0:00:07 > 0:00:11I'm about to embark on a brand-new journey.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15A journey rich in history from the very earliest times.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20I want to combine elemental seascapes and coastlines
0:00:20 > 0:00:21with some of the most remote
0:00:21 > 0:00:25and least-visited mountain summits in the country.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28And all of it under these great domed skies,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31some of the widest and most open skies you'll find
0:00:31 > 0:00:33anywhere on the planet.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46This really is a journey of discovery.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I'll be travelling through a landscape
0:00:48 > 0:00:51that resonates with our culture and history.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is where you can unearth the forces
0:00:53 > 0:00:56that shape the people we are today.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59For the past four decades and more,
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I've been exploring this wonderful land of ours
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and in that time I've realised
0:01:04 > 0:01:08there is always somewhere new to visit and something new to learn.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12So I hope you'll join me as I once again start out
0:01:12 > 0:01:15on foot, on bike and with my beloved campervan
0:01:15 > 0:01:19along more of our roads less travelled.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Over the years I've spent an inordinate amount of time
0:01:25 > 0:01:30exploring the glorious landscapes of the Western Highlands and islands.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33But this time I thought I'd come east
0:01:33 > 0:01:37and I'm starting this journey of discovery in Sutherland,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39just north of Dornoch Point.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44GEESE HONK
0:01:46 > 0:01:50And what a fantastic start to a walk this is.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53OK, I know there's no steep-sided jaggy-topped mountains,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56but there's a wonderful sense of spaciousness,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59as though you could just walk on and on for ever.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It's like the call of the open road.
0:02:02 > 0:02:03And it's a curious thing,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07but over the years I've come to love being in landscapes like this
0:02:07 > 0:02:11almost as much as I love being in amongst the high mountains.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19I'll be using a variety of modes of transport on this journey
0:02:19 > 0:02:23as I explore some of the hidden corners of northern Scotland,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26those places well away from the normal tourist trails.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27And this is one of them.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29This is Dornoch airstrip,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32the smallest airstrip in Scotland.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35So I don't really expect too many international flights
0:02:35 > 0:02:37to be landing here.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Having said that, in the 1930s,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45this place was a hive of activity, and during the Second World War,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48as you can well imagine, it was well used.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00The Civil Aviation Act has some really weird rules.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It says no kite flying, and I get that, that's fine.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05But down here it says,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09"You must obtain permission before dropping objects
0:03:09 > 0:03:12"such as teddy bears, sweets, etc."
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I mean, what sort of eejit would bring a teddy bear to an airstrip?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Well, me, I guess.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23But I promise you, young Archibald will not be coming with me
0:03:23 > 0:03:24for the whole of my journey.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29This year I really am on roads less travelled.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31My route follows Sutherland's east coast
0:03:31 > 0:03:34before entering the wild open spaces
0:03:34 > 0:03:37and remote Flow Country of Caithness.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39From there, I'm crossing the water
0:03:39 > 0:03:40to the Orkney Islands.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And what an expedition that will be.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46South Ronaldsay, Rousay and Sandy,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48before finishing my journey
0:03:48 > 0:03:52at the furthest tip of this archipelago on North Ronaldsay.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55This should be another fantastic trip
0:03:55 > 0:03:58and I hope you'll be with me every step of the way.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Normally I like to get going immediately,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06try and get a few miles under my belt right away,
0:04:06 > 0:04:08but today I'm going to linger for just a wee while
0:04:08 > 0:04:11because there's a place along the road here
0:04:11 > 0:04:14with some really interesting things I just want to check out.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22I'm spending a few hours in Dornoch.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25This town is famous for its cathedral and golf course,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29but the Dornoch we see today is very different
0:04:29 > 0:04:31from how the town used to look.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Once, many people lived in rudimentary dwellings
0:04:33 > 0:04:36and their lives were based on the land.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38All that came to an end
0:04:38 > 0:04:42when the Countess of Sutherland began a programme of radical change.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48Local historian Anne Coombs remembers events of 200 years ago.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50This is Little Town.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52It came into being
0:04:52 > 0:04:56at the time of the Duchess Countess of Sutherland,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01who cleared the centre of Dornoch of its turf, its feel houses -
0:05:01 > 0:05:06a name for a turf house with a turf wall and turf roof.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10And these people were cleared from the centre of Dornoch
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and given these stone houses out on the outskirts.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16You would consider it probably quite a good thing to move people
0:05:16 > 0:05:19from turf houses to solid stone-built houses.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Yes. I think these days, we would be quite grateful,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27but they're changing their whole way of life,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31their whole sense of belonging is being transferred
0:05:31 > 0:05:36and they were kind of expected to suddenly become...fishermen.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41But, of course, Dornoch hasn't got a harbour
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and never will have a harbour.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45It's just not the right kind of coastline for it.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49So this potential fishing village never happened.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51But then we've got these lovely,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55typical, Dornoch honey-coloured stone houses.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02You know, I've only ever sort of travelled through Dornoch.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06You know, I've visited it in passing and don't really know it very well,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09but there's a lovely feel of it not being modern.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Yes, it would have been planned in the medieval period
0:06:11 > 0:06:14because you've got the burgage plots going out that way.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16What are burgage plots?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It's a way of dividing up the land.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22You would have a house at the public end
0:06:22 > 0:06:25facing into the high street
0:06:25 > 0:06:28and then behind it an area of land.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32I think it's 26 feet and 9 inches,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35the width is something bizarre,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38it's a very definite amount.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Isn't there something in the churchyard used for measuring?
0:06:41 > 0:06:42Is that that connected with that?
0:06:42 > 0:06:47Yes, because if you were a borough, you could have markets,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and of course, here, it was an ecclesiastical borough
0:06:51 > 0:06:55and so the church could take a little bit of,
0:06:55 > 0:07:02shall we say, tax from anybody who had a store in the market.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06So where is this measuring stone?
0:07:06 > 0:07:07It's just over here.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Oh, right, OK.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12The Plaiden Ell.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15So how would this work? How would you measure things with this?
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Well, you've got these two metal stobs here
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and that would give you the measurement
0:07:21 > 0:07:23between here and here.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24So that is an ell.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28The ell had the church as its guarantee.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34If you made a deal within the sight of this, of the church,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36then it was binding.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40It just added to the guarantee, I think.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And, of course, the notorious side of this town
0:07:43 > 0:07:46is you burnt the last witch in Scotland.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Yes, I'm afraid we did.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Poor Janet Horne. She came from further north, near Helmsdale.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53She had been a lady's maid in her youth
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and so probably had a few airs and graces
0:07:56 > 0:08:01that just annoyed the neighbours and she was accused of witchcraft.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04She had a daughter who had a club foot
0:08:04 > 0:08:07and she was supposed to cast spells on the animals
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and that sort of thing, and eventually she was brought
0:08:10 > 0:08:13to the ecclesiastical court that still ran in those days,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17the very early 1700s, and they convicted her,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20took her down to the shore,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23covered her in tar and feathers and then burnt her.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27By the time this happened, she probably was an old woman
0:08:27 > 0:08:30and slightly suffering from what we would call dementia.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35We've improved since then, vastly.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37We welcome everybody.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40And that's a message for all of us,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43as I've got one more place I must visit
0:08:43 > 0:08:46before getting some miles under my belt.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49This wooden building behind me here
0:08:49 > 0:08:52is another part of Dornoch's history.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54It's the old Dornoch railway station.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57In 1902, the Dornoch Light Railway was created
0:08:57 > 0:09:01and it linked the town of Dornoch and the village of Embo
0:09:01 > 0:09:04with the main Inverness to Wick railway line.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Just as people used that link to go south,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11that railway line brought people from the south to Dornoch
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and lots of people came here to enjoy the golf,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18to use the nice new hotels that had been built around the golf courses,
0:09:18 > 0:09:20to enjoy the beach.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23And, really, that railway line put Dornoch
0:09:23 > 0:09:25very firmly on the tourist map.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36I'm following the old railway,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and today, it's a lovely footpath.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43And it's a path that falls within my philosophy of roads less travelled.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48And that's a philosophy borrowed from the American poet Robert Frost
0:09:48 > 0:09:52who once wrote, "Two paths diverged in a wood and I,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55"I took the path less travelled by."
0:09:55 > 0:09:56I really like that.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I'm approaching the former fishing village of Embo
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and it's a wee village forever associated with
0:10:10 > 0:10:15the old music hall song Granny's Heilan' Hame.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17# In the shadow of Ben Bhraggie
0:10:17 > 0:10:20# By Golspie's lordly stane
0:10:20 > 0:10:23# How I wish that I could see
0:10:23 > 0:10:27# My granny's heilan' hame. #
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I know, I know, it's all kind of sugary sweet,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34but it was written by an Embo lad who had to leave this area
0:10:34 > 0:10:36to go and find work in the south.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38His name was Sandy McFarlane.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41And I think Granny's Heilan' Hame is a kind of metaphor
0:10:41 > 0:10:42for that place of longing,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44that place you've had to leave behind.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46It's a song of the emigrant.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58That's been a really pleasant three-mile stroll
0:10:58 > 0:11:01along the old railway line from Dornoch.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04The railway line itself closed in 1960
0:11:04 > 0:11:07when car ownership became much more widespread
0:11:07 > 0:11:11and the railway line itself became less and less profitable.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15But in its heyday, it was a vital link for Embo.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17A lot of the womenfolk here were herring gutters
0:11:17 > 0:11:20and they used the railway line to get down
0:11:20 > 0:11:24to the big herring ports of England where they could earn enough money
0:11:24 > 0:11:27to send back for their often struggling families.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38In 1988, this village declared itself
0:11:38 > 0:11:43independent from the rest of the UK for one day,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45for charity purposes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48They also introduced their own currency.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51You got two cuddies to a pound.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54But the only place you could spend these cuddies was in the local pub,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58where you got a dram of the local malt whisky for a cuddie.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03So 50 pence for a dram of whisky, declaring itself independent...
0:12:03 > 0:12:05I think Embo is my kind of village.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22On this journey I want to visit some of those places that,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25for various reasons, I have ignored in the past
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and the campervan is an ideal way
0:12:27 > 0:12:30of exploring Scotland's roads less travelled.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34At the moment I'm heading north to a rather special place.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37It's a place that's normally teeming with wildlife.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52I've just arrived on the shores of Loch Fleet,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56which is the most northerly estuary on the east coast of Scotland,
0:12:56 > 0:13:00and it's really a great big tidal basin surrounded by salt marsh,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03sand dunes and pine woods.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06So, as you can imagine, it's a wonderful place for wildlife,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10particularly birds - waders and migrants.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And also common seals.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16We quite often get common seals at low tide
0:13:16 > 0:13:19coming up and sunning themselves on the sandbanks.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26That's just amazing.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27It's like seal city out there.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30I love seals.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35I just love the folklore of seals, the stories of the selkies,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38the seal people who cast their sealskin
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and come ashore and take lovers,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and take them back out to the deep.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44It's wonderful.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05I've just driven 10 miles round Loch Fleet to the northern shore,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09a journey that, 200 years ago, would only have taken a few minutes,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12because there used to be a ferry running across here.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14But you can see the fast tide race,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18and that tide race caused quite a number of accidents.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22And it was decided to take the road right round Loch Fleet,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25crossing a causeway at the far western end.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29And that's resulted in this tiny little hamlet here,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34appropriately called Little Ferry, becoming a haven of tranquillity.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36It's peaceful, it's quiet.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's a beautiful place where ornithologists come
0:14:38 > 0:14:40to enjoy the wildfowl.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49It's hard to imagine that 200 years ago,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51this would have been a busy, bustling,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53thriving little ferry port.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55This very road that I'm walking on
0:14:55 > 0:14:59would have been full of horses and carts and cows and sheep and dogs,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01all kinds of travellers.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03There was a ferryman's house here.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06There was a pilot's house, there was a custom house.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10There were three stores for fish, there was an ice house,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13there was a shop and there was an inn.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And it seems that today, nature has reclaimed Little Ferry.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Peace has returned.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29As I've wandered up this eastern coastline from Dornoch,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33one mountain dominates the skyline - Ben Bhraggie.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35So I can't resist climbing it.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38And I've got good company, too -
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Rob Gibson was an MSP until he retired earlier this year
0:15:42 > 0:15:45after representing this area for more than a decade.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48It's a part of Scotland he's passionate about.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53He started his career as a geography teacher at nearby Alness,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57so he's an ideal person to tell me more about this landscape,
0:15:57 > 0:16:01including the Big Burn gorge, where our walk starts.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05It's been gouged out by the great rivers
0:16:05 > 0:16:08that were created at the end of the ice age.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It's an amazing walk because you can traverse
0:16:13 > 0:16:16from one side to the other on bridges that have been built
0:16:16 > 0:16:19and the falls are spectacular.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21And I think that, because of the trees
0:16:21 > 0:16:23and the overhanging vegetation,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25it's got that feeling of being hidden.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28I started this particular journey just south of Dornoch
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and I haven't travelled very far yet,
0:16:30 > 0:16:31just really as far as Golspie,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34but already I have an impression that this part of Scotland
0:16:34 > 0:16:36is perhaps more affluent than, say, the west.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Would that be a fair assumption?
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Not entirely. The west is certainly made up of small communities
0:16:42 > 0:16:45where there is crofting, and when crofting was created,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48it held some population, they're scattered.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51These small villages and towns on the east coast
0:16:51 > 0:16:54were also the product of the Clearances,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57because people from near to here were shovelled off the land
0:16:57 > 0:16:59and into villages,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03but the purpose of these villages now is more commuter,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05so there's got to be a very different way
0:17:05 > 0:17:08of thinking about this place to bring back life to here
0:17:08 > 0:17:10as much as it is to the west.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Now, you were brought up in Glasgow.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16What brought you to this part of the north-east Highlands?
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Well, I looked at the top of Craigpark towards the Campsies.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And I looked across towards the other hills and I thought,
0:17:23 > 0:17:24"I want to be up in those places."
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And I wanted to work in the Highlands, in particular,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30because the Highlands and Islands Development Board
0:17:30 > 0:17:31had just been taking off
0:17:31 > 0:17:33with the idea of repopulating this area.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35New lights shining in the glen,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39as had been said about Assynt much, much later.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43And I believe that's what drew me to come here in the first place.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Oh, it's warm. It's lovely.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49It's quite interesting - like me, you're a hill walker,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and many of our ilk don't really want to see
0:17:52 > 0:17:55anybody else on the hills, we want to keep them,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57as we think, pristine.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02But your stance has always been getting people in the glens.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Yes, well, I always remember walking near the Cobbler
0:18:05 > 0:18:10when I was a school kid and I saw these ruins there, of houses,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and I wanted to know why they were ruined.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19And the fact of walking in the hills was something which allowed me
0:18:19 > 0:18:23to see the country and to see what had been made of it
0:18:23 > 0:18:26because, like Frank Fraser Darling says,
0:18:26 > 0:18:31it's a wet desert and it's been a man-made wet desert.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35And the fact that the environment has been degraded
0:18:35 > 0:18:38has meant that the humans who used to live in it
0:18:38 > 0:18:40couldn't live in it as it is now.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42What do you think Frank Fraser Darling
0:18:42 > 0:18:44meant by that term "wet desert"?
0:18:44 > 0:18:49Well, I think he meant that it is a temperate,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52nearly subarctic area with a lot of rain.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57But he saw that in land that had previously been grazed,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00people were not using it in a balanced way
0:19:00 > 0:19:04and he saw the huge shooting estates and the great sheep farms
0:19:04 > 0:19:08of the previous era as something that had degraded that.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Indeed, Patrick Sellar,
0:19:09 > 0:19:14the great developer of parts of central Sutherland,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18saw, after 20 years, the degradation of the land
0:19:18 > 0:19:20that he'd relied on to make a profit.
0:19:20 > 0:19:26The land that had been tilled in the glens by people for 5,000 years
0:19:26 > 0:19:30had been destroyed as a landscape in 30.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36We've come on today's walk
0:19:36 > 0:19:38both to reach the summit of Ben Bhraggie
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and to get a close-up view of the Duke of Sutherland's statue.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The Duke of Sutherland was responsible for clearing families
0:19:47 > 0:19:49from vast areas of the surrounding countryside.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Some people have campaigned for the removal of this monument.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58So how does Rob feel about such a controversial landmark
0:19:58 > 0:20:00dominating the village of Golspie?
0:20:02 > 0:20:03Unfortunate, I think,
0:20:03 > 0:20:08but local people think it's part of their landscape.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11"It gives a look to the place," somebody said.
0:20:11 > 0:20:17For me, I recognise that many people see it as a symbol of oppression
0:20:17 > 0:20:20and I think that the more we actually teach
0:20:20 > 0:20:22about these things in our schools,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26it will remind people exactly how that oppression took place
0:20:26 > 0:20:29and why it should never be allowed to happen again.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35I've been a part of movements
0:20:35 > 0:20:38that thought it should be removed in the past,
0:20:38 > 0:20:43but we are where we are, and I think that with the fact that it's there,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and with the knowledge that we're much more confident now
0:20:46 > 0:20:48to deal with issues surrounding land,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52that it becomes something that you can then put in its place,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56put it in its historic context and say,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59"These times were bad, but they're never coming back."
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Well, Rob, I guess the way it's blowing today,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12we might not have to worry about toppling the statue.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Well, I guess that might well be the case,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17but in 1838, when they were building it,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19the scaffolding was blown down,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23and some of these blocks are three tonnes in weight,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26so we're dealing with something that would be quite difficult to move.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Despite the statue here,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31we're actually at the top of Ben Bhraggie.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32What's the sort of feeling you get
0:21:32 > 0:21:34when you get to the top of any summit?
0:21:34 > 0:21:39Well, it's a great view and it's super to be able to manage
0:21:39 > 0:21:43up to hills like this with the surroundings in which we are.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46This part of the world is so good to be in.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Do you think you'll ever tire of views like this?
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Never. I think the answer is that
0:21:50 > 0:21:54when you get to a hill like this and you look at the history
0:21:54 > 0:21:56and the potential round about,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58you think, "This is the place to be."
0:22:11 > 0:22:15After only a couple of days, I think I'm getting acclimatised
0:22:15 > 0:22:18to this north-east corner of Scotland.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20OK, there might not be giant mountains
0:22:20 > 0:22:21to look at and admire,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25but there are mile upon miles of golden beaches,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27some of the best beaches I've seen anywhere.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31And there are some pretty good campsites too.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34My preference would normally be to camp wild,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37but when you've got a good campsite, nice hot showers,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40well, you grab that opportunity just when you can.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Any good walk can be enhanced
0:22:51 > 0:22:55by having somewhere comfortable to spend the night afterwards.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57See you tomorrow.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21While I love to drive around the Highlands and Islands
0:23:21 > 0:23:23in my campervan, it really is only a means to an end
0:23:23 > 0:23:27and what I really enjoy is getting out of the van, leaving it behind
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and going for a long walk or cycle run.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31And this is a really good example of that.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It's a fantastic stretch of coastline
0:23:33 > 0:23:36between the former fishing village of Golspie
0:23:36 > 0:23:39and the lovely little seaside town of Brora,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43formerly a thriving centre of industry.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And make sure you close the gate behind you!
0:23:55 > 0:23:57HE CHUCKLES
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Have a look at that.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11You won't see many of those in your average coastal walk.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17This is Dunrobin Castle,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22Many people would claim
0:24:22 > 0:24:26this is the grandest house in the North of Scotland,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27but I think in this context,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32the word "house" is a bit of a major understatement.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36It certainly looks like something out of a Disney fairy-tale.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40It's very, very grand and it brings lots of tourists
0:24:40 > 0:24:43into this part of Scotland by the busload.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46But I'm not altogether sure of what I think of it, personally.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49For me, it's a sort of statement of wealth and privilege.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50Anyway, that's Dunrobin.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54I'm not DONE ROVING, and I'd better watch the clock
0:24:54 > 0:24:56because I've still got a few miles to go.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10I've spent most of my life climbing mountains
0:25:10 > 0:25:15and it's only in recent times that I've began to appreciate the joys,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17the delights, of coastal walking.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22And I've wandered along this coast between Golspie and Brora,
0:25:22 > 0:25:26just trying to get it clear in my head what those joys actually are.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29I think there's a number of things, but I can think of two immediately.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33One is the smell and the scent of the coast.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37You've got this lovely salt tang from the water
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and the nice smells of the seaweed.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43But on another level, which I think is probably more fundamental,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47is the continuous music of the sea
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and it's in different layers.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53On one level, you've got this marvellous sound of birds,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55this joyous outpouring of the skylark
0:25:55 > 0:25:58mixed with the raucous call of the gulls
0:25:58 > 0:26:01or the piercing shrieks of the oystercatchers,
0:26:01 > 0:26:07or that lovely cooing melody, that chorus of the eider ducks.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13And all that is underpinned by this pulsing rhythm of the sea itself.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21It's almost like a bass booming of the surf as it breaks on the shore,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and I really don't think there's any need for a set of earplugs
0:26:24 > 0:26:26and a personal music player.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36I've arrived in Brora.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41This looks like a really sleepy little village,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45but at one time, it was the major industrial site in Sutherland.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49It had one of the first coal mines in Scotland
0:26:49 > 0:26:51and it had a great big quarry,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54the rock from which built Dunrobin Castle,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56London Bridge and Liverpool Cathedral,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01but it also had a brick works, a distillery and a woollen mill.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Indeed, it was because of the woollen industry
0:27:05 > 0:27:06that Brora became the first town
0:27:06 > 0:27:09in the north of Scotland to get electricity,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and for a while, it was known throughout the Highlands
0:27:12 > 0:27:15as Electric City - how cool is that?
0:27:20 > 0:27:23One of the big advantages of being in the east coast of Scotland
0:27:23 > 0:27:25is the public transport system.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I can enjoy my walk and then get back to my campervan in Golspie
0:27:28 > 0:27:31by simply jumping on a bus or catching a train.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39I can't always take the roads less travelled
0:27:39 > 0:27:41and for a few miles, I'm on the A9.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46This is a road I know well. I've often driven this way
0:27:46 > 0:27:47and I cycled along it
0:27:47 > 0:27:50on my Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54But in the past, I've always had to keep to a tight schedule.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56This time, I don't.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02I've passed through Helmsdale numerous times over the years,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04but I've never actually stopped and lingered here
0:28:04 > 0:28:07for any length of time, so I want to rectify that,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09because Helmsdale is not only
0:28:09 > 0:28:11an attractive little seaside village,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14but it also has some strong historical links.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Unlike many of the harbours on Scotland's coastline,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25this is still a real place of work.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28At one time, it was one of the principal herring ports
0:28:28 > 0:28:30on the whole of Scotland's coastline,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33and even today, you'll get fishing boats
0:28:33 > 0:28:35tied up alongside the leisure craft.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Here in the pier, there's plenty of creels, fish crates,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42all sorts of things which suggest
0:28:42 > 0:28:45that Helmsdale still has a strong connection with the sea.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53There's one place in particular I'm quite keen to visit.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57It started life about 30 years ago as a small heritage centre,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00but in that time, it's transformed itself
0:29:00 > 0:29:03into an award-winning social and cultural hub,
0:29:03 > 0:29:08an integral part of this small but vibrant northern community.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14What makes the Timespan Museum highly unusual is
0:29:14 > 0:29:18its work isn't rooted within the four walls of the building,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but has spread out to encompass the surrounding area.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Its director is Anna Vermehren.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26Originally from Germany,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29she's lived in Scotland for the last 15 years.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33She's become a passionate advocate for this part of the country
0:29:33 > 0:29:35and why it deserves to be better known.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39It's brilliant living here. The stunning views over the sea
0:29:39 > 0:29:41to the Moray coast and to Aberdeenshire,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43but also the hills behind,
0:29:43 > 0:29:44it's just magical.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Look at the view. You can see Morven from here
0:29:48 > 0:29:50and the escarpments and Maiden Pap.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53It's really just the border to Caithness.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57We've come a couple of miles north-west of Helmsdale
0:29:57 > 0:29:59into the Strath of Kildonan.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03Recently the museum coordinated a community-led project
0:30:03 > 0:30:06to excavate the former township of Caen.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Once, over 1,500 people lived in this glen,
0:30:10 > 0:30:12but along with the other settlements,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16this village was cleared in the early part of the 19th century.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Today, these remains are all that are left.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23We're looking at a longhouse right in front of us
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and you can see how long it actually is.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29This is the longhouse which we excavated in 2013.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32This part was where the people lived,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34a hearth here pretty much in the middle,
0:30:34 > 0:30:36which we were quite astonished about,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39because usually you would have a hearth further, at the end,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42and then here at the end is cobbled flooring,
0:30:42 > 0:30:44which means that probably,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47the animals were down here at this end.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52These houses were probably not as old as other longhouses
0:30:52 > 0:30:54that you can find in the Strath.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Longhouses really came from the Vikings,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59the design of the longhouse, and were then adapted over time.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02But these ones here were probably built
0:31:02 > 0:31:04not long before the Clearances.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08It must have been a life that was pretty busy.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Yes, probably pretty busy, but you also would have had
0:31:11 > 0:31:14long, dark winters and time around the fire.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17I mean, we know of very vivid
0:31:17 > 0:31:20musical and storytelling traditions of that time.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23So, yes, I do think that people had time too.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Sitting in the long, dark nights,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28singing some songs, drinking whisky.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33Yeah, maybe a slightly romanticised idea of what it was like.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Probably the most prominent and interesting item that we found
0:31:37 > 0:31:41was a still, and we like to believe it was an illicit still,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43which was found in the barn just over there.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47OK, what else can we see?
0:31:47 > 0:31:49We can see a corn-drying kiln.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52It was a very special place for a township
0:31:52 > 0:31:55because it was warm and people gathered here
0:31:55 > 0:32:00with the fire underneath and a layer of probably bracken
0:32:00 > 0:32:04and other things to put the corn on top to dry it out for the winter
0:32:04 > 0:32:06so that it would keep.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08There are also numerous stories
0:32:08 > 0:32:12of young people going into the corn-drying kiln,
0:32:12 > 0:32:13having a bit of private time there.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15Oh, right.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17How important was the settlement?
0:32:17 > 0:32:20We know it went back over a long, long period of time,
0:32:20 > 0:32:24but how important was this particular place?
0:32:24 > 0:32:28I think, overall, these places generally are really important
0:32:28 > 0:32:31because you can see how people must have lived here
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and it's something that you don't see elsewhere.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37So Sutherland, and especially the Strath of Kildonan,
0:32:37 > 0:32:38gives you this opportunity
0:32:38 > 0:32:41to see the footings of the houses in the landscape,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45while elsewhere, the evidence of people living in the land
0:32:45 > 0:32:48has actually gone through agricultural practices
0:32:48 > 0:32:51and taking these footings out of the ground.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Are you aware of anything similar that happened in the rest of Europe?
0:32:56 > 0:33:01Looking at the landscape in Germany, where I'm from, north of Hamburg,
0:33:01 > 0:33:06near Kiel, the industrialisation really disrupted
0:33:06 > 0:33:11the agricultural system there in the early 1900s,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14where big farms were getting bigger and bigger
0:33:14 > 0:33:17through more industrial production,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and people had to leave the land
0:33:20 > 0:33:23and move into different sectors and move into the cities.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27And I think it's a really important thing to preserve,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29to have for future generations,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34to come and actually see this evidence of people living here.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39Although I'm still in Sutherland, psychologically,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43this feels a long way from the start of my journey at Dornoch.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Now I'm moving into wilder terrain,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48and shortly I'll be entering
0:33:48 > 0:33:51the vast, open landscapes of Caithness.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53This will be a journey of discovery for me,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56all the way up to the north coast at Gills Bay.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59But before all that,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02there's one thing I really must try my hand at.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05You never know, this could change my fortunes forever.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11In 1868, a man by the name of Robert Nelson Gilchrist
0:34:11 > 0:34:12came back to Scotland
0:34:12 > 0:34:16after spending six years in Australia as a gold prospector.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19When he arrived home, he thought he'd try his hand
0:34:19 > 0:34:21in the Helmsdale River
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and, lo and behold, found a rather large nugget of gold.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28The story soon spread, local newspapers carried it,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31as did the London Illustrated News.
0:34:31 > 0:34:37And as a result, over 600 hopeful prospectors landed here at Kildonan.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41The event soon became known as the Kildonan Gold Rush.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49With all these people arriving on a fairly remote part of Sutherland,
0:34:49 > 0:34:52it wasn't long before a village appeared.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55There were huts, there were tents, there was even a saloon bar,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59and the whole area became known as the Baile an Or,
0:34:59 > 0:35:01or "the township of gold".
0:35:03 > 0:35:04But the boom didn't last long.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Not very many of the men made it rich
0:35:07 > 0:35:11and, gradually, the prospectors vanished off on other adventures.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Today, the ubiquitous bracken has largely staked its claim
0:35:15 > 0:35:18on what was once this village of gold.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30You will have heard of fool's gold - well, I'm the fool who's tempted
0:35:30 > 0:35:32into searching for gold in the burn here.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I've got my gold panning kit with me.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37I've got the pan, I've got a little pair of tweezers,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39just in case I see something goldish
0:35:39 > 0:35:41sparkling in the stuff that I bring up,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and I've got a magnifying glass.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49And you can tell I'm not hopeful of finding something very big.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50So let's give it a go, shall we?
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Now, I hope you realise that if I strike gold,
0:35:58 > 0:36:00that will be the end of the programme.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Your screen will just go blank.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Whoa-ho!
0:36:06 > 0:36:08I think I've struck lucky.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18Only kidding. I've still got a lot of travelling to do.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Leaving the riches of the river behind me,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27I've come further up the Strath to the remote moors above Forsinard.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31This landscape hasn't the obvious beauty of the coast
0:36:31 > 0:36:34or the rugged mountains further west,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36but don't let that deceive you.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40People who live and work here are passionate about it,
0:36:40 > 0:36:41and with good reason.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45I love these vast open spaces. Up here, you can see
0:36:45 > 0:36:49great distances and it's brilliant when you're walking around here.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52You feel as if you're in a really remote place.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Paul Turner spent five years as an IT trainer in Glasgow
0:36:58 > 0:37:01before following his dreams of a career in conservation.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04He now works for the RSPB
0:37:04 > 0:37:07as they restore this part of the Flow Country
0:37:07 > 0:37:09to its natural state.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13The term Flow Country comes from the Norse word "floes",
0:37:13 > 0:37:16which kind of means a wet place,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and you can see from the landscape it is a very wet place.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24It's an area of undulating hills.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26If you look at it on a map, it looks quite flat,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30but the reality of it is there's lots of little hills and hillocks.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34After the start of last Ice Age, a lot of it was sheared away
0:37:34 > 0:37:38and then the climate was such that it kind of promoted sphagnum growth
0:37:38 > 0:37:40and that sphagnum didn't really rot away,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44but started to form peat, and so it becomes this carpet,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46if you like, of blanket bog.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49That's what makes it unique, is that sort of blanket bog.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53I'm looking around here and it just seems a place of vast distances.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58Can you give me an idea of the scale of this Flow Country?
0:37:58 > 0:38:02The Forsinard reserve is 25 miles, roughly, from one end to the other.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05If you were to lie that in the central belt of Scotland,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09you're roughly stretching from the East End of Glasgow
0:38:09 > 0:38:10to the west end of Edinburgh.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14But the Flow Country itself is obviously much larger than that.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17So it is, as you say, a vast landscape.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21People of my generation will remember
0:38:21 > 0:38:25there was a time when lots of celebrities were investing
0:38:25 > 0:38:27in forests here in the Flow Country.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29- Yep.- Now, what was all that about?
0:38:29 > 0:38:32Yeah, in the 1970s and '80s predominantly,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35the government was offering tax incentives
0:38:35 > 0:38:39for people that had large incomes to offset some of that
0:38:39 > 0:38:44and basically it involved planting lots of non-native conifer trees
0:38:44 > 0:38:47in the Flow Country which, for a lot of people,
0:38:47 > 0:38:51was seen as a kind of vast wasteland that didn't really do very much,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53it was very unproductive.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55You can't really grow crops here,
0:38:55 > 0:39:00you can't grow grass for grazing sheep and cattle particularly well,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03there's no real place for industry in this kind of landscape,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07so it was kind of seen as making at least something out of it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09So what created the mind-set change
0:39:09 > 0:39:12that actually stopped this forestation
0:39:12 > 0:39:14and then going on to the very opposite -
0:39:14 > 0:39:15taking the trees out?
0:39:15 > 0:39:19We now know that the peatlands are a great big store for carbon.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23There's more carbon stored in the peat underneath these areas
0:39:23 > 0:39:26than there is in all of the standing forestry in the UK,
0:39:26 > 0:39:28so it's an incredibly important area,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30both for combating climate change
0:39:30 > 0:39:34and also for protecting the very special wildlife
0:39:34 > 0:39:36that we find in this habitat.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40What sort of timescales are we talking about here, Paul?
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Because you know, in politics, for example,
0:39:42 > 0:39:43we tend to work in five-year cycles.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45You're right. Quite often, projects these days
0:39:45 > 0:39:48are funded three years, five years, ten years.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53The sphagnum and the peat growth that we have here in development
0:39:53 > 0:39:55is around about a millimetre per year,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58so to restore the damage that has been done,
0:39:58 > 0:40:04we're looking at 50, 60 years plus, maybe over 100 years for some of it.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08This is long-term conservation on a landscape scale.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14I mean, you're working here in a vast, empty landscape.
0:40:14 > 0:40:16Do you ever get lonely?
0:40:16 > 0:40:17Vast, I would agree with.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Empty, wouldn't say so.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23If you take time to look very closely at the landscape,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26it's made up of lots of little things.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28A lot of people will feel at home in cities
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and come here and feel really alien and lost.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34For me, it's the opposite way around.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Going to really busy, noisy, bustling cities,
0:40:37 > 0:40:41I just feel out of my depth these days.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43For me, this is home.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53This landscape doesn't respect man-made boundaries.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56I was in eastern Sutherland and have now entered Caithness.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00But I'm still in the heart of the vast Flow Country.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09I've left the campervan behind and jumped on a train to Altnabreac,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13said to be the most remote railway station in Britain.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15And, do you know what? I wouldn't argue with that.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20It's got the feel of Rannoch station in the middle of the Rannoch Moor.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22But you could take Rannoch Moor
0:41:22 > 0:41:25and drop it into this Caithness Flow Country
0:41:25 > 0:41:27and it would be swallowed up,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29swallowed up by sheer emptiness.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35And that's an idea that really appeals to me.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38But make no mistake - empty or not,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41this is an area that is justifiably proud of itself.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46And how about that sign on the old school?
0:41:46 > 0:41:48I think Washington DC should be honoured
0:41:48 > 0:41:50to be twinned with Altnabreac DC.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58The Caithness Flow Country is of international importance.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02But very few of us get the opportunity to travel
0:42:02 > 0:42:05through the very heart of it, and that's what I want to do today.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08But a wee word of warning -
0:42:08 > 0:42:11at Altnabreac railway station, there's a sign that says,
0:42:11 > 0:42:15"You are now entering open and very remote countryside.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18"Treat it as though you were climbing a mountain."
0:42:18 > 0:42:19Whoo-hoo! Awesome!
0:42:23 > 0:42:27Anyone who is tempted to think of this landscape
0:42:27 > 0:42:30as dull and monotonous is quite simply wrong,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and there's no better way to explore it than on two wheels.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39This is a wonderful bike ride, one you can take at your own pace,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43and you can stop and admire the superb view in every direction
0:42:43 > 0:42:45and there's not a soul in sight.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49But this wasn't always the case.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Once, there was an annual Highland Games
0:42:52 > 0:42:54put on by the people who lived here.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57Nearly all of those inhabitants have long gone.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59But I'm about to meet someone
0:42:59 > 0:43:03whose family has lived in these parts since the 17th century.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Lord John Thurso is the 14th laird,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11a man whose varied career has included being a hotelier
0:43:11 > 0:43:13and a Westminster MP.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17Now he's chair of Visit Scotland.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20He remembers growing up here in a different age.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23If we start, say with Altnabreac, the station there, which really was
0:43:23 > 0:43:26the heart of the community up here in many ways.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30My father had turned Lochdubh into a hotel when I was six or seven,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33and all the messages came up from Thurso -
0:43:33 > 0:43:35the butcher meat, the papers, everything else.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37So meeting the train every day was great fun
0:43:37 > 0:43:40and the station master was Mr McMillan and if you were lucky,
0:43:40 > 0:43:43if the workmen were there, you'd get a ride on the hurley
0:43:43 > 0:43:45and all sorts of things like that.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46But of course, later on,
0:43:46 > 0:43:48it was the place we went off to boarding school from,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52so not quite such nice memories cos that was the end of summer
0:43:52 > 0:43:55and that was us off back to prison, as it were,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57for the forthcoming few weeks.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00- Do you live here permanently now? - Yes.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03I live in Thurso, in the family home there.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06It's rather fun, I actually sleep in the bedroom that I was born in.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08That's home. And then up here,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11we came up here every summer at the beginning of August,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13and my parents would stay until the beginning of November.
0:44:13 > 0:44:19This is where, I guess, my father always felt his soul was.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24And he's... Forgive me just a moment.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32Daddy was a quite wonderful person and he's buried up here
0:44:32 > 0:44:36and I... Every now and then, it just still catches me,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39but his soul was up here and that's something he handed on to me
0:44:39 > 0:44:41and it's something I've learned to love
0:44:41 > 0:44:44and I've brought my children up here and they love it as well.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46You're obviously deeply rooted here.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51This is my bit of Scotland.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54This is the Scotland that I adore.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56Do you have a reverence for this landscape?
0:44:56 > 0:45:00Oh, total. The working life I've had, both in hotels
0:45:00 > 0:45:04and then at Westminster, it's relatively high stress.
0:45:04 > 0:45:10And you cannot be stressed if you are out there on the hill, you know,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13you've spent three hours stalking in
0:45:13 > 0:45:16to get the beast that needs to come off the ground.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21Even when there's movement and wind and noise, there's a stillness.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27And it's fabulous countryside to get to know in that way.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30The other interesting thing is everybody thinks, oh, it's so huge,
0:45:30 > 0:45:31you'd get lost in it,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35and John Buchan's great mistake when he wrote The 39 Steps,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38the number of times I've been up there with somebody and,
0:45:38 > 0:45:41"Who's that down on the road?" And the spyglass comes out.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42"Ah, that's the postie."
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Or "I don't know that car. I wonder where they're going.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48"Keep an eye on it." You can't move round here
0:45:48 > 0:45:50without somebody somewhere with a glass.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54So, all fugitives, please recognise that the Flow Country of Scotland
0:45:54 > 0:45:57is not the place to come to.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00So be warned - you're never alone,
0:46:00 > 0:46:03even in this remote corner of Scotland.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06I develop a strong relationship with the places I explore,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09be it on foot or, like today, by bike.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11But I'm just a traveller.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16John also has the responsibilities that go with owning the land.
0:46:16 > 0:46:21What I've learnt in my life is to go gently, to manage gently.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Man is very much a part of this landscape
0:46:24 > 0:46:27and you shouldn't go cracking around with machinery
0:46:27 > 0:46:29and you should take care and take time.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33And the older I get and the more I get in tune with nature,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35the more that appeals to me.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43For me, the Flow Country of Caithness
0:46:43 > 0:46:46is solitude and friendliness.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51It's a space, but it's not intimidating.
0:46:51 > 0:46:56It's wonderfully cool, but so warm.
0:46:56 > 0:47:01It's just a joyous, glorious, world-class ecology.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03It's a privilege to live here.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09So I'm going to pause here for a moment or two
0:47:09 > 0:47:11and let this landscape speak to me
0:47:11 > 0:47:15in a way that it's spoken to the Thurso family for generations.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32As someone who's predominantly a mountain person,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35I've been rather surprised how much I've really enjoyed
0:47:35 > 0:47:40travelling through the flat lands of the Caithness Flow Country.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I think it's maybe something to do with enjoying extremes.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48I'm just about to head north now to hear a remarkable story
0:47:48 > 0:47:52about some people who left this part of Scotland
0:47:52 > 0:47:54to another land of extremes.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57It's a story that I think will greatly surprise you.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Travelling through this northern part of the Scottish mainland,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08it's clear that this land once supported far more people.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Today, we can enjoy walking through quiet countryside,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15that once was a hive of activity.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18So what happened to those that left?
0:48:18 > 0:48:22That's the question Ian Leith, who lives nearby in Wick,
0:48:22 > 0:48:23set out to answer.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27He spent years uncovering the story of those local families
0:48:27 > 0:48:31who were determined to seek out a new and hopefully better life
0:48:31 > 0:48:33half a world away.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36When you think about the conditions that existed
0:48:36 > 0:48:37on many of the small crofts
0:48:37 > 0:48:42in Caithness - large families, cramped conditions,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45the oldest would probably inherit the croft,
0:48:45 > 0:48:50and the other members of the family had to find their way in the world.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51This was a period too
0:48:51 > 0:48:55when the fishing industry had probably reached its peak,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57so unemployment was a bit of a challenge.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01So they found an opportunity through one man initially
0:49:01 > 0:49:06that went out to Patagonia to follow and make their lives
0:49:06 > 0:49:08in Patagonia as sheep farmers.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11- Who was that man? - His name was John Hamilton
0:49:11 > 0:49:15and he was the son of a tailor, a clothier in Wick,
0:49:15 > 0:49:19and he initially went out in 1880 to the Falkland Islands.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Wanted to buy some land in the Falklands,
0:49:22 > 0:49:23but there was none available.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26So he took the opportunity to do a short hop across
0:49:26 > 0:49:28from the Falklands to Patagonia,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31where the Argentine government, at that point in time,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33were really encouraging and hoping
0:49:33 > 0:49:37that people would begin to settle that area and start sheep farming.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39And Hamilton, I think, saw the opportunity
0:49:39 > 0:49:43and proved in later life to become quite an entrepreneur.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46So was it a case of Hamilton getting in touch with friends,
0:49:46 > 0:49:48relatives in Scotland, and saying,
0:49:48 > 0:49:50"Come over here, there's a good opportunity for you."
0:49:50 > 0:49:54Yes, Hamilton placed adverts in the local newspaper,
0:49:54 > 0:49:56the John O'Groat Journal.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00We found adverts in the 1890s advertising for local lads,
0:50:00 > 0:50:05sheep farmers, to go across to farm on his estancias in Patagonia.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And it really kind of snowballed, I think, from that.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10You know, when I was a youngster growing up,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14there was certain place names that had this exotic sound to them
0:50:14 > 0:50:18and I was never very sure whether they were real places or fictional.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22Places like Kathmandu, Timbuktu. You know, people refer to Timbuktu,
0:50:22 > 0:50:24but I never knew there was a real place.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Patagonia falls into that same category, doesn't it?
0:50:27 > 0:50:30I think for a long time Patagonia was seen as something
0:50:30 > 0:50:32that actually didn't exist.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36The early explorers had gone out there and named it Patagonia,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38but really it was all about giants
0:50:38 > 0:50:41and not being able to survive in this strange place.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44So I think it had a certain mystique in that respect
0:50:44 > 0:50:46and I think that still exists.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49That must have been a phenomenal journey in those days,
0:50:49 > 0:50:53to go all the way from Caithness to the very tip of South America.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Well, they had to travel initially to Liverpool
0:50:55 > 0:50:59and from there they would sail to Punta Arenas in southern Chile.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03- How long would that take? - It took seven weeks, initially.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07When we were out in Patagonia, I had the good fortune to meet Bobby Bain,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10who is the oldest of the second generation now.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15And I asked him what did these guys do on these boats for seven weeks
0:51:15 > 0:51:18and he said, "Well, the Bains liked to do wrestling."
0:51:19 > 0:51:24Ian's research has led to a book - Caithness To Patagonia -
0:51:24 > 0:51:28which documents the experience of many of those pioneers.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30One of them was Angus MacPherson
0:51:30 > 0:51:34who was closely connected to this village of Halkirk.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38His story is particularly interesting from the fact that
0:51:38 > 0:51:41when he went across there in 1899, I think it was,
0:51:41 > 0:51:47he started to keep diaries of his feelings, more than anything.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50And some of the entries were really quite harrowing.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53He was in a desperate situation, he was lonely,
0:51:53 > 0:51:54there was nobody else around him,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57and just this waiting for the ship to come
0:51:57 > 0:52:00and the hope that it might bring a letter,
0:52:00 > 0:52:02might bring a newspaper from home.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07I think the loneliness was the thing that came across mostly
0:52:07 > 0:52:11from Angus's diaries and this urgent desire to be somewhere else.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14This was not where he wanted to be.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Now, he was born and brought up in Caithness.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18He was used to the flatness of Caithness,
0:52:18 > 0:52:20but in Patagonia that flatness must have been
0:52:20 > 0:52:23- on a completely different scale. - Absolutely.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26As somebody said, you can fit Caithness three times
0:52:26 > 0:52:29into one of the estancias in Patagonia.
0:52:29 > 0:52:30Did he travel on from there?
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Yes, indeed, he did.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34He wished that he could be somewhere else,
0:52:34 > 0:52:36and Canada, he mentioned, was one of the places.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38And eventually he did go to Canada.
0:52:38 > 0:52:44He sold up in Patagonia and moved to Canada and established himself there
0:52:44 > 0:52:50on a ranch in the Calgary area and then sold that and he built a house
0:52:50 > 0:52:53here in Halkirk with the proceeds of that.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56And, having spent a wee while here, he then decided to travel again
0:52:56 > 0:52:58and, of course, where did he go?
0:52:58 > 0:53:00He went back to Patagonia!
0:53:00 > 0:53:03- Complete the circle!- Absolutely.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06And became a very successful and well-respected sheep farmer.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10So we must be at the outer edges of Halkirk?
0:53:10 > 0:53:12There's not much more after this.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- Ah, this is it.- Esperanza House.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19Angus MacPherson built this house and when he had gone to Patagonia,
0:53:19 > 0:53:22worked in the area called Esperanza.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25It's a nice notion that there is this physical link
0:53:25 > 0:53:28between this part of Caithness and Patagonia.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31And you've produced this lovely book. Will you sign it for me?
0:53:31 > 0:53:34- Of course I will. I'd be delighted. - Fantastic.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36Ian, it's been a pleasure to talk to you
0:53:36 > 0:53:38and hear about this amazing story.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41I had no idea there was such a close connection between this part
0:53:41 > 0:53:45of north-east Scotland and the very, very south of South America.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Perfect.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Ian's tale is a fascinating one.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59But sometimes it's too easy to assume that the whole history
0:53:59 > 0:54:02of the Highlands was one of people leaving these shores,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05or being forced to leave these shores.
0:54:09 > 0:54:14And while people most certainly left Caithness to go elsewhere,
0:54:14 > 0:54:16it's a place of contradictions.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Here at Castleton, only a few miles east of Thurso,
0:54:20 > 0:54:25lie the remains of what was once a major and thriving industry.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37It all began in the 19th century when a local landowner,
0:54:37 > 0:54:42James Trail of Rattar, opened up a series of quarries on his land.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48The next 20 years saw the mass extraction of Caithness flagstones.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50A harbour was built here at Castleton
0:54:50 > 0:54:54and these flagstones were exported to all corners of the Earth.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07The industry reached its height in the early 20th century
0:55:07 > 0:55:11and indeed 1902 was probably the best year ever,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14when over 35,000 tonnes of flagstones were produced.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17And they were worth somewhere in the region of
0:55:17 > 0:55:21quarter of a million pounds - a huge amount of money in those days.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24But by the end of the first decade of the 20th century,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27cheap, concrete paving stones flooded the market.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30The flagstone industry went into decline
0:55:30 > 0:55:32and there was mass redundancy.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42You'll find the legacy of the Caithness flagstone industry
0:55:42 > 0:55:45all over the place. Indeed, here in Caithness,
0:55:45 > 0:55:50you'll find the flagstones used as fencing, as paving stones,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53as the facings on bridges, and here in the harbour.
0:55:55 > 0:55:56And if you look carefully,
0:55:56 > 0:56:00you'll find some in the Strand and in Euston Station in London.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17I'm coming close to the end of the first leg of my journey
0:56:17 > 0:56:20here in the far north-east of Scotland.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23And in the spirit of roads less travelled,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25I don't want to stop at the popular Dunnet Head,
0:56:25 > 0:56:28which is the most northerly point on our mainland,
0:56:28 > 0:56:31or the equally popular John O'Groats.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Instead, I'm following a very faint path,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37no more than a sheep trod actually,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40that's going to take me to a place that's very seldom visited,
0:56:40 > 0:56:44a place that I think is pretty special.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54This is St John's Point and I really like it because you get the feeling
0:56:54 > 0:56:57that you could be miles and miles from anywhere.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59And yet, there's lots of little knolls around
0:56:59 > 0:57:03that suggest the existence of perhaps the ancient fort
0:57:03 > 0:57:06that's hinted at in the Ordnance Survey map.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09There was once a wee church here, which gave this place its name.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11And just over the hill there,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13there's a natural haven with a pier
0:57:13 > 0:57:17that would have been used probably by lots of seafaring people.
0:57:20 > 0:57:26But what I like most about this is this quite tangible spirit of place.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29Like so many of the locations on this journey,
0:57:29 > 0:57:32they're places that are today empty,
0:57:32 > 0:57:36but which once resonated to the sounds of animals and people.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48This is the Pentland Firth,
0:57:48 > 0:57:52home to some of the fastest tide races in the world.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56Some of the tides here have been recorded over 30km an hour.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59And one of the biggest dangers here starts right down below me.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06These almost submerged rocks lead right out into the channel,
0:58:06 > 0:58:09and look at the turmoil they're creating.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12They're known as the Merry Men of May.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16And beyond them, beckoning me, lies Orkney,
0:58:16 > 0:58:18and that's where I'm going next.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21So I hope you'll join me for the second part of my journey
0:58:21 > 0:58:24along Scotland's roads less travelled.