0:00:03 > 0:00:06This month on The Adventure Show we're reliving the past.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08All the way back to the 1930s.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12With the help of replica boats from the time,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15I'm going to recreate one of the great pioneering journeys
0:00:15 > 0:00:17of Scottish canoeing.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19For me, it's a journey into the unknown,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23a test of strength, endurance and commitment.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26We are following in the wake of two exceptional people
0:00:26 > 0:00:28who changed the history of paddling.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31They were known simply as the Canoe Boys.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34This is their story. And ours.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It's an adventure that is going to be fantastic.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49It's exploring parts of the country that I've never been to
0:00:49 > 0:00:52but know so much about and I've really wanted to come
0:00:52 > 0:00:54and see for a long, long time.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56This trip is going to be a great physical exertion,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01a great physical challenge, but one that, definitely, I look forward to.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04On this trip I'll have some of the best days of my life...
0:01:04 > 0:01:06This is absolutely stunning.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10..and, unfortunately, some others I'd rather forget.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12HE GRUNTS
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I've had enough.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Once I was a professional footballer with a bit of a short fuse.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Now I'm a novice paddler but I'm still not always in control.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30One thing's for sure, I'll need to be a quick learner,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33because these West Coast waters can be unforgiving.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37It's not the physical being able to do it.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38It's the mental thing of...
0:01:39 > 0:01:42..can I keep paddling for however long?
0:01:43 > 0:01:45And I couldn't do this by myself.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50So I'm with one of Scotland's most experienced canoeists, Brian Wilson.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52It's going to be a hard task for Michael.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55He's a fit and able guy and I'm sure he's got good coordination
0:01:55 > 0:01:59but getting used to any new kind of boat is not an easy thing to do.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02He's not a boatman. So, he's got his work cut out.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04But I would say that getting used to one of these
0:02:04 > 0:02:07is not going to be any harder than getting used to
0:02:07 > 0:02:08a normal, modern sea kayak.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11In fact, in many ways, it's going to be a little bit easier
0:02:11 > 0:02:15because you don't feel trapped in it. It's broader and more spacious.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18It handles very well. I think things are looking good.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I couldn't be in a safer pair of hands.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27This is the man who, at the tender age of 22, kayaked 1,800 miles
0:02:27 > 0:02:29round the coastline of Scotland
0:02:29 > 0:02:31and he lived to tell the tale.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I didn't know 22 was a young age. It was the eldest I'd ever been.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I thought, "This is a good time to go and do something,
0:02:37 > 0:02:38"to explore parts of Scotland
0:02:38 > 0:02:41"and find that it's almost like a new country, one that you don't know."
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Go around the corner and you're discovering stuff
0:02:44 > 0:02:46almost as if it's a foreign land.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Well, it was all quite new to me, then.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53And I just wanted to do more of what I had enjoyed doing
0:02:53 > 0:02:57and not stop at the end of a ten-day trip or two-week trip.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01I'll need every bit of Brian's experience for the journey ahead.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03It's a kayaking classic.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06We're starting at the small village of Crinan
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and paddling past the islands of Luing and Seil to Oban.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Then, it's open water for the crossing to Mull
0:03:11 > 0:03:13before heading up to Ardmore
0:03:13 > 0:03:17and tackling the notoriously difficult waters
0:03:17 > 0:03:19around Ardnamurchan Point.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21From there, we'll be making for the Small Isles,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23where we camp the night on Eig.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Then, the final stretch north-east to Mallaig
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and a last paddle up Kylerhea to Skye.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33But, don't forget, I'm no kayaker, so before we set off,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36a quick crash course for me in Crinan harbour.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40And that's when reality sets in.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45- I'm going to hit this boat.- Stick it in on the left-hand side.- All right.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47- All right.- That was nicely avoided.
0:03:48 > 0:03:53- Almost hit that one, almost hit this one.- Yes. Looking good.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59It's not arms. It's... It's all from the turn.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02You know, it's amazing, after stopping professional sport
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and you do lots of different sports, you realise how so many of them,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08when you talk to proper people, it's the core.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- Of course. Strength and balance. Balance awareness.- Yeah.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Look in the direction of where you want to go,
0:04:16 > 0:04:17rather than look at the paddle.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20I think he's trying to race me back in here.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Trying to get out of your way.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28The journey we are embarking on was first undertaken
0:04:28 > 0:04:32over 80 years ago by two young men, Alastair Dunnett and Seumas Adam.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Embracing the original spirit of adventure,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39they did it with virtually no money and boats that are
0:04:39 > 0:04:42a million miles away from the hi-tech models of today.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Right.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But one thing hasn't changed, they had very little experience
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and neither do I.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52So, I can't quite believe I'm doing this,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55but with a little practice I'm on the move.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00We're following in the paddle strokes of two young men
0:05:00 > 0:05:04eager to prove themselves and see their country in a new light.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07That's exactly how I feel.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11This was almost like the symbolic start of the Canoe Boys' journey
0:05:11 > 0:05:14because, all of a sudden, it feels like you're out into the open
0:05:14 > 0:05:15and the wilderness.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The open sea, and, for them,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19it was their first big piece of tidal water.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21The challenge of getting the timing right
0:05:21 > 0:05:23for going through the Dorus Mor
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and everything that's to the north and west of that
0:05:25 > 0:05:27becomes a lot more serious.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29But I've got you to take care of me.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Well, we'll stick together.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Glorious stuff.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Even if you come past the same piece of coast several times,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42each time you see it, you might poke into a different corner
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and stop for longer and look back and the weather changes
0:05:44 > 0:05:46and the tide changes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48It always seems a little bit different.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52You've always got that thing about seeing a headland up ahead
0:05:52 > 0:05:54and thinking, "What's around the back of that?"
0:05:54 > 0:05:56That's the thing that I'll cling on to
0:05:56 > 0:05:58when my arms are ready to fall off.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01"I just need to get around that headland."
0:06:02 > 0:06:04But we wouldn't have even got onto the water
0:06:04 > 0:06:07without an enormous stroke of good luck.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09The boats we're paddling are Lochaber canoes
0:06:09 > 0:06:11and they're highly unusual.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15They're not one solid construction but come in three parts.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21There's only one still in existence and, by great good fortune,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24it's now in the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Even more remarkable is the museum's offer to build us two replica boats.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32So, six months before we set off, apprentices
0:06:32 > 0:06:35and staff start the meticulous work of putting these boats together.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41This is the middle section. We'll put it up on the bench.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45This, we believe, was found in a barn in Devon.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51It's a 1934 Lochaber canoe. They're held together through tension.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54There's a wire that comes from this eyebolt here,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56up to the bow of the boat, underneath the keel,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00all the way back and up to the eyebolt on that other part of the middle section.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02And that's tightened up with the use of bottle screws,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05so it puts the hull under a lot of tension.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07It forces the three parts together.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It's the last remaining canoe of its kind in existence,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14as far as we know, in the world.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17This one's not seaworthy any more. The canvas is degraded.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21And the timbers in it are a bit defunct now.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23So we're going to build replicas.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27We're going to be taking off the canvas from the sides of the boat
0:07:27 > 0:07:29on just the back, here, to expose the inside,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32so we can see the skeleton of the boat, essentially.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34So, we'll see the stringers, the keel, sternpost
0:07:34 > 0:07:35and all the other parts we need
0:07:35 > 0:07:37to get templates and measurements off.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41So, then, we can manufacture up the parts that we need
0:07:41 > 0:07:42for the new ones.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46There we go.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48That's one.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55The opportunity that they have is to take a historic vessel,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58look at its construction, take it to pieces,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01work it up and then recreate it and, hopefully,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05produce something that'll be similar but in today's standards
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and better built than it was originally.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19There weren't really plans. They just had the patent number.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21That's all we could find for this boat.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25So, we're going off completely by what the actual boat looks like.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28So the inside of the middle section and the inside of either end.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Most boat building these days is quite modern.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35So, they constructed a 22-foot boat recently
0:08:35 > 0:08:39and that was using plywood and epoxy glue.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The Lochaber canoe is a completely new thing to them. So...
0:08:45 > 0:08:48apart from being very historical, they're getting
0:08:48 > 0:08:52involved in what they regard as remaking history, if you like.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54So, they had to do the forensic investigation
0:08:54 > 0:08:56to get inside the boat
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and construct it, so, although there is modern methods employed,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03this is technology that has been surpassed.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I need to take the measurements from the width,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12the length and the depth of them all
0:09:12 > 0:09:14and, then, if they have an angle,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17try and replicate the angle with a bevel.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22This is the template for a section here.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25The same size, same angle, the same depth of cut in it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31And, then, this is for the ribs at the side.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32This section here.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34So, this would go like so.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39If you go to buy a canoe now it would be blown plastic,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42or fibreglass, carbon fibre, I believe they use now.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45This is reasonably primitive.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48I wouldn't like to go to sea in one of these boats myself.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50But there you go!
0:09:54 > 0:09:57After months of hard work, the canoes are nearly finished
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and the apprentices have done a great job.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02The boats look like works of art
0:10:02 > 0:10:05but we still need to do the most important test of all,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08to find out if they'll float.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10Clearly, this is a job for Brian, not me.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- Hello!- Hi there!
0:10:16 > 0:10:19- Fantastic.- How do you do? - How do you do? Brian.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- Ben and Connor, the boys that are building the canoes.- Hi, guys.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25That's fantastic.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Well, I was told it would be like a floating fish box
0:10:28 > 0:10:30but it's an awful lot nicer than that, isn't it?
0:10:30 > 0:10:32That's where you can keep the fish.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Now, we've not put the deck covering on this
0:10:36 > 0:10:38because we don't know where you're going to sit.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40We want the area you're going to sit
0:10:40 > 0:10:43spread out as small as we can make it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44Yes, aye. That's great.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48And the cable runs right through...
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- The cable runs right round... - ..the inner tackle, there. Yeah.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- Up to this one.- At first, we were looking at skeletons of it.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Without the canvas. We were like, "Is it going to look nice?
0:10:58 > 0:10:59"Is it going to look that nice?"
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by it.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04When you've got all the trimmings and the skids
0:11:04 > 0:11:08and all that on it, it's not a bad thing to look at.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It's nice to look at. We'll try and keep it in good condition for you.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- That's fine. Aye. - Have you weighed it?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Ah, great! That's not heavy. That's great.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19So, we know what it's made of.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23We know what it's made, based on, but we don't know if it floats yet.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- Yeah. That's...- That's what today's for.- Aye. We'll see if it holds up.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29I think she'll float.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32This is the first time I've built
0:11:32 > 0:11:34anything like these three-stage canoes.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36It's been an experience.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It should go well, hopefully. Fingers crossed, anyway.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41This is a new... a whole new idea for us.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44Right, guys.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Moment of truth.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47Good luck to you.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54It will float. Eh?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56- That's lovely. Looks nice. - There we go.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04- Grip the hull till I'm ready and I'll shove you out.- Even better.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I think it's very pretty. It looks lovely on water.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10We didn't know how it was going to perform.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13We didn't know what it was going to look like on the water.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16It was the performance that we were worried about.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19This has surprised me a lot.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21It doesn't look very much like a modern kayak
0:12:21 > 0:12:24but it handles as good as quite few modern kayaks.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26You don't have the same amount of grip
0:12:26 > 0:12:29and control of it but you can adjust what you're doing
0:12:29 > 0:12:31by changing the seating position,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33which is a bit more like an open canoe.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Brilliant!
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Love it! I want one!
0:12:39 > 0:12:42Everyone at the Scottish Boat Building School
0:12:42 > 0:12:43has done a fantastic job,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47which heaps the pressure on me and takes away my best excuses.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51With just a few hours of paddling under my belt,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54both my boat and I are going to face our first big test.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Ahead of me lies something every paddler knows about.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00The whirlpools of the Dorus Mor.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02My plan is simple.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Ignorance is bliss.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07It's not a place to be underestimated
0:13:07 > 0:13:12but Michael's picking this up very quickly, the boats are really good.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15I think, if we just judge the tides and the weather right, it's not...
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- It's nothing to get too... - It's nothing to worry about.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I like that. I like that confidence and belief, Brian.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27It's one thing listening to Brian and his confident patter,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30it's quite another when you talk to the local folk.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33They call it the Big Doors. The Tidal Gates.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36It's where currents meet.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Some of the fishermen say
0:13:38 > 0:13:41it can be worse than the Corryvreckan at times.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44It's a bit like a river flowing between two rocks.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48You can get pinnacles, like mountains, or hills,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51on the seabed that cause trouble as well
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and the water can flow to that and it has to flow around it.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57So all these things that you can't see
0:13:57 > 0:14:00contribute to these turbo channels.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05You get tide against wind, you can get into trouble.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Paddle wider on your right-hand side, as well.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10Big, wide strokes on the right.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15I'm looking forward to it. I'm saying that now.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Once you get me at the other end... Hopefully, get me at the other end!
0:14:18 > 0:14:20..then I might change my tune.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It's not the kind of place you want to take for granted
0:14:25 > 0:14:27and just assume it's going to be easy
0:14:27 > 0:14:30but it is quite possible to do your predictions and work out
0:14:30 > 0:14:34when it's going to be handleable and when it's better avoided.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39OK, so you see where all the commotion is.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42You'll start to feel a strong pull that way.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Just in front of us is the main stream running west.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50When the original Canoe Boys were here, 80-odd years ago,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53this was the moment when adventure turned to danger.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Years later, Alastair Dunnett wrote about
0:14:57 > 0:14:59their extraordinary journey
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and relived every dramatic detail of that passage
0:15:01 > 0:15:03through the infamous Dorus Mor.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08"Straining towards the forbidding, dark barrier at the gap,
0:15:08 > 0:15:13"our closer vision decomposed it into a sudden moving turbulence,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16"as if mighty fish were distantly shoaling in the Dorus.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21"The wall seemed to dart and strike us,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"here the paddles felt new forces that made them kick in our grip,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28"as if hands in the water had seized to wrestle them from us.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30"We were now in a moving group of whirlpools
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"and the noise was a hissing thunder.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36"On the other side of our hulls of cloth and slats,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38"the sea gathered below our thighs,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40"like a horse bunching for the gallop."
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Only the breaking bits can push you over.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50They're starting to push you around a wee bit. Turn it right round.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Then go in point first, if you can. Nice and slow.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Put your hands just a wee bit wider.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58Punch into it, Michael. Lean forward.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Give it a bit of welly.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Head towards the front of the boat.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Keep heading out to sea. This way.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10- Yahoo!- Well done.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14That was phenomenal.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16OK. I may have been a bit rough around the edges
0:16:16 > 0:16:20but I've managed to survive my first real test of rough water.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24So, from now on, I'm going to call myself a Canoe Boy.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28And, like me, what the original Canoe Boys, Alastair and Seumas,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32lacked in experience, they more than made up for in enthusiasm.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35But they didn't undertake their trip just for the adrenaline rush
0:16:35 > 0:16:38of pushing themselves to the limit and beyond.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Even today there are links to that bygone age, and one of them
0:16:42 > 0:16:45is Alastair's son, Ninian Dunnett.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47They were certainly looking for adventure,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50but it was a particular sort of adventure they wanted.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Alastair and Seumas had taken a scunner to the very English idea
0:16:53 > 0:16:57of adventure being something that meant high jinks in the jungle
0:16:57 > 0:17:02of colonial India or escapades on the rugger fields of Eton,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06and they knew there was an alternative because the two of them
0:17:06 > 0:17:09had been amongst that first generation of working-class Scots
0:17:09 > 0:17:14in the 1930s who'd made their escape out into the Highlands,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17who'd come, particularly from industrial Glasgow,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21and taken the bus and hitchhiked and made their way out to the hills
0:17:21 > 0:17:24and found a land of adventure on their doorstep.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27In later life, Alastair Dunnett
0:17:27 > 0:17:31and Seumas Adam would become well-known Scottish journalists.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34At the time of this trip, they were merely starting out
0:17:34 > 0:17:35on their careers, though.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39So, what better way to finance their journey than by writing about it
0:17:39 > 0:17:42and the people that they met along the way?
0:17:42 > 0:17:45What they couldn't have predicted, though, was how their expedition
0:17:45 > 0:17:49captivated the whole nation and turned them into celebrities.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51They had a little floating press office
0:17:51 > 0:17:55and they were sending dispatches back from wherever they landed
0:17:55 > 0:17:59to newspapers that had an appetite for it.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03This is Alastair's original scrapbook from the trip.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07It's not bound in leather, as you can see.
0:18:07 > 0:18:14Here are all the headlines that the press were eager to make use of.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16"Canoeists battle with a gale",
0:18:16 > 0:18:17"Canoeists and rough seas".
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Of course, they were writing these things themselves,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22probably with some hilarity.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25And they were told by people who thought they were experts
0:18:25 > 0:18:28that what they were doing was sheer folly.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31"It's too late in the year" was the thing that rang...
0:18:31 > 0:18:33the phrase that came out most commonly.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35But the truth of it is, of course, that the time of year was
0:18:35 > 0:18:37the least of their problems.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Apart from youth and fitness
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and absolute will to achieve what they set out to do,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46they were very close to being literally out of their depth.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52And I now know exactly what that feels like, but we are entering
0:18:52 > 0:18:56calmer waters and our next stop is the busy port of Oban.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01When Alastair and Seumas came here, arriving by kayak was unknown.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Those pioneers could never have foreseen the massive difference
0:19:04 > 0:19:07between their three-part Lochaber canoes
0:19:07 > 0:19:10and today's highly sophisticated models.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13On these boats, they've got this drop-down skeg at the back.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16I remember people really struggling to try
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and keep the boat going in a straight line.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And then the hatches are completely waterproof
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and they've just added a new one, this one on the foredeck here.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30For a while, the cockpits went really small
0:19:30 > 0:19:31and now they've gone a lot bigger
0:19:31 > 0:19:36and part of it is so you can climb in and out really easily.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37But also, it's the clothing.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Nowadays it's pretty much a dry sport.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So, when you think about the kit and the gear that the Canoe Boys
0:19:43 > 0:19:47were using to make their journey, just...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Nobody would dream of doing something like that these days!
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- No, no.- Sit in six inches of water all the way.- Yeah, the whole time.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I guess they didn't even have sponges. They'd have a bailer?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59They maybe had a little bit of cloth or something.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03- Yeah, a bailing packet or something. - They definitely had bailers, yeah.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04Yeah. But, no...
0:20:04 > 0:20:08And some of the boats even have a little electric pump
0:20:08 > 0:20:11that comes on automatically so it just keeps the boat really dry.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Next we'll see a wee paddle on the side that has got wee buttons
0:20:14 > 0:20:16and you just sit back and on you go!
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And the average age of people taking it up isn't young.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21It's quite a bit older than you.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25And I hear there are people giving up football and taking it up!
0:20:25 > 0:20:27LAUGHTER
0:20:30 > 0:20:34After 25 miles, I'm not quite the novice I was,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37but I'm definitely still on a very steep learning curve.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43And here comes another stiff test, my first big open-water crossing.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47It's nine miles to Duwart Castle over on Mull.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49I'm feeling every bit the adventurer,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53even a bit cocky, and I almost know which end of the boat is which.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Let's spin round, Michael, so you can get the front facing.- OK.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59First, there's a quick paddle to the island of Kerrera.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03But there's one thing we can't control and that's the weather.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07However gung ho I may be, Brian, with his years of experience,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10knows this crossing demands respect.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15- Are you all set for this, Michael? - Aye. It's a really good feeling.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21A real sense of excitement and genuine adventure.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25- A proper crossing.- Yeah, a proper crossing.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26At Oban, you're...
0:21:26 > 0:21:29you're walking down on the beach onto the waterfront
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and putting the boats in.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33So...
0:21:33 > 0:21:36genuine excitement and I'm really looking forward to it.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38It's going to be good.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- Obviously it's a bit overcast now. - Hopefully, it will clear up.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47What do you think? When we get round the back of Kerrera,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49what's your thoughts about the weather?
0:21:49 > 0:21:51I think it will clear up, but what I'm worried about most
0:21:51 > 0:21:56is the wind forecast, which is for picking up as the day goes on.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00So we need to be able to judge whether our crossing is short enough
0:22:00 > 0:22:03to be able to get there before it changes significantly.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05I think maybe we'll get away with it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08You're confident enough I can navigate my way across?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I've no doubts about you. It's the wind I'm worried about.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14- I cannae control that, unfortunately.- No.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18So, we'll cross as far as the north end of Kerrera to start with.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Give us a wee place to have a rest, sort things out
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and just look ahead to Mull and decide if it's doable just now
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- or whether it requires waiting a wee while.- Yeah.- All right?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29And, hopefully, we'll just crack on,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32get the turn of the tide to take us up the Sound of Mull.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34I suppose there's always an element of...
0:22:34 > 0:22:36you've just got to suck it and see.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37As much as you look from Kerrera,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40there's an element of just getting out there and then you'll get
0:22:40 > 0:22:42a fair idea of whether we need to turn back or what.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44We needn't be frightened to turn back.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47If that's the decision, that's what we'll do.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Getting to Kerrera is the easy part.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Now we must decide
0:22:50 > 0:22:54if we can do the big stretch to Mull in these conditions.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58To my mind, it doesn't look that bad or that far across,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01but I think we've established how much I know!
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I think from quite early on you realise that what you're
0:23:04 > 0:23:07looking at isn't the whole picture. Sometimes it looks like...
0:23:07 > 0:23:10it's not far from here to Mull. You can see it perfectly clearly.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12Half an hour later you might not see it any more,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and you've got to know what else is happening with the tide
0:23:15 > 0:23:20and the wind, and we know today the wind might pick up quite badly so
0:23:20 > 0:23:23we don't want to get into a position where we are caught out with that.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24We want to be sure that, if it does,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27it takes us in the right direction and we're not going to meet
0:23:27 > 0:23:30the wrong kind of tide coming out of the Sound of Mull.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32You just line up all these things.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34The tide, you know what the wind is doing, and then,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36no matter what happens, really,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39you're not going to get very far wrong.
0:23:39 > 0:23:45For me, I think that sometimes with experience it almost stops you
0:23:45 > 0:23:49from doing certain things in a negative way as well.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50Innocence of youth,
0:23:50 > 0:23:55and sometimes I look at youngsters that come through, they rush in
0:23:55 > 0:24:00and it's amazing how they can pick up great performances or results,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03whereas, with experience, you look at situations in a different
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- way and it almost hinders you at times.- Yes, I think so.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10I mean, that phase of being young and indestructible...
0:24:12 > 0:24:15..going for things almost in a spirit of ignorance,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18but enthusiasm and positivity,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20that can carry you through an awful lot,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and if you survive the situations you're in, you actually learn
0:24:23 > 0:24:27a lot which feeds into how you make decisions later on.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Compared with Brian's major expeditions
0:24:29 > 0:24:30around the Scottish coast
0:24:30 > 0:24:36and his circumnavigation of Ireland, this is a relatively short journey.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39But, for me, I've already got that feeling of being completely
0:24:39 > 0:24:42removed from my normal life and I'm discovering that there is more
0:24:42 > 0:24:48to this trip than simply paddling, and I suspect that Brian is, too.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50You do get into that mode where the things that are important
0:24:50 > 0:24:53are the really basic things like weather and tides.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55And chocolate! LAUGHTER
0:24:55 > 0:24:58But you can very easily leave behind the stuff
0:24:58 > 0:25:00that diverts you all the time.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02You can leave behind the GPS and phones and things
0:25:02 > 0:25:06if you choose to and within a couple of days be completely away
0:25:06 > 0:25:11from all of those other cluttered things that mess up your head,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15and be reduced to a very simple way of living, which is quite hard
0:25:15 > 0:25:18to give up again once you've had a couple of weeks of living like that.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19There were times, surely,
0:25:19 > 0:25:24when you were doing your big trips that you had bouts of loneliness?
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Definitely. There were some times when I was very lonely, very worried
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and had nobody to speak to about how to tackle certain headlands
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and so on, and that's not great.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37But those times are quite short and they are mixed up with long
0:25:37 > 0:25:42periods of what you wouldn't really call loneliness, just solitude.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Just peaceful solitude.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And the great thing about travelling on your own is even more of that
0:25:47 > 0:25:49same feeling of independence.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51It's kind of more concentrated.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56The Scottish trip was such a turning point in my life.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00It just kind of formed me a wee bit, just the way I am about things.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03It just came at the right time and was scary enough
0:26:03 > 0:26:05and new enough and all that sort of thing.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Reminiscing is all very well, but it won't get us to Mull.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15This is a very busy stretch of water that will need my total
0:26:15 > 0:26:18concentration if I'm going to avoid an embarrassing accident.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20I think we are going to go right through
0:26:20 > 0:26:22the middle of a sailing race.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24NERVOUS LAUGHTER
0:26:24 > 0:26:27There's quite a few of them coming around there, isn't there?
0:26:27 > 0:26:29There's quite an assortment of different sizes of boats
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and things, if it is a race.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Is this the big CalMac coming through?- Yep.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39- There's a CalMac behind you, Brian.- Right.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42We're going to be the meat in the sandwich here!
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Well, these two CalMacs are trying to avoid each other.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47What are we going to do?
0:26:47 > 0:26:48We're going to be stuck in the middle.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51Yeah, stick close together, though, so it's easy for them.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- This will be a wee bit of swell. - There will be a wash off this, yeah.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56LAUGHTER
0:26:56 > 0:26:58And if they pass each other at the same time,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02there will be a wash off both of them. That's one thing, though.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06The CalMac boats in this area are so used to small craft,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08sailors and yachts and dinghies and whatever.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12Kayakers, too, I suppose.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16It's great, as well, seeing all the other boats
0:27:16 > 0:27:18and then seeing the CalMac ferry.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21It's all happening! It's a busy bit of water.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26- This is absolutely stunning. - Fantastic, isn't it?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29First time I've been to Oban. Brilliant!
0:27:29 > 0:27:31First time I've been to Mull.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Kayaked over.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36And not just a kayak, an 80-year-old replica.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38A bit of plywood with a hole in it.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40You know...
0:27:42 > 0:27:46This sort of thing, it's not the physical being able to do it,
0:27:46 > 0:27:51it's the mental thing of "Can I keep paddling for however long?"
0:27:51 > 0:27:54It's also just getting the chance to do something like this.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58- Well, totally.- This is quite a unique little opportunity.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59Absolutely.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01It's about going out there and doing it.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05I mean... I wouldn't ever know whether I was able to do this until
0:28:05 > 0:28:06you go and do it!
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Getting a bit of life in the water at last.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Can you see the tide race out there?
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Extending out from the island there?
0:28:15 > 0:28:17It's just a run of white caps you can see on the...
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Yeah, yeah. I can see it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:20Basically, it's just a rock shelf.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Where deep water hits shallow water, it breaks,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25the same as on a beach, but it's not just breaking.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27The tide is actually pushing on past that.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33Just keep a wee bit of power up. And just blast through it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36It won't feel as choppy as what we were in yesterday.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Oh! Whoa!
0:28:38 > 0:28:40- Was that a wobble?- Yeah.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42A wee wobble.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44There's nothing blocking the swell coming through.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46We're completely open now to the south.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51And the wind is picking up a little bit.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Keep your paddling quite wide on the wobbly side.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56That's good, Michael.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58Nice one! Keep it going.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03It's so difficult to tell where it's coming from.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04It's fairly speeded us up there.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I can't believe how far past that point!
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- It's miles back.- I know.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13When you get a bit of action like that,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16all of a sudden half an hour disappears.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18And there's the castle just here.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21And if your energy is flagging, I usually find
0:29:21 > 0:29:23at the end of that you're ready to go for another couple of hours.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Aye, it pumps the adrenaline. It's brilliant!
0:29:28 > 0:29:31These boats are handling really well in that stuff.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33They are staying really high.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36I took a couple of waves on board, but not much.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39I took a couple of things. That was it.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42Whoo! We made it!
0:29:42 > 0:29:43LAUGHTER
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Arriving on the Isle of Mull for the first time
0:29:46 > 0:29:48just around the back of Duart Castle.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51No' bad!
0:29:51 > 0:29:56So the original journey the Canoe Boys were in that same tide race
0:29:56 > 0:29:59and lost a couple of hours because they were going against the tide.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01- Is that right? - Or didn't have the help of it.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03And you can imagine how that would be
0:30:03 > 0:30:05- to try and go against. - To go against it.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07It puts lots of people off doing that crossing,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10or they'll time it so that they avoid the tide race.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13He did it like it was just natural.
0:30:13 > 0:30:14Ignorance is bliss,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and lack of experience definitely works in your favour.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19For me, you know, thinking about that,
0:30:19 > 0:30:20if you'd sat over there and went,
0:30:20 > 0:30:22"Right, there's a potential we'll hit a tide race
0:30:22 > 0:30:24"and this'll happen, that'll happen,"
0:30:24 > 0:30:26it's like planting seeds in your head.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28Just seeing it, and you were so calm, and you just said,
0:30:28 > 0:30:33"Right, look, Michael, aim for it, paddle hard, no problem."
0:30:33 > 0:30:36That may have been as good as any goal I've scored,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38or even as good as playing for Scotland.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40I'm like a wee kid in a sweet shop,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44and there is plenty more sweets to be had on this journey.
0:30:44 > 0:30:45From Duart Castle,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47we head up the Sound of Mull,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49then there is more open water,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51first to Ardnamurchan,
0:30:51 > 0:30:53then Eigg, and on to Mallaig.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54Our final paddle will take us
0:30:54 > 0:30:56up the Sound of Sleat to Skye.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01But our next stop is the capital of Mull, Tobermory.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04And when Alastair and Seumas arrived here,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06they got a tremendous welcome.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10One of those cheering them on was a wee lad called Duncan McGilp.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Now, he is almost 90,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and nothing could stop him from coming to meet us in our boats.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17So you do recognise them?
0:31:17 > 0:31:18Oh, yes, I recognise the construction.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20That's exactly...
0:31:20 > 0:31:22And when you look at these boats,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25do they look quite a good reconstruction?
0:31:25 > 0:31:26- Aye.- Quite similar?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29They're splendid. Yes, very impressed by them.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33- Was that the first time something like this was seen here?- Oh, yes.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36There was great excitement
0:31:36 > 0:31:41among our age and great anxiety among our parents' age,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43in case we were tempted to go out in them.
0:31:43 > 0:31:44To go too far.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48And I remember my mother and several other adults
0:31:48 > 0:31:51down on the old pier, they came ashore, there,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55down to shake them by the hand and tell them...
0:31:57 > 0:32:00.."You're very foolhardy, I'm glad I'm not your mother."
0:32:00 > 0:32:04- What age were you at the time they came through?- I was eight.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08We were, we were all out, including my father,
0:32:08 > 0:32:13and he was the provost of the town, he was at... This was the...
0:32:13 > 0:32:18His council came out to see how the boss was faring.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20He managed very well.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24- Did people think they would get all the way to the Hebrides?- No.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27No, very surprised that they managed to get across...
0:32:27 > 0:32:28Get as far as this.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Especially on that day. It was a very wild day.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34When the original Canoe Boys came this way,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37they encouraged the local people to try out their boats.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40It is a lifetime ago since Duncan McGilp last sat
0:32:40 > 0:32:42in one of these Lochaber canoes,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44and he is keen to get in it again.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47- Stand here.- Yes, right in the middle is the best.
0:32:57 > 0:32:58Nicely done.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02- There you go.- They're quite long.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07They are home-made, too. Very good.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Back in 1934, Duncan and the other Tobermory kids
0:33:17 > 0:33:19were captivated by these boats.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Their parents were more cautious.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25Many of them said the Canoe Boys had left it too late in the year
0:33:25 > 0:33:26for such an ambitious journey.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31So, with a tight schedule to keep, it is time for us to move on
0:33:31 > 0:33:34and paddle up to the north-west of Mull.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36We've had favourable conditions,
0:33:36 > 0:33:38but back when Alastair and Seumas did this,
0:33:38 > 0:33:40they struggled up this coastline
0:33:40 > 0:33:44as they battled against strong winds and pounding seas.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Just have to step in and...lift the boats up carefully.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52They had actually wanted to go straight over to Ardnamurchan Point,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54but were driven back to Mull,
0:33:54 > 0:33:57so had to camp overnight in an abandoned croft at Ardmore.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01We've retraced their steps.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I wonder...
0:34:03 > 0:34:06I wonder how far this cottage is from here,
0:34:06 > 0:34:09that Alastair was talking about in the book.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13And it is just a...like, a crofter's cottage.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Yeah, quite a well-built stone place,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19but I don't suppose there's much of it left, 80 years on.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Yeah, it's a fair amount of time. It'll be quite interesting
0:34:22 > 0:34:25to see what is...what is left of it.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28An awful lot of forestry and plantations
0:34:28 > 0:34:30have been put in here since that time.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32I'd be surprised if there's much left.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Just a few walls, maybe.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40- So this looks like this could be... - This is the top of the gable, here.
0:34:40 > 0:34:46- Might be the one we're looking for. - The bothy here.- Ardmore.
0:34:46 > 0:34:47Certainly going to be up high,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50to get a good view across to Ardnamurchan.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53And there must be a pretty good view from there.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57- A chimney stack. - A chimney on it. No roof. All gone.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00- You lead on. You're going to slip. - Probably.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02- You do it first!- Well, catch me.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07- Well, it's seen better days, but this is...- Yeah.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09..a good, solid place, isn't it?
0:35:10 > 0:35:12As you say, a very, very sturdy structure, but...
0:35:12 > 0:35:14It'd be quite a big place, in its day.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19I can imagine it would have been a...a great, welcome spot
0:35:19 > 0:35:25for them to hunker down and wait for a better crossing.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Yeah, it already feels more sheltered.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Cos by all accounts, their trip round from Tobermory to here
0:35:31 > 0:35:34was a...a bit of a task, a difficult one.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Yeah, they'd have been exhausted and wet and ready for a fire.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Let's have a look at the book and see if we can recognise
0:35:39 > 0:35:42the fireplace that they were sitting by.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46They would have been able to look out and get a bit of a feeling
0:35:46 > 0:35:48for how the crossing would be.
0:35:48 > 0:35:49Yeah, since this is higher ground,
0:35:49 > 0:35:53they'll have been able to see more of the sea ahead,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57and see what sort of swell they were heading into.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02"Our next stage would be
0:36:02 > 0:36:05"the most dangerous open-water passage of the trip,
0:36:05 > 0:36:07"round Ardnamurchan -
0:36:07 > 0:36:10"the furthest west point on the British mainland,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13"a buttress of rock hammered endlessly by the Atlantic,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15"and without a shore for miles.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18"The account of this hazard makes disturbing reading
0:36:18 > 0:36:20"in all the navigational journals,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23"and even the most optimistic of our Tobermory friends
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"could not desist from a repeated warning -
0:36:25 > 0:36:28" 'It is too late in the year for Ardnamurchan.' "
0:36:30 > 0:36:32It is just a very committing place to go round.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36There's not a lot of options for coming ashore
0:36:36 > 0:36:38as you are heading round Ardnamurchan,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40until you've actually passed the points that are difficult,
0:36:40 > 0:36:42then there are a couple of good beaches
0:36:42 > 0:36:46where we can head in for shelter and a rest at the end of that.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49For you, such an experienced man of the water,
0:36:49 > 0:36:54using these boats that are very different to modern-day kayaks,
0:36:54 > 0:36:56will it be different for you?
0:36:56 > 0:36:59Or will you just carry on regardless,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01calm, cool and collected, like you normally are?
0:37:01 > 0:37:05No, we'll blunder along, calm, cool and...maybe a wee bit ignorant.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07But these boats are very different
0:37:07 > 0:37:11in the sense that they can take on a lot more water.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13We're not as sealed in as we would be in a modern kayak,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15with...fairly waterproof below decks,
0:37:15 > 0:37:17which means that if we were to capsize,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19it's going to fill up with water
0:37:19 > 0:37:21and it's going to take a lot of work to bail them out
0:37:21 > 0:37:24and get them back to floating and seaworthy again.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27You don't really have that worry in a modern sea kayak,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30which can be tipped over and rolled back upright.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34We don't have that luxury. We have got to try and stay afloat.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Today, we've timed things perfectly.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40It's raining, but the swell isn't a problem.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43We're making good progress, we've not taken in too much water,
0:37:43 > 0:37:48and I am certainly not planning on capsizing any time soon.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53So, do we think that this headland here is the furthest west?
0:37:53 > 0:37:57No, not quite, I think. It slopes out to the west a bit from here.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59The headland at the end of the straight bit,
0:37:59 > 0:38:00it's only a tiny one,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03but it is further west than Ardnamurchan.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07So, the lighthouse is tucked round the back of the furthest west point?
0:38:07 > 0:38:14Well, it's on the next headland, which is higher, but...less west.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20- There is the lighthouse. - That is quite something, isn't it?
0:38:20 > 0:38:23WHISTLING
0:38:30 > 0:38:33It is really unusual to be able to get so close in here.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37- Is that right?- It is usually chaos, right for half a mile out.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40These are really good conditions.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43I don't think I've ever been in this close before.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47I really like kayak travel, really, for being close to the shore
0:38:47 > 0:38:52and seeing things, a means of travel rather than trying to do new stuff,
0:38:52 > 0:38:54stop off when you want and meet people.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56It's really flexible for that.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01Go to uninhabited places or habited places, you choose.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Used to come into little harbours on the west of Ireland
0:39:05 > 0:39:08where I knew it would be inhabited
0:39:08 > 0:39:11and there would be people fishing off the pier and everything.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13You can have a great time just meeting people and chatting.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16You'd come close to shore and you knew they'd be watching you,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19because...something unusual arriving out of the sea,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22and sort of make a big show of being exhausted...
0:39:22 > 0:39:24MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:39:24 > 0:39:27..testing the wind and checking your compass and everything,
0:39:27 > 0:39:29and then just flop on the shore
0:39:29 > 0:39:32and they'd come down and say, "Are you OK? Are you all right?"
0:39:32 > 0:39:35You'd say... AMERICAN ACCENT: "Hey, buddy, this is Ireland?"
0:39:35 > 0:39:37And they'd go, "Aye, it is, you've made it."
0:39:37 > 0:39:39"Are you sure it's Ireland?"
0:39:39 > 0:39:41"It is, really, honest!"
0:39:41 > 0:39:42Before you knew it,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44there's a whole heap of people
0:39:44 > 0:39:45giving you a place for the night,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and...and the best thing is,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50with the Irish, once they realise
0:39:50 > 0:39:51you've been having them on,
0:39:51 > 0:39:53- they love it!- They love it, aye.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I'd love to stop and actually stand
0:39:56 > 0:40:00on the furthest west point.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- Just to say you've done it.- Aye.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04It's rocky, though.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Ach, it's enough to paddle round it.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Anyway, it's on film. You can prove you've been here.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Just coming round the headland, there, and past the lighthouse
0:40:17 > 0:40:19is tremendous.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23I mean, again, we've said it many times throughout the journey,
0:40:23 > 0:40:25that some parts, we've had great weather,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27other times, it's been dreich, like this,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30but it all adds to the...the experience,
0:40:30 > 0:40:33and once you've got the kit on, and you're warm,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35it doesn't really matter, does it?
0:40:35 > 0:40:38No. Keeping going, keeping the heat going and just keeping moving.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Just being able to see these places is fantastic.
0:40:42 > 0:40:43It's always amazing - you want to know
0:40:43 > 0:40:46what's round the next corner and you don't get a bigger sort of
0:40:46 > 0:40:48corner to look round than Ardnamurchan Point.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50It sticks so far west that you just want to see
0:40:50 > 0:40:52what's on the far side of it,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55and the great thing about a kayak is
0:40:55 > 0:40:57that you can look in front of where you are travelling,
0:40:57 > 0:41:00which is not like rowing, where you're travelling backwards,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02and only seeing what is disappearing behind you,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05and that is a point that the Canoe Boys did bring out,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08because, to them, this was quite a new form of travel.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10They were used to rowing, but they weren't used to kayaking,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13so suddenly, they were able to use this motion...
0:41:13 > 0:41:14Turn it 180 degrees.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16..and go forward and see further ahead.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Once again, I am venturing into parts of Scotland
0:41:25 > 0:41:27that are new to me.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30This journey has exceeded all my expectations.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32There's been great scenery, fantastic company
0:41:32 > 0:41:34and genuine exploration.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38It is as good as kicking a ball around, and that's for sure.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42But that's all about to change.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44HE GROANS
0:41:44 > 0:41:47'We're on our way over to Eigg, one of the Small Isles,
0:41:47 > 0:41:49'and I am starting to feel awful.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53'I have no energy and my stomach is turning.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56'The signs are definitely not good.'
0:41:56 > 0:41:58HE GROANS
0:41:59 > 0:42:02HE YELLS
0:42:03 > 0:42:05I've had enough.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08HE RETCHES
0:42:13 > 0:42:15- I've been sick a couple of times. - Have you?
0:42:15 > 0:42:17I cannae...
0:42:17 > 0:42:19I was trying to splash it off.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22HE GROANS
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Can you reach it with that?
0:42:25 > 0:42:27- Cheers. - LAUGHING: Your lentil soup...!
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- Does it feel any better now it's up? - A wee bit, aye.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38Just...ugh...
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Right. Let's go. Get it over with.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45'Predictably, things go from bad to worse.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51'Finally, and perhaps equally predictably, I snap.'
0:43:02 > 0:43:04- Cut my chin. - Your thumb is bleeding.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06- Is it your chin?- My chin.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Oh - quite deep, actually.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Did that just happen out of no extra...no extra push?
0:43:12 > 0:43:14No, it was me. Pushing it.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17Putting a big one right into the water.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20- That still shouldn't happen. - Skimmed right off it.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Temper.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26Temper, taking a big swipe into the water,
0:43:26 > 0:43:28blade didn't catch it,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32bounced up, snapped and smacked my chin.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35It's a good chunk out.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Must've been one of these...big splinters that's stuck in there.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43- Going to need stitches?- I suppose if it was bleeding a lot, you might.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45But it looks like there is, you know, a gouge out.
0:43:48 > 0:43:53It's as bad as it gets. One canoe, no paddle, and a damaged chin.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56And I am left with a sneaky suspicion
0:43:56 > 0:43:58it wasn't Brian just being well prepared
0:43:58 > 0:44:01that made him bring a spare paddle aboard our safety boat.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03OK, we'll see you there. Thanks very much.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Not exactly an enjoyable crossing.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13I'll be glad to get out and get onto dry land.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Luckily, we are only a couple of miles from Eigg
0:44:16 > 0:44:19and the rhythm of paddling should help to calm me down.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21But I know this is one piece of film, unfortunately,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I am not going to be allowed to forget.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30'And it is not just my pride that's been dented.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'It's been confirmed my chin definitely needs attended to.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37'So it is just as well the doctor is visiting the island today.'
0:44:37 > 0:44:39Special service.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41Shows you what a good community they've got here.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43The doctor is waiting on hand.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45They obviously knew I was turning up.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47- Aye.- We're jumping in, are we?
0:44:51 > 0:44:53A few stitches and a bit of glue later,
0:44:53 > 0:44:55and I'm all good to go.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57The great thing about this journey is that,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01even though the day began badly, it ends much better.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04We have landed on the northernmost part of Eigg,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08on the very spot chosen by the original Canoe Boys.
0:45:08 > 0:45:09It is a perfect evening,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12and I am still amazed at how fortunate I've been.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Couldn't have timed it any better.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16You know, the doctor's here, on Eigg.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18- About to leave.- About to leave, aye.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22So it was very fortunate that, you know, the timing we got here...
0:45:22 > 0:45:26To get injured and come into Eigg on the very day the doctor is here,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28- when the doctor is only here every seven days...- I know.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31We could have passed by another ten minutes,
0:45:31 > 0:45:33and missed him completely.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Very nice. You can see where the paddle stuck
0:45:35 > 0:45:37- in the bottom there.- Aye, so...
0:45:37 > 0:45:39It wasn't already sore, it was just more annoying and...
0:45:39 > 0:45:42- And bleeding all over the boat. - It was bleeding, aye.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44I was just more annoyed with myself.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46And we've had two days,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49doing what most people consider very hard -
0:45:49 > 0:45:52- Ardnamurchan Point, Dorus Mor... - Yeah.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54And, you know, you managed great.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59They weren't really too hard in the grand scheme of things,
0:45:59 > 0:46:00and yet today, what should've been
0:46:00 > 0:46:02a relatively straightforward crossing
0:46:02 > 0:46:04- threw up a lot of problems.- Aye.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08But you can't predict how a day is going to start and end.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10When I went up to see the doctor, it's like...
0:46:12 > 0:46:15You start to appreciate what an absolute mammoth task
0:46:15 > 0:46:17these boys were doing.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20As well as being damp all the time, everything is salty,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23so it doesn't dry anyway unless you wash it in fresh water,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and that then is hard and brittle, chafes against your skin.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29You are sitting all day in wet stuff, so you get kind of
0:46:29 > 0:46:31the equivalent of bedsores all the time, because...
0:46:31 > 0:46:33Pressure and wetness.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37- You start to appreciate how tough the task is.- Yeah.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40Well, they were young guys, they were still quite resilient
0:46:40 > 0:46:42and not dramatic and cranky...
0:46:42 > 0:46:44I'd like to think I'm still young.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46Certainly cranky, though, that's the problem!
0:46:46 > 0:46:49THEY LAUGH
0:46:49 > 0:46:53- Anyway, we made it. Cheers. - Cheers. Slainte.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55And I'll say aye to that.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58It is a fantastic spot we've found for the night
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and there's just one job remaining.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Our predecessors lived as cheaply as possible.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09Almost every meal was a concoction of oatmeal, salt, water and butter.
0:47:09 > 0:47:14They called it oatmeal brose, and it almost cooks itself -
0:47:14 > 0:47:17a process they affectionately called "gloating".
0:47:17 > 0:47:20We wanted to see how this worked in practice.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22Dinner time. Dinner time.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Ha-ha-ha...!
0:47:24 > 0:47:27We are going to have some oatmeal brose,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31which...looks decidedly like some porridge,
0:47:31 > 0:47:39but by all accounts, they say once you have a good portion of this,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42done properly, you'll always want this.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45Keep going, keep going.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Keep splashing it on.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50- Cover it up. - What do we do now?
0:47:50 > 0:47:56We gloat, and we look out to Rum and Sleat.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01How long does gloating take?
0:48:01 > 0:48:03I think it maybe takes another one, doesn't it?
0:48:03 > 0:48:05- I think so.- Slainte.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12I think there are worse places to wait for four or five minutes.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15Campfire, great view,
0:48:15 > 0:48:17hear the waterfall in the background...
0:48:17 > 0:48:19No, that's my stomach rumbling.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:48:21 > 0:48:24- Throw a bit of butter on this? - Yes.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Watch my fingers. Watch my fingers.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32"Stir violently."
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Nae wonder! Look at the size of it!
0:48:34 > 0:48:36Once we get the butter going, we put the...
0:48:36 > 0:48:38That's the secret ingredient.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41- Is that "violently"?- Do you want to have a violent shot at it?
0:48:41 > 0:48:46- I think I need to... - You have a violent shot at it.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50It's hard to be violent with a plastic fork, isn't it?
0:48:50 > 0:48:53- I think it's about time that we did some more...gloating.- Yeah.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55- Slainte.- Cheers.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- There we go.- Thank you.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00It's lumpy.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04- Actually, that's all right, isn't it?- Not bad at all.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Apparently, this is the combination, this is the recipe,
0:49:08 > 0:49:13that helped the Scots defeat the Romans and the Vikings
0:49:13 > 0:49:14and anybody else...
0:49:14 > 0:49:18- That cared to have a go. - ..that's cared to have a go so far.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32We are now more than two-thirds of the way
0:49:32 > 0:49:35through our journey up Scotland's west coast.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39It has been totally absorbing and, sometimes, quite hazardous,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42and that sense of jeopardy and an uncertain outcome
0:49:42 > 0:49:46can be fun, especially when you're safe afterwards.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49It is very hard to recreate the feeling of being properly...
0:49:49 > 0:49:52not in danger, but on the edge,
0:49:52 > 0:49:53and if you do,
0:49:53 > 0:49:57by deliberately leaving behind the trappings of safety,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00you're kind of looked at as being
0:50:00 > 0:50:02a little bit irresponsible for doing that.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05But I suppose that's what all adventurers were doing
0:50:05 > 0:50:08in one way or another throughout the years
0:50:08 > 0:50:11and I'm pretty sure that Seumas and Alastair thought like that
0:50:11 > 0:50:14in a number of places that they came into
0:50:14 > 0:50:16that were a little bit irresponsible
0:50:16 > 0:50:18and crazy to be trying what they were trying.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21They were, exactly. And the whole thing about...
0:50:21 > 0:50:24When they met people and asked for advice about what they were doing,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26even the people who realised the boats were quite capable,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28they were constantly being told,
0:50:28 > 0:50:32"It's the wrong time of year, it's too late in the year to do that."
0:50:35 > 0:50:38We're now approaching the fishing village of Mallaig
0:50:38 > 0:50:42and, after the last few days, it feels like a metropolis.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Seumas and Alastair stayed here for nearly three weeks
0:50:45 > 0:50:47repairing their boats, writing up their experiences
0:50:47 > 0:50:50and getting to know the locals.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55We might not have that luxury but there is one person we must meet.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Seumas's daughter Ailish, who lives in Wales,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00has come all the way up here to see these Lochaber canoes
0:51:00 > 0:51:03for the first time.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07Dad would have loved to have been here to see this.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08He really would. So would Alastair.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11They'd have been thrilled, the pair of them.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15The canoes are much smaller than I expected.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17With the picture of the canoes,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20they seemed to be an awful lot longer than that,
0:51:20 > 0:51:21because they were in three bits.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25They had the bit at the front and the same amount at the back
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and then the cockpit, where they were sitting.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31Maybe, when I see them side-on,
0:51:31 > 0:51:34they might be as big but they don't look it!
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Hello!
0:51:36 > 0:51:39- How have you got on?- Not too bad.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43- Good.- You had a nice journey? - Yes, thank you. Lovely.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46- Bit drier than yours, no doubt. - I would think so!
0:51:46 > 0:51:49- Have you enjoyed it? - Yeah, loving it.- Good.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52- I'm Brian. Hi, good to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Never used anything like this before
0:51:55 > 0:51:57but they're fantastic wee boats.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00- Really?- Really capable little boats, yeah.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02- A bit wet.- Yes.
0:52:02 > 0:52:04A lot of water in
0:52:04 > 0:52:06but they go fairly well.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08I never saw the canoe.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11- Wasn't lying about the house or...? - No, no.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14I don't know what happened to them at the end of the trips.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17I really don't know but I never saw them.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20The canoe we had was a much smaller version than this.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22- Really?- A little white thing.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25- That you had as a family? - As a child.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28It's been years since Ailish has been in a canoe
0:52:28 > 0:52:29but that doesn't matter.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33There is no holding her back as she wants to get out and try the boat
0:52:33 > 0:52:34that changed her dad's life.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37I haven't canoed since I was 10 or 11.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41But...
0:52:41 > 0:52:43I reckon I can still do it.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47If I take them off, then they won't get wet.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52I don't think I have ever canoed in a life jacket before,
0:52:52 > 0:52:57so that's going to make it a bit different.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00- There's a handle just there. - Thank you.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02- There we go.- Excellent.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Thank you!
0:53:07 > 0:53:08There we go.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10See if I can catch up with her!
0:53:10 > 0:53:12- I'm right behind you.- OK.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Where'd you want me to go?
0:53:14 > 0:53:15Straight ahead.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19- How does it feel?- Lovely.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25Even today, these splendid boats attract a lot of interest.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27I was looking out the window and thought,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30"I've seen that shape of canoe before.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32"These are the ones from the Canoe Boys,
0:53:32 > 0:53:34"but there aren't any in existence any more,"
0:53:34 > 0:53:38so I came charging down the stairs, nearly broke my neck.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41They look exactly like the photographs in the book
0:53:41 > 0:53:44and, of course, there's the drawing in the book, as well,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47which gives you all the proportions.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49They look absolutely spot-on.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51If they were in open sea
0:53:51 > 0:53:53and it was rough,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56it must have been quite scary.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59I was surprised at how well they scoot along. It's quite amazing.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02They look like they would not go very fast at all
0:54:02 > 0:54:05but they seem to handle very nicely.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08Lovely! I enjoyed it.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11As I say, I'm very surprised at the size of it.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14That was great fun.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18There's just one final leg of our journey left,
0:54:18 > 0:54:20up the Sound of Sleat, through Kylerhea
0:54:20 > 0:54:23and finishing under the Skye Bridge at Kyleakin.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27At Kylerhea, the current can be fierce
0:54:27 > 0:54:29but, today, the tide's with us
0:54:29 > 0:54:32so Brian plans to finish our journey in style.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Here we go. It's like being on the waltzers.
0:54:34 > 0:54:35Right, we need it on that side.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38You take the brolly over the other side.
0:54:38 > 0:54:39Paddling on deck.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41Oh, aye.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45That was smoothly done, eh? You take the brolly.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Put that forward. A wee bit up higher.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Just catching a wee bit more wind.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Keep it low. Tilt it forward a wee bit.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58That's it.
0:54:58 > 0:54:59And off we go.
0:55:00 > 0:55:01Mary Poppins!
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Brian's showing his experience.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07He was like... Very quickly handed the umbrella over to me
0:55:07 > 0:55:09and I was like, "That's not easy!
0:55:09 > 0:55:13"I'll just get the other end and steer but you hold the brolly!"
0:55:16 > 0:55:18That was great. I could imagine getting over to Stornoway
0:55:18 > 0:55:21if I had that assistance all the way.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25Yeah, we had everything going with us. Wind, brolly, tide, everything.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28I'm thinking we should be able to see the Skye Bridge around this...
0:55:28 > 0:55:29I think so, too. Yeah.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33Pretty sure of it.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Oh, look at the seal on the water.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37Oh, aye! Brilliant.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42- There she goes.- Uh-huh.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44- We're pretty close to it.- Yeah.
0:55:44 > 0:55:46Be nice if it was a dolphin.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49- Just to...- Finish the trip.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55There's a certain sense of achievement pulling in here,
0:55:55 > 0:55:56I've got to say, for myself.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59Not half. We're still floating. Still in one piece.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01That's the achievement.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03Still talking to each other.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Just about.
0:56:05 > 0:56:06Don't hit a rock, mate.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Come a cropper.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13Just a few more paddle strokes and we'll be there,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16and waiting on the shore are our boat builders Martin Hughes
0:56:16 > 0:56:20and the apprentices Connor Campbell and Ben McColgan.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Making these replica canoes was a labour of love for them,
0:56:24 > 0:56:27and these Lochabers have passed every test.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29They've come through practically unscathed.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33- Hello, there!- Well done, boys.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34Always nice to get out.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40Even better when you've managed to get in one piece.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Not just ourselves but the boats as well.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Job well done, guys. Job well done.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Thank you very much. And to yourself
0:56:46 > 0:56:49- for actually rowing this far in them.- Aye. In all seriousness...
0:56:49 > 0:56:53- Boats speak for themselves, don't they?- Well done, guys.- Excellent.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55Well done to you both.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Completing the journey and surviving.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58Yeah, it's been great fun.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01Really good-looking boats as well.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04I've not got any real sort of marine background,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06but, again, Brian's a big fan of them
0:57:06 > 0:57:10and you'd be surprised the amount of folk that have come up
0:57:10 > 0:57:13and passed comment and know all about them as well.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I can see kind of the fun and the joy of just going out there
0:57:16 > 0:57:18without a care in the world and just adventuring, really.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20And you could do it from start to finish.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22You could make the thing, get in it and go.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26It looks like great fun and it's a few weeks away, just going on.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Get into the canoe, that would be great.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31So that's the end of this particular trip
0:57:31 > 0:57:35but it could be the start of something new for Connor and Ben,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and, in the true spirit of the Canoe Boys,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40it's time for them to have a go in these beautiful boats
0:57:40 > 0:57:41that they made for our journey.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45And what a journey it's been.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48I have negotiated the whirlpools of the Dorus Mor,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51the tidal race on my crossing to Mull,
0:57:51 > 0:57:54I've successfully kayaked round Ardnamurchan Point
0:57:54 > 0:57:58and been a little less successful in a confrontation with a paddle.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03And what became of the original Canoe Boys?
0:58:03 > 0:58:06Alastair Dunnett realised his journalistic ambitions
0:58:06 > 0:58:10and went on to become editor of the Daily Record and the Scotsman.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12He was knighted for services to journalism
0:58:12 > 0:58:15and public life in Scotland.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17Seumas Adam also prospered.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20He became a notable author, broadcaster and poet
0:58:20 > 0:58:23and he was someone who promoted Scotland around the world.
0:58:25 > 0:58:26As for Brian and I,
0:58:26 > 0:58:30well, we're already planning for our next adventure.