0:00:04 > 0:00:07Despite being able to boast some of the finest walking routes
0:00:07 > 0:00:11in the world, Scotland's never had a long distance trail
0:00:11 > 0:00:14that starts at one end of the country and finishes at the other.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16But it has now.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20The Scottish National Trail begins in Kirk Yetholm,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22amongst the lovely, rolling hills of the borders
0:00:22 > 0:00:26and works its way through the country to finish at Cape Wrath,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29the most northwesterly point on the British mainland.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32In between, the route visits both our National Parks,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35our capital city of Edinburgh and passes through
0:00:35 > 0:00:39some of the finest landscapes you'll find anywhere.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43So, why don't you join me as I walk Scotland end to end?
0:01:14 > 0:01:16For thousands of long distance walkers,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm represents the end point
0:01:19 > 0:01:23of what has been a long and often gruelling journey
0:01:23 > 0:01:26up the spine of England from Edale in the Peak District.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30But I'm not heading for the Pennine Way.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32I've spent the last two and a half years
0:01:32 > 0:01:36working on Scotland's first national trail, all 470 miles of it.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41It's been a labour of love and I hope those who follow me
0:01:41 > 0:01:44will enjoy every step of the way.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Not every long distance trail has that sense of sheer pleasure.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50And I can prove that to you.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Here in Kirk Yetholm,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54there's arguably Britain's most unusual graveyard.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59This is the Valley Dene Garden Of Rest for Pennine Way boots.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Are these boots that people have abandoned
0:02:01 > 0:02:03because they're fed up wearing them?
0:02:03 > 0:02:06They're rejected boots, so they're boots that need a new home.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10So, like all my other waifs and strays, I take in old boots.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12So what's the oldest pair you've got here?
0:02:12 > 0:02:17It's that pair there. They must be about 40 years old.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20They've obviously been good because they've stood the test of time.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23People say to me, "Oh, you don't want these dirty..."
0:02:23 > 0:02:26"Paint the stones white!"
0:02:26 > 0:02:27And I say, "No."
0:02:27 > 0:02:31And they'll say, "Oh, paint the boots, make them look smart."
0:02:31 > 0:02:34But that's not walkers' boots.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37This is a walker boot garden.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40For someone who's been a walker for the best part of 45 years,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45I'm delighted there's somewhere my boots can go and rest in peace.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48There's a man who came through a couple of years back
0:02:48 > 0:02:50and he'd had his boots for 25 years.
0:02:50 > 0:02:56- My goodness!- And he'd had them re-stitched, re-soled, re-lined.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58But when he got home he rang me up and he said,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00"It's no good, I've got to get rid of them."
0:03:00 > 0:03:03He said, "But I can't put them in the bin."
0:03:03 > 0:03:07"When I come up your way next, will you give them a good home?"
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And I think it was at that point that I realised
0:03:11 > 0:03:15how seriously attached to boots walkers can become.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'There's no doubt that's how I'll feel at the end of the journey.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22'And what a journey it's going to be,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24'one through a constantly-changing landscape
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'that inspires a whole range of people.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32'The Scottish National Trail gets off to a great start.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34'These border hills are full of surprises.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'They lead unerringly north to that bigger range south of Edinburgh,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40'the Pentlands.'
0:03:40 > 0:03:43It was Robert Louis Stevenson who talked about the hills of home.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47And that's very much how I feel the Pentlands are to me.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Then the route takes us through the central belt,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52where rivers and canals provide an oasis of calm
0:03:52 > 0:03:55amongst Scotland's industrial heartland.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57The Water of Leith had over 70 mill sites on it,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01from Balerno to Bonnington, which is just 12 miles of river.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And it was also Edinburgh's main sewer.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08But not any longer. Today it's teeming with wildlife.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11The Scottish National Trail then makes its way through
0:04:11 > 0:04:14the central Highlands, before heading to the Cairngorms
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and on out to the magical west.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The second day in charge of Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23I went up there and I never felt such humility.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Going along the ridge there, this beautiful ridge,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and looking down, looking it along and thinking,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32"Hey, Dick, you've got something to do with this place now
0:04:32 > 0:04:33"and you're responsible."
0:04:33 > 0:04:37And the last part is a fitting finale, from Kintail
0:04:37 > 0:04:41to the furthest northwest point of the British mainland - Cape Wrath.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47The total distance is 470 miles but how you walk it is up to you.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51It can be done in one long expedition or you can split it up
0:04:51 > 0:04:52into a number of short walks
0:04:52 > 0:04:55that will keep you occupied for years to come.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59So, let's get started.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Welcome to the Scottish National Trail,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04one of the great long distance walks of the world.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16'Accompanying me is a small team.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20'There's our director and then there's our specialist cameraman,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'someone who, coincidentally, comes from a small community
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'right at the start of the walk.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'In the 10 years that I've known him he's never failed to tell me
0:05:29 > 0:05:31'what a fantastic place this is.'
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I've often heard it said that you can take the man out of the Borders,
0:05:36 > 0:05:39but you cannae really take the Borders out the man.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and I've got living proof of that with me.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Dominic, can you and I change position just for a wee minute?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Leave your camera just for a minute and you come round here.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Right, that's it. Keep it going.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52I've always wanted to do this.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Now, Dom, where were you born, Dominic?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Where was I born? I was born at Grubbet,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59which is just along the road towards Morebattle.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01So, is there any truth in that saying,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04that you can't really take the Borders out of the man?
0:06:04 > 0:06:06I absolutely think there is. You know, I've been away for a while,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11but I still feel like I'm from here. When I come back here, it's home.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14What was it like being brought up here and going to school here?
0:06:14 > 0:06:15It's one of those things,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19you appreciate it more now that I've left and I come back.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I didn't realise what was around me and all that kind of thing
0:06:23 > 0:06:24and the lifestyle I had.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27But it was a beautiful place to grow up and a fabulous life.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Good! Well, you've have the limelight now.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- Yes, thanks very much. - Come back and do your job.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Now, you might have noticed there's snow on the ground.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36My start's been just a wee bit delayed because,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40from a nice, balmy spring morning, it's started snowing.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43You just can't tell what it's going to be like in Scotland.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46But I think that's going to add to the kind of atmosphere
0:06:46 > 0:06:48of this fabulous landscape.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51So now we're going to climb, get a wee bit of height,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54and hopefully get some great views of the Borderland hills.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18The first couple of days of the Scottish National Trail
0:07:18 > 0:07:21follow the course of St Cuthbert's Way,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24which actually starts in Lindisfarne in Northumberland
0:07:24 > 0:07:26and runs up to Melrose.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Cuthbert was a 7th century priest who eventually became
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Prior of the Celtic Monastery at Melrose.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And, since he and I are going roughly the same direction,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40it seemed a wee bit churlish not just to follow in his footsteps.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'There's something very special
0:07:50 > 0:07:52'about being the first person on a hill
0:07:52 > 0:07:54'when there's fresh snow on the ground
0:07:54 > 0:07:57'and you're making tracks over a pristine landscape.'
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'And that suits me just fine.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04'I'm very happy to leave civilisation behind.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06'I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing
0:08:06 > 0:08:10'than heading up this lovely hill on such a beautiful, pristine day.'
0:08:17 > 0:08:21When you get up here you realise why they called this Wideopen Hill.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It's only 1207 feet above sea level
0:08:25 > 0:08:27but the views are absolutely extraordinary.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Ranged right across the south here are the lovely Cheviots
0:08:31 > 0:08:36that form this frontier barrier between Scotland and Englandshire.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40And, when I look north, I'm afraid I just have to take a deep gulp
0:08:40 > 0:08:43because I realise there's still an awful lot of Scotland
0:08:43 > 0:08:47between me and Cape Wrath, so I think I'd better keep going.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56'In devising this new national trail,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59'I wanted to explore the country of my birth
0:08:59 > 0:09:02'in all its richness and variety.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04'And it's not just the landscape that inspires me,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07'it's the people who live and work here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10'In the Borders, farming has always been the lifeblood
0:09:10 > 0:09:14'of many small communities, and that still holds true today.'
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Ah, just the love of it, I think, really, from a young age.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I'd rather have been here than at school, to be honest.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And some days I probably was at home too many days.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28But it's always been something that I've wanted to do
0:09:28 > 0:09:32and been lucky enough to have the opportunity to do it.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It seems to me, Willie, that agriculture kind of defines
0:09:35 > 0:09:38the landscape of the Borders. Would that be a correct assumption?
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Aye, I would say so. Yes, aye.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45It's a tremendous area, certainly for livestock up in these hills.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47So, it's sheep and cattle you've got on this farm?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Pretty much all sheep and cattle, yes.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53It's a pretty steep run, all hill ground, basically.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55- Is it a satisfying lifestyle?- Very!
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I think you hit the nail on the head. It's a lifestyle rather than a job.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00It's, you know, it's a way of life.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Not everybody's wanting to work seven days a week
0:10:03 > 0:10:06or slitter about at midnight, if they have to,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08calving cows or lambing ewes or things like that.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12But if that's what you want to do and you like doing it, fair enough.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15It's certainly something that I enjoy.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17I've never lived anywhere else in my life, really.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't want to.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Certainly when you travel round Britain, I've never seen anywhere
0:10:22 > 0:10:25in this country that I would rather stay than the Borders.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28There's a great sense of community in these valleys,
0:10:28 > 0:10:29and it's just a great place to live.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47I've just wandered through the village of Morebattle,
0:10:47 > 0:10:48and you can see in front of me here
0:10:48 > 0:10:51the gaunt remains of Cessford Castle.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53And both places, I think, give an indication
0:10:53 > 0:10:56of the turbulent nature of former times.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02When you look at this building you realise it was built for one thing
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and one thing only - as a fortification.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08It could withstand attack, it could withstand week-long
0:11:08 > 0:11:12and even month-long sieges during a 500 period
0:11:12 > 0:11:15that has gone down in history as The Troubled Times.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22There's probably no other region that can claim
0:11:22 > 0:11:25such a protracted period of violence and unrest,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28where reiving - basically stealing from the neighbours -
0:11:28 > 0:11:30became a way of life.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33One local man who has made a study of the history and archaeology
0:11:33 > 0:11:36of this area is Walter Elliot.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39For years he worked as a fencer and built up his knowledge
0:11:39 > 0:11:40from personal observation.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43And, with a good Borders name like Elliot,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46he's got a particular interest in his ancestors.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48My family were most definitely reivers.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51We were rogues and ruffians and all the rest of it.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55But we were survivors, because we needed to be rogues and ruffians
0:11:55 > 0:11:58to survive in the part of the Borders that the family were in,
0:11:58 > 0:11:59which was Liddesdale.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Were they really troubled times? And, if they were, why?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Yes, they were very much troubled times.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Because at the tops of the valleys the land is very poor.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13To survive you had to do something else.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So your extra thing was go out and pinch somebody else's cattle.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20You weren't really Scottish or English, you were a Borderer.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22You owed allegiance to your family name,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26possibly to the people who were in cahoots with you,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28but you looked after yourself.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Well, we talk about that period being The Troubled Times
0:12:31 > 0:12:34but, of course, there were troubled times in this part of the world
0:12:34 > 0:12:37long before that. There was the Roman invasion wasn't there?
0:12:37 > 0:12:41In Roman times, the Roman Dere Street, which you'll be walking...
0:12:41 > 0:12:42I'm walking that tomorrow, aye.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Dere Street wasn't only a road, it was a fortified frontier.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50You've got Hadrian's Wall that way, Antonine Wall that way.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54But Dere Street goes that way, and I'm finding, along Dere Street,
0:12:54 > 0:12:59I'm getting little 20 x 20 metre fortlets.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02So this is a fresh border, a new border.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15This track that I'm walking on once resounded
0:13:15 > 0:13:19to the sounds of Roman centurions and soldiers
0:13:19 > 0:13:23making their way to their northern frontier in Scotland.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The road was once known as Agricola's Road,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28and then for a while became known as Watling Street.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32And today it's known as Dere Street, and it begins down in York
0:13:32 > 0:13:36and takes an almost arrow-straight road, all the way up over
0:13:36 > 0:13:40the Scottish border to the end of Antonine's Wall in the central belt.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52800 years ago, the monks of Melrose Abbey
0:13:52 > 0:13:53built a large cross here
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and it was known as the Lilliot Cross.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58And apparently nobles from both the Scottish and the English side
0:13:58 > 0:14:01would come here and try and resolve disputes
0:14:01 > 0:14:03without resorting to fighting.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06But in the middle of the 16th century there was a big fight here.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09It was known as The Battle of Ancrum Moor and the Scots won
0:14:09 > 0:14:12against an apparently much larger English force.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16And much of that success was apparently put down to a young woman
0:14:16 > 0:14:20known as the Maiden Lylliard. And this is apparently her tomb.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I love the headstone here.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29There's a wee poem on it and it says,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32"Fair Maiden Lylliard lies under this stane.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36"Little was her stature but muckle was her fame.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39"Upon the English louns she laid mony thumps.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44"And when her legs were cut aff, she fought upon her stumps."
0:14:45 > 0:14:47I think that's pretty good.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50The truth of the matter is this area was known as Lilliard's Edge
0:14:50 > 0:14:53300 years before The Battle of Ancrum,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55which just shows you should never let the truth
0:14:55 > 0:14:56get in the way of a good story.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32As someone who's admittedly a bit prejudiced towards walking
0:15:32 > 0:15:35in the Scottish Highlands, I have to say I've been absolutely delighted
0:15:35 > 0:15:40at the sheer variety of landscape in the walk so far in the Borders.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Coming up through these beautiful natural woodlands this morning,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46that have brought me up into this high point in the very heart
0:15:46 > 0:15:48of this wee group of hills called the Eildons.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59The triple-top Eildons have become something of a Borders icon,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03and they were created by volcanic activity.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Now, if you can imagine great sheets of lava flow intruding with
0:16:06 > 0:16:11the underlying sandstone and, over millions of years, the weathering
0:16:11 > 0:16:16of rain and frost and wind creating these three distinct summits.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18But, you know, I'm something of an old romantic
0:16:18 > 0:16:22and I think I probably prefer the story of Michael Scott The Wizard
0:16:22 > 0:16:24who was ordered by the Devil himself
0:16:24 > 0:16:27to create three mountains out of one.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30And he did that using his supernatural powers.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Now the only thing I don't like about that particular story
0:16:33 > 0:16:35is the name - Michael Scott the Wizard.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Who's ever heard of a wizard called Michael Scott?
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Why couldn't he have been a Gandalf or a Merlin or something like that?
0:16:41 > 0:16:43And no offence to anybody watching called Michael Scott
0:16:43 > 0:16:47but it is more of a name you'd associate with an accountant
0:16:47 > 0:16:48or even a banker.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06I'm actually quite relieved to have survived a visit to the Eildons
0:17:06 > 0:17:08because, in the 13th century,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13a local bard by the name of Thomas the Rhymer was spirited away
0:17:13 > 0:17:16by the Queen of the Fairies herself to Elfland.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20And Elfland apparently lies below these very hills.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24And he was kept there for seven years before he managed to escape
0:17:24 > 0:17:26and tell his story.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I've got to be quite careful what I say, I don't mind offending bankers
0:17:29 > 0:17:32but I certainly don't want to offend the little people.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40It's now an easy descent to the market town of Melrose
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and I've over 30 miles under my belt.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49A lot of long distance walking trails actually avoid
0:17:49 > 0:17:52centres of population, but the Scottish National Trail
0:17:52 > 0:17:54positively embraces them.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58And why not? You can come in here and have a cup of tea or coffee,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00something to eat, or just enjoy the attractions
0:18:00 > 0:18:02of a little town like this one.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15The ruins of Melrose Abbey.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18It's one of four big abbeys in this part of the Borders.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20The others are at Kelso, Jedburgh and Dryburgh.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23And, I have to say, this is really impressive.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43I left St Cuthbert and his way behind this morning in Melrose
0:18:43 > 0:18:45and since then I've been following the route
0:18:45 > 0:18:48of the Southern Upland Way which comes through Galashiels,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51over the hills to Yair and then up through this Yair Forest,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54onto the high ground that leads to the Three Brethren
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and the historic Minch Moor.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It's fantastic to get up high. You know, it always amazes me,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12the people who say you have to go to the Scottish Highlands
0:19:12 > 0:19:16to get really extensive views. Well, this is pretty good, I think.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21You can see where I've come from, beyond the three Eildons
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and away down to the snow-covered hills of the Cheviots.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26And if that's not extensive, I don't know what is.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46These three beautiful cairns are known as the Three Brethren,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50and each of them stands within the former boroughs
0:19:50 > 0:19:51of Selkirk, Yair and Bowhill.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57And every year, during the Selkirk Common Riding,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00the riders will ride their horses round the marches of the old borough
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and they'll bring their horses right up here to this high point.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It's a fantastic spectacle, well worth seeing.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14This high-level path continues for some distance over the little hill
0:20:14 > 0:20:17called Broomy Law and then onto the distant Minch Moor,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19and it really is a path of some antiquity.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25In 1296, Edward I brought his army over here
0:20:25 > 0:20:28when he was travelling north to conquer Scotland.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31And some years later, James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35brought his army up here after the Battle of Philiphaugh.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38And more recently, in 1931,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41officials of the Scottish Youth Hostels Association
0:20:41 > 0:20:42came in the opposite direction.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45They came from Traquair and down to Broadmeadows,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48where they opened Scotland's very first youth hostel.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54So I guess, with St Cuthbert and the Romans, you'll forgive me
0:20:54 > 0:20:57for thinking that I'm really walking with the ghosts of yesteryear.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'One of the big surprises in planning this national trail
0:21:08 > 0:21:11'was the network of paths that wind through the Borders
0:21:11 > 0:21:15'and show off this landscape at its very best.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19'My route takes me through tranquil forests to Cardrona
0:21:19 > 0:21:21'and then along the north bank of the River Tweed,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'all the way into another fine town, Peebles.'
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The Scotch novelist Nigel Tranter once described Peebles
0:21:31 > 0:21:34as the dous matron of the Scottish Borders.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37I think I know what he meant but I actually quite like the place,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41standing as it does right on the banks of the River Tweed.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Unfortunately, I'm not going to have a great deal of time to enjoy
0:21:44 > 0:21:47the matronly pleasures of the town because there's a wee range of hills
0:21:47 > 0:21:51on the other side of Peebles and I want to get across them tonight.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Before I began planning this walk I had absolutely no idea
0:22:09 > 0:22:13there was a little range of hills called the Meldons.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15I'd never heard of them but here they are.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18They lie just north of Peebles and I'm going over this high pass
0:22:18 > 0:22:21with White Meldon on my right and I'm going to drop down
0:22:21 > 0:22:24into the Meldon Valley and then walk up the valley
0:22:24 > 0:22:28with Black Meldon on one side and White Meldon on the other side.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31From there I'm going over another rise of ground, towards West Linton,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34on the very edge of Edinburgh's own hills, the Pentlands.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58People have lived and farmed in this valley for 5,000 years and all round
0:22:58 > 0:23:02there are remains of their former existence in the shape of tumuli
0:23:02 > 0:23:08and earth works, standing stones, Bronze Age and Iron Age forts.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11But today there's very little population
0:23:11 > 0:23:15and the only sounds you're likely to hear are the call of sheep
0:23:15 > 0:23:16or perhaps the odd curlew.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25'From the high ground it's down to the village of West Linton,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27'under 20 miles south of Edinburgh.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'But losing height hasn't meant better weather.'
0:23:32 > 0:23:35I generally try and steer clear of tarmac roads,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37but tarmac roads lead into villages
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and that's where I get my wee treats.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Hi, there, what can I get you?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- Hello, can I have a cappuccino, please?- You can.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56And have you got a bit of fruit cake, like a fly cemetery?
0:23:56 > 0:23:58- I'll get that for you. - OK, thanks.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Oh, brilliant, that looks good. Thank you very much. Good.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Have you got a wee minute to sit down and have a wee blether?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10You know one of the things about doing a long distance walk
0:24:10 > 0:24:12like I'm doing is when you find a cafe like this,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14it's like finding treasure.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- Oh, well, I hope you enjoy. - Oh, I'm sure I will.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I'm sure I will. Do you get many walkers or cyclists coming in?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23I get a lot. I get a lot coming out from Edinburgh, cycling.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26And I've had about five or six doing Land's End to John O'Groats.
0:24:26 > 0:24:27I didn't realise we were on the route,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- but I believe we are. - I bet they ate a lot?- Yes, they did.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33And dry out their washing, it was a dry day.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Tell me a wee bit about the building here, the toll house.
0:24:37 > 0:24:38I mean, what was it a toll for?
0:24:38 > 0:24:40It was the cattle, sheep and livestock
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- coming in and out of the Borders. - Oh, really, like a drover's road?
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Yes, and you paid to bring your livestock into the Borders.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50And I believe the toll window is what's now the ladies toilet window.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Different markets today from sheep and cattle
0:24:53 > 0:24:55and whatnot to all sorts of people, I imagine?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58All sorts of people, all types and from all over the world.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- I've had people from Thailand, Australia, New Zealand.- Oh, right.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04It's amazing how many people just come through here.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Well, listen, this is absolutely fantastic.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09So lang may ye continue to feed hungry walkers like me.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11- Thank you very much.- It looks great.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19'Now it's time to head into the Pentland Hills
0:25:19 > 0:25:21'and I've got a companion.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25'For many years Rab Anderson was one of Scotland's leading climbers,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28'but he's also a keen walker.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30'He's been exploring these hills since he was a wee lad,
0:25:30 > 0:25:34'and has recently put that knowledge into a new guide book.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36'He's a man who knows his geology
0:25:36 > 0:25:39'and the forces that form this landscape.'
0:25:39 > 0:25:44This is the Windygoul sub-glacial meltwater channel.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Apparently it's not just a meltwater channel from a receding glacier,
0:25:47 > 0:25:48from what I understand
0:25:48 > 0:25:51the glacier was apparently active while this was carved out.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And these aren't drumlins or moraines, these are rock islands.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57So what the glacier has done, as it has carved,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00it has actually gone round these and these have been left.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01They've not been deposited.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It's what's called anastomosing patterns,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06where like veins sort of in your leg, sort of break up
0:26:06 > 0:26:10or branch off and re-join again, and it's created this here.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13That's all very interesting but this bull's got quite an interest,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16so I think it's a good idea for us to get the other side of the fence.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- I think so, too. - Yeah, here he comes.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Oh, come on. Let's get out of here.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Rab, when I first met you, and we must be talking about,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I don't know, 30, 35 years ago or something,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31you were at the very sharp end of Scottish mountaineering.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34What's changed, now you're writing rambling guides to the Pentlands?
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Thanks, Cameron(!)
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I'd like to think I'm still fairly active in rock climbing terms.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43I guess what's changed is I've got older, I've become a bit more mature
0:26:43 > 0:26:45in what I want to go and do and other things.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48My focus isn't just primarily rock climbing as it used to be.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50It was a very narrow focus.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Now, I'm keen to get out on the hills and do things, explore.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I'm keen to complete my Munros. I've only got one left to do.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57It's good fun, you know?
0:26:57 > 0:27:00I'm really enjoying getting out and doing these things,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and it's opened my eyes to the landscape and what's there as well.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05You're all over the country on the various walks you do,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09but obviously the Pentlands have a special significance for you.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12They do. As a boy, I grew up in the Pentlands
0:27:12 > 0:27:14and I used to walk and play in the Pentlands.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15And then, as I got into climbing
0:27:15 > 0:27:18we used to go and walk and get fit and do things.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22In fact, one of my first climbing experiences was in the Pentlands.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25We went with Cubby, who was a mountain guide and a famous climber,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and Dave Brown, we went out there with washing lines and claw hammers.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31And we did our first winter route on Caerketton.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Rab, we're walking past this reservoir,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50but was this ever a natural loch at any time?
0:27:50 > 0:27:51No, no, this is North Esk Reservoir.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54It's probably the smallest of the Pentland reservoirs
0:27:54 > 0:27:57and it was constructed in 1850 or thereabouts to provide water
0:27:57 > 0:28:00for paper mills on the North Esk.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04I think there were about nine paper mills on the North Esk.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07The last one closed in about 2004.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09It's quite interesting to have the Pentlands here,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12so close to Edinburgh and you get this feeling of kind of
0:28:12 > 0:28:14wildness and remoteness when you're in here.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18If you look closely you see man's influence on the hills around us
0:28:18 > 0:28:22but also evidence of these hills going back, you know,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25not just thousands of years but several million years.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26Oh, this goes back a long time.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29I mean, the geology and the landscape round here is fascinating,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32particularly this area because some of the oldest rocks
0:28:32 > 0:28:37in the whole of the Edinburgh area are actually exposed.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Because this was a 420-million-year-old landscape.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43So people coming for a wee walk from Edinburgh into the Pentlands
0:28:43 > 0:28:46are going to be walking on some of the oldest rocks on earth?
0:28:46 > 0:28:47Absolutely!
0:28:47 > 0:28:50I mean, it's fascinating to know what has gone on beneath your feet
0:28:50 > 0:28:52when you're actually out walking.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58So in the context of Scotland and your passion for Scotland,
0:28:58 > 0:29:00where does the Pentlands fit into that?
0:29:00 > 0:29:03The Pentlands, to me, are very important.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05As Robert Louis Stevenson talked about,
0:29:05 > 0:29:06he talked about the hills of home,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and that's very much how I feel the Pentlands are to me.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21I don't know if you've noticed, Cameron,
0:29:21 > 0:29:26this is us moving from the shales through to the old red sandstone.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- Oh, right! Indeed, you can actually see it underneath your feet.- Yeah.
0:29:29 > 0:29:30You can see the difference.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33So where does this sandstone come from, why is it different?
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Well it's sedimentary sandstone.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38It was laid down hundreds of millions of years ago when this,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41from my understanding of the geology with this area,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44this was an offshore barrier and lagoon system,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46leading on over by the Bore Stone,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50into a desert shoreline, because it was a tropical climate back then.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54You need a good imagination to walk in the Pentlands, don't you?
0:29:54 > 0:29:58Well, you certainly do to imagine, on a day like today,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00that this was a tropical shoreline.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- Ah, we've got a view. - That's grand, isn't it?- Aye.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13I don't see many prehistoric lagoons, though.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16No, I think you have to imagine a little bit harder, Cameron.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19This is great, getting up to this point in the Pentlands,
0:30:19 > 0:30:21and actually seeing my route away ahead of me.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Actually, you can see that's Corstorphine Hill over there.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26You're right, it is. And if you can see Corstorphine Hill,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28you should be able to see the Forth Road Bridge.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Just through here you can see the three humps of the railway bridge.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33Ah, that's amazing.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Right, Rab, I'll leave you to the loneliness of the Pentlands.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37- Nice to see you. - I'm heading for Balerno
0:30:37 > 0:30:39and a night in Edinburgh town.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42- Good stuff. See you next time. - OK, thanks, Rab. Bye.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Well, it's all downhill now,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54into one of the most populated parts of Scotland.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57But, by the route I'm taking, you'd never know it.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14My route takes me along the Water of Leith - a river that flows
0:31:14 > 0:31:18from the Pentlands, all the way through the city of Edinburgh.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21In recent years, the Water of Leith Conservation Trust have been
0:31:21 > 0:31:26instrumental in safeguarding it and opening it up to walkers.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29But this was once Edinburgh's industrial heartland.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Today it's a tranquil space in the middle of an urban environment.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36You've got to imagine the Water of Leith as a string of mills
0:31:36 > 0:31:40set out along the city, providing paper and grain.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42And obviously the millers had to get to work
0:31:42 > 0:31:45so there was always footpaths along sections.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47In the 1980s, the Balerno branch railway line
0:31:47 > 0:31:49was converted into a section of walkways
0:31:49 > 0:31:55so that created a long section and various other sections were added.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59But it had a real boost in 2000 with the Millennium Lottery funding which
0:31:59 > 0:32:02completed all the links in the chain so you can now walk from Balerno,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06all the way to Leith, continuously following the course of the river.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Is there any other river like this in any other city in Britain?
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Not that I've heard of.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15I mean, if you think of rivers ain capital cities, you know,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18the Thames in London and the Seine in Paris, the Liffey in Dublin,
0:32:18 > 0:32:22they're massive rivers going right through the heart of the city.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24The Water of Leith kind of creeps around the side
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and it's almost like this green ribbon flowing through the city
0:32:27 > 0:32:31that really brings the countryside right into the town centre.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Now, in the days of all the mills,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36this would've been an industrial river, I suppose?
0:32:36 > 0:32:38It was very much an industrial river.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40The Water of Leith had over 70 mill sites on it,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44from Balerno to Bonnington, which is just 12 miles of river.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47And it was also Edinburgh's main sewer.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50So you've got to imagine you've got the effluent from mills,
0:32:50 > 0:32:53you've got tanneries, you've got distilleries, you've got breweries,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56you've got chemical factories and you've also got the sewage
0:32:56 > 0:33:00coming out from the whole of the old town into the Water of Leith.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02It was a pretty rancid place in the past.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05So, how on earth do you clean a river like this?
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Well, it's taken decades, absolutely decades.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13The enclosures of the sewage network obviously solved the sewage issue.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17Today, the problems that the river has is with litter and rubbish,
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and that's where us as an organisation comes in.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23And we organise about 50 river clean-ups a year
0:33:23 > 0:33:26to keep this ribbon of green looking clean, green and beautiful.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Give me an idea what wildlife you see on the Water of Leith walkway.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45I think birdlife is always the most special thing
0:33:45 > 0:33:47when it comes to a river.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52Just last week I was sitting down at Bell's Mill having a picnic
0:33:52 > 0:33:55and we got to watch the kingfisher for 20 minutes,
0:33:55 > 0:33:59a pair of them, in and out of the water, feeding, preening.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Even picking bugs off logs, it was absolutely amazing.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05And, of course, they are just the most stunning bird.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08You're obviously enthusiastic about rivers.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11What is it about rivers that excites you?
0:34:11 > 0:34:16I grew up next to a river and I just played in it as a child.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20I loved it when it flooded, I loved it when it was a tiny little stream.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23I studied geography at university, I learnt the mechanics of rivers.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26My first job was at the Falls of Clyde.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30And now I'm looking after, for my work,
0:34:30 > 0:34:34one of Scotland's best rivers, in my opinion.
0:34:34 > 0:34:38So I think it's just the combination of unpredictability with a river.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42It can rain heavily for three days and we'd be up to our necks here.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44You've said you look after the river.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47How much does the river actually own you?
0:34:47 > 0:34:49How much does the river own me?
0:34:49 > 0:34:54Well, it's yen years in the same job so I think I'm fairly hooked.
0:35:01 > 0:35:02I've left Helen now
0:35:02 > 0:35:06and I'm on my own again for this last leg of the first section
0:35:06 > 0:35:09of this long walk of mine - the section between Kirk Yetholm
0:35:09 > 0:35:11in the Borders and Edinburgh.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Now, I was born and brought up in Glasgow but I've always had
0:35:14 > 0:35:17something of a soft spot for our capital city and that's
0:35:17 > 0:35:22largely because it's a sort of outdoor-person city - it's got an
0:35:22 > 0:35:26extinct volcano right in the middle of it and with Salisbury Crags
0:35:26 > 0:35:30and Arthur's Seat and the view from the summit out over the wide expanse
0:35:30 > 0:35:33of the Firth of Forth, it just makes it phenomenal. And you know you
0:35:33 > 0:35:36can't really have a Scottish National Trail
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and not visit its capital city.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55However much I love Auld Reekie, it's great to get away from
0:35:55 > 0:35:58the hustle and bustle of the city, and for the next two days
0:35:58 > 0:36:02I'm going to be following a green artery, that remarkably runs its way
0:36:02 > 0:36:06right through the industrial heartland of central Scotland.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15I've been really looking forward to this section of the walk,
0:36:15 > 0:36:20because it gives me a chance to really relax. I don't have to
0:36:20 > 0:36:23worry about navigation, I don't have to worry about finding
0:36:23 > 0:36:26the next signpost to follow, I don't even have to worry about climbing
0:36:26 > 0:36:29hills because there aren't any.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31This Union Canal follows the 240 foot contour
0:36:31 > 0:36:35all the way from the heart of Edinburgh, right through to Falkirk,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39and because of that it's become very, very popular amongst walkers,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42amongst cyclists, amongst runners,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and it's just a fantastic recreational opportunity,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48here in the very heart of Scotland's central belt.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57The canals are a great place for watching wildlife
0:36:57 > 0:37:00and, as you walk along, you're never short of company.
0:37:27 > 0:37:28Hello.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32The canals were built at the end of the 19th century,
0:37:32 > 0:37:36primarily as a way of transporting coal from one side
0:37:36 > 0:37:40of the country to another, but they fell into disrepair in the 1930s,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43really thanks to the growing network
0:37:43 > 0:37:45of road and rail in central Scotland.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01By the Millennium, British Waterways Scotland had the great
0:38:01 > 0:38:06idea of reviving the canals, largely for recreational use,
0:38:06 > 0:38:11but they had one major problem - the 11 locks that originally
0:38:11 > 0:38:14linked the end of the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal had
0:38:14 > 0:38:18been destroyed - they had been filled in in the 1930s - so they
0:38:18 > 0:38:22had to find a new way of lifting the boats up 35 metres from
0:38:22 > 0:38:26one canal to the other, when someone had the completely innovative
0:38:26 > 0:38:30idea of creating the world's very first revolving boatlift.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Please don't ask me about the intricate engineering
0:38:39 > 0:38:42of how the Falkirk Wheel actually works because it's way beyond
0:38:42 > 0:38:45my ken, but suffice to know that there's a very clever system of cogs
0:38:45 > 0:38:50and wheels and balances that can lift a boat from the holding bay at
0:38:50 > 0:38:53the bottom, up for 35 metres to the start of the canal.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56It's phenomenal!
0:38:56 > 0:39:00And what a fantastic showcase for the finest in Scottish engineering.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13I've now got about 140 miles under my feet.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Ahead is the increasingly wild landscape of the Trossachs,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20and the communities of Aberfoyle, Callander and Creiff,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22then it's Aberfeldy,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26the halfway point of the 470-mile Scottish National Trail.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35This is a good spot just for a wee break for a minute.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38It's been a long...it's been a long day.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I left the canals at one of Glasgow's suburbs called Cadder,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43made my way up through Balmore to Milngavie
0:39:43 > 0:39:46at the southern end of the West Highland Way.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50The West Highland Way was created about, oh, some 30 years
0:39:50 > 0:39:54ago, by the Countryside Commission for Scotland and at that time
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I don't think anybody had the slightest notion
0:39:56 > 0:39:58it'd be half as popular as it's become,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01with thousands of people walking and enjoying it
0:40:01 > 0:40:04every year and I sincerely hope, in fact I believe,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07that the Scottish National Trail in all its various parts,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09will become just as popular.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26This little track has always been known as Tinker's Loan,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29or Tinker's Lane, and it's a name that I love with its suggestion
0:40:29 > 0:40:33of the travelling people and the freedom of the open road.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54Wow, this is fantastic! And this is what I've been waiting for.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Tinker's Loan brings you over this little rise and then suddenly
0:40:57 > 0:41:00this expanse appears before you, and you get this feeling that
0:41:00 > 0:41:03you've entered the Highlands, at last.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06You actually haven't - the Highland line is still a dozen miles away
0:41:06 > 0:41:09but when you see the Cobbler and Ben Lomond and Dumgoyne,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12and the big swell of the Campsies, you really feel
0:41:12 > 0:41:14as though you're in Highland hills.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18We've come through some fantastic landscapes
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and this is a nice taster for what's still to come.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Robert Burns once said, "My heart's in the Highlands,"
0:41:24 > 0:41:26and I think that's where mine lies.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39'But I've a wee way to go before that.
0:41:39 > 0:41:40'My next destination is Aberfoyle,
0:41:40 > 0:41:43'and for the moment we lose sight of the hills as we wander
0:41:43 > 0:41:45'through a tree-covered landscape.'
0:42:04 > 0:42:07In 1691, the Reverend Robert Kirk,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10the seventh son of a former Minister of this Kirkton Church
0:42:10 > 0:42:13in Aberfoyle, wrote a book called
0:42:13 > 0:42:17The Secret Commonwealth Of Fairies, Fauns and Elves.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20He was a passionate believer in the existence of
0:42:20 > 0:42:22a supernatural other world.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Now the following year he was taking a walk on nearby Doune Hill,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29when he fell and died, and sometime later
0:42:29 > 0:42:33he appeared as a ghost to some of his former parishioners,
0:42:33 > 0:42:37and he said, "I haven't died but I fell into a deep swoon
0:42:37 > 0:42:40"and was taken away to live in fairyland."
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Now today if you mention fairies to most people
0:42:45 > 0:42:46they'll give you a strange look,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48but 300 years ago, people were
0:42:48 > 0:42:51much more superstitious than they are today,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54and passionately believed in the existence of fairies,
0:42:54 > 0:42:59both good and bad, goblins, water kelpies and such like.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01So much so that no matter where you go in Scotland today,
0:43:01 > 0:43:04almost anywhere, you'll find dozens and dozens
0:43:04 > 0:43:06of tales about the supernatural.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18'Leaving folklore and legend behind me,
0:43:18 > 0:43:24'I'm heading north of Aberfoyle and entering our first National Park.'
0:43:24 > 0:43:27You know, it's a curious thing, but despite being
0:43:27 > 0:43:30the birthplace of John Muir, the founding father of
0:43:30 > 0:43:33the International National Parks Movement, Scotland was one of the
0:43:33 > 0:43:36last countries in the world to actually get them,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39but we've got two now - the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park,
0:43:39 > 0:43:42where I am at the moment, and the Cairngorms.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49How successful have they been?
0:43:49 > 0:43:52It's difficult to say, they've not been in existence for all that long
0:43:52 > 0:43:55so I think it's safe to say the jury's still out.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11This is the moment I've been anticipating for a few days now.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I've left the trail down below and I wanted to climb up to
0:44:13 > 0:44:16a high point, right onto the very crest of this Highland
0:44:16 > 0:44:20boundary fault. This is the geological fault, the geological
0:44:20 > 0:44:24line that runs all the way from the south end of Loch Lomond, right
0:44:24 > 0:44:28across Scotland to Stonehaven just south of Aberdeen and on that side,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31on the south side of the line lie the Braw Lomonds where I've just
0:44:31 > 0:44:33been walking for the past few days.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37And on this side, the feisty Highlands,
0:44:37 > 0:44:41and I'm looking down here into the very heart of the Trossachs.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43Feast your eyes on that because
0:44:43 > 0:44:45that's why they made this area a National Park.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01All day I've been following the Rob Roy Way,
0:45:01 > 0:45:03a lovely long distance walk named in celebration of
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Rob Roy MacGregor Campbell.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Rob Roy was born in 1671 at Glengyle, at the far end
0:45:10 > 0:45:14of Loch Katrine and he became the Chief of the Clan,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16the notorious Clan MacGregor,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20but he also became the subject of a novel by Sir Walter Scott,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23a novel that helped change the face of this area, for ever.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35The Highlands boundary line not only splits Scotland in two
0:45:35 > 0:45:39geologically, but also socially and culturally.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42300 years ago, the people who lived north of that line were
0:45:42 > 0:45:47sequestered from the society of the day, they lived to a patriarchal
0:45:47 > 0:45:50clan system and as Sir Walter Scott said so nicely,
0:45:50 > 0:45:54"Every so often they were wont to have predatory excursions
0:45:54 > 0:45:56"upon their lowland neighbours,"
0:45:56 > 0:45:58usually in the form of cattle raids
0:45:58 > 0:46:00or a bit of plundering here and there.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05It wasn't until Sir Walter Scott wrote his popular books,
0:46:05 > 0:46:09Lady Of The Lake and Rob Roy, that things began to change.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12Other writers and artists began to visit the Highlands -
0:46:12 > 0:46:14people like the Wordsworths,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16James Hogg the Ettrick shepherd, and Robert Burns,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19and that was the start of the Highlands' greatest industry -
0:46:19 > 0:46:20tourism.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44'If any place in Scotland has the credentials for calling itself
0:46:44 > 0:46:47'the gateway to the Highlands, then it surely must be Callander,
0:46:47 > 0:46:51'tucked away in the shadow of these Callander Craigs,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55'part of the Highland fault line.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58'Every year tens of thousands of people pass through the town,
0:46:58 > 0:47:00'en route to the big hills of the Highlands,'
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and that's exactly what I'm doing - leaving the town behind
0:47:03 > 0:47:07and dropping down into the lonely miles of Glen Artney.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31'In Walter Scott's epic poem, Lady Of The Lake, he refers to,
0:47:31 > 0:47:34' "Lone Glen Artney's hazel shade." '
0:47:34 > 0:47:35But, of course, in those days,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38the Glen would be much more populated than it is today.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42Indeed in Stobie's map of Perthshire of 1783,
0:47:42 > 0:47:45this right of way that I'm following was a proper road.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04'At the time of the Jacobite Rebellions,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07'the families who lived here in Glen Artney
0:48:07 > 0:48:09'chose to follow the wrong side.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12'And after the Battle of Culloden the Government proscribed them.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15'That means they weren't allowed to carry arms
0:48:15 > 0:48:17'and they weren't allowed to wear tartan,'
0:48:17 > 0:48:21and not long after that they were finally cleared from the land.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It's quite interesting now and again walking along these empty miles
0:48:25 > 0:48:28just to let your imagination wander a wee bit,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and see in your mind's eye what it might've been like here
0:48:31 > 0:48:35300 years ago when all these families were living here.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38And certainly the road that I've been following would have been
0:48:38 > 0:48:43fairly busy. There may have been the odd cattle or sheep drove along it.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47I can imagine people with dog carts with their goods and chattels
0:48:47 > 0:48:48'wandering up and down,
0:48:48 > 0:48:52'the odd horses and ponies, maybe the odd carriage.'
0:48:52 > 0:48:54but now there's nothing.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59Really the only sounds you hear nowadays are the cries of sheep,
0:48:59 > 0:49:01or a skylark, or a curlew.
0:49:03 > 0:49:04It's actually quite sad.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20During the Roman occupation, an ancient tribe lived in these areas -
0:49:20 > 0:49:23they were known as the Verturiones and they were quite strange
0:49:23 > 0:49:27because they didn't speak Gaelic or Pict, but a form of British,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30more akin to Cornish or Breton or Welsh.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34'They were heavily influenced by the Irish
0:49:34 > 0:49:38'who had begun to move to Scotland in fairly large numbers,
0:49:38 > 0:49:41'so much so that this whole area became known as Stratherin.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45'E-R-I-N as opposed to the Strathearn that we know today.'
0:49:45 > 0:49:49And these people moved about quite a lot, even as far north as Atholl,
0:49:49 > 0:49:53because Atholl comes from the words Atholla or new Ireland,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55and indeed this house behind me
0:49:55 > 0:50:00here, Airigh Mhuircheartaich, is a corruption of the words
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Moriarty's Sheiling or Airigh Moriarty -
0:50:03 > 0:50:06another Irish link in this whole chain of place names
0:50:06 > 0:50:08that runs from here to the Cairngorms.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18'Someone who's adopted these hills is outdoor instructor,
0:50:18 > 0:50:20'Stuart Johnston.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23'While many of his colleagues have based themselves
0:50:23 > 0:50:26'in the more popular areas further north and west, he's passionate
0:50:26 > 0:50:30'about Highland Perthshire and couldn't wait to sing it's praises.'
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Well, it's the heart of Scotland.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34We can go west, east, north, south,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38and whichever direction we go, we're going to see something spectacular.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40We can kind of describe the character of the Cairngorms
0:50:40 > 0:50:42because it's quite unique,
0:50:42 > 0:50:46or Glencoe. How would you define the character of Highland Perthshire?
0:50:46 > 0:50:48There's no doubt Cairngorms is the highest land mass
0:50:48 > 0:50:51in the United Kingdom, so when you're up there
0:50:51 > 0:50:54you're going to see an Alpine and Arctic environment. Here you're
0:50:54 > 0:50:58going to see more of an Alpine environment, with lots of wildlife
0:50:58 > 0:51:02from birds to deer, which are scattered more across this area.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05So you're really saying it's much more luxuriant than the Cairngorms
0:51:05 > 0:51:06which is a wee bit barren?
0:51:06 > 0:51:09- I have to say that. - But it is of course, isn't it?
0:51:09 > 0:51:12A great thing about Highland Perthshire is the trees.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Oh, trees - it's big tree country and we have some of the tallest
0:51:15 > 0:51:20trees in Britain here and, you know, there's projects internationally
0:51:20 > 0:51:23where they're bringing seedlings from trees which are probably going
0:51:23 > 0:51:26to disappear, bringing them to Scotland, planting those seedlings,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30getting them up into a healthy state and then taking them back to their
0:51:30 > 0:51:33indigenous country and replanting them again, so Scotland's actually
0:51:33 > 0:51:37offering a habitat to support other international countries who are
0:51:37 > 0:51:41on the verge of losing some of their very, very delicate species of trees.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47Stuart, we've come along Glenalmond,
0:51:47 > 0:51:51and coming through this lovely little defile here of Glen Lochan.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54What would have caused a big glen like Glenalmond
0:51:54 > 0:51:56and this little sort of defile here?
0:51:56 > 0:52:00Well, this is definitely remains of classic glaciation,
0:52:00 > 0:52:03and just below us you've got some brilliant glacial river terracing
0:52:03 > 0:52:06going on and, as this narrows, this glacier would have
0:52:06 > 0:52:09receded itself and just filled back into there and the pressure
0:52:09 > 0:52:13would have helped form the landscape as well as all that kind of gushing
0:52:13 > 0:52:15water in the river systems,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17but in actual fact the hill above us is Meall an Fhudair
0:52:17 > 0:52:23and that's the Knobbly Hill of the Well and right down here we've got
0:52:23 > 0:52:26this beautiful little stream system that comes out and I just wondered,
0:52:26 > 0:52:31I've never found a well up on the top of that hill, but I hope to one day.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Stuart, what got you involved in the outdoors in the first place?
0:52:38 > 0:52:40My father took me walking when I was small
0:52:40 > 0:52:43and I guess, like most young people when they get into the outdoors,
0:52:43 > 0:52:45their parents have been hugely influential in that.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47What was the defining moment that made you think,
0:52:47 > 0:52:50- "This is what I want to do for a living?"- Oh, gosh!
0:52:50 > 0:52:52I went to the Himalayas when I was 17 on a youth expedition
0:52:52 > 0:52:55and it was a bit of a big trekking/mountaineering peak
0:52:55 > 0:52:59and it was at 21,000 feet, and I really enjoyed the experience.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01I was out there for six weeks and I came back and I thought,
0:53:01 > 0:53:02"I just want to do more."
0:53:02 > 0:53:05And I decided that I had to explore Scotland more at that point
0:53:05 > 0:53:08and that's when I went out to really get over all the Munros,
0:53:08 > 0:53:12as much as I possibly could and just explore all the really interesting
0:53:12 > 0:53:15geographical areas that this country has to offer. And that got me
0:53:15 > 0:53:17hooked and I decided at that point,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20"I want to make a living out of this. How do I go about doing that?"
0:53:20 > 0:53:22And that's what I eventually did.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Stuart, can you tell me about just this little glen we're in here
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and its geographical setting?
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Well, we're halfway through Glennan Lochan and it's...
0:53:48 > 0:53:51the halfway point is marked by this beautiful amphitheatre
0:53:51 > 0:53:55and it's just really trapped with vegetation.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57We're in a sub-Alpine zone which is between,
0:53:57 > 0:54:02really, 350 and 600 metres and the sort of plants we're likely to see
0:54:02 > 0:54:06here is harebell and we've also got mountain thyme and that's one
0:54:06 > 0:54:11of Scotland's few scented plants that you'll find at this altitude
0:54:11 > 0:54:13and we also have some lady mantle
0:54:13 > 0:54:15just in the wetter habitat, just below us.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Lady mantle is the sister of Alpine lady mantle which grows
0:54:18 > 0:54:20a little bit higher.
0:54:20 > 0:54:25That plant's called eyebright and our earlier people who
0:54:25 > 0:54:28lived in Scotland in the glens used lots of medicines and that's one
0:54:28 > 0:54:32of the plants that was used to help ailments and eye infections.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34And of course we've got a huge range of heathers,
0:54:34 > 0:54:36from bell heather to cross leaved heath
0:54:36 > 0:54:39and some of the berry heathers are here too.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41And that's only scratching the surface
0:54:41 > 0:54:44of what we have here at just 1,000 feet.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51I can visualise people, how they were managing the land, you know, how they
0:54:51 > 0:54:55were living off the land and every time I look at the ground,
0:54:55 > 0:54:56I'm looking at a plant and I think,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58"I wonder what they were doing with that?"
0:54:58 > 0:55:01"Were they picking the berries here? How important was that as a food crop
0:55:01 > 0:55:05"through the summer to their diet and to their sustainability here?
0:55:05 > 0:55:07"How did they store it?"
0:55:07 > 0:55:09And then when you go into some of the settlements
0:55:09 > 0:55:14you'll find old refrigeration pits, storage pits that people used
0:55:14 > 0:55:17and again your imagination just goes in all directions.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23I enjoy visiting other places around the world
0:55:23 > 0:55:25but I love working in Scotland -
0:55:25 > 0:55:27it's the culture, it's the people, it's the history, you know,
0:55:27 > 0:55:31and this is my home and I love making a living from where I live.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49I've been following the Scottish National Trail through
0:55:49 > 0:55:52some of our most beautiful glens,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55but now and again the route climbs to a high point and that's
0:55:55 > 0:55:59when the views become even more gratifying.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01I've climbed up here above Strathtay,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04with the great hills of Breadalbane ranged across
0:56:04 > 0:56:06the horizon behind me.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10There's Ben Lawers above Loch Tay, the Carn Mairg group of hills
0:56:10 > 0:56:14above Glen Lyon and away in front of me Schiehallion,
0:56:14 > 0:56:16the fairy hill of the Caledonians.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21You know, even after 40 years of climbing mountains in Scotland,
0:56:21 > 0:56:22I still get this boyish excitement
0:56:22 > 0:56:25when I get up to a high point and get a view.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27Who wouldn't get excited?
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I've been following the Moness Burn down into the Moness Den,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48known to thousands of people as the Birks of Aberfeldy,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52and there's one man who can describe this area much better than I can.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00Can I introduce you to Robert Burns, who came here in 1787?
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Now, Rab, you've been writing about the Birks of Aberfeldy,
0:57:02 > 0:57:07so let's hear your description of the place.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10'The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12'The foamy stream deep roaring fa's,
0:57:12 > 0:57:16'O'er-hung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,
0:57:16 > 0:57:18'The birks of Aberfeldie.'
0:57:20 > 0:57:22That is beautiful. Thank you for that, Rabbie.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40Well, that's me finished the first half of my end-to-end walk
0:57:40 > 0:57:44through Scotland and what a memorable journey it's been, from
0:57:44 > 0:57:47the Scottish Borders, through the canals of central Scotland and on
0:57:47 > 0:57:51through the winding glens to Highland Perthshire and Aberfeldy.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56But what have I got in store after that?
0:57:56 > 0:57:58The next couple of hundred miles are going to be tougher,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00that's for sure - through the Cairngorms and then
0:58:00 > 0:58:04up into the wilds of the northwest, all the way to Cape Wrath.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08So I hope you can join me
0:58:08 > 0:58:11for the second half of the Scottish National Trail.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd