1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,800 This is a story of Britain, but a Britain that we very rarely see. 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,960 Britain as an undiscovered country. 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:15,600 We're travelling from the Southern tip of England 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,200 to the far North of Scotland 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,560 exploring the very best the British countryside has to offer. 6 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,240 But we'll be taking the long way round 7 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:25,120 because this journey is all about getting off the beaten track. 8 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:28,760 We're looking to reclaim the hidden and the overlooked... 9 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:34,320 to find the pieces of our history that might have slipped between the cracks. 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,360 And there she is, 11 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:38,000 the Hidden Valley. 12 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,240 We asked you to share your secret places, and we'll be sharing our own. 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,880 Yeah, remote is certainly one word to describe this place. 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,480 This is Secret Britain. 15 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,920 We're on the final leg of an epic adventure which is taking us the length and breadth of Britain. 16 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,320 Oh, eh. This is lovely stuff! 17 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,000 We've discovered open spaces in the crowded south, 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,920 explored the contrasts of east and west, and found hidden gems 19 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,280 in some of the best-loved areas of the Peaks and Lakes. 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,840 It's absolutely amazing. 21 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,760 And this time we're travelling from the Borders 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,400 right up to the most northwesterly point on the UK mainland... 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:40,080 Cape Wrath. 24 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,240 We're each taking a very different route to the furthest edge of our island. 25 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,560 To find the secret stories hidden in our last great wildernesses. 26 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,080 And I'm starting here 27 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:56,840 in Northumberland. 28 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:06,880 Where the world famous Hadrian's Wall attracts nine million visitors a year. 29 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:14,080 'But few ever make it where I'm going. 30 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,480 'A quiet corner of Northumberland National Park. 31 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:26,920 'A lost world shaped by a hidden history.' 32 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:30,680 I'm heading for College Valley which is in the north of the park. 33 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:35,000 Now, they only allow 12 cars in it a day to preserve its tranquillity 34 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,080 and today, I'm one of them. 35 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:49,920 Right, well, 36 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:56,760 I've got my visitor's pass and that means I'm allowed through this gate. 37 00:02:58,280 --> 00:02:59,800 Privileged access, you know! 38 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,080 'A payment of £10 means you can be one of the few 39 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:09,320 'to experience a beautiful secret space.' 40 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:12,440 Right. 41 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:19,960 And this is it. 42 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:21,760 College Valley. 43 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,680 Officially the quietest place in England. 44 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,960 'It's somewhere you can really lose yourself in the landscape.' 45 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:51,840 'I'm walking with Russell Tait who's worked here for more than 20 years as a ranger and sheep farmer.' 46 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,960 There is not a soul around, it's quite an extraordinary place, isn't it? 47 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,080 Well, I think in terms of tranquillity that's exactly what you've got here. 48 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:09,760 People have used the College Valley for hundreds of years, but it's so difficult to get to that, you know, 49 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,400 it just keeps it on the quiet side. 50 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,960 'To learn the secret of why the valley is now so peaceful we've got to climb.' 51 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:31,720 What a view, when you look down there, the way that the hills just, kind of, bend off round the corner. 52 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,080 'We're heading into the Cheviot range, a ridge of granite 53 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:41,280 'that forms the natural geological border between England and Scotland. 54 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,360 How high have we made it to here then? 55 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,640 We're just coming up to 500 metres here. 56 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,520 So quite a bit to go to get onto the top. 57 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,360 Yeah. And it is a hardy, tough landscape, I mean, it's a beautiful day today, but, you know. 58 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:00,680 It's a rugged landscape and it's not a place you should come to without being well prepared. 59 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,800 You know, it's one of them places that the weather 60 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:10,400 can change very, very quickly here and people who aren't prepared may get themselves into bother. 61 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:18,960 Tranquil today, this untamed countryside's troubling secret 62 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,320 is that for centuries it was a war zone. 63 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,440 A no-man's land steeped in bad blood and feuding. 64 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,520 We have had 300 hundred years 65 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,840 of border warfare, you know, between the Scots and the English 66 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:38,080 and we also had the Border Reivers, you know, families who 67 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:42,160 would pit themselves against each other so it wasn't necessarily 68 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:46,320 the Scots against the English. Very often it was similar people 69 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,960 from similar parts of the world, 70 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:55,000 simply coming into another valley taking cattle, taking possessions and heading back home. 71 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:01,280 This area was the Northumbrian equivalent of the Wild West. 72 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,760 A dangerous place fought over for years. 73 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:14,760 But the 1603 union formalised the border between England and Scotland, 74 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,080 and College Valley was left in peace. 75 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,280 The only reminder of its turbulent history is the modern border, 76 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:34,600 a rather understated testament to its bloody past. 77 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,600 And this is it... 78 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,920 it's the border between England and Scotland... 79 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:48,040 It's the only fence I've seen here since I came into the valley 80 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:52,880 and I can't believe it, there's no barbed wire or passport control or anything. 81 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,360 Anyone could jump over there. 82 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,240 I'm in Scotland! 83 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,360 Leaving the border behind, the twin cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh 84 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,480 stand guard at the narrowest part of Scotland. 85 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,440 This is a famous landscape, 86 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:28,720 packed with architectural giants, from the Forth's bridges 87 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,760 to attention-grabbing castles like Edinburgh. 88 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:39,000 It's a Mecca for tourists, but I'm on the hunt for something you might otherwise miss. 89 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:44,520 A 2,000-year old piece of history which sits unseen in modern Scotland. 90 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,320 It's a UNESCO listed Roman site... 91 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,080 but it takes a bit of finding. 92 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:57,760 Well, this is the strangest gateway into a World Heritage Site I've ever wandered through. 93 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:01,040 Is there really anything waiting for us? 94 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:13,520 'Beyond the industrial estate the countryside opens up to reveal what I'm searching for.' 95 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:23,920 Allow me to introduce you to the less well-known Scottish little sister of Hadrian's Wall... 96 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,080 this is the Antonine Wall. 97 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:33,360 This is all that remains of the northernmost border of the Roman Empire. 98 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,320 'Built in 142 AD, 99 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:43,720 'this ridge was once a wall nearly 10 feet high which spanned Scotland from coast to coast.' 100 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:55,320 Here that's just 37 miles from the Firth of Forth in the east to the Firth of Clyde in the west. 101 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,440 Today the wall is almost invisible, 102 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:04,920 buried underneath 21st-century Scotland. 103 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:10,120 But if you look closely, it's still there, running through back gardens, 104 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,640 alongside roads and through woodland. 105 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,920 Here at Falkirk, just to the west of Edinburgh, 106 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:23,160 it breaks through the surface and you can see the line of the wall, 107 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,600 the outline of a fort 108 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,160 and a mysterious set of craters. 109 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:35,760 These pits on the north side of the wall, the Scottish side, originally would have been about three feet deep 110 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,800 and buried in the bottom would have been sharpened stakes hidden under foliage. 111 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,800 So anyone trying to scamper across here would have come to a pretty sticky end. 112 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:51,520 'The wall was only garrisoned for 20 years, then abandoned to become a forgotten footnote of history.' 113 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,960 It's the high watermark of Roman military might... 114 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:04,120 still visible on the landscape almost 2,000 years later, but only if you know where to look. 115 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:15,080 For the Romans this was the end of the civilised world. 116 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:19,880 Everything to the north was considered uninhabitable wilderness. 117 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,200 That's where I'm heading next. 118 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,640 But first I'm crossing the ancient border of the Antonine Wall 119 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:31,360 and taking a quick detour to nearby Dunmore. 120 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,400 'You expect castles and fortifications in Scotland 121 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,000 'but I'm looking for a more exotic architectural treat. 122 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:47,720 'The lush woodland hides a historical fashion statement.' 123 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,480 I love big high walls like this. 124 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,080 It's all very Secret Garden. 125 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,640 You just want to know what's looming beyond them, and you step through 126 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:09,040 that lovely doorway onto this beautifully-manicured patch of grass 127 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:13,560 and then you see that... 128 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:18,160 a big, giant stone pineapple. 129 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,520 I mean, who came up with that idea?! 130 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,880 The culprit is John Murray, the eccentric 4th Earl of Dunmore. 131 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,640 In the middle of the 18th century, he built the pineapple 132 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,600 as a way of celebrating his own sophisticated tastes. 133 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:48,800 It's not as bizarre as it might seem because in the 1700s pineapples were a bit of a status symbol. 134 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,400 And you could actually rent them by the day and people would 135 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:55,120 park them up on their dining room table and that would suggest that they'd travelled 136 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,520 to some far-off land like the Caribbean, so it's like renting a supercar 137 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:00,760 and parking it on your driveway for the weekend. 138 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:04,480 But this was no folly. 139 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,920 It topped a set of greenhouses where the fruit was grown. 140 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,560 A piece of whimsy with a purpose. 141 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,960 In its day this would have been a thing of wonder, a true spectacle. 142 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:28,400 Today, it's a secret slice of exotica in the heart of Scotland. 143 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,520 Beyond Dunmore the Lowlands march ever northwards 144 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,160 to the edge of the Grampians and the tiny town of Kirriemuir. 145 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:44,200 It sits on the edge of the Angus Glens. 146 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:49,680 Five valleys so picturesque that local legend has it they're God's handprint on the land. 147 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,800 And perched on the top of the cricket pavilion is an ancient optical device... 148 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:04,600 a camera obscura - 149 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,680 a way to capture and celebrate the stunning views here. 150 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,240 It was donated to Kirriemuir in 1930 151 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:18,120 by the town's most famous son, JM Barrie, author of Peter Pan. 152 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,720 Like Barrie, Morag Cable was born here. 153 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,240 James Barrie wanted something that children could enjoy 154 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,920 bearing in mind that at that time, 155 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:33,840 in 1930, there wasn't television 156 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:35,520 or computers or anything like that 157 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:39,560 so the camera obscura was a wonderful thing to put up. 158 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,760 The camera obscura is the dark chamber which we're in. 159 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:09,920 Up on the roof here there is a window and behind it, a mirror which sits at 45 degrees. 160 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,680 And the image comes through the window, reflected off the mirror 161 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:16,960 and down through the fixed lens 162 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:19,760 and goes straight through and ends up on this table. 163 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:43,160 It is a nice way to look at the surrounding landscape, 164 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,720 cos you get a panoramic view, you get a 360-degree view. 165 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:56,160 In 1930 I think this would have been the most wonderful thing for children to come and see. 166 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:57,520 It would have been like magic, 167 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,600 like Barrie would have enjoyed his bit of magic. 168 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:15,440 Crossing the rocky heart of the Highlands I'm heading towards Oban. 169 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:25,680 This is the picture postcard vision of Scotland, packed with Munros, the name given to all peaks 170 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:30,480 above 3,000 feet and loved by so-called Munro-baggers, 171 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:35,360 who attempt to scale all 283 of them. 172 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:39,720 But I'm going somewhere that's fallen off the tourist trail. 173 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,920 Somewhere with its own secrets to share. 174 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:51,720 Loch Etive is a 19-mile sea loch just north of Oban. 175 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,240 It pushes inland at Dunstaffnage Castle, 176 00:15:55,280 --> 00:16:00,200 the seawater boiling and surging over a sill known as the Falls of Lora. 177 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:22,800 It cuts between steep mountains on either side, but is never wider than a mile from shore to shore. 178 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:32,920 We might call it a loch, but this narrow tongue of water is actually a spectacular fjord. 179 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:51,400 Loch Etive in Gaelic translates as "little, ugly one". 180 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,560 First impressions? 181 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,360 That's not entirely accurate. 182 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:02,640 Today the loch is deserted, a well-kept secret among locals and the kayakers 183 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,880 for whom it's on the list of the best places to paddle in Scotland. 184 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:13,280 'Marine Scientist Mark Carter's lived here for 12 years. 185 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:15,560 'And he's taking me on a tour.' 186 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:17,440 All set? 187 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,280 'The best way to explore Etive's riches is from the water.' 188 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,760 So Loch Etive, it's a sea loch, isn't it? 189 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,840 Yeah, down at Connell and Dunstaffnage it's joined to open ocean, 190 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,720 so from there you can go literally right round the world. 191 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,200 The area is really very special, we're at the both northern 192 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,160 and southern limits of species, 193 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,080 we've got the Gulf Stream offshore 194 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:45,640 which then comes into the North Atlantic Drift. 195 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,600 That brings us our climate and makes it very warm. 196 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,800 We've got the continental shelf which comes up 197 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:55,680 from the Bay of Biscay that sort of area, that brings us some warm currents. 198 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:00,880 We've got the boreal Arctic currents coming down and it's that junction of the warm and cold, 199 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,880 so we get both warm and cold species all at the same time. 200 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,840 'These special conditions mean the waters here are home 201 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,040 'to more than 80,000 salt and freshwater species, 202 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,360 'from tiny bacteria through to eels and cod. 203 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,920 'Although the glassy water only gives a hint of the world beneath. 204 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:31,080 'I'm hoping to spot a few of Etive's larger residents though.' 205 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,240 There is maybe the chance of us catching a glimpse of some common seals? 206 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,640 Seals and kayaks don't normally go, so we have to be very careful as we approach. 207 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,760 Right, are they quite close to this point we're at now then? 208 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,680 They're literally just half a mile ahead of us on the reefs. 209 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,840 Right, Matt, can you come over to me now? 210 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,600 If you look very carefully over there, 211 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:05,360 see where the rock comes down, you've got two little bits sticking up, 212 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:07,880 - and they're seals. - Oh, yeah, I can see them. 213 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:12,840 That's the Loch Etive colony. 214 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:17,680 'It's a rare glimpse of some of Etive's shyest inhabitants. 215 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,600 'We leave them to the serenity they enjoy here.' 216 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,200 Today this loch is hard to visit, with no road access 217 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:33,240 for half its length, unlike its more celebrated cousins, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond. 218 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,520 There's quite a few impressive things 219 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:42,840 about Loch Etive, of course, there's the magnificence of these mountains 220 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,080 and hills and the beauty of the water 221 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,360 that just seems to cut and carve itself through the landscape. 222 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:55,240 But I think the most special thing, the most impressive thing is that we have paddled and paddled today. 223 00:19:55,240 --> 00:20:01,360 We've travelled about 13 miles and we haven't seen anybody. 224 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,240 We have simply had this place to ourselves. 225 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:14,760 But 170 years ago this peaceful place was rather more crowded. 226 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:19,240 Etive's secret past is as a tourist hot spot. 227 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,040 Queen Victoria fell in love with the Highlands in the 1840s 228 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,480 and where she led, thousands followed. 229 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:34,280 A paddle steamer ferried Victorian tourists from the sea up to the end of the loch. 230 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,520 Etive was their gateway to Scotland. 231 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,160 From here their journey was by horse and carriage. 232 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,840 'And I'm following their trail,' 233 00:20:53,840 --> 00:21:00,200 driving the 14-mile route they took up to the honey pot of Highland tourism... 234 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:04,720 ..Glen Coe. 235 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,480 Glen Coe is the jewel in Scotland's craggy crown. 236 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:29,200 It's a mountain wilderness with towering peaks and rock faces hung with clouds, 237 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:34,920 formed when a super-volcano exploded more than 420 million years ago. 238 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:45,840 A main road runs straight through the middle and gives visitors easy access to its spectacular views. 239 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:50,080 But driving through this great glen doesn't do it justice. 240 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:52,680 To experience this huge landscape fully, 241 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:57,480 and to uncover its secret history, I'm going to walk it. 242 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,480 And on a rainy day like today, it's easy to identify 243 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:09,600 with its history of clan warfare and the infamous massacre of 1692. 244 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:16,040 This is where the familiar story of the MacDonald clan took place, 245 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,520 38 members of the clan were murdered by their treacherous neighbours the Campbells. 246 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,480 And so the Victorians would flock here to soak up the morbid atmosphere. 247 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:36,160 The south side of the valley is bordered by the majestic mountains known as the Three Sisters. 248 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:40,920 And they conceal a secret chapter in the story of the massacre. 249 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:44,880 On that cold February night, running from the sound of gunfire, 250 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,280 some of the MacDonald clan fled here and began to climb. 251 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:53,080 I'm following their route, into the mist. 252 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,120 It's certainly a wild and windy day. 253 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:02,760 'It isn't the easiest path.' 254 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,400 How am I going to get over this?! 255 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:15,320 'But the place I'm heading for has a long history and many names.' 256 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:24,280 This place is known as the Hanging Valley, the Lost Valley, the Valley of Capture and the Hidden Valley. 257 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,160 It is pretty difficult to find. 258 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:33,680 'The very inaccessibility of this place is why it's managed to stay so secret.' 259 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,960 It's a tough old scramble, 260 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,440 and generally I find the better the scramble the better the reward. 261 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:52,080 'And finally I find the special place 262 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:57,160 'the MacDonalds were heading for on that cold night more than 300 years ago.' 263 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,040 And there she is... 264 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,200 the Hidden Valley. 265 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,160 Looking very moody under the mist. 266 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,120 Definitely worth the climb. 267 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,400 'Invisible from the glen, this flat valley floor is entirely unexpected.' 268 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,160 The treacherous climb to this valley was the MacDonalds' only hope. 269 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,600 It was their secret refuge. 270 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,080 Somewhere they knew they'd be safe. 271 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:52,680 'Today it's a peaceful place, a part of Glen Coe you can have entirely to yourself.' 272 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,880 Beyond the glen I'm heading deeper into the Highlands, to Corrour, 273 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:09,400 somewhere many pass through, but few ever take the time to explore. 274 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:18,720 But even here I'm following the trail of those intrepid Victorian tourists. 275 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,240 'And today I'm relying on a triumph of 19th century 276 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:27,000 'technology to reach a place almost forgotten by the 21st.' 277 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:43,000 'I'm up early to join the passengers on the Caledonian Sleeper at Crianlarich.' 278 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:49,440 It's an iron road linking the rest of Britain to the more remote areas of the Highlands. 279 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,880 This is the West Highland Line, 280 00:25:54,880 --> 00:26:00,560 and incredibly recently it's been voted the best railway journey in the world. 281 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:04,880 The majority of these people here would have got on in London about 12 hours ago 282 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,080 and here they are waking up to views like this. 283 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:24,960 This extraordinary feat of engineering opened in 1894 284 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,840 to service the tourists desperate to jump on the tartan bandwagon. 285 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,240 'But it was a troublesome line to construct, running across 286 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,800 'miles of soggy peat bog which threatened to consume the tracks. 287 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,360 'It was so ruinously expensive that the builders joked the bog 288 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:54,160 'was not just swallowing the line, but also their money.' 289 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,960 Well, these views and this scenery is hardly surprising 290 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,240 because we are in the heart of the Highlands, 291 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,640 but what is surprising is where I'm getting off. 292 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,000 This train is my route to a secret place. 293 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:28,120 'But as I head through Rannoch Moor it seems an unpromising spot to disembark. 294 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,760 'All signs of life have disappeared. 295 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,920 'There's no roads, and no houses here.' 296 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,120 But there is a station. 297 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,720 This is Corrour. 298 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:54,200 Officially the highest and most remote railway station in the UK. 299 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:04,400 'Most people take this train directly north, 300 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,680 'few ever get off here.' 301 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:29,080 'It redefines "the middle of nowhere".' 302 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,800 Yeah, remote is certainly one word to describe this place. 303 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:49,320 It's such a quaint lovely little station, it feels like a toy station on a model railway. 304 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:54,680 You know, with like spongy hills and little bits of gravel placed as your stones. 305 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,000 Matchbox there. 306 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:01,760 And there's no taxis, 307 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,000 there's no tannoys, 308 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,400 there's no barriers to get through. 309 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,800 And a whopping view. 310 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:30,880 When Corrour station was built it didn't even appear on the public timetable. 311 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,720 it was used exclusively by guests of the private estate here 312 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,240 who came to hunt and shoot. 313 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,320 You have to feel grateful 314 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,880 to the Victorians for the colossal effort they went to putting this line in. 315 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,000 If it wasn't for them 316 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,920 people wouldn't be able to experience this. 317 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:54,480 I mean, the nearest road, even these days, is over 10 miles away. 318 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,440 'But there is one unexpected home comfort. 319 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,480 'A small cafe run by Lucy Millns. 320 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:13,720 'And I want to know what it's like to live and work somewhere so remote.' 321 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:20,520 It does look idyllic, but obviously it has its complications living here. 322 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:26,680 It does, there's things that you can't really think of before you come here. 323 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:29,640 You know, and then you get here and think "Oh, yeah." 324 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,600 And then something that seems so normal 325 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,360 to somebody is actually quite a big thing for us, 326 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,800 like the rubbish. How do you get rid of it? 327 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,880 Of course. You can't put the bins out. 328 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:43,880 No, there's no-one to come and collect the bins. Well, there is, but they're 16 miles away. 329 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,200 - 16 miles away?! - It's a bit of a trip. 330 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:50,520 - "I'm just going to put the bins out, I'll be back in an hour." - Yeah, at least. 331 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,560 How busy are you then? 332 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:56,640 There are some days 333 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:02,520 we don't see anyone for a good few hours, so it can be really quiet, 334 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:06,000 you watch the trains go by and no-one comes off. 335 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,320 And do you all run to the window when you hear a train arriving? Run up to the glass? 336 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:16,120 We did to start with. It was like "Everybody, train, stop what you're doing." 337 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,840 But, yeah, you count how many people get off. 338 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,080 But not doing that so much now. 339 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:31,760 Corrour is a moment frozen in time, 340 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:38,080 a window on an ancient landscape opened up by intrepid Victorian engineers. 341 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:55,480 You know, so many people only witness this landscape by looking at it whizzing past it 342 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:01,040 from a train carriage, but if you do make the effort, come up here, 343 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,640 fill your lungs with this air, you really feel a part of it, 344 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,320 and if it wasn't for that tiny, little train station at the bottom, 345 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:13,680 this would only ever be the privilege of some very extreme walkers. 346 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:34,400 Leaving Corrour and heading north, the landscape tells its own turbulent stories. 347 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,240 Mountains wear the ancient scars of glaciers and volcanoes. 348 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,880 But Scotland's coasts are also rich and beautiful. 349 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,080 North of Aberdeen, the Forvie Nature Reserve 350 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,840 is home to the largest range of sand dunes in Scotland. 351 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:10,360 For Alex Geddes the coast between here and the village of Collieston 352 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,000 is his own piece of Secret Britain, 353 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:16,800 a special place where he can escape city life. 354 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,040 I think when you look around here you realise how beautiful the area is, 355 00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:25,920 I mean, really, you could be anywhere in the world at all. 356 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,720 Who'd believe this is Scotland? 357 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:38,840 It gives you such an inner feeling of peace and tranquillity and that's why we love coming out here so much. 358 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:43,680 'If you just listen, 359 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:46,960 'we're 10-15 minutes away from a major city. 360 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:53,760 'But here you're so alone, the tranquillity, you can sit here for ages' 361 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,520 and when I leave here I feel as if I've been 362 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,880 on a week's holidays and I've maybe only been out one or two hours. 363 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,680 This is the area that's called Hackley Bay. 364 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:16,480 A beautiful little inlet just south of Collieston. 365 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:23,560 It's so lovely sitting down there, out of the wind, just enjoying the sea coming in. 366 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:30,080 I've got to say this is probably my favourite place. 367 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,160 My mind's never far away from here 368 00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:44,240 and although my head might be in work, my heart is actually out in the nature research. 369 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:57,720 Beyond Forvie is one of the best-known features of the North of Scotland, Loch Ness. 370 00:34:57,720 --> 00:35:02,320 This is part of the Great Glen, a huge flooded fault line... 371 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,600 a watery divide running from the east to the west coast. 372 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,080 Here the land meets the North Atlantic, 373 00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:18,720 and 550 Hebridean islands are strung out along 240 miles of coastline. 374 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:29,760 I'm heading to North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, in search of a precious, secret habitat. 375 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,640 This island is no slouch when it comes to beauty. 376 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:43,400 The white shell sand beaches and turquoise water look almost Caribbean in the sunshine. 377 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,000 It's hard to believe I'm still in Britain. 378 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:01,560 I tell you, it's a real treat for me to be here. 379 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,640 Ever since I was a little lad I've always wanted to come to the Outer Hebrides. 380 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:08,600 I think even its name - the Outer Hebrides 381 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:13,840 conjures up the idea of a place that is completely inaccessible. 382 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:29,280 'It is undeniably hard to get here, but it's far from deserted.' 383 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:35,360 5,000 people live and farm here, and the island is also home to thousands of birds. 384 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:47,480 I'm meeting conservationist Julia Gallagher. 385 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:49,600 Julia, how're you doing, all right? 386 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:51,640 - Ah, hi, Matt. - What's going on out here? 387 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:53,520 Well, I'm just having a look, actually. 388 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:58,680 We've got some eider ducks just at the front of the shore here, you see them floating around. 389 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:02,680 They're females, but they've actually got some youngsters with them. 390 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:04,200 Oh, lovely. 391 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:10,960 What've we got coming here, 392 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:12,920 right on cue, we've got some oystercatchers. 393 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:18,040 You see those wonderful red beaks and red legs. 394 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,200 You hear them before you see them. 395 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,280 Yup. It's absolutely delightful here. 396 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:32,160 Uist's staggering beauty has a purpose. 397 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:37,920 The land has a sandy secret which bursts into life every spring and summer. 398 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:44,960 A wildflower meadow which seems to grow out of the beach. 399 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:49,120 This is the machair. 400 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,680 Sand blown on top of peat to create a unique habitat. 401 00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:01,480 Machair is only found in the British isles 402 00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:05,240 and 70% of it is right here in the Hebrides. 403 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:19,720 It's a paradise for bees, insects and birds. 404 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:25,720 In May and June all these fields just come completely alive with all the birds that that are really vocal, 405 00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:30,280 so you have your lapwings that make this wonderful evocative call, 406 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,120 so they're really very much reliant on this type 407 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:35,360 of habitat to put their nests down 408 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,800 and it's essentially all to do with the open areas of ground. 409 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:41,480 Birds like lapwings, they're ground nesters and they just dig 410 00:38:41,480 --> 00:38:44,640 a little scrape out, it's not a very elaborate nest. 411 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:48,080 And they also need to be able to see predators and having 412 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:50,680 this low vegetation they can see for miles around. 413 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:55,480 But there is one bird that owes its very existence to the machair. 414 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,480 The elusive corncrake. 415 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,560 That's the one that everybody knows 416 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,840 and most bird-watchers come up to see. 417 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,160 They're very lucky if they can see it, but they can certainly hear it, 418 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:07,400 a very distinctive call. 419 00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:10,360 SOFT SCRAPING 420 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,600 The corncrake was once familiar in meadows throughout Britain, 421 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:20,960 but intensive farming has pushed it towards the brink of extinction. 422 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:28,560 Here on Uist it's thriving in the safe haven of the machair. 423 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:37,400 It owes its survival to the unique way this land is managed. 424 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:41,520 Crofters still use traditional, low-intensity farming methods 425 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,680 to grow barley, oats and rye for animal feed. 426 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:52,160 John Allan MacLellan is a crofter here. 427 00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:57,440 He's working hard to preserve these farming traditions and with them, the machair. 428 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,960 How proud are you John Allan of having the machair here? 429 00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:09,640 Well, extremely proud, extremely proud of having the machair. 430 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:16,400 When you think of how hard people have crofted over the years to have the habitats we've got here. 431 00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:19,760 If it had been done any other way bar crofting it just wouldn't be there, 432 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,640 To be quite honest, the machair just wouldn't be there. 433 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:26,360 It would have probably blown away years ago. 434 00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:32,480 And how would you sum up a crofter's life in the Outer Hebrides? 435 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:36,040 I've been on Uist all my life, brought up and worked on a croft 436 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:41,000 from the age of four or five. 437 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:45,480 I think it's just a fantastic way to live. 438 00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:50,160 It's probably not the best-paid job in the world, 439 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:54,040 but it's a cracking way to live, I would say. 440 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,320 DISTANT BAGPIPES PLAY 441 00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:01,160 Is that your ringtone? 442 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:04,280 - No. - I thought it was your ringtone. 443 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:06,680 No it's a local boy who plays the pipes. 444 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:08,800 That is great! 445 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:13,840 Here we are just stood on a lovely little hillock in the most spectacular landscape 446 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:15,960 and then a piper starts up. 447 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:19,080 Yup. You'll only get that in Uist, eh? 448 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:24,720 Remote and inaccessible. 449 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:26,760 Uist is full of life. 450 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:30,920 A secret world of productive and protected beauty. 451 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:41,640 Back on the mainland I'm moving on towards Ullapool in search 452 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,920 of a place that will allow me a glimpse of Scotland's prehistoric lost world. 453 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:53,880 But the further north I go, the harder it's getting. 454 00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:59,840 Today, the weather and some of Scotland's least popular residents have taken against me. 455 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:01,880 This is a wild and fierce environment. 456 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:06,000 Today's a summer's day and I'm being pelted by rain and eaten alive by midges. 457 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:12,400 But it seems that our ancestors refused to be put off by the bugs. 458 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:17,480 These fields are filled with remnants of Iron Age settlements. 459 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:22,320 There are signs of habitation here dating back more than 6,000 years. 460 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:28,120 'Prehistory is breaking through the surface of the land here. 461 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:31,960 'And as I walk on, I'm heading further back in time.' 462 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:38,640 I've been following the river for about two miles upstream now 463 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:43,600 and it's just got louder and louder, but I still can't see anything. 464 00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:54,800 But this ancient landscape is about to reveal itself in all its geological glory. 465 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,320 That is quite a vision. 466 00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:19,840 It looks like someone's taken a giant knife 467 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:22,000 and gouged it through the earth. 468 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:29,040 This is the Corrieshalloch Gorge. 469 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:36,560 300 feet deep, more than a mile long, with its main waterfall, the Falls of Measach plummeting 150 feet. 470 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:49,080 It's a box canyon - a narrow channel with sheer drops on three sides 471 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:54,160 formed when glacial meltwater forced its way down between faults in the rock. 472 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:05,760 It's a rare geological phenomenon, and looking into the gorge is like looking into a primitive world. 473 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:09,600 Its rocky walls clothed in damp greenery. 474 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:24,120 'Alex Scott is an expert on the botany here.' 475 00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:32,560 Is this pretty much how it would have been, I don't know, 1,000 years ago? 476 00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:33,920 I think it probably is. 477 00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:35,400 We have other plants round us 478 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:38,360 that tell us that it's been a woodland for a long time 479 00:44:38,360 --> 00:44:43,400 - because we have ferns. - I've always loved ferns. 480 00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:46,760 That's a very, very good taste that, loving ferns 481 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:53,000 because they're really an ancient group and the ferns are really taking us further back in time 482 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:55,000 because in the carboniferous period 483 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:02,040 when the coal that we use today was being laid down, it was tree ferns, club mosses that produced all that. 484 00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:04,480 So ancient ancient? 485 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,960 - Very ancient, as ancient as you can get. - Hmm. 486 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:14,080 'Corrieshalloch has given me a glimpse of primordial Scotland.' 487 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:20,520 A real sense of how it would have looked in the distant past. 488 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:27,320 But I'm leaving its wonders behind as I travel even deeper into this great wilderness. 489 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:35,360 To the east lie the rich waters of the North Sea. 490 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:38,760 The ports here were once the biggest providers of herring in the world. 491 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:40,640 The so-called "silver darlings" 492 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:43,680 were landed in their millions. 493 00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:48,360 Just South of Wick, at Ulbster, a forgotten story of man's talent 494 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:52,200 for improvisation is carved into the structure of the rocks. 495 00:45:56,240 --> 00:46:02,600 The only inlet for fishing boats sat at the bottom of a 250-foot sheer cliff. 496 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,560 Not the easiest place to land a catch. 497 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:14,680 So the resourceful 18th century fishermen built a staircase known as the Whaligoe Steps. 498 00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:24,000 The last fishing boats left here more than 60 years ago, and Iain Sutherland, 499 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:29,720 now in his 70s, is one of the last people to remember it in use. 500 00:46:29,720 --> 00:46:34,240 He's dedicated 40 years to a personal labour of love - 501 00:46:34,240 --> 00:46:38,520 preserving and renovating the 350 steps. 502 00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:45,560 'I had to go up and down here seven times in one day. 503 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:48,400 'I was in my bed for the next two days recovering.' 504 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:53,240 It's easy enough to come down, going up's a different problem altogether. 505 00:46:55,720 --> 00:46:58,280 The first time I came down the steps 506 00:46:58,280 --> 00:47:01,720 was about 1948 or '49 507 00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:06,680 and my granduncle John Miller 508 00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:11,520 and his brother were still fishing from here. 509 00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:18,760 And it wasn't till later that I just realised what it really was to earn a living here. 510 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,120 It was a very hard life. 511 00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:38,880 This is where they landed the herring here from the boats down there. 512 00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:44,440 Each would land about a basket or so of herring. 513 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:49,240 The old winch is still there, that winch was installed about 514 00:47:49,240 --> 00:47:54,120 1890 and that was a great boon for hauling up the boats. 515 00:47:56,720 --> 00:48:02,400 Well, I've had a love affair with this place since I was literally born. 516 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:07,720 And it's undiminished, still the same yet, I still feel the same way about it, 517 00:48:07,720 --> 00:48:13,720 and I will do anything I can to keep it that way and help it being that way. 518 00:48:31,240 --> 00:48:35,800 20 miles north of Whaligoe the land runs out at John O'Groats, 519 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:39,280 the most obvious place to end a journey across Britain. 520 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:41,040 But that's not where we're heading. 521 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:47,120 Our alternative journey south to north finishes at Cape Wrath, 522 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:50,760 the most northwesterly point on the British mainland. 523 00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:56,720 It's the most sparsely inhabited part of the UK. 524 00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:05,520 25,000 acres of wind-lashed rock and sea, 525 00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:10,720 a wet desert, without trees or shelter. 526 00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:14,560 A true wilderness with some final secrets for us to discover. 527 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:21,560 We're heading for Kervaig, a tiny bay on the north coast. 528 00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:25,200 I'm walking in from Kinlochbervie in the south. 529 00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:29,080 While I'm starting at Faraid Head and travelling in from the east. 530 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:34,240 But first we have to get there. 531 00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:40,760 Cape Wrath is 100 miles from the nearest city, and closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London. 532 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:45,640 You don't end up here by accident. 533 00:49:49,520 --> 00:49:56,760 'It's also the wettest and windiest place in the UK and today it's throwing everything it's got at me.' 534 00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:04,960 Cape Wrath is certainly living up to its fearsome name. 535 00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:14,680 Some people are always searching for solitude, 536 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:16,680 that chance to get lost in the landscape, 537 00:50:16,680 --> 00:50:20,400 but there are very few places you can actually do it in this country. 538 00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:26,400 This is one of those places though, no noise, no hustle and bustle, 539 00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:28,600 just this. 540 00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:37,520 'Finally I've reached a landscape that is untouched and truly wild. 541 00:50:39,760 --> 00:50:42,840 'And it's a privilege to be here.' 542 00:50:42,840 --> 00:50:46,040 Virgin sand, can't resist it. 543 00:50:53,520 --> 00:50:57,200 But this very lack of human influence has a special appeal 544 00:50:57,200 --> 00:50:58,600 for the cape's modern landlord. 545 00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:04,840 And twice a year the wilderness is invaded. 546 00:51:15,240 --> 00:51:18,640 Today this land is owned and managed by the Ministry of Defence. 547 00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:28,400 And David Halpin is the Officer Commanding. 548 00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:32,240 - Hi David. - Hello, Julia. Welcome to Cape Wrath. 549 00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:34,400 You've brought the weather with you, I see. 550 00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:38,320 I don't think it's me, I have this feeling it's like this most of the time. 551 00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:39,880 I think you're probably right. 552 00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:48,080 'The MoD have been here since 1933, using the Cape as an enormous live bombing range.' 553 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:54,080 I can guess why it's such a good place for you guys to practise, 554 00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:57,720 I mean, the conditions must certainly test your soldiers. 555 00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:01,040 Yes, indeed, I mean, one of ideal places about Cape Wrath 556 00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:04,840 or the Parph as it's known locally is its extreme terrain 557 00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:06,720 it's arduous, it's isolated 558 00:52:06,720 --> 00:52:11,040 and it gives us the ability to train our service men and women in difficult climates. 559 00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:13,760 Does the topography and the geography of the place help? 560 00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:15,160 It's very important. 561 00:52:15,160 --> 00:52:17,080 It is the only range in the UK 562 00:52:17,080 --> 00:52:20,360 where we can use land, sea and air assets all at the same time. 563 00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:29,520 Access to the cape is restricted during live firing for understandable reasons. 564 00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:35,160 But the rest of the time, 565 00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:36,480 if you can get here, 566 00:52:36,480 --> 00:52:40,200 you're free to explore this extraordinary empty space. 567 00:52:40,200 --> 00:52:42,840 So what do newcomers think when they first land here? 568 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:48,400 - The servicemen? - Yeah. - Well, obviously they think it's awful because they don't want to be here. 569 00:52:48,400 --> 00:52:51,960 There's no wi-fi, there's no mobile telephone connectivity, 570 00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:56,800 or very limited, and it's arduous terrain. So it is very, very uncomfortable. 571 00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:02,440 You're getting absolutely soaked, can I ask you, does one ever get used to this? 572 00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:06,160 I would personally say that it's a good drying day. 573 00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:10,840 There's an old saying here that if you can see the Orkneys 574 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:13,680 it's going to rain, and if you can't see them, it's raining. 575 00:53:13,680 --> 00:53:15,640 Right, OK. I shall bear that in mind. 576 00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:20,440 Well, there's certainly no sign of the Orkneys today, 577 00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:24,640 and on the east side of the Cape I've run out of road, so I'm getting a lift. 578 00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:32,080 Roberta, morning! How you doing, all right? Well, she's blustery... 579 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:34,120 It is a bit windy, yup. 580 00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:39,680 'Roberta Mackay's been working here as an MoD warden for almost 5 years. 581 00:53:41,640 --> 00:53:45,840 'Unlike the troops, she chooses to live here year round.' 582 00:53:48,800 --> 00:53:51,680 Is it really tough weather-wise, living here? 583 00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:53,920 It can be very tough at times, yeah. 584 00:53:53,920 --> 00:53:55,720 You're seeing our summer at the moment 585 00:53:55,720 --> 00:53:58,560 so you can imagine what it's like in the winter time. 586 00:53:58,560 --> 00:54:01,840 It was very bad this winter, we couldn't get over onto the range 587 00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:04,840 for about four weeks, there was a lot of snow. 588 00:54:04,840 --> 00:54:11,040 - Cos to get here it's about 55 miles of single track road. - Yeah, yeah. 589 00:54:11,040 --> 00:54:14,080 Do you think of going further south? Or do you like it here, 590 00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:19,360 - the most northwesterly point in Britain? - I enjoy it. 591 00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:24,080 You've maybe got to be a certain kind of person to live in areas like this, 592 00:54:24,080 --> 00:54:29,200 you know, you don't have all your home comforts close at hand as it were, but it's good, it's good. 593 00:54:33,320 --> 00:54:36,760 The weather's beaten me at last. 594 00:54:36,760 --> 00:54:38,400 Well, thank you for saving me. 595 00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:41,200 You're welcome, Julia. I hope you eventually dry out. 596 00:54:41,200 --> 00:54:43,160 I doubt it. 597 00:54:43,160 --> 00:54:46,280 'So I'm catching a lift with David to our final destination.' 598 00:54:49,320 --> 00:54:53,720 'But I'm determined to get there under my own steam.' 599 00:54:53,720 --> 00:54:56,000 I've got the offer of one of these 600 00:54:56,000 --> 00:54:58,160 and to be honest, 601 00:54:58,160 --> 00:55:00,680 it would be rude not to use it. 602 00:55:09,280 --> 00:55:14,320 This rough track across the Cape is the only way to reach the beach. 603 00:55:14,320 --> 00:55:16,240 And it's a cracking ride. 604 00:55:22,920 --> 00:55:25,520 Well, this has to be 605 00:55:25,520 --> 00:55:29,440 the definition of feeling isolated in Britain. 606 00:55:29,440 --> 00:55:32,440 You're certainly at the mercy of the elements here, 607 00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:34,040 being battered by the wind. 608 00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:39,440 'Back on foot, I'm almost there.' 609 00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:42,040 I can feel the end point in my toes. 610 00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:44,200 Kervaig beach is just that way. 611 00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:52,120 And it's a real treat. 612 00:55:59,480 --> 00:56:01,440 Wow! 613 00:56:03,200 --> 00:56:06,200 That is a gem. 614 00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:15,880 The dramatic sands of Kervaig are my reward for struggling through the weather. 615 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:23,480 Arguably the most secret beach in Britain. 616 00:56:27,520 --> 00:56:30,520 'But I don't have it to myself for too long.' 617 00:56:32,680 --> 00:56:34,920 Noisy wheels! 618 00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:38,520 - How're you doing? - Good. Look at that. 619 00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:40,840 It doesn't get much tastier than that. 620 00:56:40,840 --> 00:56:44,800 Goodness me. That was some ride, I tell you. 621 00:56:44,800 --> 00:56:51,240 'It's overlooked only by a stone bothy for the intrepid explorers who make it this far. 622 00:56:57,640 --> 00:57:04,080 'Kervaig beach is the perfect place to end our epic adventure. 623 00:57:04,080 --> 00:57:09,360 'Our travels have brought us to the very edge of Secret Britain.' 624 00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:11,720 'Now, ahead of us lies nothing, 625 00:57:11,720 --> 00:57:16,400 'but the cold waters of the North Atlantic and the Arctic beyond. 626 00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:20,800 'Behind us the UK stretches out, 627 00:57:20,800 --> 00:57:24,440 'a heart-warming reminder of all the places we've been.' 628 00:57:32,120 --> 00:57:37,840 'It's a journey that's shown us just how different Secret Britain can be. 629 00:57:37,840 --> 00:57:42,240 'An adventure through a country we thought we knew. 630 00:57:42,240 --> 00:57:46,160 'A country where every road can lead to the hidden or the forgotten.' 631 00:57:46,160 --> 00:57:51,160 There you go. That's where it is if you want to know. X marks the spot. 632 00:57:51,160 --> 00:57:56,800 'We've found secrets to discover, to reclaim, and to respect.' 633 00:57:56,800 --> 00:57:59,200 Places to inspire. 634 00:57:59,200 --> 00:58:02,680 Who could fail to get lost in a place like this? 635 00:58:02,680 --> 00:58:05,720 Places to remember forever. 636 00:58:09,440 --> 00:58:12,040 From the most southerly point in England to the very north 637 00:58:12,040 --> 00:58:17,280 of Scotland, we've seen some of Britain's best countryside in an astonishing new light. 638 00:58:17,280 --> 00:58:18,800 And we've only just scratched the surface. 639 00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:23,200 Our Secret Britain is all around us, you've just got to get out there and find it. 640 00:58:40,160 --> 00:58:43,200 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 641 00:58:43,200 --> 00:58:46,240 E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk