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1
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Right across our planet, there is an
incredible variety of astonishing
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00:00:09,590 --> 00:00:10,590
landscapes.
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00:00:14,710 --> 00:00:20,810
One of the most beautiful anywhere in
the world is the Scottish Highlands.
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00:00:32,810 --> 00:00:35,770
A rugged but astonishingly beautiful
landscape.
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00:00:38,730 --> 00:00:40,290
Mountain ranges.
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00:00:42,130 --> 00:00:46,770
A jagged coastline that reveals picture
-perfect beaches.
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00:00:53,370 --> 00:00:55,490
Locks deeper than the sea.
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00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,540
But it creates a kind of shimmer. When
you see that on a loft like this, you
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see why people think there's something
in there, there's something mysterious
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00:01:05,860 --> 00:01:06,860
going on there.
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00:01:09,820 --> 00:01:11,680
A geologist's paradise.
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00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:18,140
What we get to see in the Northwest
Highlands is a fascinating snapshot into
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something that is very deep within the
planet and other parts of the world. And
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so we're really lucky.
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00:01:26,860 --> 00:01:31,080
A history of rebellion and Neolithic
sophistication.
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The largest assemblage of Neolithic art
anywhere in the UK.
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In fact, there's been more Neolithic art
found at the Ness than every other site
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00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,640
combined in the UK.
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We're going to take you on a journey
through the Scottish Highlands to admire
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its wonders and discover its secrets.
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00:02:09,449 --> 00:02:12,770
Our journey begins in the most northerly
city in the UK.
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00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:22,130
Inverness is sheltered from the rough
waters of the North Sea by the great
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00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:24,990
natural barrier of the Murray Firth
Inlet.
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00:02:30,830 --> 00:02:35,870
Via the River Ness, Inverness is joined
to a genuine natural wonder.
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00:02:40,650 --> 00:02:47,210
Loch Ness was formed after the last ice
age, when a vast glacier tore its way
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00:02:47,210 --> 00:02:48,850
through a fault line in a rock.
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When the Earth warmed 11 ,000 years ago,
unimaginable quantities of water gushed
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into the space left by the ice.
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This Loch reaches twice the average
depth of the North Sea.
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Seen from space, it resembles an
unfeasibly long natural runway.
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It holds more water than every lake in
England and Wales put together.
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Tourists flock every year in the hope of
glimpsing the Loch Ness Monster.
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And for centuries, artists and writers
have been drawn here too. The painter,
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Turner. Poets, Wordsworth and Coleridge,
even the ultimate Londoner, Dr. Samuel
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00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:48,600
Johnson.
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00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:59,600
Trouble writer Kathy Kamleitner is
following in the footsteps of giants.
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It's one of those tourist hotspots, but
I've really come to love it for even
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00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,330
its... quieter sites and the less known
spots and there's lots of them you can
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00:04:10,330 --> 00:04:15,110
easily escape the crowds when you come
to Loch Ness and it's just such a
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peaceful place not only in the mornings
but really all year round it's such a
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beautiful place to come and enjoy the
nature along the south side of
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the loch a string of enticing pathways
lead right down to the water
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We are now getting to one of my
favourite views of Loch Ness here on
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00:04:40,870 --> 00:04:47,070
Beach, where you can really see all the
way down to the southern tip of the loch
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00:04:47,070 --> 00:04:48,930
near Fort Augustus.
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00:04:53,250 --> 00:04:58,730
Loch Ness is about 23 miles long and
only a mile wide, but what is really
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00:04:58,730 --> 00:05:01,090
fascinating to me is how deep it is.
48
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and how much water there is in it. And
because there's so much water, it
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actually never freezes over.
50
00:05:08,340 --> 00:05:12,500
The cold water always sinks to the
bottom and the warm water rises up, but
51
00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:16,160
there's never enough cold water at the
surface to actually make it freeze over.
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00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:28,000
So when the warmer water of the Loch
rises up and hits the really cold winter
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00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,600
air, what it creates is a kind of
shimmer.
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00:05:31,230 --> 00:05:33,570
just on the horizon, a distortion of the
horizon.
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And when you see that, normally you
would see that on a hot road or maybe in
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00:05:38,590 --> 00:05:42,250
desert. When you see that on a loch like
this, you can see why people think
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00:05:42,250 --> 00:05:45,350
there's something in there, there's
something mysterious going on there.
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00:05:51,410 --> 00:05:57,770
Loch Ness gathers water from 700 square
miles of higher ground and six major
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00:05:57,770 --> 00:05:58,770
rivers.
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00:06:04,170 --> 00:06:06,830
Atlantic salmon flourish here in these
rivers.
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Every year, around late autumn, they
make their way from the sea to spawn
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Once the young salmon have hatched, they
stay here to build strength for two
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years before heading out to sea
themselves.
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00:06:30,610 --> 00:06:35,730
Towards the western edge of Loch Ness is
a waterfall that the painter Turner, no
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less, stopped to sketch.
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00:06:46,970 --> 00:06:52,290
So we are now at the Falls of Spires,
which is a very special place here in
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00:06:52,290 --> 00:06:53,189
Great Glen.
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00:06:53,190 --> 00:06:55,930
It's on the quiet south side of Loch
Ness again.
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00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:01,600
and it's a very popular place to visit
still, but you kind of need to know that
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00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,920
this is here in order to make your way
to the Falls of Foyers.
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00:07:05,580 --> 00:07:12,500
In Gaelic, the falls are called Esna
Smudhia, which kind of means something
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00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:13,780
the Smoking Falls.
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00:07:34,410 --> 00:07:37,330
The Falls of Foyer is absolutely
spectacular today.
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00:07:38,190 --> 00:07:42,770
The amount of water just coming down,
the depth of it, the depth of the pool,
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00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:47,750
the shape of the falls bending left and
right as they navigate the rocks, the
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really dark rock and the really dark
water, which is kind of in reference to
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00:07:53,810 --> 00:08:00,610
what Robert Burns called the boiling
cauldron of the Falls of Foyer, that
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00:08:00,610 --> 00:08:06,950
shape. Rock face around the pool and the
fall. It's just absolutely stunning and
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you can imagine Why so many people came
here?
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Most travelers just pass through But
Kathy decided to stay preferring the
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00:08:17,510 --> 00:08:24,130
highlands landscape to the Austrian Alps
where she grew up People often ask me
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about you know, why did you move to
Scotland if you've come from a country
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00:08:28,030 --> 00:08:29,030
the Alps?
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What I really love about the mountains
in Scotland is the dark rock, the
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mysteriousness, but also the roughness.
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And it's easy to get lost in views like
this.
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And I'm just very grateful that I get to
call this my home.
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Loch Ness is just the start of a
geological fault line.
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that slices right through the highlands.
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The Great Glen Fault was formed as two
mighty tectonic plates shifted across
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00:09:04,670 --> 00:09:07,270
each other hundreds of millions of years
ago.
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For millennia, the northern side carried
on creeping northeast across the
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southern side.
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00:09:14,990 --> 00:09:19,590
A chain of locks then formed along the
fault line at the end of the last ice
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00:09:19,590 --> 00:09:24,050
age, almost connecting the North Sea to
the Atlantic Ocean.
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00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,420
It was up to mankind to finish the job.
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00:09:30,420 --> 00:09:36,460
In the early 1800s, work started on a
chain of canals and locks to enable
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00:09:36,460 --> 00:09:39,940
to pass from one side of Scotland to the
other.
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The Caledonian Canal.
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00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:51,340
Where the canal meets the sea, an
awesome sight comes into view.
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00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,340
Ben Nevis loomed 1 ,300 meters above sea
level.
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00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:15,040
350 million years ago, its granite rocks
were the molten core of a huge volcano,
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which reared even higher into the sky.
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00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,800
Ben Nevis is topped with snow and ice
most of the year round.
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00:10:31,020 --> 00:10:36,880
Climbing this mountain is only for the
intrepid. Every year, people perish on
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these slopes.
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The North Face is the most spectacular
approach, but also the most challenging.
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One misplaced step could be your last.
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00:11:07,790 --> 00:11:11,910
At the summit, many climbers find
themselves in a sea of cloud.
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00:11:17,690 --> 00:11:23,290
From time to time, some climbers will
witness cloud inversion, where warm, dry
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air at higher altitudes traps colder,
moist air below it, pushing the cloud
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level far below the peak of the
mountain.
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on a clear day from the summit, it's
possible to see out for 120 miles.
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Our journey will now take us north,
where the highlands display even greater
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splendors.
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We will travel along the West Highland
Railway line, through hills and valleys
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with a famous history.
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00:12:10,380 --> 00:12:16,960
The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 began
right here, when Charles Stuart, better
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known as Bonnie Prince Charlie,
believing the crown had been stolen from
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00:12:21,220 --> 00:12:26,940
family, started to build an army, which
would fight to win back the throne.
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Seen from above, the challenges of
crossing this thicket of ridges and
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00:12:40,220 --> 00:12:41,880
are all too clear.
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00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,440
But it was no match for Victorian
engineers.
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00:12:48,340 --> 00:12:54,020
They blasted no fewer than 11 tunnels
through the mountains and built six
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00:12:54,020 --> 00:12:59,760
viaducts between Fort William and Malay.
The most iconic is the Glenfinnan
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Viaduct, famously crossed by the
Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter
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00:13:11,370 --> 00:13:15,170
It took four years to build the
viaduct's 21 arches.
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00:13:17,710 --> 00:13:23,970
The local stone proved too hard to
shape, so instead Victorian concrete was
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00:13:23,970 --> 00:13:25,910
poured into giant moulds.
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00:13:26,170 --> 00:13:28,110
There's no steel frame inside.
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00:13:28,550 --> 00:13:31,070
It's held up by geometry alone.
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00:13:37,870 --> 00:13:42,310
The West Highland Line then twists its
way onwards, eventually reaching a
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00:13:42,310 --> 00:13:43,870
bewildering coastline.
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00:13:44,970 --> 00:13:51,090
Around Marat, it twists around jagged
peninsulas and sea locks that carve deep
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indentations into the land.
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00:13:56,830 --> 00:14:02,130
Over the millennia, the complex
interactions of land and sea have
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extraordinary surprises.
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00:14:09,740 --> 00:14:15,140
The silver sands of Mara stretch for
miles along the coast, as if transported
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here from a tropical island.
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00:14:19,540 --> 00:14:24,780
The secret to how this stunning scenery
was created lies below the surface of
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the waves.
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Merle is a pink and purple coral like
seaweed.
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When Merle dies, it leaves a hard, white
skeleton rich in lime.
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Fragments crushed by the waves turn into
sand.
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The merle beds are also a vital habitat
for hundreds of species of marine plants
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and animals.
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Their protective spikes provide shelter.
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This makes them ideal nurseries for fish
to breed.
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And despite overfishing and plastic,
Scotland's welcoming waters, plankton
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and warmed by currents from the south,
are still home to over 6 ,000 different
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species.
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Between April and October, you might
even spot a bathking shark, a severely
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threatened but magnificent species.
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They are the second largest sharks of
all, up to 11 metres in length.
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and with 1 ,500 tiny teeth.
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But they don't eat unlucky swimmers,
just enormous quantities of plankton.
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When autumn comes, they leave for warmer
waters.
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For people on these shores, control of
these seas was key to who ruled the
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highlands, as Vikings invaded and
Scottish clans struggled for supremacy.
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00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:27,620
800 years ago, three intersecting sea
locks became a vital strategic point.
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King Alexander of Scotland built a
castle here in the 1200s to defend
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the Vikings.
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Ellen Donan sits where the three locks
meet.
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A century later, Robert the Bruce
sheltered here, just a few years before
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defeated English invaders at the Battle
of Bannockburn.
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Ellen Donan is not the only strategic
point in these seas.
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A short stretch of water separates the
mainland from the next point in our
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journey, an island...
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of astonishing natural beauty, the Isle
of Skye.
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Skye was where Bonnie Prince Charlie
came to hide when his Jacobite rebellion
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failed. His armies had been defeated at
the Battle of Culloden, and he fled for
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his life, an event remembered in song.
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Speed, Bonnie Boat, like a bird on a
wing.
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Onward the sailors cry.
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Carry the lad that's born to be king
over the sea to Skye.
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Bonnie Prince Charlie fled to one of the
most bewitching places on earth.
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At the southern end of Skye are the
Kulin Mountains, with jagged peaks and
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plunging valleys.
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What we see today are the remnants of
volcanic lava formed 60 million years
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in Scotland's split from North America
as the Atlantic Ocean was torn into
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00:18:11,180 --> 00:18:12,180
existence.
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00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:20,400
The cooling lava and millions of years
of water erosion have created some
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extraordinary rock formations, like the
ones seen around the aqua blue fairy
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pool.
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Legend has it that a chief from the clan
Macleod married a fairy princess and
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gave many places in Skye a fairy name.
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At the foot of the hills is Loch Corish,
fabled to be the home of another shape
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-shifting mythological group.
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00:18:53,270 --> 00:18:59,930
In accounts, tell of boatmen refusing to
sail on the lake alone for fear
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of falling into its fangs.
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00:19:07,340 --> 00:19:12,420
At the opposite end of sky, the northern
side, is a very different landscape.
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00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:19,520
Here you can almost imagine you have
left Earth altogether for a harsher
193
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,540
some way off in the solar system.
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00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:29,520
At the Quarang, we can still see the
aftermath of a dramatic geological
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00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:37,430
Landslides. on a vast scale took place
here over tens of thousands of years.
196
00:19:41,210 --> 00:19:46,390
They were caused by basalt lava from the
island's volcanoes pouring out over
197
00:19:46,390 --> 00:19:48,090
weaker sedimentary rocks.
198
00:19:49,810 --> 00:19:56,150
The weight of the lava made the softer
rocks slip, creating the remarkable
199
00:19:56,150 --> 00:19:58,490
and pinnacles we can see today.
200
00:19:59,670 --> 00:20:05,140
Just off the coast, are Meath Falls,
which crash directly into the waves.
201
00:20:05,740 --> 00:20:11,380
They're backed by kilt rock, so -called
because its volcanic columns resemble
202
00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:14,220
the pleats of a Scottish kilt.
203
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,620
Skye's beautiful coast is also
treacherous.
204
00:20:30,220 --> 00:20:35,240
At the isle's most westerly point, the
wreck of a steamer travelling from
205
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,040
Liverpool to Poland still lies below.
206
00:20:43,220 --> 00:20:46,820
Back on the mainland, we're now heading
up the west coast.
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00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:53,160
The view from space reveals the
intricate, jagged patterns of this
208
00:20:54,220 --> 00:20:59,280
Our destination is one of the least
populated areas in all Europe.
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00:21:01,420 --> 00:21:05,980
But there is perhaps nowhere on Earth
that tells a more extraordinary story
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00:21:05,980 --> 00:21:09,280
about how the surface of our planet was
formed.
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00:21:11,540 --> 00:21:17,520
The Northwest Geopark is an area which
has been given special scientific
212
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:24,500
For Dr. Laura Hamlet, who is a
geoarchaeologist, it's paradise.
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00:21:25,870 --> 00:21:29,430
Where we are, we're actually standing at
the edge of a continental collision
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00:21:29,430 --> 00:21:32,170
that happened in the border between
Scotland and England.
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00:21:32,410 --> 00:21:36,650
So these were two different continents,
Avalonia, which was England, and
216
00:21:36,650 --> 00:21:38,110
Laurentia, which was Scotland.
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00:21:38,550 --> 00:21:44,750
And about 430 million years ago, those
two continents collided and the force of
218
00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:48,530
that collision pushed mountains up into
the Caledonian and Appalachian mountain
219
00:21:48,530 --> 00:21:51,990
chains. And here at Knock and Crag,
we're standing at the edge of that
220
00:21:51,990 --> 00:21:52,990
collision.
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00:21:54,550 --> 00:21:59,950
Across the park are unusual rock
formations that reveal the secret of how
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00:21:59,950 --> 00:22:01,370
mountains were formed.
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00:22:02,730 --> 00:22:04,590
We're going to start at the knock and
puzzle.
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00:22:05,250 --> 00:22:08,810
It shows you the relationship between
all the different rock types in the
225
00:22:08,810 --> 00:22:09,810
geopark.
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00:22:10,630 --> 00:22:13,110
They've been deliberately placed here by
an artist.
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00:22:13,790 --> 00:22:17,810
And you can see right at the bottom here
are the oldest rocks in the geopark.
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00:22:19,010 --> 00:22:21,870
So down here you can see there's a kind
of stripy rock.
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00:22:24,370 --> 00:22:28,570
louisian knife it's three billion years
old some of the oldest rocks in europe
230
00:22:28,570 --> 00:22:32,990
and then on top of it we've got
torridonian sandstone which is what the
231
00:22:32,990 --> 00:22:37,630
mountains here are made out of again
it's a billion years old so you can see
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00:22:37,630 --> 00:22:42,390
we go up it gets younger but the really
interesting thing about this puzzle and
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00:22:42,390 --> 00:22:46,750
the rocks in the northwest highlands is
that as you go up the rocks get
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00:22:46,750 --> 00:22:51,070
gradually younger until these rocks at
the very top the moines shifts are a
235
00:22:51,070 --> 00:22:53,490
billion years old again and that's the
puzzle
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00:22:55,150 --> 00:22:59,290
This strange arrangement of rocks can be
found on Nock and Crag itself.
237
00:23:00,350 --> 00:23:02,030
You need to come up here and see this.
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00:23:03,010 --> 00:23:05,110
At the top is your Moinshiff.
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00:23:05,590 --> 00:23:09,710
This is a billion years old and it was
thrust here by the continental
240
00:23:10,050 --> 00:23:15,250
At the bottom is the Derna limestone,
500 million years old. Where did that
241
00:23:15,250 --> 00:23:19,290
go? Isn't that amazing? You can put your
hand either side of them and the
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00:23:19,290 --> 00:23:22,970
contact between is the thing that so
fascinated geologists.
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00:23:23,530 --> 00:23:28,230
Seeing how older rock had been pushed on
top of younger rock helped Victorian
244
00:23:28,230 --> 00:23:34,030
geologists work out how mountain chains
were created during the collision of two
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00:23:34,030 --> 00:23:35,030
continents.
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00:23:35,570 --> 00:23:39,210
Well, if you just follow me along this
path, you'll see this absolutely amazing
247
00:23:39,210 --> 00:23:41,810
panorama that opens up across the
mountains.
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00:23:43,070 --> 00:23:47,870
Glaciers from the last ice age also had
a part to play in creating this
249
00:23:47,870 --> 00:23:49,370
spectacular landscape.
250
00:23:50,330 --> 00:23:52,450
The shapes of all these mountains.
251
00:23:53,390 --> 00:24:00,010
have been carved out by ice so when ice
was there up to the top even beyond of
252
00:24:00,010 --> 00:24:05,650
these mountains this mountain here at
the very top of it there's a boulder
253
00:24:05,650 --> 00:24:10,810
of quartzite and that's called a nun
attack and it means that that little bit
254
00:24:10,810 --> 00:24:14,290
the mountain was the only thing that was
sticking out above the level of the ice
255
00:24:14,290 --> 00:24:20,810
so imagine that ice that thick and we're
standing underneath it and over
256
00:24:20,810 --> 00:24:26,240
thousands of years It's ground down the
rocks and carved out these landscapes,
257
00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:30,500
forming the shapes of the hills that are
so recognisable today.
258
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,920
But for Laura, it's an appreciation of
the age of the rocks that is most awe
259
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:37,920
-inspiring.
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00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:43,320
I think what you start to feel when
you're out in the mountains, when you
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00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,360
little bit of geological knowledge, is
just that reverence for the deep time
262
00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:48,360
that's all around you.
263
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:50,860
Because the stories that the rocks can
tell...
264
00:24:51,450 --> 00:24:53,450
Stretch back three billion years here.
265
00:24:54,330 --> 00:24:57,730
The oldest rocks in the geopark, the
oldest rocks in Western Europe, are
266
00:24:57,730 --> 00:24:58,730
Louisian knife.
267
00:24:58,750 --> 00:25:02,250
Those are metamorphic rocks, which means
that they've been buried beneath the
268
00:25:02,250 --> 00:25:08,170
Earth's surface and they've been heated
and stretched and crushed and washed and
269
00:25:08,170 --> 00:25:09,170
put under lots of pressure.
270
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,340
In the Northwest Highlands, we tend to
say it's roughly 3 billion years old.
271
00:25:14,340 --> 00:25:17,720
that's three quarters of the age of the
planet. The oldest rocks that we know
272
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,780
about are around about 4 billion years
old. So this is really a huge proportion
273
00:25:22,780 --> 00:25:27,120
of the history of the world represented
in our piece of the crust.
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00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:32,500
And it's dynamic. It moves all the time.
So although those rocks have been 30
275
00:25:32,500 --> 00:25:36,720
kilometers beneath the Earth's surface
at some point, they've naturally moved
276
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,940
through cycle. And now they're at the
surface.
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00:25:41,420 --> 00:25:46,100
What we get to see in the Northwest
Highlands is a fascinating snapshot into
278
00:25:46,100 --> 00:25:50,580
something that is very deep within the
planet and other parts of the world. And
279
00:25:50,580 --> 00:25:54,660
so we're really lucky in this part of
the cross to be able to see what we can
280
00:25:54,660 --> 00:25:56,160
see of the Earth's story.
281
00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,840
The Northwest Coast is an unwelcoming
place for many plants and animals.
282
00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:11,900
But all that changes as we take a detour
inland, away from the harsh winds of
283
00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:15,940
the coast, to a more sheltered landscape
of hills and valleys.
284
00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:23,020
If you'd looked down on this landscape 5
,000 years ago, very large areas of it
285
00:26:23,020 --> 00:26:24,200
would have been green.
286
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:39,350
After the glaciers melted, Pine trees,
birch, hazel and oak gradually took hold
287
00:26:39,350 --> 00:26:42,990
and covered much of the highlands with
thick forest.
288
00:26:57,530 --> 00:27:02,310
Across the highlands today, you're more
likely to find sheep than pine trees.
289
00:27:03,790 --> 00:27:09,290
There are seven million sheep in
Scotland chewing plants down to the soil
290
00:27:09,290 --> 00:27:10,590
saplings can grow.
291
00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:22,930
The sheep took over around 200 years ago
during the Highland clearances when big
292
00:27:22,930 --> 00:27:27,230
landowners pushed out farming
communities who'd lived on the land for
293
00:27:27,230 --> 00:27:31,150
generations, often using brutal force.
294
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:40,420
Many ended up living in small crops by
the coast, where less fertile soil made
295
00:27:40,420 --> 00:27:41,480
it hard to survive.
296
00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:52,680
Many had little choice but to leave
Scotland for the New World, Australia or
297
00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:53,680
North America.
298
00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,040
The sheep don't have it all their own
way. There are well over half a million
299
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:02,040
deer here.
300
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:06,880
Their numbers have mushroomed since
their predators, including Scotland's
301
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,660
wolves, were killed off.
302
00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:15,840
And the Highlands moors are also home to
tens of thousands of grouse, carefully
303
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,980
reared and managed for the sport of
shooting.
304
00:28:22,020 --> 00:28:26,640
The moors are regularly burned to foster
the young heather that grouse like
305
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,620
best, so here too, forest has no chance
to take hold.
306
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:37,220
But in recent times, you can sometimes
spot rare birds that once flourished in
307
00:28:37,220 --> 00:28:40,340
the forest have been coaxed back in
recent years.
308
00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,880
There are 400 pairs of golden eagles
soaring above the highlands.
309
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:52,320
You might see them summer or winter, as
they never migrate.
310
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:59,100
As long as there are enough rabbits,
hares and large birds to hunt, golden
311
00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:01,140
eagles stand a chance in the highlands.
312
00:29:04,810 --> 00:29:09,310
In times past, the capercaillie was an
iconic Scottish bird.
313
00:29:09,690 --> 00:29:15,930
The males as large as turkeys, with red
eye markings, wattle, and a sheen of
314
00:29:15,930 --> 00:29:17,050
purple and green.
315
00:29:18,030 --> 00:29:23,010
There are now around a thousand of these
magnificent birds back in the Highland.
316
00:29:27,510 --> 00:29:31,710
Highlanders are fighting to restore the
forest habitat and give the wildlife
317
00:29:31,710 --> 00:29:35,150
that lives alongside it a better chance
to survive.
318
00:29:38,330 --> 00:29:41,410
Allardale Wilderness Reserve is a former
hunting estate.
319
00:29:41,850 --> 00:29:46,850
The goal here is to restore the
Caledonian forest to its former glory.
320
00:29:51,410 --> 00:29:54,750
Ryan Munro is one of the rangers at
Allardale.
321
00:29:57,890 --> 00:30:01,270
We're just coming into where we've done
some of our recent planting.
322
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:04,740
And these trees here that are just below
us, these are 10 years old.
323
00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:09,420
What we're trying to recreate is the old
forest used to be here, which you can
324
00:30:09,420 --> 00:30:11,580
see remnants of it way out in the
distance there.
325
00:30:12,860 --> 00:30:17,220
So around that forest out there, we've
added another 190 ,000 around it.
326
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,780
And in the last 10 years, we've planted
just under a million trees.
327
00:30:21,820 --> 00:30:23,940
These trees here are six years old.
328
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,500
As you can see, in six years, they
haven't grown an awful lot.
329
00:30:27,980 --> 00:30:30,960
They went into the ground at that
height, and they're now...
330
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:32,280
that tight after six years.
331
00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,740
So it's going to take a long process
before you can call this a forest.
332
00:30:35,940 --> 00:30:40,320
You're talking 100 years, so it's not
even my generation, it's future
333
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,720
generations after that that are going to
benefit of this.
334
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:50,740
At the end of the glen is a remaining
patch of the old Caledonian forest.
335
00:30:52,660 --> 00:30:57,560
Down the line, this is hopefully what we
want to try and recreate, this mosaic
336
00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:59,280
of birch trees, pine trees.
337
00:31:00,030 --> 00:31:04,350
mature forest, and putting something
back for future generations.
338
00:31:04,750 --> 00:31:08,330
That when people are coming out here,
they can have a chance of seeing more
339
00:31:08,330 --> 00:31:12,530
things like squirrels, pine martins,
black grouse, other sort of birds that
340
00:31:12,530 --> 00:31:16,010
haven't really been here, but hopefully
down the line they will be.
341
00:31:17,850 --> 00:31:23,170
Red squirrels, who've lost out to grey
squirrels in most of the UK, are already
342
00:31:23,170 --> 00:31:26,790
flourishing here, and their presence
could help the forest grow.
343
00:31:28,780 --> 00:31:33,640
So the red squirrel is a good ecological
engineer, so they'll effectively,
344
00:31:33,780 --> 00:31:37,560
hopefully, plant the trees for you. So
they'll take their seeds and bury them
345
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:41,420
for the winter, and obviously they'll
forget about some of them, and that tree
346
00:31:41,420 --> 00:31:44,280
will hopefully regenerate and grow up
into new forests.
347
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:51,260
The last wild wolf in Scotland was
hunted down as long as 300 years ago.
348
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:53,940
They killed too many sheep.
349
00:31:54,570 --> 00:31:58,230
But at Allerdale, they want to bring the
wild wolves back.
350
00:31:59,290 --> 00:32:05,690
Nature is about balance, and predators
have a key function in creating or
351
00:32:05,690 --> 00:32:06,730
maintaining balance.
352
00:32:07,010 --> 00:32:10,810
Just imagine the glen behind me filled
with, say, 600 deer.
353
00:32:11,860 --> 00:32:16,200
with a healthy appetite, they will eat
everything that they can find,
354
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:17,360
in these winter conditions.
355
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:25,420
So that continuous grazing pressure will
prevent any, not just trees,
356
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:28,480
but any plant species to sort of
reestablish itself.
357
00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,500
A predator would keep those animals on
the move.
358
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:33,460
Bring numbers down.
359
00:32:34,940 --> 00:32:37,120
We're looking for a controlled release.
360
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:43,300
of wolves in an area roughly 50 ,000
acres in size.
361
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,340
So Allendale itself is not big enough
for the idea.
362
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:51,980
We'd need the collaboration of
surrounding areas or surrounding
363
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:57,680
One day, this landscape might see
roaming wolves once again.
364
00:32:58,940 --> 00:33:04,380
But another predator unique to this land
is already well on its way back.
365
00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,520
So the Scottish wildcat is the only
native family we have in the UK.
366
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,880
It's been in Scotland pretty much for
forever.
367
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,300
You can see that on a lot of Scottish
clan crests have got wildcats on them.
368
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:23,280
So that symbolises that they've been
here for a long time and they're heavily
369
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:24,540
respected creatures, you know.
370
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,540
Scottish wildcat is now classed as
functionally extinct.
371
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:31,880
It means that there's no real pure ones
left in the wild.
372
00:33:32,780 --> 00:33:34,220
And the only ones...
373
00:33:34,570 --> 00:33:36,490
that we have close to purity are left in
captivity.
374
00:33:37,530 --> 00:33:42,590
Part of our programme is to try and
increase the stronger bred cats in
375
00:33:42,590 --> 00:33:48,190
to create a good population in
captivity, and then down the line
376
00:33:48,190 --> 00:33:49,190
released into the wild.
377
00:33:50,050 --> 00:33:54,570
What the wild cattle do in the ecosystem
is keep everything in check with the
378
00:33:54,570 --> 00:33:58,890
small animals, so it stops
overpopulations of things like mice and
379
00:33:58,890 --> 00:34:02,250
stuff, which could do damage to
different habitats, different smaller
380
00:34:02,250 --> 00:34:03,250
species.
381
00:34:11,250 --> 00:34:13,790
So down here we have the main breeding
pair, which is just here.
382
00:34:14,370 --> 00:34:16,469
Then we've got another cat just on the
right there.
383
00:34:16,710 --> 00:34:19,730
And then the other three cats are just
on the bottom side of the enclosure
384
00:34:19,730 --> 00:34:20,730
there.
385
00:34:21,610 --> 00:34:25,090
So I just try to throw some food into
the enclosures and just give them their
386
00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:26,090
dinner for the day.
387
00:34:26,909 --> 00:34:31,030
Normally just chuck it in a random sort
of way, try and get it to hang up in
388
00:34:31,030 --> 00:34:34,429
trees. Other times I'll go in and hang
it in places so they have to go and work
389
00:34:34,429 --> 00:34:35,429
for it.
390
00:34:39,949 --> 00:34:42,889
They're different from domestic cats
with their head.
391
00:34:43,250 --> 00:34:44,290
It's slightly broader.
392
00:34:45,030 --> 00:34:50,010
Their aggression, they're always
aggressive. They're never not
393
00:34:50,150 --> 00:34:51,510
They're always hissing and spitting.
394
00:34:52,330 --> 00:34:55,150
They say it's the only cat in the world
you can't domesticate.
395
00:34:55,409 --> 00:34:59,610
So even if you got a kitten before its
eyes were, like, days old, you still
396
00:34:59,610 --> 00:35:00,610
can't domesticate it.
397
00:35:01,970 --> 00:35:06,950
In the last three years, we've bred
eight kittens, and they're now in
398
00:35:06,950 --> 00:35:08,170
parks around the UK.
399
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:15,660
A record number of wildcat kittens are
being reared across Scotland.
400
00:35:15,900 --> 00:35:19,660
Now they have a chance of growing up to
survive in the wild.
401
00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:35,280
Just as we reach almost to the northern
tip of mainland Britain, nearly 600
402
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,920
miles from the White Cliffs of Dover,
403
00:35:38,860 --> 00:35:41,480
there is a lesser -known natural wonder.
404
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:52,960
The unsung hero of the highlands
landscape, helping to protect our
405
00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:54,640
climate, is peat.
406
00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:03,960
At 1 ,500 square miles, this is the
largest expanse of rare so -called
407
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:06,580
bog found anywhere in the world.
408
00:36:09,290 --> 00:36:14,810
The peat here has been building up for
around 10 ,000 years and is now 10
409
00:36:14,810 --> 00:36:15,810
deep in parts.
410
00:36:20,430 --> 00:36:25,610
The peat is formed from layer upon layer
of heather and moth, partially
411
00:36:25,610 --> 00:36:27,550
preserved by acidic water.
412
00:36:30,530 --> 00:36:36,610
It's a vital breeding ground for many
bird species, like the hen harrier.
413
00:36:39,020 --> 00:36:40,160
and the Green Shack.
414
00:36:43,100 --> 00:36:49,580
For centuries, peat has also been an
integral part of Scottish life, cut and
415
00:36:49,580 --> 00:36:54,640
dried and burned to heat houses, or malt
barley to make whiskey.
416
00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:01,480
In the 1970s, blanket bog was drained at
a rapid rate.
417
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:07,400
Channels were dug, so this land could
become commercial forest.
418
00:37:08,110 --> 00:37:09,110
or farmland.
419
00:37:11,190 --> 00:37:16,830
But scientists have now realized that
peat is a vast carbon store.
420
00:37:18,130 --> 00:37:24,070
It covers just 3 % of the world's land
surface, but holds twice the amount of
421
00:37:24,070 --> 00:37:26,630
carbon as all the world's forests.
422
00:37:30,110 --> 00:37:37,070
All our futures depend on keeping every
square mile of peatland intact.
423
00:37:44,230 --> 00:37:49,790
As we reach the northern tip of mainland
Britain, the land finally comes to an
424
00:37:49,790 --> 00:37:52,670
end on a dramatic series of headlands.
425
00:37:55,030 --> 00:38:00,650
At Duncan's Behead, the sea stacks just
off the coast have been sculptured over
426
00:38:00,650 --> 00:38:07,450
millennia, slowly eroding away due to
the power of wind, rain and the North
427
00:38:07,450 --> 00:38:08,450
Sea.
428
00:38:09,530 --> 00:38:12,030
But our journey does not end here.
429
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:17,880
For around 6 ,000 years ago, settlers
decided to make a voyage from the
430
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:22,980
just seven miles across the sea to the
islands of Orkney.
431
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:29,720
Orkney's human settlers survived and
thrived here for thousands of years.
432
00:38:34,660 --> 00:38:37,400
The settlers had a dangerous journey.
433
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,900
The Pentland Firth is one of the most
perilous sea straits in Europe.
434
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:51,840
The water between the principal islands
is known as Scarpa Flow.
435
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:57,520
At the end of World War I, seven German
warships were scuttled here.
436
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:09,060
Alton Cliffs are made of a distinctive
red sandstone.
437
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,500
The Old Man of Hoy is the tallest sea
stack in Britain.
438
00:39:17,700 --> 00:39:24,160
Made from soft Orcadian sandstone, it
sits on a lava base, which has so far
439
00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:25,760
protected it from the waves.
440
00:39:26,300 --> 00:39:31,340
But it's only a matter of time until
these rocks succumb to the power of the
441
00:39:31,340 --> 00:39:32,340
sea.
442
00:39:40,590 --> 00:39:45,770
Around the coastlines of these islands
and inland in their rivers, streams, and
443
00:39:45,770 --> 00:39:52,450
lochs, Orkney is home to a tiny
population of otters, possibly as few as
444
00:39:53,810 --> 00:39:58,410
Otters don't migrate for long distances.
They tend to settle where they can find
445
00:39:58,410 --> 00:40:02,390
fresh water to drink and an abundant
supply of food.
446
00:40:02,970 --> 00:40:07,510
Over a kilogram a day of fish,
crustaceans, or frogs.
447
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:09,940
or even small mammals and birds.
448
00:40:10,660 --> 00:40:14,980
Otters are not only few in number,
they're shy creatures.
449
00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:20,380
But if you understand their habits and
you're willing to spend the time, you
450
00:40:20,380 --> 00:40:22,320
be lucky enough to spot them.
451
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:34,580
In Orkney, the settlers left behind
extraordinary evidence of their
452
00:40:34,580 --> 00:40:35,900
sophisticated life.
453
00:40:36,970 --> 00:40:37,970
and culture.
454
00:40:43,010 --> 00:40:49,770
On the main island is a magnificent
ancient monument, the Ring of Brodgar.
455
00:40:56,130 --> 00:41:02,830
In use around the same time as
Stonehenge, there were originally 60
456
00:41:02,830 --> 00:41:05,530
surrounded by a massive rock -cut ditch.
457
00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:09,160
Four metres deep and over ten metres
wide.
458
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:22,520
Nick Card is a world expert on Orkney's
incredible archaeology.
459
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:33,480
This construct was built by Neolithic
ancestors, the first farmers in Orkney.
460
00:41:34,220 --> 00:41:39,300
who arrived here about 4 ,000 years ago,
coming across the Pentland Firth,
461
00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:44,400
probably in skin boats, coracle -type
boats, bringing not only themselves, but
462
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:49,560
also their families, their livestock,
their cereals, their grain, everything
463
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:53,560
that introduced this kind of Neolithic
package, the change from the kind of
464
00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:59,440
hunter -gatherer lifestyle to something
more sedentary, something more complex.
465
00:42:05,670 --> 00:42:09,770
There's been many, many theories about
what the Stone Circle's function was.
466
00:42:10,010 --> 00:42:15,310
But I think, apart from perhaps being
something to do with observing the sky,
467
00:42:15,310 --> 00:42:20,150
kind of astronomical observatory, which
has often been quoted as a function, I
468
00:42:20,150 --> 00:42:23,830
think it was a place where people came
together. Maybe not just local people,
469
00:42:24,030 --> 00:42:28,210
maybe people from right the way across
Orkney, maybe from much further afield
470
00:42:28,210 --> 00:42:29,210
well.
471
00:42:30,370 --> 00:42:33,630
While hunter -gatherers lived in
temporary dwellings...
472
00:42:33,950 --> 00:42:38,750
The farmers of the Neolithic put down
roots, building whole villages out of
473
00:42:38,750 --> 00:42:39,750
stone.
474
00:42:40,490 --> 00:42:45,170
This is a village of lots of
interconnecting houses, but when it was
475
00:42:45,170 --> 00:42:48,870
built, each one of these houses would
have been standing almost in isolation,
476
00:42:49,210 --> 00:42:54,130
very close proximity, but not with all
this kind of subterranean appearance.
477
00:42:56,710 --> 00:43:01,050
This is one of the best preserved houses
at Scarrowbrae, and it kind of shows
478
00:43:01,050 --> 00:43:03,470
the main structural elements to these
buildings.
479
00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:08,750
There's a short entrance passageway just
over towards my right, and it opens up
480
00:43:08,750 --> 00:43:14,310
into this relatively spacious room,
which would have probably been occupied
481
00:43:14,310 --> 00:43:16,810
family, or an extended family, in fact.
482
00:43:17,190 --> 00:43:21,270
But as you enter, you would have been
immediately confronted by this large
483
00:43:21,270 --> 00:43:25,130
square hearth, which would have really
been the heart of the house.
484
00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:32,240
And opposite this stone edifice, which
has been called a stone dresser, it's
485
00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:36,420
where some people envisage where the
Neolithic people kept all their kind of
486
00:43:36,420 --> 00:43:37,540
prized possessions.
487
00:43:41,220 --> 00:43:42,780
In 2002,
488
00:43:43,500 --> 00:43:48,460
archaeologists made the find of a
generation when they uncovered a massive
489
00:43:48,460 --> 00:43:54,660
Neolithic complex without parallel in
Western Europe, the nest of Brodgar.
490
00:43:56,010 --> 00:44:00,450
When the summer weather makes it
possible, excavations continue every
491
00:44:00,650 --> 00:44:02,750
headed up by Nick Card himself.
492
00:44:03,530 --> 00:44:08,230
At its height, this must have been a
truly spectacular sight, not only these
493
00:44:08,230 --> 00:44:13,250
massive monumental buildings, but the
fact that they were contained or defined
494
00:44:13,250 --> 00:44:18,750
by two massive walls, one at either end,
the so -called Great Wall of Brodgar,
495
00:44:18,930 --> 00:44:23,210
which was four to six metres wide and
spanned the peninsula here.
496
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:25,920
It's immaculate, it's breathtaking.
497
00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:31,620
But it's not just the structures, it's
every other aspect of the site, all the
498
00:44:31,620 --> 00:44:38,380
signs, a whole range of different
materials, stone tools, ceramics, bone,
499
00:44:38,500 --> 00:44:44,300
bone artefacts, but also art, Neolithic
art, the largest assemblage of Neolithic
500
00:44:44,300 --> 00:44:46,040
art anywhere in the UK.
501
00:44:46,260 --> 00:44:50,460
In fact, there's been more Neolithic art
found at the nest than every other site
502
00:44:50,460 --> 00:44:52,120
combined in the UK.
503
00:44:53,050 --> 00:44:58,050
So I think the nest was really
something, a place of innovation, where
504
00:44:58,050 --> 00:45:03,390
new designs of pottery and perhaps even
the stone circles themselves initially
505
00:45:03,390 --> 00:45:05,130
being created in Orkney.
506
00:45:07,310 --> 00:45:12,830
Neolithic Orkney was a centre of
innovation for ideas that spread out
507
00:45:12,830 --> 00:45:13,830
Britain.
508
00:45:21,130 --> 00:45:25,770
The Scottish Highlands may now be the
least populated part of the United
509
00:45:25,770 --> 00:45:32,370
Kingdom, but it has a strong claim to be
its very greatest landscape.
47193
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