1
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,800
In 1840, one man transformed travel
in the British Isles.

2
00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,920
His name was George Bradshaw,
and his railway guides

3
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,600
inspired the Victorians to
take to the tracks.

4
00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,400
Stop by stop, he told them
where to travel,

5
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,440
what to see and where to stay.

6
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:29,560
Now, 170 years later,
I'm making a series of journeys

7
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,280
across the length and breadth
of these isles

8
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,880
to see what of Bradshaw's
Britain remains.

9
00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,760
I'm continuing my journey through
the Scottish Highlands.

10
00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,160
This morning, I boarded the
overnight sleeper train from London

11
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,680
on its last leg to Inverness.

12
00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,120
Today, I'm looking forward to
vistas of land and sea

13
00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,440
and to discovering how tracks
laid in Victorian days

14
00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,360
helped to inspire authors
and even a cultural revival.

15
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,680
'On today's leg, I ride
a picturesque railway...'

16
00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,200
I have no words.
I'm out of superlatives.

17
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,200
'..visit Scotland's
smallest station...'

18
00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,080
Nearly everyone has joined the queue
to get off at the single door

19
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,400
that opens at the incredibly short
platform at Beauly.

20
00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,840
'..and I go on a spa break,
Victorian style.'

21
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,640
After you've been hosed down
with warm salty water,

22
00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,400
your doctor will probably
have prescribed you

23
00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,280
a glass of sulphurous water.

24
00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:45,760
And would I be cured?

25
00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,480
You might well be.
THEY CHUCKLE

26
00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,120
Using my 1880s Bradshaw's,
this trip started in Stirling,

27
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,200
passed through Perthshire, moved on
to the Granite City of Aberdeen,

28
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,040
and is now taking me west
to Banffshire,

29
00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:05,000
thence to the classic lochs
of the Highlands,

30
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:06,600
to finish at John O'Groats.

31
00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:13,320
On today's leg, I'm taking a detour
west, along a Highland railway.

32
00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,960
From Inverness, I'll head first
to Beauly, then Dingwall,

33
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,200
and finally cross-country
to the coastal town of Plockton.

34
00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,320
My Bradshaw's tells me that
Inverness lies, as it were,

35
00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,000
"at the back of Scotland,

36
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,440
"in a part formerly
little visited or accessible.

37
00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:36,280
"Invernesians speak purer English
than any other Scotch people."

38
00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,760
I'm wondering whether it was
the previous remoteness of the city

39
00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,800
that led its inhabitants to speak
such refined version of
the English tongue.

40
00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,680
Dubbed the capital of the Highlands,

41
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,680
over the centuries,
Invernesians have spoken
at least three languages.

42
00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,280
First inhabited by the Picts, whose
ancient language has disappeared,

43
00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:04,320
the area was then occupied by
Gaelic-speaking Irish settlers,

44
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,560
but subsequent invasions pushed
Gaelic to the brink of extinction,

45
00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:10,160
and English to the fore.

46
00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:14,480
I wonder whether
the townsfolk rejoice

47
00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,960
that Bradshaw's dubs them
"speakers of the purest English,"

48
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,240
or whether they feel prouder
of their Gaelic heritage?

49
00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,120
Hello. I'm just wondering,
are you from Inverness?

50
00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,520
Not originally, not ME,
but my parents are.

51
00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,840
Did you ever hear it said,
as my guidebook says,

52
00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,400
that the purest English
is spoken in Inverness?

53
00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,640
I never understood
why people would say that,

54
00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,800
cos there's a very distinct
accent here.

55
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,720
Any of your family speak Gaelic?

56
00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,360
Erm...very few, actually.

57
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:44,960
Hello. Hi, there.

58
00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:49,240
Do you hear people speaking Gaelic
in the town? Not usually, no.

59
00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,240
Do you think it's a pity if Gaelic
is not much spoken today?

60
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:53,680
Yeah, yeah...

61
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,920
I think it should be taught more
in schools, and stuff like that.

62
00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:59,760
I think it would be nice to,
you know, keep it going.

63
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,800
So, it's only as you get older
you start to appreciate, you know,

64
00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,880
what it means to keep your
traditional languages

65
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:07,080
and stuff like that.

66
00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:11,760
In the 17th and 18th centuries,

67
00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:16,000
Scotland's Privy Council called for
the abolition of Gaelic,

68
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:18,840
and wearing tartan was criminalised.

69
00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:20,520
But in the 19th century,

70
00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:22,960
Queen Victoria's love affair
with Scotland

71
00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:25,200
made all things Highland
fashionable...

72
00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,040
RADIO V/O: "Tha na Bord na Gaidhlig
ag iarraidh an sgoil Ghaidhlig..."

73
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,320
Ever since, there's been a gradual
thawing of antipathy toward Gaelic.

74
00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,360
And here at the BBC,
the language is nurtured.

75
00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:45,080
This is BBC nan Gaidheal,
a Gaelic-language radio station,

76
00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,160
and Donald Morrison is just
finishing his morning show.

77
00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,440
And you're off air...

78
00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:56,240
An hour and a half, that's it.
MICHAEL CHUCKLES

79
00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,520
So, how long have you had
the Gaelic-language radio station?

80
00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,960
It started off very small,
to be honest.

81
00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:06,400
When Gaelic first came to Inverness,
there was the Gaelic minute.

82
00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,920
They had a minute a day.
HE LAUGHS

83
00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,320
Now, from Inverness, we broadcast
this hour-and-a-half news programme
in the morning.

84
00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:17,160
That's in combination with the other
output of Radio nan Gaidheal,

85
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,400
which is a Scotland-wide
radio station.

86
00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,440
Why do you think the broadcasts
in Gaelic are so valued?

87
00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,920
Well...because it's...it's...

88
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,760
I think an academic
once, a few years ago,

89
00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,400
described Gaelic radio,
Radio nan Gaidheal

90
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:34,520
as the cement that binds
the Gaelic communities together.

91
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:39,120
Bear in mind the Gaelic communities
are spread from the Western Isles

92
00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,600
to mainland Highland,
an enclave here in Inverness,

93
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,560
Glasgow, throughout Scotland,

94
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,120
and I think the radio is
the thing that brings them all...

95
00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:52,120
into the one...sort of
community pot, if you like,

96
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,760
and it's also in their own language,
of course.

97
00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,760
Have you any idea whether the number
of Gaelic speakers in Scotland

98
00:05:57,760 --> 00:05:59,800
is going up at the moment?

99
00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,680
It's stabilised at the moment.

100
00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,480
When the figures for
the new census come out,

101
00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:07,120
we'll have a better idea.

102
00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,800
It's a pretty worrying situation.

103
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,240
You know, for years,
Gaelic has been declining.

104
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,040
The policy at the moment
for the language developers

105
00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,720
is to stabilise it and then to grow,

106
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,400
but, you know, here in Inverness,
a minority language like that,

107
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,680
it IS in a pretty precarious state,
unfortunately.

108
00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,720
Since 1871, The Gaelic Society
of Inverness

109
00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:36,160
has also been trying
to rejuvenate the language.

110
00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,600
Allan Campbell is a former chairman.

111
00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,120
Which language did you learn first?

112
00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,160
Well, Gaelic was my first language,

113
00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,360
and I went to school at the age of
five in the west of Skye, without...

114
00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,760
Well, maybe I had one or two
words of English,

115
00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,040
but I'm still learning
English, Michael.

116
00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,080
When did you start to learn English?
Oh, the day I went to school...

117
00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:01,520
because, although my primary school
teacher was a native Gaelic speaker,

118
00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,640
we were forbidden to
speak Gaelic in school.

119
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:09,440
And, so, here, in an area
that was formerly very remote,

120
00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,920
Gaelic, at one time, predominated?

121
00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,240
Oh, yes. Gaelic was, at one time,

122
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:17,840
the language of a large
proportion of Scotland.

123
00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,920
What happened to Gaelic before
the 19th century? Quite a lot.

124
00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,200
Many people will say today that it's
astonishing that Gaelic survives,

125
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,840
because it has been
the subject of persecution

126
00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,920
and legal suppression for centuries.

127
00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:38,400
The Gaelic Society has seen two
relatively recent successes.

128
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:43,760
Several schools now teach in Gaelic,
and the society's lobbying

129
00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:47,360
led to the Gaelic Language
(Scotland) Act of 2005,

130
00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:52,840
which recognises Gaelic as equal to
English as a Scottish language.

131
00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,160
Why does it matter?

132
00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,680
Well, I think it matters because
Gaelic is part of this country.

133
00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,720
Gaelic belongs to Scotland.

134
00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,560
As you make your journey
through Scotland, Michael,

135
00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:09,080
and you see all these mountains,
rivers and railway stations,

136
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:14,200
many of them will have names
whose origin is Gaelic,

137
00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,480
and you might actually learn a bit of
the language as you go along the way.

138
00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,200
I hope you do, and enjoy it.

139
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:22,400
Would you, for the moment,
send me on my way

140
00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,600
with a farewell in Gaelic?

141
00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:26,320
Well, indeed...

142
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,600
Turas math, a Mhicheil.
Tha mi an dochas gun chord Alba riut.

143
00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,000
That's very, very kind of you.
Thank you so much, Allan. Bye, bye.

144
00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,520
It's been a struggle to keep Gaelic
cherished as a living language.

145
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,040
As I leave Inverness,
I turn my attention to another thing

146
00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,200
for which the community
has had to fight.

147
00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,080
My next stop is Beauly,

148
00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:56,040
which Bradshaw's tells me is
a place of importance

149
00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,840
on account of its cattle fairs
and belonging to Lord Lovat.

150
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,480
Lord Lovat was deputy chairman of
the Highland Railway Company

151
00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:06,440
and had a private waiting room
at Beauly station,

152
00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,880
but, even so, train services
ceased there in 1960...

153
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,160
But I'm alighting there today,

154
00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,000
so clearly that wasn't
the end of the story.

155
00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:21,640
'And I've heard that to keep down
the cost of rebuilding the station,

156
00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,200
'its platform is minute.'

157
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:26,360
Are you getting off at Beauly? Yes.

158
00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,040
And it's a good service? Yes.

159
00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,400
And I'm told there's only one door
we can get off at, at Beauly...

160
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,640
Yes, that's right. Which one's that?

161
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,760
This one. That one there.
MICHAEL LAUGHS

162
00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,400
So, do you have to form yourselves
into a queue to get off the train?

163
00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,240
Yes, you'll see that in a moment.

164
00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,680
Oh, will I? I can't wait!

165
00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,280
You'll be caught in the rush.

166
00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,040
This is the most
extraordinary sight.

167
00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,680
Nearly everyone in this carriage
has joined the queue to get off

168
00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:01,720
at the single door that opens at the
incredibly short platform at Beauly.

169
00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,160
Beauly station closed in 1960,

170
00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,400
but a campaign led
by Frank Roach succeeded,

171
00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,280
and it reopened in 2002.

172
00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:17,600
Hello, Frank. Hello, Michael.

173
00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:21,080
Welcome to Beauly, the shortest
railway platform in Britain.

174
00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:23,800
It's wonderful to see
such a small place

175
00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:25,880
that has railway services still,

176
00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,360
and I think you had something to
do with that, didn't you?

177
00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,520
That's right. The station actually
closed in 1960, pre-Beeching,

178
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,240
and gradually, over the years,
congestion has increased...

179
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:38,320
there is a bridge into Inverness

180
00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,560
that gets a lot of congestion
in the morning peak...

181
00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,920
So, I decided it would be interesting
to try and reopen the station,

182
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,280
so I put the funding package together
and persuaded various parties

183
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,120
that a short platform would
be an obvious solution.

184
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,560
Well, Frank, I think while I'm here,
I need to measure this phenomenon.

185
00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:57,360
Perhaps you'll join me...

186
00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:00,000
..as we pace it out?

187
00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,920
One, two, three,

188
00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:09,960
four, five, six,

189
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,800
seven, eight, nine, ten,

190
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,040
11, 12, 13,

191
00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,840
14, 15, 16,

192
00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:19,040
17...

193
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,320
..18 on the Portillo scale,
equals 15 metres.

194
00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,160
Frank, any prospect of opening
other mini stations on the line?

195
00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,840
Yes, we've got pretty advanced plans
to reopen Conon Bridge,

196
00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,800
which is six miles up the track.

197
00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,960
Again, a mini platform looks
to be on the cards,

198
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:40,280
and predictions suggest 40,000 people
could use it every year,

199
00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,120
and this from a village of
under 3,000 people.

200
00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,320
Just itching to get back
on the tracks?

201
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,160
Absolutely. They've seen the success
at Beauly, and want to be part of it.

202
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,920
'Sadly, the town for which
I'm bound now

203
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,680
'hasn't succeeded in
reopening its station,

204
00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,360
'so I shall use a car
from the next stop, Dingwall.'

205
00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:02,080
My next destination is
the village of Strathpeffer,

206
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,240
where, my Bradshaw's tells me,

207
00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:08,000
"the large Ben Wyvis Hotel,
156 feet long,

208
00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,360
"has been built over
an excellent sulphur spa."

209
00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:16,000
Taking the waters and bathing
enjoyed a vogue in Victorian times,

210
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,880
and I'm anxious to know how
the little Strathpeffer

211
00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,680
joined the elite
of British spa towns.

212
00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,320
Originally no more than a few farms,

213
00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,600
Strathpeffer grew when sulphurous
springs were discovered

214
00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,680
in the 1770s.

215
00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:35,680
The first pump room was
built in 1819,

216
00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,320
but Strathpeffer
truly flourished from 1885,

217
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,080
once it had a railway station.

218
00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,440
Grand hotels and substantial
Victorian villas were built

219
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,120
to accommodate the steady
stream of visitors

220
00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:50,920
who came to "take the waters."

221
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,400
Local businessman Steve Macdonald

222
00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,240
takes Strathpeffer's history
seriously.

223
00:12:57,800 --> 00:12:59,680
Steve, hello. Michael!

224
00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:01,000
What a splendid machine!

225
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,120
HE LAUGHS
Pleased to meet you.

226
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,360
I'm just wondering whether
George Bradshaw

227
00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:07,200
might have ridden on one of these?

228
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,640
He died in 1853.
Were these popular in the mid-1800s?

229
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,240
They were, yes. They were very
popular then. That was the heyday.

230
00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,680
Let's park that fellow up
somewhere, shall we?

231
00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:21,640
Now, after the glorious opening of
Strathpeffer station in 1885,

232
00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,240
presumably people were really
pouring in to take the waters?

233
00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,600
Trains came directly from London,

234
00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,960
and brought patients of
Harley Street doctors

235
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:35,840
to houses that had been built
especially for patients to the area,

236
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,920
and people promenaded around
the village and went to tea dances,

237
00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,560
took the waters,
went for healthy walks...

238
00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:46,560
Mid to late 19th century,
it was the place to be.

239
00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,840
I'm a Victorian gentleman
with a skin complaint.

240
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:53,320
I'm coming to Strathpeffer for my
health. What routine can I expect?

241
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,760
Well, when you get up
in the morning,

242
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,160
your doctor will probably have
prescribed you

243
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,040
a glass of sulphurous water,
which you'd drink...

244
00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:04,360
probably sip during the day.

245
00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,880
After you'd recovered from that,

246
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:11,400
you might well have a bath in peat
mixed with sulphurous water.

247
00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:14,440
You would probably lie
in that for an hour.

248
00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,080
It might be followed by a massage,

249
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,360
after you've been hosed down
with warm, salty water,

250
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,720
then you might well go for
a brisk walk

251
00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,040
on one of the paths that
have been laid around here.

252
00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:31,720
In the afternoon, you may well
go to a tea dance,

253
00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,280
and have dinner in the evening
at the regular time,

254
00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,400
and then repeat every day
until you're cured.

255
00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,440
And would I be cured?

256
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,480
You might well be...
THEY LAUGH

257
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:44,880
I wouldn't like to say.

258
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:55,040
The Ben Wyvis Hotel,
as advertised in my Bradshaw's.

259
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,520
I believe that the peat baths
have now given way to hot baths,

260
00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:01,000
and I shall reject
a sulphurous drink,

261
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,520
because I believe that the Highlands
have a better tipple to offer.

262
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:26,760
Rested, refreshed and refuelled,
I'm excited about the day ahead,

263
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,800
which will take me along one of
the most remote lines in Britain.

264
00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,560
In the quiet of this
isolated station,

265
00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:40,760
I could hear the train
maybe a mile away

266
00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,200
clattering its way
through the glens,

267
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:45,200
and now, here it is,
approaching the platform.

268
00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,200
I'm now travelling on what
my Bradshaw's calls

269
00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,440
the Dingwall and Skye Rail,
"a line 53 miles long

270
00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,640
"that runs westwards through
fine mountain scenery

271
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,640
"near Ben Wyvis and Rogie Falls."

272
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,280
In the years just before my guide
was published,

273
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,760
this area had been opened for
the first time to train passengers,

274
00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,920
and judging by the large numbers
on board today,

275
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:17,600
I say, "Rejoice! This rural
and remote railway is resurgent."

276
00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,840
First train of the day, and it's
absolutely heaving with people.

277
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,280
Is it often like this?

278
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,760
It started to get very popular
with bus parties,

279
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,640
so we get bus parties joining
the train at Inverness,

280
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,520
the bus moves up to Kyle,
and they get picked up there,

281
00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,480
and it's part of their package,
and the last four or five years

282
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,320
it's proved very popular,
which is great for the line.

283
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,480
Well, let's hope more
and more people

284
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,200
find out about the wonders of
this line. Definitely.

285
00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,800
May I ask, do you travel
on the line very much?

286
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:06,040
Yes, quite often. Every sort of
second day in the summer, anyway.

287
00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:07,520
Why is that?

288
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,400
Well, I study in Skye, doing Gaelic,
so I get the train to Kyle,

289
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:15,240
and then get a bus to Sabhal Mor
Ostaig, the university there.

290
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,880
Do you feel lucky to have such
a beautiful commute?

291
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,680
Yes, it's very nice.

292
00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,120
Do you still watch the beautiful
countryside go by,

293
00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:24,160
or have you become
kind of blase about it?

294
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,360
No, no, no! I always watch it. It's
lovely, especially on a nice day.

295
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,480
The Highlands have been associated
with Romanticism

296
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,720
ever since the Victorians
began to explore them.

297
00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,240
In 1880, Scottish author
Robert Louis Stevenson

298
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:41,840
may have alighted here
at Garve because,

299
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,280
during a holiday with his wife,
Fanny, he stayed in Strathpeffer.

300
00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:51,600
He visited my next destination,

301
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:54,800
Rogie Falls,
on the Blackwater River,

302
00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,240
where I'm meeting professor of
literature, Linda Dryden.

303
00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:03,560
Magnificent! Linda, it's the most
glorious sight. Isn't it?

304
00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,720
Enough to inspire any Romantic
writer, don't you think?

305
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,280
Well, indeed. In fact, Robert Louis
Stevenson actually came here

306
00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,960
and wrote a letter to his
literary agent,

307
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,760
literary friend, Sidney Colvin,
about this very place.

308
00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,720
He says to Colvin,
"I've lain down and died.

309
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:24,880
"No country, no place, was ever for
a moment so delightful for my soul.

310
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:29,560
"Give me the cool breath of Rogie
waterfall henceforth and forever,

311
00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:31,160
"world without end."

312
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:35,280
And he signs off saying, just lets us
know what a good time he's having,

313
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,440
"May you have as good a time
as possible, so far from Rogie..."

314
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,120
In other words, I'm having
the best time in the world.

315
00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:43,560
Most interesting.

316
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,640
Do we think his visit to Rogie Falls
had an enduring impact on him?

317
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,880
It's very difficult to say,
but when he was writing Kidnapped,

318
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:52,520
he set a lot of that
in the Highlands.

319
00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,520
This passage here, to me,
looks exactly like

320
00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,440
we're looking at up there.

321
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,440
"And with that, he ran harder than
ever down to the waterside

322
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,080
"in a part where the river was split
in two among three rocks..."

323
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,120
One, two... Can we see three rocks?
I think... Yes, mm-hmm.

324
00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:11,000
"It went through with a horrid
thundering that made my belly quake,

325
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,040
"and there hung over the lynn
a little mist of spray.

326
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,480
"Alan looked neither to the right
nor to the left,

327
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,840
"but jumped clean upon
the middle rock,

328
00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,360
"and fell there on his hands and
knees to check himself."

329
00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,200
Yes. It looks it, doesn't it?

330
00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,440
You can just imagine looking at
that waterfall there.

331
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,920
Is Robert Louis Stevenson regarded
as a great hero of Scottish writing?

332
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:32,880
SHE CHUCKLES
It's with the publication
of Treasure Island

333
00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,360
that we get a great success
for Stevenson.

334
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,800
He becomes famous not just
in the UK, but in the States,

335
00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,280
particularly after Jekyll and Hyde.

336
00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,320
This is the problem, I suppose,
with Robert Louis Stevenson

337
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,960
We read Treasure Island, Kidnapped,
Jekyll and Hyde when we're children,

338
00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,640
probably never go back to those
books or back to Stevenson.

339
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,840
Absolutely. If you mention Robert
Louis Stevenson, what comes to mind?

340
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,280
Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde
or Kidnapped. Yes.

341
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:16,000
With my mind full of
swashbuckling feats of derring-do,

342
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,600
I'm back to Dingwall and onward
through this rugged terrain

343
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,880
to the west coast, and my next
destination, Plockton.

344
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:31,840
I'm fulfilling a long-held ambition,
to ride The Kyle of Lochalsh line.

345
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:37,080
Two hours of train travel with
hardly a human habitation glimpsed,

346
00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,640
radiant greens, imposing terrain...

347
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,520
The line has been described
as a symphony in three movements.

348
00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:49,520
First, pastoral, then mountainous
and, finally, marine,

349
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,320
as the line, at last,
reaches the sea

350
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,800
and the symphony reaches
its glorious climax.

351
00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:21,160
Oh! Every curve brings a more
spectacular vista.

352
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,640
This line is wonderful.

353
00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,240
I have no words.
I'm out of superlatives.

354
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:37,680
My Bradshaw's says, "Several fine
lochs penetrate the Atlantic coast,

355
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:41,760
"such as Loch Broom, Loch Ewe,
Gairloch, Loch Torridon,

356
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:47,600
"and Loch Carron, where the Dingwall
and Stromeferry rail terminates."

357
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,840
But it doesn't terminate there
any longer,

358
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:53,800
and I want to know why this
railway line to distant hamlets

359
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,840
was pushed yet further away
from any centre of population.

360
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,680
The Dingwall and Skye Railway is
certainly one of the most
picturesque of routes,

361
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:10,360
but Victorian rail companies
had to be more businesslike
than romantic,

362
00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:12,480
and I want to know about
the economics

363
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,440
behind this vast and expensive
engineering project.

364
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:21,400
I'm hopeful that local historian
Pat Myhill will enlighten me.

365
00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,400
I'm wondering why a line like this
to such remote places

366
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,800
was built in the first place, Pat?

367
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,920
The Victorians were great improvers,
great entrepreneurs,

368
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:39,760
and, so, they saw what a lot of
people would regard as a wilderness

369
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:43,640
as an untapped resource,
particularly the fisheries,

370
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,360
which were considered to be
inexhaustible at the time...

371
00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:50,560
But I think, really,
what it comes down to

372
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,040
is a group of very,
very large landowners

373
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:58,480
saw the benefits to them of bringing
improved communications in.

374
00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,920
There was a measure of
altruism, certainly,

375
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,640
but there was also a great deal of
self-interest in it for them.

376
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,640
How much difference would it
make to the fisheries,

377
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,080
first in Stromeferry and then
in Kyle, having a railway line?

378
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,120
Massive, because the price of fish

379
00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,000
depends on the speed with which you
can get it to the market.

380
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,040
The best markets, like Billingsgate,
wanted very fresh fish,

381
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:24,080
so the price wasn't as good
if you couldn't get them
to market so quickly.

382
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,600
Therefore, if you could get
a railway line in,

383
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,600
and you could get the fish down
to London in little over 12 hours,

384
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:33,160
you're going to get a much much
better price for them,

385
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:37,320
and, of course, that helped develop
the fisheries industry itself.

386
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,200
I rode along the line today,
and it was a lovely gentle ride.

387
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,560
Give me an idea of what it
would have been like

388
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,040
in its early days at the end
of the 19th century?

389
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:49,680
Uncomfortable, especially
on a day like this.

390
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,280
The original carriages
were six-wheelers,

391
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,520
that's a rigid wheel base,

392
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,600
and this is a twisty, tortuous
switchback line,

393
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,920
lots of short bends
and lots of ups and downs,

394
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,120
so they gave you a bumpy ride.

395
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:07,760
They were wooden,
no toilets, no heating...

396
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:09,800
I really enjoyed my journey today.

397
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,440
How would you sell it to
a prospective tourist?

398
00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:17,680
Oh, as the greatest scenic, coastal
railway journey in the country,

399
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:19,640
quite probably in the world.

400
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,240
That's pretty good, isn't it?

401
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,640
In Bradshaw's day,
the catch around Plockton

402
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,280
consisted mainly
of white fish and crab,

403
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,640
but now the waters of Loch Carron
are fished for prawn.

404
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,640
Bob Rowe has agreed to show me
how it's done.

405
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,000
Hello, Bob. Hi, how are you doing?
How are you? Not bad.

406
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:45,320
Where are your markets
for the prawns?

407
00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,880
Well, we land to a company
based in Dingwall,

408
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:50,480
and they're trying to develop
a market in Britain,

409
00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,640
so a lot of their stuff goes
to hotels, restaurants,
in the British Isles.

410
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,720
Fresh? Yes, fresh. Well, alive,
they send them live,

411
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,360
because when they're landed,
they go into this tank,

412
00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:03,840
which is spraying fresh water
on them to keep them alive.

413
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,640
Nowadays, I guess you're
not sending the catch by train?

414
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,680
No, they don't go by train now.
Most of them go by road.

415
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,400
I think that's more... Well, it's...

416
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,600
Because the bulk of it, you know,
it's so bulky,

417
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,600
and also the timetabling, and...

418
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:21,120
I hadn't thought of that.
In the days of the train,

419
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:24,480
you had to fish to the...
Fish to the timetable, yeah.

420
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,160
So, if the train was timetabled
for five o'clock,

421
00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,080
then the fishermen would have to
have their catch ashore

422
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,640
and packaged up, ready to go on
the train for five o'clock.

423
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,480
So, nowadays because it
goes by road,

424
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:38,520
they're not under that
same pressure.

425
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:44,520
'These days, fishing boats are under
pressure to maximise their catch,

426
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,840
'so they'd do well to
leave ME ashore.'

427
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,280
I'm baiting the creel in order that
it can go back into the water,

428
00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:53,440
ready for the next lot of prawns.

429
00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,240
I have to put this bit of
herring in the middle here...

430
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,080
..and it just needs to be secured
in that position

431
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,000
by sliding down that knot,

432
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,960
Now, the creels, with their bait,
are going back overboard again

433
00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:09,840
to try and catch more prawn,

434
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,080
and while Bob chucks them
over the side,

435
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,760
the rope is running along the deck
and I'm standing clear,

436
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,800
cos I don't want to go over
with the creels.

437
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,800
Being a fisherman is still
a pretty tough lot, isn't it?

438
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,840
Yeah, well, it's still the most
dangerous job in the world, I think.

439
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,120
Well, you certainly have my respect.

440
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:30,040
OK, well, you did pretty
good for a beginner, I think.

441
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,200
I'll be thinking about you the next
time I'm on a warm train journey.

442
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:34,600
HE LAUGHS
I'm sure you will.

443
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,080
I'm sure I'll never make
a trawlerman!

444
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,640
I think my skills lie at the
consuming end of the food chain.

445
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,000
Since I'm in sight of the sea,

446
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,440
I thought this would be a good time
to taste the catch of the sea.

447
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,120
It must be really fresh.

448
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,240
Oh, thank you! Your fish platter.

449
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,800
Oh, that looks wonderful.
So, what have I got there?

450
00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:00,400
You have some langoustines
and squat lobsters,

451
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,480
they're from a local Plockton
creel boat.

452
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,120
The crabs and the mussels
are from Skye,

453
00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:09,720
and they're hand-dived scallops
from Loch Alsh, near Kyle.

454
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,040
How wonderful! Thank you very much.
OK, enjoy your meal.

455
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:14,800
Hmm, start with the scallops...

456
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,200
Glorious. Glorious!

457
00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:34,640
Today, I have enjoyed a feast
of Scotland's natural beauty

458
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,640
on tracks laid by 19th-century
railway builders.

459
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:43,080
The trains were the means by which
fishermen in the remotest places

460
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:47,080
could supply their catches,
still fresh, to distant cities.

461
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,760
Now, the line is thronged
with tourists

462
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:52,120
who, like Queen Victoria herself,

463
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:55,480
are attracted by the majesty
of the Highlands.

464
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,480
'On the next stretch of my journey,
I'll learn how one man's vision

465
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,600
'helped to bring train travel
to the Highlands...'

466
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,040
He really saw the social value
of railways,

467
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,480
and in opening up the county
of Sutherland.

468
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:12,120
'..discover how farming's changed
since Bradshaw's day...'

469
00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,120
We have about a tonne
in the grain tank there.

470
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:19,200
That would hopefully produce
about 400 litres of neat whisky.

471
00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:20,520
Wow!

472
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,480
'..and re-live the drama of
Scotland's Victorian gold rush...'

473
00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,640
Gold! We've found gold!

474
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:55,760
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd