0:00:00 > 0:00:06The Outer Hebrides, islands steeped in history, folklore and romance.
0:00:06 > 0:00:11A place that conjures up images of swirling mists and crashing waves.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14'But how much do we really know about this part of Scotland,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17'a place that lies on the very edge of Europe?'
0:00:17 > 0:00:22You know, in over 40 years of climbing Scotland's hills, I'd kind of given up hope
0:00:22 > 0:00:25of ever being surprised by a view again, but this is sensational.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29I think the Western Isles generally are a kind of hidden gem in Scotland,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31there is so much to see and do here.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'I'm on the island of Vatersay'
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and behind me lies a nice chain of uninhabited islands -
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Sanderay, Pabbay, Mingulay and Berneray.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18Now, a number of years ago I started to walk from here
0:01:18 > 0:01:20up this lovely archipelago of Western Isles
0:01:20 > 0:01:23to the northern point in the Butt of Lewis.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27But a combination of bad weather and too much road-walking defeated me,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and I eventually packed it in somewhere in North Uist.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34But I vowed that I was going to return, and here I am. This time
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I'm going to use a bike in some of the sections
0:01:36 > 0:01:39and I'm going to link up some of the finest hill walking
0:01:39 > 0:01:44in the Hebrides with some of the most remarkable historical sites you'll find anywhere,
0:01:44 > 0:01:50and at the same time celebrate the culture and the lifestyle of the Hebridean.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53I'm really looking forward to this journey and I hope you'll join me
0:01:53 > 0:01:57for this hike and bike through the Outer Hebrides.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Over the next couple of weeks I'll be placing a foot or turning a wheel on nine different islands.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08I'll be on a northbound journey from the southern coast of Vatersay
0:02:08 > 0:02:12all the way to the windswept Butt of Lewis.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16From a start point my route takes me over the marvellous little hills
0:02:16 > 0:02:19of Barra, then across the sea to lovely Eriskay
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and five islands that are all linked by causeway.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25First I'll be walking up the machairs
0:02:25 > 0:02:27of South Uist and into Benbecula.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32North Uist comes next, with a surprisingly mountainous experience, then it's back
0:02:32 > 0:02:37on my bike across the final causeway to Berneray, and another ferry crossing to Harris and Lewis.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40The whole route is over 150 miles,
0:02:40 > 0:02:45'and it's time to saddle up for the first stretch to Barra.'
0:02:47 > 0:02:52I've always been a wee bit wary of bikes. When mountain bikes were first introduced to this country,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56like a complete idiot I took one to the summit of Ben Macdui,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01our second highest mountain, and on the way down I took a short cut down a snow chute.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05The bike and I parted company and I went down the snow chute on my bum
0:03:05 > 0:03:09like the fastest thing outside the Cresta Run.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14At the bottom I stood up and my right side was like a pound of mince, it was a real mess.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20So I've always been very wary of bikes ever since, especially on a really windy day like this one.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25But, hey, this is the Hebrides and they say that here the wind is your constant companion.
0:03:36 > 0:03:43Vatersay used to be known for the quality of its beef production, and apparently the beef were transported
0:03:43 > 0:03:47by ferry from Castlebay and Barra across to the markets on the mainland.
0:03:47 > 0:03:54But before they got there, they had to swim across the Sound of Vatersay, 250 metres of open water.
0:03:54 > 0:04:01Now, in 1986 a prize bull by the name of Bernie drowned as it was swimming across, and apparently
0:04:01 > 0:04:05that encouraged the authorities to build this causeway,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08linking the two islands, the islands of Vatersay and Barra.
0:04:08 > 0:04:14So I suppose we have Bernie the bull to thank for preventing Vatersay going into that slow decline
0:04:14 > 0:04:19and depopulation, as happened in the other southern islands of the Hebrides.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25From the causeway there's only a couple of miles of biking
0:04:25 > 0:04:29ahead of me on this, the first leg of my Hebridean journey.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Barra is about eight miles long and five miles wide,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and just over 1,000 people live on this island.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41I'm in Castlebay, which is the main town in the Isle of Barra,
0:04:41 > 0:04:46and there's one thing that I have to do before I leave here.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Kiessimul is a small medieval castle that's been beautifully restored in recent years.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55This is the stronghold of the MacNeils of Barra
0:04:55 > 0:05:00whose galleys, or birlinns, once dominated these Hebridean waters.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06The castle's completely surrounded by the sea, so the only way visitors can get to it is by boat. This means
0:05:06 > 0:05:12that the fortifications are pretty impregnable and, for me, the journey across wasn't without its problems.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14It's been threatening all day.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18I mentioned the wind earlier, the constant companion of the Hebrides,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and it caught up with me and it whipped my hat off.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25But my man here spotted it, he's got the hook.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Ah, look at that, fantastic.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I don't have a tumble dryer.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Oh, don't you worry about that, that's perfect.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Put it straight on, it will dry in no time!
0:05:33 > 0:05:38I've been told to put it straight on, some good advice from County Durham there. Here we go.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41How's that?
0:05:58 > 0:06:01What is it about castles that makes people so excited?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04This is everything a real castle should be.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Quite formidable in many ways.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10It's a real cracker. What's in here?
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Woah! Secret staircase.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27You know, when you think of it, this must have been
0:06:27 > 0:06:32the first safe anchorage that seafarers would have found between the north coast of Ireland
0:06:32 > 0:06:36and the Hebrides, so it's no small wonder that the MacNeils became powerful
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and, boy, did they know it! There's an old story that says that every night when MacNeil
0:06:40 > 0:06:44had dined, his piper would come out to the battlements,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47play a pipe tune and then announce to the world,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51"The potentates of the world can now dine, MacNeil has finished."
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Back now to the aptly-named Castlebay on mainland Barra,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00and I've found a feast of my own.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Clan McNeish marches on its stomach.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07You know, I've travelled fairly extensively in India and Pakistan
0:07:07 > 0:07:11and I love nothing more than going into one of these little roadside cafes
0:07:11 > 0:07:16and just having some of that authentic Indian food, it's just absolutely terrific.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21And I never, ever thought that the place where I'd come and taste that flavour
0:07:21 > 0:07:28would be Barra in the Outer Hebrides. And the man who owns this restaurant, this is his own recipe.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- This was a four-in-the-morning recipe originally.- Really?
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Sort of waking up at four in the morning very hungry, shall we say?
0:07:37 > 0:07:41- With an idea in your head? - And just what was lying about.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Tell me what we've got in here.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50Well, garlic, ginger, onions, some coconut, a lot of coriander seeds
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and then chilli powder, turmeric.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58So that's all fried with tuna, and the monkfish and cod's
0:07:58 > 0:08:03added at the last minute, just cooked, you know, not for very long.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06This is a new venture, both for Barra and for Rohal.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10I mean, this is something neither myself or my wife, Pauline, have ever done before.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- How did that come about?- We've lived here on Vatersay for eight years...
0:08:13 > 0:08:18- Where were you before that?- Glasgow. - Why move from Glasgow to Vatersay?
0:08:18 > 0:08:22I think it was a time to give the people of Glasgow a break after...
0:08:22 > 0:08:2840 years of me was enough for Glasgow, so it was maybe time for me to move.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33What's the usual sort of comment you get from people? They come off the ferry here and they come in here
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and they eat this sort of food - there must be an element of surprise to a lot of people.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I think a lot of them are pretty amazed, yes.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I think that's part of the beauty of it.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I think that's what makes them enjoy it even more, because they're sitting
0:08:47 > 0:08:50here in Castlebay and they did not expect this.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54'And, let me tell you, that's one of the best Indian meals I've had in a long time.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00'For me, well, I'm now fed and watered, so it's onwards and upwards to Barra's highest hill.'
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Because of the very strong winds this morning, I decided
0:09:08 > 0:09:13against taking my bike up the lovely west coast of Barra, although it was a temptation.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18But, you know, I'm a hill walker and where there's a nice hill in sight, you just have to climb it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22And Heaval is one of the finest hills in the Hebrides.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26It's a great viewpoint, so that's where I'm heading just now, up over Heaval,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29over Thartabhal, over Grianan, and then down to Ardmhor,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33where I'm going to get the ferry across to Eriskay.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38And, of course, halfway up the hill here is a lady who I should probably pay my respects to.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50'Somehow Barra managed to avoid the Reformation
0:09:50 > 0:09:56'and when MacNeil of Barra turned to Catholicism in the early 18th century
0:09:56 > 0:10:00'it confirmed these southern islands as a mainstay of Catholicism
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'in what is largely Presbyterian Hebrides.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'And I think the Madonna and Child here gazing heavenwards,
0:10:07 > 0:10:11'looking over the flock, I think, in Castlebay. They're looking heavenwards,'
0:10:11 > 0:10:16and I'm gazing heavenwards, too, not for inspiration but to get to the top of Heaval in this wind.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20And it might just blow me to the summit. Here goes.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Wooh!
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Whoa! Heaval, it's only 383 metres
0:10:50 > 0:10:54but in this wind it feels like the Himalayas. Oh!
0:11:02 > 0:11:05'You know, that was a real struggle up that hill'
0:11:05 > 0:11:11but I'm really glad I made the effort because now that I'm up here, the views are absolutely fantastic.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14You can see ahead of us the route over Hartaval,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and then the smaller hill behind is called Grianan.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22You can just see the white sands of Eriskay away over yonder.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25It's a fabulous part of the world, it really is.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Well, it's goodbye to Barra, and I say that with some reluctance
0:11:35 > 0:11:39because it's been a great stay there, a great island.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43And kind of typical, after being battered by the winds yesterday,
0:11:43 > 0:11:47the winds have eased away now and it's a beautiful Hebridean morning.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I'm shortly going to be landing on the isle of Eriskay,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and I'm going to be landing at almost exactly the same place
0:11:56 > 0:12:00as Charles Edward Stuart landed on the 2nd of August 1745,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and that was his very first steps on Scottish soil.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08But this won't be MY first step on the isle of Eriskay. I've been here before.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12I remember it as probably the loveliest of all the Hebrides.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Until the mid-19th century, Eriskay had a tiny population,
0:12:18 > 0:12:25'mainly fishermen, but the numbers increased five-fold when people were cleared to here from further north.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30'It must have been a hard life - the land was infertile and the sea crossing treacherous.
0:12:30 > 0:12:37'But in 2001 when the causeway to South Uist was built, things started to change.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40'Father Calum MacLellan is the oldest inhabitant of the island.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44'Born and brought up here, he travelled to Rome to train as a priest.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'Now retired, he remembers life before the mod cons arrived.'
0:12:48 > 0:12:54When I was a child there were no roads, we had no carts, we had the ponies. We've still got ponies.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59They had panniers but they could only carry a limited amount,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01so you had to carry it yourself.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07There was no running water, you had to go to the well for the water, and all that sort of thing.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09You had to milk the cow
0:13:09 > 0:13:16and you had to have enough fodder to keep the cow alive during the winter.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22So it was busy, you worked as long as there was daylight,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26so we looked forward to the winter coming!
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- You'd get a bit of a rest then! - That's right. The only snag, of course,
0:13:30 > 0:13:36is that there were no radios, we had very few newspapers, hardly any books to read at the school.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41I think there were some by Walter Scott and Charles Dickens and Alexander Dumas.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45But if you got a hold of the People's Journal,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48you started at page one, up the left-hand corner,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50and you stopped at the back page, "Printed by so and so and so."
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- You read every word. - Every word of it.
0:13:53 > 0:14:00And we became very expert at all the adverts. They were all advertising clothes that we had never heard of,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05and we knew the price of socks, and the ladies knew the price of corsets and all that sort of thing.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Now, the causeway here was built not that long ago.- No.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12What are the biggest changes the causeway's brought to the island?
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Before the causeway, it was a great improvement when the Western Isles Council had the idea
0:14:17 > 0:14:23that, where they COULD have them, they put car ferries, and that was a great benefit as well.
0:14:23 > 0:14:29But even the car ferries, the car ferries could only move at certain times of the day.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32When we didn't have the causeway, well,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36you knew the last ferry was at five o'clock so you didn't expect anyone.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40So it was a bit of culture shock when people would appear
0:14:40 > 0:14:45at your door at nine o'clock at night to pay you a visit, you know? You'd almost be on the way to bed.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50So tell me, what were your experiences the first time you left the island and went to the mainland?
0:14:50 > 0:14:56We had mostly read about things and I'd never seen a train, of course,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00never been on a train, and that really fascinated me.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05And I was always being dragged back from the windows in case I lost my head.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07There were a few shocks.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12I remember this particularly, I saw this lady waiting for a bus
0:15:12 > 0:15:16and she was wearing trousers and smoking a cigarette.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20And I said, "Good gracious, what kind of...
0:15:20 > 0:15:22"What kind of world is this?"
0:15:22 > 0:15:30I really did, because I'd never seen anybody in... And I'd never seen ladies smoking cigarettes.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34The elderly ladies in Eriskay always took snuff,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38and maybe some of them smoked a pipe secretly, for all I knew.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49'Another day, another island, and it's time to leave Eriskay behind
0:15:49 > 0:15:54'and start my journey up that chain of islands - the Uists, Benbecula, Berneray,
0:15:54 > 0:16:01'Harris and Lewis, the archipelago that has given the Outer Hebrides its nickname of the Long Isle.'
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I've had to make a big, big decision today.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13On arrival here in South Uist, all my instincts told me to go the east of the island where I could
0:16:13 > 0:16:19make the long traverse over Beinn Mhor and Hecla, two hills that I've wanted to climb for years and years.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25'But then I realised that running right up the west coast of South Uist is possibly the finest example
0:16:25 > 0:16:30'of machair that you'll find anywhere, and running right up it, almost like a...
0:16:30 > 0:16:34'like a temptress, is a lovely footpath called the Machair Way.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38'It runs for 20-odd miles, all the way up to Benbecula.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41'At the end of the day, the decision was made for me.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45'Way to the east, the cloud's building up, it looks as though it's raining heavily,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49'and I suspect there will be very, very strong winds on the summits.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52'So it looks like the Machair Way for me,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'but that's not a bad prospect because, all the way up this west coast, you'll find
0:16:57 > 0:17:01'some of the best beaches you'll find anywhere in the world.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:09'Machair is a Gaelic word and refers to the fertile grassy land
0:17:09 > 0:17:12'that runs along much of the coastline of these islands.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18'This coastal strip used to be part of the beach but was left behind when the sea levels dropped.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23'Today it's one of the rarest habitats in Europe, and almost half of Scotland's machair
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'is to be found here in the Outer Hebrides.'
0:17:34 > 0:17:40Well, it's a breezy end to the Machair Way and it looks like a change in the weather,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44unfortunately, so I'm going to go and find somewhere to put my head down for the night
0:17:44 > 0:17:47and hope for a decent weather forecast for tomorrow
0:17:47 > 0:17:51because I'm going to Benbecula and I'm going orchid-hunting.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06'This is a tale of detection, disclosure and a touch of family rivalry.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10'Last year bird specialist Steve Duffield stole the limelight
0:18:10 > 0:18:15'from his partner, Johanne Ferguson, the local expert from Scottish National Heritage.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20'Steve discovered a massive colony of the rare orchid, Irish Lady's-tresses,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23'right here at West Benbecula Lochs.'
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I was taking a trip out for Western Isles Wildlife,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29showing people birds, when I happened to notice
0:18:29 > 0:18:31in the foreground of my binoculars
0:18:31 > 0:18:35that there was a flowering spike, and I recognised the flowering spike
0:18:35 > 0:18:39from the distance because of the colour of the orchid -
0:18:39 > 0:18:42it's kind of like a creamy white - and the fact that it was
0:18:42 > 0:18:46in flower in August. Most orchids are finished by that time of year.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50So I hopped over the fence and walked across, and it was Irish Lady's-tresses.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53So I nipped back cos I didn't want to upset any crofters
0:18:53 > 0:18:57and when I started scanning from the road, I not only saw one,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I could see about 30 of the orchids scattered around,
0:19:00 > 0:19:05which seemed amazing at the time. But the next year we find out, when they do a systematic search
0:19:05 > 0:19:10of the site, that there's something like 600 of the orchids in the same area.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14I was out that day looking for orchids elsewhere. I'd found ONE,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and I was delighted with that.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19And I came home to pass on the news of my exciting find,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22yet another orchid, to find he'd found 30.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26- How did you feel about that? Were you a bit miffed?- Well, I was, yes!
0:19:26 > 0:19:30Luckily I got revenge this year by finding the 600, so that's good.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36That's incredible. So why do we find Irish Lady's-tresses here in Benbecula and not in other places?
0:19:36 > 0:19:41Well, it's got a range of good habitats for them, similar to this loch here, it's got...
0:19:41 > 0:19:44It's a very shallow loch, and it floods in the winter time, so they
0:19:44 > 0:19:48seem to really need either flooding or heavy grazing over the winter.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Benbecula has so many different lochs that fit that description,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54that there's loads of habitat for them.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56So you think there could be a lot more on the island?
0:19:56 > 0:19:59There almost certainly are. We know there's loads of other
0:19:59 > 0:20:04little colonies - one and two plants - in Benbecula, there's also some others in South Uist
0:20:04 > 0:20:09but this is the biggest one here, in fact it's probably one of the biggest ones in the country.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14There's an interesting little story to it. Most plants they reproduce by pollination and then
0:20:14 > 0:20:18they produce seed, but these Irish Lady's-tresses haven't actually been doing that very often.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23It's about four or five times they've done it, or been recorded as doing that, throughout the country.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28So it was a mystery as to how come they came to be here and in such large numbers.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32There's been three theories - one, that the seed came across from North America,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37the second one, that it came across with geese... White-fronted geese, isn't it, Steve?
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Yeah, Greenland white-fronted geese.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44But the difficulty with that is that Greenland white-fronted geese obviously come from Greenland,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46and the orchids haven't been recorded from Greenland.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50However, this year after we'd found this colony, we were quite lucky to have
0:20:50 > 0:20:54a resident expert on orchids and he went out on the site and discovered
0:20:54 > 0:20:58that they had actually seeded, so he found one example of seeding.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01So, again, if that's a fifth for the country, that's quite exciting.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04This is quite a special area you've brought me to because not only
0:21:04 > 0:21:09will you find these lovely Irish Lady's-tresses orchids here, but also rare birds, Steve.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Yeah, that's right. The red-necked phalarope breeds here.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17We're right on the edge of red-necked phalarope breeding range, most of them breed further north.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Iceland, for instance, has a large population of phalaropes.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26And in the UK, this is about as far south as they actually breed.
0:21:26 > 0:21:32There's maybe three pairs here, maybe one or two in Lewis, and the rest
0:21:32 > 0:21:37of the UK population, which is about 30 to 40 pairs, are in Shetland.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40So it is, yeah, it's a very rare breeding bird in Britain,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43and Benbecula is really the main site in the Outer Hebrides,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47and this loch here, Loch Mor, where you find the orchids,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50is also, yeah, the major site for red-necked phalarope.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54So, just one final question. What creates the most excitement in your household -
0:21:54 > 0:21:59is it sighting a new orchid or is it seeing a red-necked phalarope?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01It's both, actually, isn't it?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Yeah, I think the birds win.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07- Yeah, yeah, definitely, rare birds. - Nonsense, the plants win!
0:22:07 > 0:22:12When I was pregnant with my first child, we had an appointment with our midwife,
0:22:12 > 0:22:19and it was Boxing Day, and she said to Steve, "I hope you've got her a really good present."
0:22:19 > 0:22:22And he said, "Yes, I have, I've got her an orchid book."
0:22:22 > 0:22:24And she was horrified. I think she was expecting
0:22:24 > 0:22:29chocolates, perfume, flowers. And then she said to Steve, "And what did Johanne get you?"
0:22:29 > 0:22:34and he said, "A caterpillar book." So she was totally outraged!
0:22:36 > 0:22:41'Back on my bike, I'm heading north again, through the flat waterlogged landscapes of Benbecula.
0:22:41 > 0:22:47'I've got about 9 miles to ride to my next destination on North Uist.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51'Till 50 years ago, it was difficult to travel between these two islands.
0:22:51 > 0:22:57'Separated by a difficult stretch of water, there was just one hour at low tide when it was possible
0:22:57 > 0:23:03'to walk across, and it was a treacherous journey, especially in winter when storms would shift
0:23:03 > 0:23:09'the position of sandbanks, forcing the islanders to find new routes that avoided the quicksand.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14'But all that changed on the 7th of September 1960
0:23:14 > 0:23:18'when the late Queen Mother opened the North Ford Causeway.
0:23:19 > 0:23:25'Today it's just a push on the pedals and a swish of the tyres and I'm across and into North Uist.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31'I'm joining an artist and film-maker who moved here
0:23:31 > 0:23:35'from Glasgow ten years ago to live and work on the island.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41'He was very keen to take me to the highest point on North Uist, the hill of Eaval.'
0:23:41 > 0:23:42'It's such an iconic shape.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44'It's my Mount Fuji, really.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47'I live in the shadow of it,'
0:23:47 > 0:23:51I see it every day, it's really... It feels very much part of my life.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56As a film-maker, as an artist, what is special about this landscape?
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Well, I think you can see it today. I mean, the light is just fantastic and, you know, when...
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Earlier on today there was mist and it was absolutely stunning,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10flat calm, the hills are all reflected in mirror-like lochs.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13I'm a very keen kayaker and canoeist, and this is just heaven.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- 'Plenty of water for you. - Plenty water.'
0:24:22 > 0:24:25It's as still as anything.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- A bit late for the fishing.- Aye.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32'Well, it's one thing coming here to visit but an awful lot
0:24:32 > 0:24:35'of people come here that will stay a winter and say, "That's enough."
0:24:35 > 0:24:37'Because it's not always like this.'
0:24:37 > 0:24:40No, it's not. When I first came up I had a motorbike
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and it got blown over three times in the first three months I was here.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I didn't see the sunshine for, like, three months at all.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It can be hard, you know, especially in the winter.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55'Personally I love a good storm, there's nothing better than walking on a beach on a really stormy day.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57'There's definitely a bit of John Muir about you, isn't there?
0:24:57 > 0:25:02'Definitely, that bit about him climbing these trees to swing about in the storm...
0:25:02 > 0:25:04'I'd love to do that!
0:25:04 > 0:25:07'That's the only thing I miss, really - no trees.'
0:25:22 > 0:25:27Lovely! We can just see the hills in the mainland and some of the Minch.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And in the ten years that you've been living here, has your
0:25:30 > 0:25:34- relationship with this landscape changed at all?- Oh, absolutely.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38I mean, I feel like, you know, I know it so much better now.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It's one of the things I really love about North Uist,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45you know, there's such a difference from the west to the east.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48On the west side you've got amazing beaches,
0:25:48 > 0:25:53just crescent after crescent of mile-long beautiful white sand,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58machair wildflower meadows that are just incredible.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03And the middle covered with hundreds and thousands of lochans
0:26:03 > 0:26:07and waterways, more water than land.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12And then here on the east coast you've got these vast moors
0:26:12 > 0:26:15with rocky outcrops
0:26:15 > 0:26:19and these magnificent hills, you know, which are part
0:26:19 > 0:26:23'of this thrust zone right down the kind of spine of the Uists.
0:26:23 > 0:26:28'Andrew is the creator of the award winning Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'and Art Centre which attracts artists from around the world.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35'One person who was keen to explore this unusual landscape
0:26:35 > 0:26:39'was the internationally acclaimed environmental artist, Chris Drury,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44'who travels extensively, seeking out the connections between nature and culture.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48'Together Andrew and Chris decided to document the landscape
0:26:48 > 0:26:53'of North Uist by discovering the Gaelic names attached to each geographical feature.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57'They've also created images and sculptures that they hope will lead
0:26:57 > 0:27:01'to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the names and the land.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05'And in a watery landscape like this, they felt the best way
0:27:05 > 0:27:11'to achieve their objective was to undertake a two day trans-Uist journey by Canadian canoe.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15'It's just a great way to travel across this untouched interior.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19'Many of us would probably refer to this as a wild land
0:27:19 > 0:27:23'or even wilderness, but you've found the name of every one of these lochs.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27'Well, not even just the names of the lochs and the hills but, you know,
0:27:27 > 0:27:32'every little hillock and promontory and stream, you know, and rock.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36'They're... you know, they all have names. And the language is embedded in the landscape.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39'But you have collected all of these names
0:27:39 > 0:27:42'and put them together digitally on a photograph down in the centre?
0:27:42 > 0:27:48One of Chris Drury's works was essentially creating a landscape image,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51large-scale, wall-based piece,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55landscape image made up, in fact, of the text
0:27:55 > 0:28:01of all the names of the places that you could see from this hill.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04And it's the landscape we crossed in the journey.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10'We camped on one of these islands in Loch Aulasary
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'and it was pretty wild, I tell you,
0:28:13 > 0:28:20'it was kind of force six, seven, with heavy rain most of the time!
0:28:20 > 0:28:24'Very elemental but that was part of the experience.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28'We wanted to really experience the landscape.'
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Yeah.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52You know, Andy, in over 40 years of climbing Scotland's hills,
0:28:52 > 0:28:56I'd kind of given up hope of ever being surprised by a view again, but this is sensational.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Tell us, what are we looking at here?
0:28:59 > 0:29:02To the south, immediately, we've got Ronay and Grimsay,
0:29:02 > 0:29:08Benbecula further to the south, and the hills of South Uist,
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Hecla and Corodale, Beinn Mhor.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13And then this vast, central flow country
0:29:13 > 0:29:16in the middle of North Uist, there is more water than land,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18and that's the way Chris Drury and myself
0:29:18 > 0:29:21travelled across this landscape, through the water.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Well, here's a message for all you Munro baggers and Corbett baggers out there.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40- This little hill, Eaval, is only, what height?- 347 metres.- 347 metres.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45And it's one of the best views in Scotland. So get yourself over here.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Time now to visit the final island in this little chain of islands
0:29:52 > 0:29:55that are all linked together by causeways.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00This is Berneray, and I'm about to meet someone who's spent the last 30 or so years exploring the Hebrides,
0:30:00 > 0:30:04someone who's walked all the way from the Butt of Lewis to Barra.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08When I attempted this myself, I gave up halfway through,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11more than a little daunted by trying to walk across a land
0:30:11 > 0:30:14that was dissected by so many lochs and rivers.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Peter Clarke's from south of the border but was determined to create
0:30:18 > 0:30:22a long-distance walking route all the way through the islands.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26The result of his labours was a book about the Outer Hebrides, The Timeless Way.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29I knew that there were tracks
0:30:29 > 0:30:32because it was really within living memory
0:30:32 > 0:30:35when I first came to the Hebrides in the 1970s,
0:30:35 > 0:30:40that people were still using these tracks. And I met plenty of people who tried to walk,
0:30:40 > 0:30:45who'd come up here to get away from the road, to walk through the wilderness,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47and they just couldn't find the way.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52So I did a whole load of historical research on maps,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55starting with the 1666 Blaeu Atlas of Scotland,
0:30:55 > 0:30:59the South Uist map, a beautiful thing, which shows the machair track
0:30:59 > 0:31:05from Pollachar to Eochar, and that's really what started me off.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09I did the historical research and then I came up here and joined it all up.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14On the face of it, it looks like just a big long walk, but I know
0:31:14 > 0:31:17from your book, you had some quite exciting moments,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21- some tidal beaches...- Yes. - ..and bogs and...
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Well, when...
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Laying out a walk and doing it are two different things.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31I mean, the one, the walk across the northeast Lewis moors,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34which was laid out many years ago by the Tourist Board,
0:31:34 > 0:31:38I did that walk and found myself walking across bogs
0:31:38 > 0:31:43that were moving under my feet and finding myself in a sea of...
0:31:43 > 0:31:46a brown sea of peat,
0:31:46 > 0:31:50and it was during that walk that I realised that ahead of me
0:31:50 > 0:31:54was a stick, and it wasn't the Tourist Board's official marker,
0:31:54 > 0:31:56it was a large stick that somebody had put there,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59and then there was another one and another one.
0:31:59 > 0:32:04And that was the very first time that I realised that there were these unofficial markers.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08And, of course, on the tidal fords, there was something called the MacKay Stones.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12And MacKay was said to be an exciseman who had drowned
0:32:12 > 0:32:16as he crossed the tidal ford between North Uist
0:32:16 > 0:32:20and Benbecula, and these stones had been put in to try to guide the way
0:32:20 > 0:32:23across the safe parts of the ford.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28Because this is such a sparsely populated area,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31because there's still the wilderness is preserved here,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35these things are still here to see and here still to use.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41And so you're not just looking for a track that you can see, that you can walk along,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44you're looking for the next stick or the next stone
0:32:44 > 0:32:47that's going to take you across an otherwise featureless moor.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51On a day this with the sun shining, is there any place more beautiful in the world?
0:32:51 > 0:32:56Well, I think Berneray always takes a lot of beating.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I look around here and I think...
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Well, you know... It really does always bring a tear to my eye.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16It's time for the final ferry of my 150-mile Hebridean trail.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18I'm heading to the isle of Harris
0:33:18 > 0:33:21and some of the wildest hill walking in the Hebrides.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25From the mountains of Harris I'll be crossing the flat peat moors
0:33:25 > 0:33:28of Lewis, but this is no second best,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31it's as remote as anything I've encountered on this journey.
0:33:31 > 0:33:32The ferry took me
0:33:32 > 0:33:35across to Leverburgh in South Harris
0:33:35 > 0:33:40and I've cycled round to the start of a walking trail that I'm proud to be associated with.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46About 10 years ago I was invited across here to the Western Isles
0:33:46 > 0:33:50to officially open a new walking trail called the Harris Walkway.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56Now, this trail runs from Seilebost here on the lovely west coast of Harris,
0:33:56 > 0:33:58it travels east to an area called the Bays
0:33:58 > 0:34:04and then makes its way north to Tarbert on a series of footpaths and quiet roads.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08From Tarbert it follows an old packhorse route north
0:34:08 > 0:34:12onto the slopes of An Cliseam, the highest mountain in the Outer Hebrides.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Now, I have to confess, I've never actually walked the route in its entirety,
0:34:16 > 0:34:22but given the prospect of this long journey through the Outer Hebrides, I thought now is the time.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27So I'm really looking forward to the next 20 miles, if only to get off my bike for a while.
0:34:34 > 0:34:39I wonder if you could imagine walking along here on a day of low cloud and drizzly rain,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42and you see coming towards you a group of people,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45and you notice that four of the men, or maybe six of the men,
0:34:45 > 0:34:50are actually carrying a coffin, and the women around are keening and crying,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53because this is an old coffin road, an old funeral road,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57that led from Lackalee in the Bays area across here to the west coast.
0:34:57 > 0:35:03And people couldn't bury their dead over in the Bays because the ground is so rocky and rough,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06they just couldn't dig a six-foot-deep grave.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10So the dead had to be carried across here, and as they came
0:35:10 > 0:35:15over this path, every so often they would stop at a cairn like this one.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18And these are not just simple way marking cairns,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21these are coffin rest cairns.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24And the mourners would put the coffin on top.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28This would actually be pretty flat on the top.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31People have come here and they've added stones to it over the years.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34And they leave the coffin there for a few moments
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and they might say a prayer, a wee rest before carrying on the journey.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40So it's great that these stone cairns are still here
0:35:40 > 0:35:43as a reminder of the hardships that these people endured.
0:36:08 > 0:36:14I've just come into the Bays area, and that's a series of coastal communities and townships,
0:36:14 > 0:36:18and they've got some lovely names, like Leacklee, Stockinish,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Plocrapool or Drinishader.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25Names that are as Norse in their origin as they are Gaelic.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30From here I'm going to head north towards Tarbert, just weaving some of these wee short sections
0:36:30 > 0:36:34of footpath with some sections of the so-called Golden Road.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39'And that's a road that earned its name because of the huge amount of money it cost to build it.'
0:36:51 > 0:36:54You can see the difference in the landscape already.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57There is no white sands here, no green machairs.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04It's almost like the bare bone sticking up through the thin skin of the earth.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08'The Harris walkway follows the Laxford Lochs, north from Tarbert,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13'but I wanted to take a wee diversion, to a parallel route that crosses the hills
0:37:13 > 0:37:17to a coastal village that boasts a real David and Goliath story.
0:37:23 > 0:37:29Scotland lies on the edge of Europe and the Western Isles lie on the very edge of Scotland.
0:37:29 > 0:37:35Until a few years ago, the village of Reinigeadal lay on the very edge of the Western Isles.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Now, I use this term "on the edge" advisedly,
0:37:38 > 0:37:43because at one time, Reinigeadal was considered to be the remotest village in Scotland.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The only way you could reach it was by boat or on a four-mile
0:37:46 > 0:37:50footpath over the hills, this footpath we are following today.
0:37:50 > 0:37:56And then a local man, Kenny Mackay, said, "Enough is enough, something has to be done about this."
0:37:58 > 0:38:00It was a close-knit community
0:38:00 > 0:38:05and everybody was dependent on the other person.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07And in a place like this, it had to be like that.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14When the boat would come in, this landing place, where we are sitting at the moment,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17would be a hive of activity, especially in the winter.
0:38:17 > 0:38:22The days were short and you would have to have enough animal feed
0:38:22 > 0:38:27and all the necessity for the community was coming ashore here.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31There are lots of islands that are just a short crossing,
0:38:31 > 0:38:37but here you had a seven-mile trip by open boat, right off into Tarbert at that time.
0:38:41 > 0:38:47When my mother was growing up, there would be over 100 people here, but after the First World War
0:38:47 > 0:38:52all the ex-servicemen then, they were offered this crossover in Skye, so that took
0:38:52 > 0:38:57quite a lot of people out of the village and it was a gradual decline.
0:38:59 > 0:39:07And we were down to just ten or 12 of us left, when I realised, "In a few years, this place will be gone."
0:39:08 > 0:39:13My mother was very insistent that she was staying here all her life
0:39:13 > 0:39:16and there was another aunt here, Marian McGinnis,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20that was of the same mind and I had that streak in me, anyway.
0:39:20 > 0:39:25But mother was pushing me to do something about getting a road in.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30And so began the battle for the survival of Reinigeadal.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34It was a battle which was to take ten years of Kenny's life.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39This started off with a fairly modest request for a £20,000 jetty
0:39:39 > 0:39:44but ended up with the construction of this road, that cost £1.5m.
0:39:44 > 0:39:50When I went to the funding bodies, "Oh, no, there's another jetty way down half a mile away from the road."
0:39:50 > 0:39:57So I said, "Oh, that's OK. But at the end of the day I think it will cost you more than that wee jetty."
0:39:57 > 0:39:59So it cost them 1.5m to put the road in.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Well, there would be no community.
0:40:05 > 0:40:12There's a lot of places round the coast of Harris that there's no community there any more,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15especially on the far side of the loch, where some of the people
0:40:15 > 0:40:19came here during the Clearances, there's a lot of,
0:40:19 > 0:40:24maybe half a dozen or more villages on the other side of Loch Seaforth that there's nobody, just ruins.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34I was asked once by a journalist, when I was fighting for the road,
0:40:34 > 0:40:38"How much would it take you to leave? It would be cheaper for the council
0:40:38 > 0:40:41"if you took a backhander and walked away from this campaign of yours."
0:40:41 > 0:40:45I said, "That will make me even more determined to get what I want!"
0:40:46 > 0:40:52Judging by the building work going on, Reinigeadal has not only survived, it is thriving.
0:40:52 > 0:40:53But even my own family,
0:40:53 > 0:40:57no-one can appreciate what it's like having a road now, compared to how it was before.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00We just can't get them to understand what it was like.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04What's in the past was just a dream
0:41:04 > 0:41:09and you've woken up and there's a road here. It's just unreal.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22The Isle of Harris is separated from Lewis by the largest range of hills in the Hebrides.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And it's time for me to take to the high ground again.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29I'm heading for the highest of these hills, in the very good company
0:41:29 > 0:41:31of mountain man and naturalist, Roddy MacMinn.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36'I think that the hills in Harris are amazing places to walk through.
0:41:36 > 0:41:42'You go immediately from the beach up to the mountain top, very dramatic.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44'It really is something special.
0:41:44 > 0:41:52'And all that combined with the setting just makes this in particular a really beautiful place to be.'
0:41:52 > 0:41:56I suppose a lot of people must come to the island and look at the sort of landscape and say,
0:41:56 > 0:42:00"Well, it's been here for, you know, millions of years, there's not much you can do to change it."
0:42:00 > 0:42:06Yeah, well, I'm not sure that would stand up to much analysis, really.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08What you've got here
0:42:08 > 0:42:12has evolved over time, it's been managed intensively
0:42:12 > 0:42:14and less intensively by man over generations.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19And what we've got now is something that's special.
0:42:19 > 0:42:26It is fragile and, in terms of its importance to Scotland, it's very significant.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30People have crofted here for a long time.
0:42:30 > 0:42:36It's a particular style of agriculture. Has that been good for wildlife?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39The way people have managed the land here has essentially
0:42:39 > 0:42:43created the special place that is Harris and the Outer Hebrides.
0:42:43 > 0:42:49I think it would be wrong to assume that that's just been a continuum all through the generations.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Two generations ago, for example, we might have had people coming up
0:42:52 > 0:42:58here in the summer with their cattle. In more recent times, it's been extensively grazed by sheep
0:42:58 > 0:43:03- and then there's been some people burning and not burning in some areas.- To increase heather growth?
0:43:03 > 0:43:10Uh-huh, yeah. And sometimes that's appropriate in some areas, but it can exacerbate erosion in others.
0:43:10 > 0:43:15So what we are looking at now is recognising some of these causal links,
0:43:15 > 0:43:22seeing how peoples' management of the land affects the landscape and the wildlife that inhabit
0:43:22 > 0:43:29that landscape and developing an understanding and taking a stewardship role over these hills.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33I actually see the sea now.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38Yeah, Taransay in the distance there, with beaches, it's lovely.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Yeah, it's looking rather splendid.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45There is sun on the hillside, it makes all the difference.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48There's a wee bit of brightness.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50It's true what they say in the Hebrides, Roddy,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53that if you don't like the weather, just wait two minutes.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Yeah, and sometimes you don't even have to wait that long.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58Aye. It's very changeable today.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12Oh, look at that.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Some contrast with the mist on the other side of the ridge?
0:44:15 > 0:44:18What's that? The end of Loch Seaforth?
0:44:18 > 0:44:22Yeah, you can see the end of Loch Seaforth there and then it winds
0:44:22 > 0:44:26- its way up north through Kinloch and South Lochs.- South Lochs, uh-huh.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Uh-huh, towards Stornoway, eventually.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32Always changing, huh?
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Is this area important enough, do you think, to get National Park status?
0:44:41 > 0:44:47It's an interesting question. It certainly meets the criteria set down in the National Park Act,
0:44:47 > 0:44:53in terms of defining what should make a National Park,
0:44:53 > 0:44:58that being that it has to be a very special place, in terms of its nature conservation value,
0:44:58 > 0:45:03but also it has to have a distinct regional identity
0:45:03 > 0:45:07and certainly Harris, as a whole, has that in spades.
0:45:09 > 0:45:14I think the next question is whether people want to see a National Park here and that's
0:45:14 > 0:45:19not really for us to determine, it's for the people, the communities themselves.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23But what about Roddy MacMinn? What does he think about this area being a National Park?
0:45:23 > 0:45:28Well, I think it has a lot of potential and I think if the people do decide that they want
0:45:28 > 0:45:32to go down that route, I think it could be quite an exciting time for Harris.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46- There we go, the summit. What height are we?- 799 metres.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49- All right, what's that in English? - 2,600 feet.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51Something like that, yeah.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55- Well, it's certainly the biggest hill in the Hebrides. - That's right, yeah, so...
0:45:55 > 0:45:59- It's just a pity we can't see anything.- We can see the mist(!)
0:46:18 > 0:46:23Well, I've left the big hills of Harris behind me now, but you know, I'm not too despondent about that,
0:46:23 > 0:46:28because I know, not far ahead, I'm going to visit one of the real archaeological splendours
0:46:28 > 0:46:31of the Hebrides - and I'm really looking forward to that.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35And, you know, the great thing about this trip is, I feel as though I'm on my own
0:46:35 > 0:46:38in the middle of this vast landscape. Wonderful.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40Here we go.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11In a land where rock and water is so predominant, this seems highly
0:47:11 > 0:47:15appropriate that we have so many of these ancient artifacts.
0:47:15 > 0:47:20I saw this circle just from the roadside and, while it's good,
0:47:20 > 0:47:23the one that I really want to visit is just over there.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30Callanish Stones are an unmistakable landmark, yet no-one knows exactly
0:47:30 > 0:47:34when they were erected, who put them here or why.
0:47:34 > 0:47:39There are more than 50 stones - the largest over four metres high.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41It's an incredibly impressive sight.
0:47:41 > 0:47:47Angus Mackenzie was born just a mile along the road and today, he shows people around the site.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52Certainly, they reckon this is the second most important stone circle
0:47:52 > 0:47:59- to Stonehenge. By all accounts, it's even older than Stonehenge.- What sort of age are we talking about?
0:47:59 > 0:48:03Well, we're talking 4,500 to 5,000 years old.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08I think it was constructed in various stages.
0:48:08 > 0:48:14This north avenue here, that we see going towards the village, that was added at a later date.
0:48:14 > 0:48:22You know, first of all, there was this circle here, this was covered by a stone dome type of thing.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25- Like a chambered cairn? - Yeah, what we call a beehive house.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28I don't know the time period, but it was a later event,
0:48:28 > 0:48:33adding the avenue down here. Whether that was a ceremonial avenue
0:48:33 > 0:48:36or whether it had other significance, I don't know.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39What are the some of theories for the creation of Callanish?
0:48:39 > 0:48:40Oh, how long have you got?
0:48:40 > 0:48:42THEY LAUGH
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Well, my favourite is -
0:48:44 > 0:48:51and the most logical one to me, being a crofter and sometimes fisherman, when I can get a chance -
0:48:51 > 0:48:54is that the moon phases governs the tides,
0:48:54 > 0:49:00it also governs your harvest to a certain extent, your timing,
0:49:00 > 0:49:03so to my mind this could be something used
0:49:03 > 0:49:09to mark the face of the moon as a calendar or as a predictor of events.
0:49:09 > 0:49:15- There's quite a nice theory that there's a range of hills, is it behind us here?- Yeah.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17- It's in the form of...a woman. - That's right.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21And the moon sort of bounces along her form, when is it, midsummer?
0:49:21 > 0:49:24- That's it.- Oh, it's over that way? - That's it over there.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28And that could be possibly why the avenue's here, as a viewing thing.
0:49:28 > 0:49:36But it seems to be at certain stages of the moon, it dances up and down, disappears.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41And does she represent the sort of mother goddess figure of nature?
0:49:41 > 0:49:45I think that is in some... aspects of the translation.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47I think that's what she represents to some people.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50What are the sort of reasons people come here for?
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Well, you've got the difference solstices
0:49:53 > 0:49:59that the new age travellers come and pitch up their tent at the end there, and hopefully it's a nice day.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04Most times it's not. But that doesn't seem to discourage them too much.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08Most come just for the historical value of it,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11but there's quite a few for different types of spiritual healing.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14One or two that come here periodically, you know?
0:50:14 > 0:50:20Maybe every year, maybe every two years. There's some come here twice a year,
0:50:20 > 0:50:25and draw what they say is energy out of the stones and recharge their batteries.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29Is there's a feeling locally that this is something special?
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Well, growing up to it, it's just the same as...
0:50:32 > 0:50:37you've got the lovely hills here, you walk the hills, you don't think they're anything special,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42it's only when you maybe come back again or visit other places or hear the reaction
0:50:42 > 0:50:48of the visitors from other places that you realise that you've got a very special site on your hands.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52Walking in here today, I sort of feel something quite significant.
0:50:52 > 0:50:57I'm not saying I feel pulses of power coming out, but I certainly do feel I'm within
0:50:57 > 0:51:02something that is very, very, very ancient and very, very important.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06Well, you're talking about something that's been up for, say, 5,000 years
0:51:06 > 0:51:12and it's something that hasn't been damaged or taken away by generation after generation,
0:51:12 > 0:51:15it is wild and it hasn't changed.
0:51:17 > 0:51:22From Callanish, it's about 30 miles to my journey's end at the Butt of Lewis,
0:51:22 > 0:51:27but I have to confess that I've always tended to avoid the flatlands of Lewis,
0:51:27 > 0:51:29concentrating on the hills further south.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33So I'm keen to meet up with someone who's chosen to make her home here.
0:51:33 > 0:51:38A former professional cyclist, Andrea Ingram used to coach Britain's top riders,
0:51:38 > 0:51:43including Paralympic gold medallist Aileen McGlynn and her co-rider Ellen Hunter.
0:51:43 > 0:51:50But Andrea's put all that behind her and she now lives in the small community of North Tolsta.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53So what's drawn her here, to this particular island?
0:51:54 > 0:51:55It feels like you're alive.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57You go out on the peat,
0:51:57 > 0:52:01where we cut the peats, you know, and it's just so peaceful,
0:52:01 > 0:52:02and all you've got round you
0:52:02 > 0:52:06is the birds and the wind.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10An old way of life it seems, in the main, that still is hanging in there.
0:52:10 > 0:52:11It is a really beautiful place.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14The thing is about North Tolsta particularly,
0:52:14 > 0:52:18apart from the people, which obviously are the most important thing,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22is the end of the road. So, just a couple of miles beyond here,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25the road finishes at Garry Beach and Traigh Mhor Beach,
0:52:25 > 0:52:28which are beautiful beaches and amazing scenery,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31and then out on the head, it's, you know, it's moorland
0:52:31 > 0:52:34and ash on the peats at the back where we cut the peats,
0:52:34 > 0:52:38that's really beautiful too, because, when you go out on these old peat tracks,
0:52:38 > 0:52:42they're really stunning tracks, and all the peat cuttings around you,
0:52:42 > 0:52:47you realise that must have been cut for hundreds of years like that and it's quite astounding, really.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52Ill health meant that Andrea had to give up her career as a cyclist,
0:52:52 > 0:52:56but this gave her the chance to explore another aspect of her life - photography.
0:52:56 > 0:53:01I was introduced by my father years ago, he used to do it.
0:53:01 > 0:53:08And then again when I couldn't cycle so much, I just decided I would start capturing images at the Velodrome,
0:53:08 > 0:53:15which is where I started, pictures of Chris Hoy, Victorian Pendleton and the other people around.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18It's funny because, when I came up here everyone said,
0:53:18 > 0:53:23"Oh, it will be wonderful, you'll be able to do so many landscapes." I don't do many landscapes.
0:53:23 > 0:53:30I get really fed up, personally, with seeing pictures of this place in bright sunshine,
0:53:30 > 0:53:34hugely saturated colours and all the rest of it and it's just not me.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37I like to try and capture something else up here.
0:53:37 > 0:53:42And I like using the old cameras, you know, which people are throwing out now.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45They're just beautiful tools and they're beautifully made
0:53:45 > 0:53:47and you can see all the craftsmanship in them,
0:53:47 > 0:53:52- but you know we live in this society where almost everybody's got a digital camera.- That's right.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Have you ever been tempted to get caught up with the simplicity of digital photography?
0:53:56 > 0:54:03Well, we have a little digital camera, but I don't like using it. There's just something about it,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06it doesn't do it for me. With these things you...
0:54:06 > 0:54:08You have to work hard to use them,
0:54:08 > 0:54:12check the light with the light meter and so on to get your exposures right,
0:54:12 > 0:54:17and then when you're printing as well, in the dark room, you're really engaged in the project,
0:54:17 > 0:54:23so out of a roll of film from this camera I may only get one picture I like,
0:54:23 > 0:54:27and then, in a year, I may only get two or three pictures I really love, that really speaks to me.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29But that's fine by me.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34It's not a job, I'm doing it because I love doing it.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38This sort of thing, I use for more documentary style things.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40So when I've been doing...
0:54:40 > 0:54:46Following a crofter just down the road I've been using a camera like that.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48The first pictures I did, actually,
0:54:48 > 0:54:54was him butchering up Junior, the bullock, on the kitchen table, which is a bit gruesome.
0:54:54 > 0:54:55- A bit gruesome, I'd say.- Yeah.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59Seems to me you're shooting predominantly in black and white. Why?
0:54:59 > 0:55:03I think with the colour you can get too distracted with the colour
0:55:03 > 0:55:06and I like the shapes you get and things like that.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10And also, of course, I can do easily black and white in my own dark room.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12You don't sell your photographs?
0:55:12 > 0:55:17Oh, occasionally. I had a little exhibition in An Lanntair and I did sell a few.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19But it's not primarily why I do it.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21- I don't want it to go that way.- Why?
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Because I want it to remain fun.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27I don't want to have the pressure of producing pictures
0:55:27 > 0:55:29that other people like, I want to do what I like.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33And if people like them, all well and good, and if they don't, well,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36I like them, that's all that matters.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41But, for me, it's back on the bike for the last few miles.
0:55:41 > 0:55:48The road to journey's end is the A857, but up here you're not likely to be troubled by the traffic.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52You get a real feeling you're approaching somewhere significant.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56This is frontier land, there aren't so many settlements,
0:55:56 > 0:55:59just a huge space created by flat moorland and sea
0:55:59 > 0:56:04with very little to spoil this lovely sense of being alone.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07As Andrea said, it is peaceful and calming in a way
0:56:07 > 0:56:11that's quite unlike the feelings I ever get in the mountains.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13But that's enough from me right now.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17For a few minutes just sit back and relish these open moorlands
0:56:17 > 0:56:20and the seabird-haunted cliffs of North Lewis.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23There's nowhere else quite like it.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53You know, I've just enjoyed one of the finest bike rides I've ever had anywhere.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56Right up here, the West Coast of Lewis,
0:56:56 > 0:57:03with the blue sea sparkling on one side and the peat moors kind of going on forever on the other side.
0:57:03 > 0:57:08And all under this beautiful blue, almost Mediterranean sky.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11The weather has been absolutely fantastic.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15And here I am at the Butt of Lewis,
0:57:15 > 0:57:20a spectacular end to what has been a truly spectacular journey.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26You know, when I began this journey down in Vatersay,
0:57:26 > 0:57:29I had this distinct feeling that I was in another country.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33The culture was different, the language was different,
0:57:33 > 0:57:36the landscapes were all quite different.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41But in the course of travelling up through all these islands, walking and cycling,
0:57:41 > 0:57:44I've come to realise that the Western Isles are but one aspect
0:57:44 > 0:57:48of the fantastic diversity that Scotland has to offer.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54I've seen some of the most fantastic beaches that you'll see anywhere,
0:57:54 > 0:57:57I've wandered round some marvellous castles,
0:57:57 > 0:58:04I've heard some great tales of history and folklore, climbed some absolutely superb mountains,
0:58:04 > 0:58:06and it's all here in the Western Isles,
0:58:06 > 0:58:11on this chain of islands that are on the very edge of Europe.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15And, if I've got anything else to say, it's get yourself over here as soon as you can.
0:58:15 > 0:58:20It's a fantastic place and I recommend it to you with a passion.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:28 > 0:58:31E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk