:00:00. > :00:13.Coming up on this week 's programme. I hit of the Scottish Orkney
:00:14. > :00:20.Islands. To help uncover then neolithic past. It is about 5000
:00:21. > :00:27.years old. The likes of which we have never even seen before. Let's
:00:28. > :00:36.go guys. Yeah? We take off in Macedonia. In search of new thrills.
:00:37. > :00:40.And Abby takes a look at what has been trending in travel online,
:00:41. > :00:42.including a tweet that has being beamed into outer space. We offer
:00:43. > :01:25.friendship across the stars. The Orkneys on a remote archipelago
:01:26. > :01:28.of islands about 30 miles off the northern coast of Scotland. They are
:01:29. > :01:33.known for their rolling green farmland and dramatically but they
:01:34. > :01:35.have also become famous across the world for the extraordinary ancient
:01:36. > :01:48.sites. The region came to the attention of
:01:49. > :01:53.the archaeological world back in 1850 with the discuss it of Skara
:01:54. > :02:00.Brae, a Neolithic settlement on the West Coast of Orkney's mainland.
:02:01. > :02:05.Since then, discoveries have been made across the islands and in 1999,
:02:06. > :02:08.a group of monuments known as the heart of Neolithic Orkney was
:02:09. > :02:16.declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. In recent years, nuclear
:02:17. > :02:20.scanning technology has meant more discoveries than ever before and
:02:21. > :02:29.some say we are in a golden age of Scottish archaeology. It was this
:02:30. > :02:36.sort of technology that, in 2003, helped reveal a hidden treasure. A
:02:37. > :02:41.building complex up to 5000 years old buried under a farm on Orkney's
:02:42. > :02:46.Raqqa Peninsula. The side stretched over 2.5 hectares Binny the ground,
:02:47. > :02:50.comprising temples, paved streets and outbuildings. It's since been
:02:51. > :02:57.dubbed the mess of vodka and hailed as the greatest Neolithic find in
:02:58. > :03:03.the modern era. The scale of which... Archaeologist Nick card is
:03:04. > :03:08.responsible for excavating the site which is no small task. The fight is
:03:09. > :03:12.so big that even knew this trench behind us, the refill on the about
:03:13. > :03:16.10% of the whole area. So what we're doing is gradually picking it,
:03:17. > :03:20.trying to refine the chronology, see how all these buildings relate to
:03:21. > :03:24.each other, which ones were in use at the same time, and taking
:03:25. > :03:29.thousands of samples to try to work out how these buildings were
:03:30. > :03:33.actually utilised. The site is open for just eight weeks a year and
:03:34. > :03:39.requires the hard work of dozens of volunteers. Right, Christer, here we
:03:40. > :03:43.have the remains, and you can see the outer wall of a really large
:03:44. > :03:52.building. Yep. We are over there. Huge curving walls. A trial. I have
:03:53. > :03:56.one ready for you. A key tool, yes. We are going to get into the trench
:03:57. > :04:00.and clean back from the outer face of the wall, just gently clearing
:04:01. > :04:08.back, scraping back, to reveal the pavement. Amazing. So let's get in
:04:09. > :04:12.and see. We are crouched over an old pathway and slowly, as we scrape
:04:13. > :04:18.away the soil, ancient paving stones are revealed. It's fascinating to
:04:19. > :04:23.think that the last humans to these stones are people living up to five
:04:24. > :04:28.millennia ago. There could be anything right here. You just never
:04:29. > :04:35.know. What will you find? Absolutely, yes. What is that that I
:04:36. > :04:40.have found? I think that is a fragment of bird bone, to see how it
:04:41. > :04:46.is white? Because it has been subject to really intense heat. So
:04:47. > :04:53.is that sort of animal bone? Nobody has had a meal, thrown it.
:04:54. > :04:57.Absolutely, yes. It is not so much finding the special things which are
:04:58. > :05:01.lovely to find, it is the understanding of how people lived
:05:02. > :05:06.here and when you find a fragment of a pot, you think why is that fair?
:05:07. > :05:10.Why has that been put there? Or put it there and why do they put it
:05:11. > :05:17.there? It is on picking that story which is the really great part for
:05:18. > :05:21.me. It's a great feeling to contribute even a little to the work
:05:22. > :05:25.taking place here. But maintaining an active site like this takes more
:05:26. > :05:32.than just elbow grease, it cost money. Around ?2000 a day. Much of
:05:33. > :05:36.the funding comes from donations, including an active charitable fund
:05:37. > :05:41.based in the USA. It also relies on EU grants. Some reports have
:05:42. > :05:46.suggested that Britain's forthcoming departure from the EU could result
:05:47. > :05:51.in a loss of up to 30% of funding UK archaeological research. Which could
:05:52. > :05:55.cause problems for sites such as the Lethebrook. I think the blog term,
:05:56. > :06:00.not being able to reply for research grants like this on the European
:06:01. > :06:05.research Council, a quite dramatic effect on how projects such as this
:06:06. > :06:12.will develop, and we are relying more and more on public support. One
:06:13. > :06:17.possible solution to the funding shortfall could come from what is
:06:18. > :06:23.already a strong contributor to the Orkney economy just like tourism.
:06:24. > :06:26.Its popularity as a destination has grown markedly in recent years, with
:06:27. > :06:35.visitor numbers reaching around 200,000 per annum. Many of these
:06:36. > :06:38.tourists arrived by sea, which is not surprising, as Orkney is the
:06:39. > :06:43.UK's most popular cruise ship destination. And one of the key
:06:44. > :06:48.attractions is the island's ancient past. Many cruise passengers joined
:06:49. > :06:52.to us straight off the ship and head to the site of Skara Brae which has
:06:53. > :06:58.been famous since its discovery 150 years ago. It is now a
:06:59. > :07:03.well-established tourist site with buses arriving by the dozen and tens
:07:04. > :07:07.of thousands of visitors each year. Skara Brae is a great example of the
:07:08. > :07:12.power of ancient sites to draw tourists, and how they can benefit
:07:13. > :07:19.from the tourist dollar. At the nest, tourists visit the site daily
:07:20. > :07:21.during the season, they can view the proceedings are specially built
:07:22. > :07:26.platform overlooking the excitement of encouraged to make donations. But
:07:27. > :07:28.the question is whether these contributions will be enough to
:07:29. > :07:36.compensate for any future shortfall in funding. Gareth Crighton from the
:07:37. > :07:41.local tourism group is hopeful that tourism revenue will grow and allow
:07:42. > :07:47.more support for sites like this. Tourism already is a resource for
:07:48. > :07:51.the archaeology but it should grow, the of opportunity to develop that
:07:52. > :07:56.and it is something that we in Orkney and focused on, it is a 2-way
:07:57. > :08:00.so much for visitors to benefit from, the value you get out of a
:08:01. > :08:12.visit, and the sites, it's fantastic, but it has to work both
:08:13. > :08:15.ways. For now, the team here are getting on with the job of
:08:16. > :08:21.uncovering the mysteries of the nest. What the future holds for
:08:22. > :08:25.archaeology in the region is of course unknown but in Orkney, the
:08:26. > :08:28.race always a good chance there could be even more astonishing
:08:29. > :08:38.ancient sites still hidden under the earth. Waiting to be discovered.
:08:39. > :08:43.And it isn't just the Orkney Islands that are brimming with history. It
:08:44. > :08:47.reckons there are tens of thousands of sites of archaeological interest.
:08:48. > :08:55.Across Scotland. So here is the travel show's pick up some of them.
:08:56. > :09:00.The West Coast of Lewis which is the most northerly island in the Outer
:09:01. > :09:06.Hebrides is rich in ancient remains. The standing stones of Callanish are
:09:07. > :09:12.famous worldwide. And a must see for any visitor. These gigantic rocks
:09:13. > :09:15.stand between 1-5 metres high and are believed to have been
:09:16. > :09:22.constructed around for - 5000 years ago. The site also includes a burial
:09:23. > :09:30.camp where human remains have been found. I've on the mainland, you
:09:31. > :09:34.will find the sight of the fort close to bird had fought in more
:09:35. > :09:38.rate, the north-eastern part of the country was one of the earliest
:09:39. > :09:43.centres of power for the PIC 's, or painted people as the Greeks and
:09:44. > :09:47.Romans knew them. Head the Nikkei Hills in Aberdeenshire to find a
:09:48. > :09:52.series of distinctive hilltops of the harbour site of an Iron Age hill
:09:53. > :09:56.fort. Historians have suggested this was the place where the Caledonia
:09:57. > :10:00.Park tribe took on the might of the Roman Empire in the battle around 80
:10:01. > :10:06.A.D.. According to the ancient Roman historian Tacitus, and lost over
:10:07. > :10:13.10,000 warriors before losing the battle. And finally, built in the
:10:14. > :10:16.1300, not a cattle is a ruined mediaeval fortress located on a
:10:17. > :10:21.craggy headland on the north-east coast of Scotland. About three
:10:22. > :10:25.kilometres south of Stonehaven. The rocks it was built on a more than
:10:26. > :10:29.four Hopetoun -- 440 million years old and the ruined the top fortress
:10:30. > :10:33.was once home to the bill of nourisher, one of the most helpful
:10:34. > :10:35.families in Scotland. Although they eventually lost the influence
:10:36. > :10:47.following the Jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. Still to come on
:10:48. > :10:51.this week's travel show. We take to the skies in Macedonia. We are
:10:52. > :11:11.flying! The travel show, your essential
:11:12. > :11:15.guide where ever you are headed. Time now for trending travel, your
:11:16. > :11:20.monthly mash up of the best travel related stories, stats and videos
:11:21. > :11:25.online. This year marked 40 years since the launch of Voyager one, the
:11:26. > :11:30.spacecraft that has gone on to become the most remote man-made
:11:31. > :11:35.object in space. It's so remote, in billions of years time, it it could
:11:36. > :11:39.be the last surviving piece of human civilisation. To mark the
:11:40. > :11:43.anniversary, NASA launched the message to Voyager campaign inviting
:11:44. > :11:49.Twitter users to submit a 60 character message to be beamed to
:11:50. > :11:53.the craft. The winning entry was announced last month, and took
:11:54. > :11:58.almost a day to reach Voyager one. It was William Shatner, the actor
:11:59. > :12:01.who played Captain James T Kirk on Star Trek, who gave the command at
:12:02. > :12:04.NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to send a message written by Oliver
:12:05. > :12:19.Jenkins that states: send the message. On your command.
:12:20. > :12:24.This is to Voyager at 1720 01. When William Shatner read it is really
:12:25. > :12:31.cool. A massive Trekkie and it is an honour to have Captain Kirk read my
:12:32. > :12:34.message. What could be more infighting than swimming in the New
:12:35. > :12:40.York river? Waterways aren't known for their cleanliness but that could
:12:41. > :12:44.be about to change with plus pool, it is a swimming pool designed to
:12:45. > :12:50.float in the river and filter over 600,000 gallons of river water,
:12:51. > :12:54.making it safe to Beijing. The project has been floated around and
:12:55. > :12:59.realised for years, attracting some celebrity backers and kickstart
:13:00. > :13:04.funding. Now, they are trying to get 100,000 on-line signatures to
:13:05. > :13:09.acquire $100,000 grant which they claim will help to end these plans
:13:10. > :13:14.into a reality. Thanks to everyone who sent us their pictures this
:13:15. > :13:18.month using the hashtag travel Tuesday. Here are some of my
:13:19. > :13:24.favourites. Claire spoke to pursue out of her hotel room in Italy. This
:13:25. > :13:28.was sent to us during the Kampala city festival in Uganda. Rashid sent
:13:29. > :13:33.us a photo of this morning commuters in Dakar, Bangladesh. Don't forget
:13:34. > :13:34.to check out our Twitter and Facebook feeds full loads of extra
:13:35. > :13:48.special travel show content. Now let's look at the travel videos
:13:49. > :13:51.clocking up views online. This year marks 100 years since the Russian
:13:52. > :13:58.Revolution, so we've selected to make films showing different sides
:13:59. > :14:01.to the world's largest country. This is a great place, it is a very
:14:02. > :14:03.beautiful and famous city, Saint Petersburg. I wanted to capture the
:14:04. > :14:19.atmosphere of the city. CLASSICAL MUSIC. I really wish I
:14:20. > :14:25.could get back to this country soon, because it is so big there is so to
:14:26. > :14:29.discover. There is such a diversity in the languages, the landscapes.
:14:30. > :15:02.The culture, the music. Don't forget to get in touch. To
:15:03. > :15:08.enter this week on the travel show, we are off to the Macedonian town of
:15:09. > :15:12.Krusevo, which up until now, has not been on everybody's list of places
:15:13. > :15:16.to visit. But Krusevo is slowly finding its place on the map for
:15:17. > :15:23.people who like to get their thrills high above the ground. The tiny town
:15:24. > :15:36.of Krusevo has just 2000 inhabitants. But what it lacks in
:15:37. > :15:40.size it makes up for in height. It sits at 1000, 350 metres, making it
:15:41. > :15:44.the highest town in all of Macedonia. But not the people
:15:45. > :15:47.outside of the country had ever heard of this place. There is one
:15:48. > :16:04.activity that is drawing people not only from all over the country and
:16:05. > :16:07.Europe, but all over the world. I am at the Czech and Macedonian open,
:16:08. > :16:13.one of the dozens of international competitions that Krusevo has hosted
:16:14. > :16:17.over the years. The wind strength predicted for the whole day is six
:16:18. > :16:22.plus metres. Today's competitors have come from as far away as India,
:16:23. > :16:25.Russia and New Zealand. They are drawn not only by the completion
:16:26. > :16:31.but, they say, by the top-notch conditions that Krusevo offers. It
:16:32. > :16:36.is just perfect. The distance for take-up is very short, just five
:16:37. > :16:40.minutes. The road is good. In some places you have to be driving for
:16:41. > :16:45.light one-hour, on winding roads and stuff like that. The town is very
:16:46. > :16:53.small and cosy, it is easy being here. And also, the weather is very
:16:54. > :17:00.reliable. It is perfect when you want to fly a lot. As the
:17:01. > :17:03.competitors and wait for their breathing, I catch up with the
:17:04. > :17:07.competition's current champion. He is one of many paragliders who comes
:17:08. > :17:40.here year after year to fly. I am hoping all of the wonderful
:17:41. > :17:45.things I heard about Krusevo's flying conditions are correct. It is
:17:46. > :17:49.I am about to go flying myself. I have never gone paragliding before,
:17:50. > :17:52.and even though this will be in a tandem, there is something about
:17:53. > :17:57.flying like a bird that makes me just a tad nervous. You have the
:17:58. > :18:03.whistle here is something goes wrong. What could go wrong? I don't
:18:04. > :18:06.know... Why would I have to use the whistle? Ahead of my flight, my
:18:07. > :18:12.instructor gives me the rundown of everything he says I have to know.
:18:13. > :18:16.It is the easiest thing you can learn, it is easier than riding a
:18:17. > :18:21.bicycle, it is safer than riding a bicycle. It is good if you know how
:18:22. > :18:24.to do it, we prepare for the flight first, which are called the
:18:25. > :18:29.equipment. Then in two steps, we are in there. The wind, not too strong.
:18:30. > :18:32.If you want a good flight, we have this kind of weather like today. A
:18:33. > :18:40.nice, sunny day with beautiful clouds. As luck would have it is,
:18:41. > :18:43.even though Krusevo is one of the world's best places for paragliding,
:18:44. > :18:51.the conditions today are not good. The wind is strong and keeps
:18:52. > :18:55.changing. Disaster! And because we are flying in tandem, which is
:18:56. > :18:57.bigger and heavier than a single pilot glider, already risky wind
:18:58. > :19:06.conditions are even more dangerous for us. I'm just checking the lines.
:19:07. > :19:11.This was not properly attached. They went properly attached, so... I'm
:19:12. > :19:13.glad he figured that out. But Igor is determined to find a spot where
:19:14. > :19:24.we can safely take off. Due to the weather, and despite
:19:25. > :19:29.Igor's Staffords, I can tell this is not going to be one of the most
:19:30. > :19:37.elegant takeoffs. -- best efforts. And I'm not totally convinced we are
:19:38. > :19:38.going to get off the ground. But suddenly the wind takes hold and we
:19:39. > :19:50.are airborne. I've never experienced anything like
:19:51. > :19:57.this. My heart is in my mouth as the ground disappears below.
:19:58. > :20:03.As cliched as it is to say, it is a feeling of your freedom and complete
:20:04. > :20:19.a vulnerability. Many of us may be used to looking
:20:20. > :20:26.down on the landscape from aeroplane windows. But it is altogether
:20:27. > :20:37.different when there is absolutely nothing between you and the sky.
:20:38. > :20:46.That was amazing! I really want to go up again. But I don't think we
:20:47. > :20:51.are supposed to, the wind is definitely getting worse. And I
:20:52. > :21:00.think one flight is all we get today. But I'm really happy with
:21:01. > :21:05.that. It was awesome. I loved flying so much, I'm disappointed we had to
:21:06. > :21:09.cut out flight short. But I'm incredibly glad we got the chance to
:21:10. > :21:14.experience something so thrilling, and in one of the best places in the
:21:15. > :21:18.world for it. No wonder paragliders become addicted to their sport, and
:21:19. > :21:24.no wonder so many of them come back to Krusevo again and again. I may
:21:25. > :21:31.not be a paragliding yet, but it is easy to see the attraction.
:21:32. > :21:40.Well, that's all we've got time for on this week's RAM. Coming up next
:21:41. > :21:43.week, Adi is in Swedish Lapland, finding a city on the move,
:21:44. > :21:49.literally, in one of the world's list of urban transformations. About
:21:50. > :21:53.6000 people will be moving, because their houses and their apartments
:21:54. > :21:59.will be affected. That's because a sinkhole threatens to swallow up the
:22:00. > :22:02.whole of this town. And all these buildings, everything that you can
:22:03. > :22:08.see in front of you now, will eventually collapse into the hole.
:22:09. > :22:12.So do join us then, if you can. In the meantime, don't forget, you can
:22:13. > :22:17.keep up with this one we are on the road in real-time by sending up to
:22:18. > :22:20.our social media feeds. Details are on the screen now. For now, from the
:22:21. > :22:46.travel show, it is goodbye. Today's weather is brought
:22:47. > :22:51.to you courtesy of Storm Brian. Over the last 24 hours it has
:22:52. > :22:55.rapidly developed as low pressure