regimental, predictable, strict.- Strict beat.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42You go on to my kind of music now. They are both...
0:42:42 > 0:42:44Strathspeys, by the way, but...
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Uninhibited music.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58After two or three years, the BBC, who I got on very well with,
0:42:58 > 0:43:03but they did not approve of my style of playing at all,
0:43:03 > 0:43:09so it was a football match, you could say, I was red-carded.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13- Why didn't they approve of ceilidh music?- Off!
0:43:13 > 0:43:19Because it wasn't in keeping with the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21all these kind of things.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25- And was there an element of snobbery about it?- We think so.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29The ceilidh music, as I see it, is everybody's music.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32The whole village goes and gets up and hoddles about the floor
0:43:32 > 0:43:36doing a Highland... or a Strip The Willow something like that.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38No holds barred.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43That is not the case with the Scottish country pump song
0:43:43 > 0:43:44and sashes and all that kind of stuff.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49I would say it's a class distinction comes into it.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52I'd love to have a wee tune with you. It would be absolutely brilliant.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57We've recently been on Lismore and one of my favourite tunes,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01I think you are the first person I heard play this many years ago.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06- Leaving Lismore.- Leaving Lismore. - I've got my Irish bouzouki.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12I've heard how it sounds, but I reckon we're going to
0:44:12 > 0:44:15break into new ground here.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17We might be banned from everywhere in the world.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21- Shall we give it a wee go?- Yeah.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25So here we are at the beginning of last winter, I promised I'd
0:44:25 > 0:44:27try and teach myself the Irish bouzouki,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30so I can pluck out a couple of wee tunes now and it's a real
0:44:30 > 0:44:35thrill to play with the legendary, the iconic Fergie MacDonald.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37We'll see what this sounds like.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41THEY PLAY
0:45:18 > 0:45:24- Thank you very much. Maybe form a band, eh?- Go on the road full-time.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28That's a great offer, but I think I'd better stick to the day job.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32It's time to go outdoors again and I'm keen to share with you what
0:45:32 > 0:45:36I think is one of the really special places on this wild peninsular.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Somewhere with a rather unusual history,
0:45:40 > 0:45:43one which may have its roots in marital strife.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48They said that back in the mid-14th century, John MacDonald
0:45:48 > 0:45:53from Islay, who was the first Lord of the Isles, divorced his wife.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57In response, she built a castle for herself right here in Moidart
0:45:57 > 0:46:01and that was the beginning of the dominance of the Clanranalds.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06Castle Tioram stands on its own island, Eilean Tioram.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10Tioram, incidentally, is a generic word for an island
0:46:10 > 0:46:11accessible at low tide.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14Thankfully, we're in luck today.
0:46:15 > 0:46:21At low tide, this shingle strand is just a lovely place to be.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26There's the smell of seaweed, the sea thrift all around
0:46:26 > 0:46:30and the silences occasionally pierced by the call of the oystercatcher.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33I'm tempted to linger here for a while
0:46:33 > 0:46:36and just imagine Clanranald's galley out in the bay being
0:46:36 > 0:46:41prepared for the voyage out to his other property in South Uist.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43It's a romantic place.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48It also has a very bizarre history.
0:46:48 > 0:46:53In 1715, Alan Moore of Moidart, left here to go
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and join the Old Pretender on the Braes O' Mar in Deeside.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59The first Jacobite rebellion.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04He'd had a premonition that he would never return here,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07so he instructed his factor, Roderick MacDonald,
0:47:07 > 0:47:12to burn the place down as soon as he left and that's what happened.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16Within a few hours, the place was a blackened shell,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20but by coincidence, on exactly the same day, his other castle
0:47:20 > 0:47:26at Ormiclate on South Uist, was also burnt to the ground
0:47:26 > 0:47:27and no-one knows why.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30I just wonder if it was a sign,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34a sign of the ultimate failure of the Jacobite cause.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46I've never actually been in here before.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Every other time I've been to this castle,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50the gates have been closed and bolted
0:47:50 > 0:47:54but someone has left the gate open this time and kindly
0:47:54 > 0:47:57left some hard hats, just in case of falling masonry, so,
0:47:57 > 0:47:58I should put one on.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02Wow, it really is impressive.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07You know, there's only one thing better than exploring mountains
0:48:07 > 0:48:10and that's exploring old castles.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14It takes me back to my childhood and this is a cracker.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18You can see in this tower here, there were three different levels
0:48:18 > 0:48:20and you can see where the beams would've
0:48:20 > 0:48:24slotted into the masonry to support the floors and there's
0:48:24 > 0:48:29evidence of a couple of fireplaces, the hearths in each of the rooms.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32You know, this place is just full of wee darkened rooms
0:48:32 > 0:48:35and eerie passages. It's brilliant.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42I can well understand why the present owner wanted to turn
0:48:42 > 0:48:45it into a family home but that's unlikely to happen
0:48:45 > 0:48:48because I think there's been various planning difficulties.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53But to be honest, I think I probably prefer it as it is, as a fine,
0:48:53 > 0:48:54mysterious old ruin.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10The vast majority of the people who visit Castle Tioram simply
0:49:10 > 0:49:14turn round and go back the way they came, but in actual fact
0:49:14 > 0:49:18the castle is only the beginning of what, I think, is probably
0:49:18 > 0:49:22the most sensational short walk you'll find anywhere in Scotland.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36This super little stroll is known locally as the silver walk,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40not on account of the silver colour of the rocks or the
0:49:40 > 0:49:42silver birches that grow so abundantly here.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46But because when the workmen were building this path, at the end
0:49:46 > 0:49:51of the 19th century, they discovered a horde of silver Elizabethan coins,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55so it's well worth keeping your eye on the ground as you walk along.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58Mind you head.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Early Christian missionaries knew this area well.
0:50:03 > 0:50:08In the seventh century, St Adamnan, who was the first biographer of Columba,
0:50:08 > 0:50:12travelled here and noted that the salmon in the River Shiel,
0:50:12 > 0:50:16that's the river that flows down into Tioram Bay,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19were the biggest he'd ever seen anywhere.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24And the oak trees that grow in the woodland here, were used to
0:50:24 > 0:50:27build the monastery on the holy island of Iona.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30It's quite interesting that those trees were probably
0:50:30 > 0:50:33the parents or the grandparents of the trees that are growing
0:50:33 > 0:50:35here today.
0:50:41 > 0:50:46Most hill walkers tend to associate the Rough Bounds,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50with the peninsular of Knoydart.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55But in actual fact, the Rough Bounds extend all the way from Loch Sunart
0:50:55 > 0:51:00in Moidart, north to Loch Hourn in Knoydart.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02And while I'm standing above this rather nice
0:51:02 > 0:51:06bay in Loch Moidart, I could be standing above a similar
0:51:06 > 0:51:13bay in Loch Hourn or Loch Nevis or one of the Knoydart lochs.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16They all share this lovely sense of wildness,
0:51:16 > 0:51:21this sense of unspoiled, remote wildness.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33It's quite the extraordinary.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38I've come across this old township and yet there's absolutely nothing
0:51:38 > 0:51:41on the Ordnance Survey map that indicates that it's here.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43It's really strange.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I suspect it's a cleared village,
0:51:45 > 0:51:48because quite a number of the townships and settlements
0:51:48 > 0:51:54in this area were cleared in 1845 by the landowner of the time,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57Alexander MacDonald, who hoped
0:51:57 > 0:52:02that bringing in the sheep would fund his rather extravagant lifestyle.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04The sheep didn't, in actual fact,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07and it wasn't long before the sheep were gone, as well.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12So, we've had the people, we've had the sheep
0:52:12 > 0:52:15and they've been replaced by the ubiquitous bracken.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20You know, it's a sad story, a sad story that could be
0:52:20 > 0:52:25multiplied 1,000 times throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35I've travelled 30-odd miles north to another stunning
0:52:35 > 0:52:37area of the West Highlands.
0:52:37 > 0:52:43I've come to Arisaig but I'm planning to explore not the land, but the sea.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46The wonderful thing about a campervan, of course, is you can travel around
0:52:46 > 0:52:48with everything you need for your journey,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51for your little adventure and, obviously, I've got my accommodation here,
0:52:51 > 0:52:55but I've also got all my hiking gear and, of course,
0:52:55 > 0:52:56the famous Irish bouzouki.
0:52:56 > 0:53:02On the back, I can carry a bike and in this case, my mountain bike and
0:53:02 > 0:53:05normally I'd love to carry a canoe on this,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07but because this is an elevating roof, it makes it quite
0:53:07 > 0:53:12difficult to carry a canoe, so, instead, I've got a pack raft.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15These blows up into a fairly effective boat.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18It's only 5lbs. You can carry it in a rucksack or a bike
0:53:18 > 0:53:22and it's hard to believe that in this package, is a seagoing boat
0:53:22 > 0:53:27that you can cross bays or use down rivers and I'm hoping to show you
0:53:27 > 0:53:30in a few moments, just how effective it can be.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33And I want to show it off to an expert.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36Lizzie Benwell is originally from Ayrshire.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40Once she caught the kayaking bug, she's never looked back.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44This is the blow-up bag, so you don't need any special tools.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47If there's a wee breeze blowing, you can actually catch it in the bag.
0:53:47 > 0:53:48It's quite clever.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52She spent ten years in France leading expeditions down the Ardeche Gorge,
0:53:52 > 0:53:57but the draw of Scotland was too great and with her partner, Tristan,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00she settled in this paddler's paradise.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06This is a seascape of sparkling water, white sandy beaches
0:54:06 > 0:54:10and hundreds of small islands or skerries.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13It's so dramatic, so everything is so changeable.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18You can paddle out one night and it's flat calm and the water is just
0:54:18 > 0:54:21like glass and then you can put your tent up
0:54:21 > 0:54:26and wake up the next day and you've got wind and you've got rain
0:54:26 > 0:54:30and you've got the mountains and mist and they appear and disappear.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34It's quiet, so you can come up here and you can journey
0:54:34 > 0:54:37for five or six days and meet very few people
0:54:37 > 0:54:40and have these amazing places to yourself, really.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44- This is lovely.- Gorgeous, isn't it?- There's a seal.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47There's a lot of seals around.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49There is lots, isn't there.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54- Did you meet your husband through kayaking?- I did, yes.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57One of my first seasons in the South of France in the Ardeche,
0:54:57 > 0:54:59and he was working as a kayak guide there, as well.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05It was ideal because we both do the exact same things so we can
0:55:05 > 0:55:09both work together as guides and, I guess, in our free time,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11if we can manage to get four or five days off,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15we'll definitely head out to the small isles or to a different
0:55:15 > 0:55:19group of islands and go for an explore and an adventure.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22Sounds like you guys live and work kayaks.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24We do.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Whether it's sea kayak or an open canoe or a riverboat,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30we do like to be on the water.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33You're not going to tell me you were married on your kayak, are you?
0:55:33 > 0:55:36No, although a lot of my friends did think it was going to happen.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38I think there was a few bets going on.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40We did get married close to the water and they said,
0:55:40 > 0:55:42"When are they going to appear?"
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Everyone was checking behind their backs on the water
0:55:44 > 0:55:47thinking that we were both going to arrive in a canoe,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50but we surprised them all and we didn't, actually.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54- What were your wedding presents? - Yeah, we got two sea kayaks.
0:55:57 > 0:55:58How did you know?
0:55:59 > 0:56:02- Shall we land straight in there? - We can do.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08- Yes, it's crystal clear.- Wonderful.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12- Time for a brew?- I think it might be.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16One of the great things about kayaking, is you can carry
0:56:16 > 0:56:19a lot more with you than you can in a rucksack, if you're backpacking.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22- You can get nice...- Nice snacks.- Nice lunches, like this one.
0:56:22 > 0:56:27This is great. Nice bit of smoked venison. Look at that.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30That is all part of it, to come onshore like this,
0:56:30 > 0:56:32but a tent up for the night, in an isolated place.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34There is something very special about that.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36Yeah, you've got the whole place to yourself
0:56:36 > 0:56:40and a whole evening to chill out and watch the sun go down.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Light your fire or whatever.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47You're young, you're setting out on a career that many people
0:56:47 > 0:56:53would say was quite a precarious career. How difficult is it?
0:56:53 > 0:56:55You can make a living from it, for sure.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59You're running a business that depends, really, on the weather,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01so a lot of days, you just can't go out,
0:57:01 > 0:57:03especially if you're guiding beginners.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05There's lots of days in Scotland where the rain comes in
0:57:05 > 0:57:09and the wind comes in and it's maybe not the most pleasant of days,
0:57:09 > 0:57:11but you just have to get on with it.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Do you ever think, "I wish I had a nice job in a nice warm office"?
0:57:15 > 0:57:16Very rarely.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20There's the occasional day when it's blowing a hooley and pouring
0:57:20 > 0:57:23with rain and I think, "It would be quite nice if I was able to stay
0:57:23 > 0:57:27"indoors today." But 99% of the time, I'm more than happy to be outside.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Once you've got the right kit, as well, once you've got decent
0:57:30 > 0:57:33jackets and hoods, you can just hide away from it, anyway.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Your legs are in the kayak, as well, so you don't notice it.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38It might seem like a strange question,
0:57:38 > 0:57:41but is there anywhere in the world that can compare
0:57:41 > 0:57:45with the west coast of Scotland for kayaking?
0:57:45 > 0:57:48When you get the weather here, it's just the best
0:57:48 > 0:57:51place in the world to paddle, really.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53There's places that compare with the likes of Norway,
0:57:53 > 0:57:56the Lofoten Islands. But, yeah, Scotland, it is beautiful.
0:57:56 > 0:58:01Such a stunning, varied coastline with so many places to explore.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03I couldn't agree more.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06My journey up the West Highlands has shown off the amazing variety
0:58:06 > 0:58:08and splendour of our landscape.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13Ahead of me lies a lesser-known part of the Isle of Skye,
0:58:13 > 0:58:17the glorious mountains of Kintail.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21The beautiful Loch Maree and the breathtaking
0:58:21 > 0:58:26scenery of Torridon, before I reach my final destination above Ullapool.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29So, I hope you'll join me for the next part of my journey,
0:58:29 > 0:58:31along these roads less travelled.