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Scotland is one of
the most beautiful
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00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,520
and most photographed countries
in the world.
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00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,600
Wow! Look at that rainbow.
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00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,000
That's spectacular.
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00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,600
It's a place that seems
shaped to be seen from the sky.
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00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:35,240
Oh, yes, look at that.
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00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,120
Pictures taken from above
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00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:43,680
have the power to astound
and to amaze.
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00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:45,960
What a stunning landscape!
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00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,360
The view from above isn't just about
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00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,200
spectacular mountains
and dramatic castles.
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00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:54,760
The view from above
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00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,920
offers a whole new way
of understanding our history.
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00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,480
I'm James Crawford
and I want aerial photography
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00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,400
to take you on a unique journey.
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I'll be using everything,
from fascinating old imagery,
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to modern aerial footage,
to uncover the secrets of our past.
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In this film, I am looking down on
Scotland's coast.
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For many of our communities,
it was the place where it all began.
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00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:31,080
The coast, it's where we look to
for food and for trade.
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00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,840
It's where we built
many of our first homes.
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It's where we watched
the arrival of refugees,
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00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,160
of invaders, of war.
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00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,440
Scotland's coast
is awash with stories
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00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,360
and the promise of adventure.
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Oh, like some half-sunk medieval
castle, in the water.
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00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,320
It's breathtaking.
It's sometimes terrifying.
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00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,000
And all along it are
tantalising clues...
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Whoo. Whey! Nice one.
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00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,480
..to the way we used to live.
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This is the story of
Scotland's coast.
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A story told from the sky.
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00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,040
I understand the appeal of fishing.
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00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:28,600
Fresh air, beautiful scenery,
getting back to nature.
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00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,200
But I just have to confess
that I'm not very good at it.
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00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,640
Well, that was a good one.
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That went well.
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00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:43,400
People who know what they're doing
say fishing with a rod and a line,
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00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,920
well, it's all about patience.
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00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:49,000
About casting out,
time and time again.
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00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,040
But in the past,
if you wanted to feed a family
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00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,720
or even a whole community,
they needed a bit more of an edge.
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00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:03,480
A way of fishing that some
might just call cheating.
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00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:08,960
To find out exactly how it worked,
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I'm on the southern bank
of the Beauly Firth,
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four miles west of Inverness.
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This is going to be interesting.
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HE LAUGHS
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I think it's going to be OK.
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00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,800
Joining me on a tricky and slippy
trudge out over the mud flats
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00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,800
is archaeologist Tom Dawson.
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00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,040
A kilometre of this
could take a while.
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00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:37,160
Yeah.
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00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:41,560
If you risked a broken ankle
to walk along here,
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00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,240
you might wonder why someone
has gone to a lot of bother
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00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,400
to build a huge line of stones.
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00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,600
But when you look
down on those stones,
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00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,920
their shape becomes clear.
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00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,720
It's a giant man-made hook.
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00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,880
The purpose of that hook was,
very fittingly, to trap fish.
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00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,520
Tom, this is clearly
a huge construction,
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00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:18,520
how did these fish traps work?
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00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,080
Well, certain fish like to swim
quite close to the coast
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00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,960
and the fishermen would place
obstructions in the way,
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00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,160
so that as the fish
are coming down the coast,
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00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,040
they would hit this solid wall,
come along the wall
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00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,520
and get funnelled into the corner
just here
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00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,960
and at this corner there would be
a net or a piece of basket work
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00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,920
and the fish would go into that.
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00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,440
And the whole key
behind this is the tide.
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00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:43,040
The fish are following the tide
and as the water comes out,
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00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,160
the fish will follow the tide
down the wall
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00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,680
until they get into that net
just there.
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00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,600
People have been making fish traps
for some 8,000 years,
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00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,600
but this one is only
200 or 300 years old.
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00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:02,320
And it's one of a pair of traps,
built to double the efficiency.
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00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,960
You don't have the same
tidal range every single day,
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00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,520
so sometimes in the neat tides
this trap would work,
79
00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,880
but in a spring tide, where
the tide goes right, right out,
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00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,120
you need to have a second trap
in order to catch all the fish
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00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,680
and that's what that second trap
over there is doing.
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00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,200
And was it a very efficient
way of catching fish?
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00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:24,680
Incredibly efficient.
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00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:26,920
It would absolutely catch
everything in there.
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00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,080
And why have fish traps
fallen out of use?
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00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:34,120
Well, it's probably
because they were so successful.
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00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,400
It led to a number of court cases.
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00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:38,800
There was an example
over at Loch Broom,
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00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:40,920
where a fish trap was so successful
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00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,800
that they took away 1,000 baskets
of fish in one day
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00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,840
and then still left some fish behind
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00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:48,040
and unfortunately, those fish rotted
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00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,240
and ended up polluting
the whole of that area of the loch.
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00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,760
Building fish traps was banned
by Parliament in 1860.
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00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,920
In aerial photographs,
their shapes still stand out,
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00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:06,600
often crystal clear.
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00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,240
But the traps are fading fast.
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00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,800
And will one day disappear forever.
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00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,720
Our coastline is
continually changing.
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00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,480
So photographs and film
are vitally important.
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00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,760
They are often the only clues
to the many mysteries
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our ancestors left behind.
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00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:44,360
Millions of those photographs
are stored in the vaults
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00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:47,720
where I work,
at Historic Environment Scotland.
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00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,280
Based in Edinburgh,
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00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:55,520
it's Europe's largest collection of
aerial photography.
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00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,600
These photographs are
a unique record
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00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,120
of how we have lived and worked
next to the sea,
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00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,000
from the massive coastal defences
and airfields
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00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,640
of the Second World War,
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00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,320
all the way back to the enigmatic
shapes left in the landscape
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00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,360
by our early ancestors...
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..like these. Strange circles,
halos of tumbledown rock.
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00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:27,720
Built by people we hardly know.
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00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,360
One of Scotland's
greatest historical mysteries.
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00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,640
The one I have always wanted
to visit is in Shetland...
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..on the tiny Island Of Mousa.
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00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,960
An ancient and remarkable building,
called a broch.
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00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,000
Scotland was once home to
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00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,720
many hundreds of these
mysterious towers...
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00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,120
..and Mousa is the best preserved.
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00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:13,120
I've come to see it for myself,
and you can't help but be amazed.
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00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,480
I know that this broch
is 2,000 years old...
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00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,160
..but what I don't know,
what no-one really knows,
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00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,600
is who built or lived in
this amazing structure.
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00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:37,000
The construction's stone on stone,
there is no mortar,
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00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,400
nothing binding these great slabs
and blocks together.
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00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:47,240
And from directly above,
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00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,800
you can see that it is
not just one tower, but two.
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00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,120
One inside the other,
with a staircase filling the gap,
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perhaps Scotland's
oldest surviving staircase.
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00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:01,240
We think they had roofs.
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00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,680
This is Scotland after all,
but none remain.
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00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:14,640
Scotland's got more brochs
than it's got football stadiums,
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00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:18,000
and for centuries, some of
the greatest minds in the country
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00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,320
have been studying them,
yet, to this day,
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00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,320
we still don't know,
with any degree of certainty,
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00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,360
exactly what they were for.
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00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,800
Archaeologist Val Turner
sees two main possibilities.
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00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:38,000
They may have been defensive
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00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:43,000
and, indeed, some of them have
massive great ditches around them.
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So it looks like
a really serious attempt
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to keep someone in or someone out.
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00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,400
But, other people suggest,
at the other end of the spectrum,
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that they were really
the impressive houses of chiefs.
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00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:01,120
An interesting thing about them is
that they tend to be inter-visible,
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00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,120
so you can see from one to another,
in a chain,
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00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:05,920
which suggests that there was
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00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,840
a reason that they wanted to
kind of see each other,
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00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:10,720
send signals perhaps
to each other...
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00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,600
Brochs appear to have originated
in Shetland and Orkney
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and then spread south.
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They were all built
to nearly the same height.
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00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:27,120
And it's a tantalising prospect
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00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:31,400
that they were intended as coastal
beacons or connected watchtowers.
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Perhaps a system for communicating
over large distances?
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00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:40,760
It's a fascinating theory.
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00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:42,560
But still just a guess.
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00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:48,480
Brochs are
a uniquely Scottish enigma.
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00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,800
Nobody else, anywhere else,
has them.
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Perhaps one day we will work
out what they were for,
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but I wouldn't bet on it.
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00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,840
And maybe it is better
if we never do.
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00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,080
Over 1,000 years after the brochs,
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00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,280
it was castles that told the locals
who was boss...
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00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:16,800
..and told outsiders where to go.
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00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:23,400
But for all those centuries
of defensive posturing,
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there has never been any shortage
of people coming to visit,
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or to stay for good.
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00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,960
From Ireland,
early Christians made their mark
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00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:39,160
on Scotland's landscape with
a network of religious buildings.
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They sought sanctuary
in the most remote locations
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and there's one in particular
that even today
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is monumentally difficult to get to.
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00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:02,120
And I'm heading there now,
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00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,040
to get a sense of what life
would have been like
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in such an isolated community.
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00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,000
And while the early Christians
travelled in the tiniest boats,
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00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,640
we've got something
a little more powerful,
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with former fisherman
Billy Simmons at the wheel.
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00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,480
If you had been navigating
these waters without GPS,
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00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,200
without an engine,
would you have fancied that?
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00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,040
No. I mean, we can do it, because
it is all done through habit,
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00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,440
but to come in here,
through uncharted waters...
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00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,360
..the guys that did that
were just legends,
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as far as I'm concerned, like.
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00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,680
We're sailing just to
the south of the Isle of Skye,
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00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:51,560
heading to the most westerly
of the Small Isles, Canna.
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00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,240
1,500 years ago, a Christian
community came to this island
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and built a place of worship.
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00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,560
Today, it is one of the most remote,
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00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:07,080
most inaccessible religious sites
in Scotland.
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00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:12,480
Can you imagine
what it must have been like,
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00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,080
the first time you saw that island?
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00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,560
Oh, like some half-sunk
medieval castle, in the water.
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00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,600
I suppose it would have been
quite rewarding.
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00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,640
Many times as a fisherman,
we were caught out in The Minch
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00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:27,920
with poor, poor weather,
and it was certainly our sanctuary.
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00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,280
So, who knows, did they find
it through, you know,
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00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:33,880
poor weather, and it was
the closest point of land?
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00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,280
But, it was certainly,
from a 30 year period,
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00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:39,760
it was our sanctuary,
our safe haven,
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00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:41,680
many, many a welcome night, like,
you know?
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00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,720
Canna remains a place of escape.
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00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,840
Its permanent population
is just 18 people.
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00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:55,920
Those who visit this harbour today
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00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,680
mostly come in search of
peace and nature.
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00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:03,160
My trip promised to be
a little more vigorous.
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00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,520
For the second stage of the journey,
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00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,120
I'm heading west
along Canna's only road...
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00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,480
..becoming ever more terrifying.
212
00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,440
It's ridiculously bad
and not for the faint-hearted.
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00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,080
This was a three mile drive
I wouldn't forget in a hurry.
214
00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,320
Well, that was pretty wild.
215
00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,000
I couldn't help but notice
that the 60 foot drop down the cliff
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00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,920
was on the passenger side.
217
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,640
Anyway, this is as far as we could
go by the Land Rover,
218
00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:01,480
so the rest of the way
is a bit of a hike.
219
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,960
After four hours of travelling,
I'm now closing in on my target.
220
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:18,600
In Gaelic, they called
it Sgorr Nam Ban-naomha.
221
00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:20,640
"The Slopes Of The Holy Women."
222
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,800
Some believe that early Christian
visitors built a nunnery
223
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,400
at the base of
these terrifying cliffs.
224
00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:38,920
And there is only one way
to get down and see it...
225
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,320
..with the help of my new best
friend, mountain guide Jonah Jones.
226
00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,280
Hi there, Jonah. Hi.
Good to see you. You too.
227
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,640
How's the descent looking?
228
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,560
It is looking quite greasy and quite
bouldery and quite eroded ground.
229
00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,320
So, what we are going to do is,
we're going to control the descent
230
00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:02,360
from the top, put you on a static
line and lower you from the top.
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00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,920
Harness. OK. That's the front of
the harness.
232
00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,160
Are we safe? You can still breathe?
It's not tight? No.
233
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:09,880
I can still breathe.
234
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,640
OK, we'll put the line through,
so it'll be at the front
235
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,520
and we're ready to go.
Excellent. Let's go.
236
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,720
And so with a little trepidation
and a few deep breaths,
237
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,240
I find myself heading for the edge.
238
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:31,560
Working down a slippery,
slimy cliff face,
239
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,280
I could still enjoy
spectacular views of the island.
240
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:50,000
But any descent like this
carries a risk.
241
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,600
Just ask the person below me,
Alistair - our camera operator.
242
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,480
He lived to film another day.
243
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,400
Has it stopped? Yeah, it's stopped.
244
00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:15,480
Below the cliffs,
the final stage of my journey...
245
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,800
..to an almost unvisited section
of Scotland's coast.
246
00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,200
What might have been Scotland's
most remote nunnery
247
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,720
isn't easy to spot amidst
the undisturbed bracken...
248
00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,440
..but from the air, the site
is revealed in all its glory.
249
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,880
It's a massive
37 metre wide dry-stone enclosure.
250
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,040
It contains
the remains of small huts
251
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,480
where pilgrims came for
enlightenment or a cure.
252
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,040
And at its centre
is another circular structure,
253
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,320
believed to be a chapel...
254
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,880
..with the remains of
an ancient altar sitting alongside.
255
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,280
It was within the rubble
of this broken altar
256
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:25,680
that archaeologists found stones
257
00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,440
inscribed with
early Christian crosses.
258
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,240
The theory is that this site
was linked to a larger monastic site
259
00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,080
at Canna's main bay.
260
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,040
If that wasn't
remote enough for you,
261
00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,240
you'd come here,
to a near inaccessible refuge,
262
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,440
with only the sea birds
and the waves for company.
263
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,880
I think it is hard
to understand today,
264
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:05,600
why you would come
to somewhere like this.
265
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,320
We're so obsessed with
being connected,
266
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,440
with our phones, with Wi-Fi,
267
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:13,240
the concept of remoteness,
of having time to yourself,
268
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,960
isn't something we really
understand, but coming here,
269
00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:19,640
you get a sense of
what they were looking for.
270
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,800
Peace, tranquillity,
absolute solitude.
271
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,520
It's a haunting sight.
272
00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:37,480
Scotland's coast has always been
an enticing source of inspiration.
273
00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,960
Magnificent and wild.
274
00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:58,320
The communities who lived along
the coast needed to tame its waters.
275
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,120
They built harbours like this one
in Catterline in Aberdeenshire...
276
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,360
..as a shield from stormy seas...
277
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,600
..a safe haven for their boats.
278
00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,280
People have been bringing
fishing boats in and out of here
279
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,240
for over 1,000 years.
280
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,320
All along our coastlines,
you will find stone built piers
281
00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:28,760
like this, big or small.
282
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:33,240
They're physical monuments to one
of the longest lasting relationships
283
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,280
in our history,
between people and the sea.
284
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:46,040
From above, the bizarre geometry
of Scotland's harbours
285
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,120
is a moving testimony to
our determination
286
00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,360
to carve a living out of the sea.
287
00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:58,560
Borderlands leading
to the tempestuous waters beyond.
288
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,120
I've come to what was
one of Scotland's
289
00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:07,280
most important fishing harbours...
290
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,400
..in the town of Wick,
100 miles north of Inverness.
291
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,960
This is an edition of
the Illustrated London News
292
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:21,800
from August, 1875.
293
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,240
It describes Wick as the largest
fishing station in the world,
294
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,160
with a staggering 800 boats
cramming this harbour,
295
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,880
dedicated to the pursuit
of just one thing.
296
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:35,920
Herring.
297
00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,560
The magazine included
this special illustration.
298
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,240
It shows the chaotic cram
of boats in the harbour.
299
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,640
It was said that you could walk
from one end to the other,
300
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,000
just stepping across their decks.
301
00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,240
Much quieter now.
I'm on that same quayside,
302
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,400
chatting with Harry Gray -
a local historian,
303
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:08,120
his mother and grandmother
worked in the herring industry.
304
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,360
Can you give me a sense
of the scale of the operation?
305
00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:14,640
Oh... That was the greatest thing
that ever happened to this town.
306
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,560
They planned to have a village
for 1,000 people
307
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,560
and a harbour for 300 boats.
308
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,320
In hindsight,
which is always very clever,
309
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:24,480
they should have built the village
for 3,000 people
310
00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,800
and the harbour for 1,000 boats.
311
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:31,080
But people flocked into town
to get a piece of the action.
312
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:32,840
Where were they selling it to?
313
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:37,960
Well, the big customers
in those days were Russia,
314
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,120
the Baltic and Germany.
315
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:41,680
Germany was a huge market,
316
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,240
so schooners were setting sail
for Wick across the sea
317
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,240
to these countries all the time,
with loads of barrels of herring.
318
00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,160
Alongside the fishermen
319
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,400
were thousands of what were then
called herring girls.
320
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,640
Stories of their work
have been handed down
321
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,160
through the family of Maureen Ross.
322
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,320
The gutters, what they did was,
323
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,320
they would set to
picking the herring
324
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,160
and it was just one action,
it was in the throat and...
325
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:20,600
MIMICS SLICE
326
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,480
..and out with the gut.
327
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,240
And these girls,
they worked so fast,
328
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:33,160
it's said that when
they were filmed at one point...
329
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,200
..it was just a blur.
Their hands were a blur.
330
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,640
40-60 herrings would be
gutted in a minute.
331
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,200
And that's an amazing speed.
332
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,680
The herring girls worked
the length of Britain's coast.
333
00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,360
From Shetland to Great Yarmouth,
they followed the fleets.
334
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,160
And there is one particular view
from above
335
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,120
that shows how hard
their work could be.
336
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,040
An inlet below the village
of Whaligoe,
337
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,120
seven miles south of Wick.
338
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,040
These steps, all 365 of them,
339
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:25,600
led some 250 feet up the cliff
to the village.
340
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,640
Whatever was caught out there,
had to be carried up here.
341
00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,720
Today, it's a picturesque walk.
342
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,200
But for the herring girls,
climbing Whaligoe's flagstone steps
343
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,400
was gruelling, painful work.
344
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,520
On their backs, they were weighed
down with heavy baskets of the fish
345
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,200
they'd gutted on the quayside.
346
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,200
78, 79, 80, 81, 82...
347
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,400
The very existence of such
an unlikely harbour at Whaligoe
348
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,520
is testament to the remarkable
scale of the business...
349
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,680
93, 94, 95, 96, 97...
350
00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,040
..a business that would disappear
when its biggest clients,
351
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,920
Germany and Russia,
exploded into war and revolution.
352
00:25:16,360 --> 00:25:22,720
251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257...
353
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,800
By the 1950s,
Scotland's herring industry
354
00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:28,960
was little more than a memory.
355
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,480
These steps are
a monument to Thrownness.
356
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,200
The fish may have gone,
357
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,880
but they remain as
an enduring symbol
358
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,480
of the women
who worked the herring.
359
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000
Scotland's coast has long
been shaped by the people
360
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,200
who worked it.
361
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,880
Their stories often told
by the buildings they left behind.
362
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,960
Harbours, lighthouses,
boathouses, shipyards.
363
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,120
Yet, sometimes the evidence
of what we've done
364
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:09,880
and where we've done it
is a little harder to find.
365
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,320
This isn't a place
I'd recommend for a visit.
366
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,760
It's a muddy southern bank
of the River Clyde.
367
00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:33,400
A dangerous place if you don't know
the tides, and even if you do.
368
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,800
I'm heading east to a creek
running into the River Clyde
369
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,440
at Newshot Island,
opposite Clydebank.
370
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,440
Joining me,
squelching across the mud
371
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,680
is archaeologist Ellie Graham.
372
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:58,640
She has come to guide me, safely,
I hope, to a quite incredible sight.
373
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,200
A ship's graveyard...
374
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:06,240
..discovered, almost by accident,
by a view from above.
375
00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:12,240
It was actually
first brought to our attention
376
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,360
by a member of the local community
who was exploring the area
377
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:17,600
and the river bank through
Google Earth
378
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:21,280
and he spotted this collection of
wooden boats
379
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,440
on a high resolution
Google Earth image
380
00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,200
and, uh, got in touch with us
381
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,440
because he thought
they might be of interest.
382
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:31,520
What did you find when you
came to investigate the site?
383
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,840
Well, we found a massive group,
actually, of wooden barges that...
384
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,680
We call them mud punts, because they
were actually initially moved
385
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,760
by punting around the river.
386
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,880
They worked in partnership with
steam dredgers
387
00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:46,920
and then later with the diving bells
388
00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,800
and they just removed the spoil that
they excavated from the river banks,
389
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:52,640
because the problem
with the River Clyde
390
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:54,800
is that it was naturally
a very, very shallow river,
391
00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,920
so in order to allow big boats
to come up and down,
392
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:01,040
to trade and then later for the big
boats that were built on the Clyde,
393
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,000
they had to put in a lot of effort
to deepen the river.
394
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,680
Braving the worst of the mud,
395
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,720
it's possible to get closer
to Glasgow's forgotten fleet
396
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,960
and to identify individual vessels.
397
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:24,280
Alongside the wooden barges is a
distinctive bullet-shaped boat...
398
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,360
..designed to support
a primitive diving bell.
399
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,320
So, where are we standing right now?
400
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,680
Well, this is the business end
of the diving bell barge.
401
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,520
This cut out here in the stern
402
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:38,840
is actually where the diving bell
was mounted
403
00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,440
and they were for the carriage
404
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,200
where the diving bell itself
was actually raised and lowered
405
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:45,080
from here, down to the river bed.
406
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:51,520
Working often many feet below
the boat,
407
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:54,160
the bottom of the diving bell
was completely open,
408
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,720
the water kept out by air pressure.
409
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:04,240
It allowed the men to use picks
and shovels to work on the riverbed.
410
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,480
It was extremely dangerous,
but it was crucial
411
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,680
to Glasgow's development
as the world's shipbuilding capital.
412
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,920
When some of the biggest
ships in the world,
413
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,120
like the Queen Mary
and the Lusitania
414
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:22,360
were constructed at Clyde Yards,
415
00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,640
this was still working, using that
sort of very basic technology,
416
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,160
still, to achieve those depths
that were needed
417
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,200
for these great big ships
to be built
418
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,280
and then launched down the Clyde.
419
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,920
So, hugely important then, in
historical terms? Absolutely, yes.
420
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:36,280
We think as far as we know,
421
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,040
it's the earliest surviving
dive support vessel
422
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:40,840
that we know of anywhere in Britain.
423
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,680
It's a very important
piece of diving history,
424
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,240
not only for the history
of civil engineering,
425
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,760
but also for the history
of Glasgow as well,
426
00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,760
because without the dredgers
and the diving bells
427
00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:56,160
and the barges that laboured to
deepen the river,
428
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,760
there is no way Glasgow could have
become the city that it did,
429
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:00,800
the sort of powerhouse of
shipbuilding.
430
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,280
The lucrative transatlantic
trades that helped build Glasgow
431
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:08,720
all disappeared.
432
00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,040
But Scotland's harbours have never
stopped finding new things to do.
433
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,520
In the north-east,
the dolphins have come out to play
434
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,000
at the mouth of Aberdeen Harbour.
435
00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,200
From tiny fishing boats
to massive oil support vessels,
436
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,240
this is a business that
has been reinvented time and again.
437
00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:48,760
And it is one with
an impeccable pedigree.
438
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:53,600
With a more than credible claim
439
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,840
to have the oldest business
in Britain.
440
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:03,200
Aberdeen Harbour
was officially established in 1136
441
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:07,000
when King David granted the local
bishops the right to tax ships
442
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,760
going in and out.
It's an amazing history.
443
00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,320
It has been attacked
by everyone from the Vikings
444
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,960
to the German Luftwaffe.
Not many companies can say that.
445
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,280
I'm on a pilot boat
heading into Aberdeen Harbour,
446
00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,080
past a truly fascinating
range of ships.
447
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,800
You can see how Aberdeen Harbour
is the centre of this city.
448
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,880
How the buildings seem
to grow outwards
449
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,360
and away from the waterfront.
450
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,880
Keith Young is
the harbour's engineering director.
451
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:46,640
So, Keith, this is a harbour
452
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:50,600
that has supported many different
industries down the years.
453
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,800
Well, I'm from Aberdeen,
I grew up here,
454
00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,800
so it used to be that when you were
a boy you could come down here,
455
00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,120
be on the quayside and you saw
the fishing vessels coming in,
456
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,520
you'd be able to walk in amongst
the fish market.
457
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,040
The earliest maps of the harbour
date to the 1600s
458
00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,480
and show a tidal base
at the mouth of the River Dee
459
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,360
with three large islands.
460
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,440
Those islands gradually gave way
to shipping
461
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:26,720
and were replaced with the Victoria
Dock, completed in 1848.
462
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:35,600
20 years later, the River Dee itself
was diverted to the south.
463
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,320
And, in 1870, the new Albert Basin
was built in its place...
464
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:45,920
..seen here in this 1949
aerial photograph,
465
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:47,440
filled with fishing boats...
466
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:53,080
..a generation before
the Aberdeen oil boom.
467
00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,200
RADIO: OK, you can let go
and travel through...
468
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,960
But as the oil industry
peaks and wanes,
469
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:17,160
this old harbour
is looking for new business.
470
00:33:17,160 --> 00:33:19,880
We're travelling out
to see work under way
471
00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,480
on the massive 200 metre long
breakwater
472
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,920
for Aberdeen's new
South Harbour at Nigg Bay.
473
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,400
A project that will take millions
of cubic metres of rock,
474
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,320
creating one-and-a-half
kilometres of quay.
475
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,560
Big enough for a new generation
of cruise liners,
476
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,320
bringing thousands of tourists
to the north-east.
477
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,080
So this is the latest chapter
in Britain's oldest business.
478
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,360
Exactly, yes. We've been around for
almost 900 years
479
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,840
and some of the staff maybe feel
like they've been here that long,
480
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:02,040
but we know that we are
looking after the harbour
481
00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,160
and there is a great sense of pride
482
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,560
amongst the harbour staff
for what we're doing.
483
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,920
Harbours, ferries, fishing boats...
484
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,400
..the coast has always been
a place of work.
485
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,040
But in the 20th century,
486
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:24,040
it gradually came to be seen as
a place for fun and leisure.
487
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,040
And in the 1930s,
an extremely unlikely craze
488
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:37,840
swept Scotland's coast.
489
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,560
Remnants can be found
in the north-east,
490
00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:46,480
on the Moray Firth...
491
00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,560
..in a little bay
in a place called Tarlair.
492
00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:56,520
It all began when local authorities
all across the country
493
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:59,640
started building something
that may surprise anyone
494
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,920
who has ever dipped a toe
reluctantly in a Scottish sea.
495
00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:05,280
Huge outdoor swimming pools...
496
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:06,720
..known as lidos.
497
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,120
Tarlair Lido opened
in the summer of 1930...
498
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,400
..and was an immediate hit
with the locals.
499
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,760
Carved into
an Aberdeenshire cliffside,
500
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:38,960
Tarlair was an Art Deco marvel.
501
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,440
Inspired by
a famous Parisian swimming pool,
502
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,240
it was the height of fashion,
503
00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:48,080
and ingeniously designed.
504
00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:54,240
That side was for boats
and this side was for swimming.
505
00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:56,200
It was built as a tidal pool.
506
00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,640
Every day it was replenished
507
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:02,160
by the invigorating waters
of the North Sea.
508
00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,160
These days, we're used to
cheap foreign holidays,
509
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,280
sun and sea and sand
just a few hours flight away,
510
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,400
but back then
most people had no choice.
511
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,640
They had to find their slice
of paradise a little closer to home.
512
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,960
Hugh Gordon played in the pool
as a boy and later worked here,
513
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,080
one of the last supervisors
before the lido's closure.
514
00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,360
What was this like
on a summer's day?
515
00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,120
Packed. Packed. Mobbed.
516
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:41,960
Erm... There was people everywhere
sitting, picnic area up here,
517
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,040
you could hardly get a place to sit.
518
00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,680
You know, people came from
Huntly, Keith,
519
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:52,640
Pier Head, Fraserburgh,
all around the countryside
520
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,720
and they used to come here
at the weekends.
521
00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:57,200
And during the week,
when the summer holidays went out,
522
00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,160
you would get bus parties
coming through here as well. Yeah.
523
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:05,760
The fashion for lidos didn't last.
524
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,120
The pools were expensive
to run and maintain
525
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,200
and local councils
no longer had the money
526
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,800
or the enthusiasm
to keep them going.
527
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,720
Tarlair lasted longer than most,
but closed in 1996.
528
00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:26,080
How did you feel when it closed?
529
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:29,720
I'm sad, I'm sad.
530
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:35,000
Because along with a lot of people,
we had a lot of fun down here.
531
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,560
Tarlair was THE place.
532
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:40,040
Yeah. We had a lot of fun down here.
533
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,200
A lot of people not here now
that did enjoy it.
534
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,440
Do you think there is
a future for it?
535
00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,640
As a swimming pool,
I'm afraid it's finished.
536
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:55,080
Yeah. Kids nowadays
don't want to swim outdoors.
537
00:37:56,720 --> 00:37:58,120
THEY LAUGH
538
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,600
I've been working in the pool
up the road for 30-odd years. No.
539
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:03,240
This is alien to them.
540
00:38:03,240 --> 00:38:06,080
They don't want to
come and swim in fresh water.
541
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:07,480
Why is that, do you think?
542
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:08,640
Too damn cold!
543
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:15,840
But from the ruins,
544
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,880
Tarlair emerged once again
as a place for people to play.
545
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,440
The concrete Art Deco curves
were a perfect training ground
546
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,160
for local skateboarders.
547
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,520
Among them, Rhys Archibald.
548
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:42,160
He grew up in the town of Banff,
just two miles from Tarlair.
549
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:45,680
He is now one of Britain's
top freestylists.
550
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,400
Me and my buds
would skate after school,
551
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,600
and just as kids
we would roam around,
552
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:55,360
trying to find the next best thing.
553
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,480
It was out of the way,
no-one would interrupt us,
554
00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:04,080
they would allow us
to skateboard here.
555
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:06,320
We weren't doing anything
destructive,
556
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:08,640
we were just having fun
on skateboards.
557
00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:12,280
I guess it's a bit unfortunate
that it's a bit of a forgotten bit,
558
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:13,720
but it's also a bit of a pro
559
00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,160
that nobody would come and
move us along from this.
560
00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:24,520
So this is really where
you honed your skills?
561
00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:26,600
Yeah, yeah.
Getting down my skills,
562
00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,400
the peace and quiet
just allowed me to concentrate
563
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,800
on what I was feeling,
what I was thinking.
564
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,120
It was a good area
for creating stuff
565
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:36,240
and after landing
a really cool trick,
566
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,120
it was nice to look out to the sea
567
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,520
and think, "Oh, this is
very peaceful and nice."
568
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:51,000
I'm determined to try out Tarlair
for myself.
569
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,680
I'd never learned
to ride a skateboard...
570
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:55,760
..so there's only one option.
571
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:58,600
In northern Scotland,
572
00:39:58,600 --> 00:39:59,720
in October.
573
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:05,640
There's a campaign to reopen Tarlair
and you can understand why.
574
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,080
It's such a spectacular setting.
575
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:09,360
So spectacular in fact,
576
00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,600
that I have decided
I want to take a dip for myself.
577
00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:15,280
I mean, how cold can it be?
578
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:16,760
Don't answer that!
579
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,440
It's bitterly, bitingly freezing.
580
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:34,760
I told myself that generations
of Aberdeenshire schoolchildren
581
00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:36,600
had done just this.
582
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,400
Maybe without a wet suit.
583
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:46,440
And stepping out, the film crew
were as supportive as ever.
584
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,680
Whoo! Whey! Nice one.
585
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:49,720
Take two?
586
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,000
That was a good rehearsal.
587
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,360
Shall we run the next time?
588
00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:14,360
The craze for lidos, begun in
the 1930s, lasted scarcely 50 years.
589
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:18,960
But there's one use of our coast
that's endured
590
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:20,480
for thousands of years.
591
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:23,400
Protecting Scotland
from its enemies.
592
00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:31,680
Tucked away
in the South West of Scotland,
593
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:34,040
Loch Ryan might seem
an unlikely location
594
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:37,280
for those hunting
remains of a war against Germany.
595
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,720
This is a place best known today
596
00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:45,600
for getting the ferry
to Northern Ireland.
597
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:51,880
But look hard enough
598
00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:55,520
and you can discover how this
sea loch played a pivotal role
599
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:57,640
in defending Britain's coast.
600
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,800
I'm on the western side of the loch.
601
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,360
The ferries come and go from the
other side, over there at Cairnryan.
602
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,400
and beside me is what looks like
603
00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,000
a totally unremarkable
field of cattle.
604
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,880
You'd never know that
this was a military landscape,
605
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:17,000
designed and built on
an incredible scale.
606
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:19,440
At least, not from down here
you wouldn't.
607
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:33,520
From above, you can see the remains
of 60 concrete parking stands
608
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,360
and a network of taxiways.
609
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:44,840
Built around 1942,
this site may look like an airport,
610
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:48,200
but it's not. At least not in
the conventional sense.
611
00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:52,440
There's no runway, for a start.
612
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:54,560
But then, you didn't need one...
613
00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:00,600
..because this was Britain's
biggest space for seaplanes.
614
00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:12,400
Amazing, colossal aircraft
like the mighty Sunderland,
615
00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:17,280
used to defend vital British convoys
and to attack German submarines.
616
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:24,920
The Sunderland could stay on patrol
for 14 hours,
617
00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:26,640
remarkable for the time.
618
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,280
This concrete maze was their base,
619
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:38,600
and they took to the water
down this massive slipway.
620
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:44,840
Donnie Nelson grew up here,
and as a young boy
621
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:48,120
he would watch these
monstrous seaplanes come and go.
622
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,640
There is a lovely photograph
of a Sunderland
623
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,440
being towed along the road,
as usual.
624
00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,880
They would bring it up this road
here, onto this slipway here,
625
00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:02,560
but somewhere along the road
it met the local bus
626
00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:05,240
from Kirkcolm village
into Stranraer.
627
00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:08,360
So, there just wasnae enough room
for the pair of them.
628
00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:10,280
They stopped the Sunderland
at the side
629
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,200
and the bus slowly crept past.
Double-decker bus.
630
00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:14,680
And this photograph was taken,
631
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,320
shows it in beneath the wings
of the Sunderland.
632
00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:19,360
And that happened regularly.
633
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:25,800
In 1949, Donnie enlisted in
the Air Training Corps
634
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:29,160
and he and his pals got a chance
to take to the skies.
635
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:34,120
The first time I was on one
was after the war
636
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:36,520
when I was old enough
to join the ATC.
637
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:38,840
And I can remember on one occasion,
638
00:44:38,840 --> 00:44:41,520
there was 86 boys
aboard a Sunderland.
639
00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:44,040
And do you remember the sights
and sounds in the aircraft?
640
00:44:44,040 --> 00:44:47,160
Oh, it was tremendous, noisy.
Very noisy, the Sunderland was.
641
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:51,960
And then when it actually
started to move
642
00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:55,360
on the run down the loch
prior to take-off, it got worse,
643
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:58,840
because you were getting the waves,
the noise of the sea.
644
00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:05,520
And all of a sudden it went
all quiet again and just lifted...
645
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:15,840
..and we flew across to the Isle
of Man and then across to England.
646
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:19,040
Followed the railway line back
to Stranraer. It was great fun.
647
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,360
It was lovely to fly in. Beautiful.
648
00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:31,240
And Loch Ryan's military importance
went far beyond seaplanes.
649
00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:36,640
On the eastern side of the loch,
650
00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:41,360
a 1942 aerial photograph
shows the village of Cairnryan
651
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:43,320
in the midst of construction works.
652
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:48,000
What was being constructed
was a massive pier,
653
00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:49,880
700 metres long.
654
00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:57,920
One of three that were built,
655
00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:01,080
only this one survives,
and only just.
656
00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:08,000
It was assembled entirely
by the Army at a breakneck pace.
657
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,040
It was to be operational,
as soon as humanly possible.
658
00:46:19,040 --> 00:46:21,680
The port had a sombre purpose.
659
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,480
It was built as Britain
prepared for the worst.
660
00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:27,600
If harbours on the Mersey
and the Clyde were destroyed,
661
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:31,680
then Cairnryan's three huge piers
stood ready to take over...
662
00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:36,600
..bringing in food, supplies and
fuel from across the Atlantic.
663
00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:40,160
We should be very grateful
that in the end we didn't need it.
664
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,800
The wartime threat of invasion
has gone...
665
00:46:59,880 --> 00:47:03,760
..but patrols continue
around Scotland's coast.
666
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:07,600
No longer hunting German U-boats...
667
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:10,440
..but fishermen,
working in restricted areas,
668
00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:14,440
catching young fish and threatening
the future of the industry.
669
00:47:17,560 --> 00:47:20,200
So how do you find
where a boat is working...
670
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:25,360
..somewhere out in the vast seas
around Scotland?
671
00:47:33,240 --> 00:47:37,560
The answer is to be found in
an aircraft hangar near Inverness.
672
00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:43,960
This small plane,
callsign Watchdog 65,
673
00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:47,600
carries a huge array of cameras
and radar...
674
00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:49,640
..on the lookout for fishermen
675
00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:52,720
who are doing things
they shouldn't be doing.
676
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:56,760
We're there, we don't try and hide.
677
00:47:56,760 --> 00:47:59,520
It's like the policeman
on the side of the road
678
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:02,920
in his fluorescent jacket
with his radar gun.
679
00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:05,920
The colours of the aircraft
alone would tell you
680
00:48:05,920 --> 00:48:08,920
that we're not frightened about
being seen.
681
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:13,400
Paul Warriner is the systems
operator onboard Watchdog 65,
682
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:15,880
and he invited me to join him
and the crew
683
00:48:15,880 --> 00:48:17,440
on a night-time mission.
684
00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:26,080
Flying fast and low into the night,
685
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:29,360
in search of any boats
doing anything fishy.
686
00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:41,240
Paul and I are squeezed into economy
class at the back of the plane.
687
00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:45,960
His role is to direct the pilots
towards his target
688
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:49,280
and track them with his toy box
full of gadgets.
689
00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:19,560
Half an hour after take-off,
flying north of Wick,
690
00:49:19,560 --> 00:49:22,160
we're in sight of
our first fishing boat.
691
00:49:35,680 --> 00:49:37,200
Paul's job is to shoot video
692
00:49:37,200 --> 00:49:40,760
that can identify the registration
number of the ship...
693
00:49:40,760 --> 00:49:42,960
..good enough to be
produced as evidence
694
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:45,320
if there is a suspicion of
foul play.
695
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:54,880
And it's not an easy task at 200mph,
3 miles distant and in the dark.
696
00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:17,920
The target continued to evade us.
697
00:50:26,480 --> 00:50:30,400
It was time for Paul to explain
the aircraft's secret weapon.
698
00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:42,520
More than an hour into the mission
699
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:44,960
with thoughts turning towards
a warm dinner,
700
00:50:44,960 --> 00:50:48,240
Paul's plotting a course
for one final attempt.
701
00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:20,280
Paul's film will go
straight to Edinburgh
702
00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:23,440
and will be compared with
vessel logs and GPS data
703
00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:25,400
to see if anything illegal
has happened.
704
00:51:28,240 --> 00:51:30,040
A surreal experience.
705
00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:33,800
I feel like I have just taken part
in an elaborate video game.
706
00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:35,400
It's pitch dark out there,
707
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:38,040
you can only really see
the control panels
708
00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:41,640
and it's all about
circling these ships
709
00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:45,440
and just trying to get their name,
to get their reference number,
710
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:47,600
as evidence that they're there.
711
00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:49,160
They may not be doing
anything wrong,
712
00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:51,480
but they may be
and that's the crucial thing.
713
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:54,080
But that's the game,
that is what they are doing.
714
00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:55,760
It's fascinating to be part of it.
715
00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:05,800
The fishing patrols are
just the latest chapter in the story
716
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:08,600
of how we've watched over
our coasts.
717
00:52:13,480 --> 00:52:16,200
But in recent years,
there has been a twist in that tale.
718
00:52:17,920 --> 00:52:21,080
The very coast that
we've been defending...
719
00:52:21,080 --> 00:52:23,360
..is now on the attack.
720
00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:31,160
Today, climate change and coastal
erosion are a genuine danger...
721
00:52:31,160 --> 00:52:35,200
..to homes, communities
and our historic buildings.
722
00:52:35,200 --> 00:52:37,040
Buildings like this.
723
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:38,120
Fort George.
724
00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:48,480
It was engineered to be impregnable,
725
00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:50,560
built for the forces of George II
726
00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:54,520
in the years after Bonnie Prince
Charlie's failed rebellion.
727
00:52:55,800 --> 00:52:58,960
But there was one foe
its designers didn't count on.
728
00:52:58,960 --> 00:53:00,200
The sea.
729
00:53:10,680 --> 00:53:11,960
I'm taking a walk round
730
00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:14,320
the perimeter of the fort
with David Harkin,
731
00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:18,240
a colleague of mine from
Historic Environment Scotland.
732
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:23,640
David is an expert on
the impact of climate change
733
00:53:23,640 --> 00:53:25,840
on our most precious buildings.
734
00:53:27,680 --> 00:53:30,160
What potentially could happen
to somewhere like Fort George
735
00:53:30,160 --> 00:53:32,280
over the next 100, 200 years?
736
00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:35,320
Fort George is really on the firing
line for things like coastal erosion
737
00:53:35,320 --> 00:53:38,760
and sea level rise, so there could
be damage to parts of the fort.
738
00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:44,160
The section that's seen
the most damage is here
739
00:53:44,160 --> 00:53:47,760
on the northern flank,
facing straight onto the sea.
740
00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:54,360
And while these mighty walls
may seem invincible,
741
00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:58,120
the sand and soil supporting them
is looking the worse for wear.
742
00:54:01,240 --> 00:54:03,200
So, David, what is it
we can see here?
743
00:54:03,200 --> 00:54:05,200
I mean, this is a great example
744
00:54:05,200 --> 00:54:07,800
of why this part of the coastline
is so vulnerable.
745
00:54:07,800 --> 00:54:09,920
You've got quite a thin layer
of topsoil
746
00:54:09,920 --> 00:54:12,960
and then you've got
a raised beach deposit down here.
747
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:15,320
So if you look quite closely,
you can see it's sand
748
00:54:15,320 --> 00:54:18,840
supporting sort of pebbles
and gravel and whatnot.
749
00:54:18,840 --> 00:54:22,320
It's quite a soft deposit
and that's why it's so vulnerable
750
00:54:22,320 --> 00:54:24,360
to the impacts of wave action.
751
00:54:24,360 --> 00:54:28,040
And how much potentially are
we losing of this every year here?
752
00:54:28,040 --> 00:54:29,600
There's sort of anecdotal evidence
753
00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:32,680
from people that work around
the site and visitors and whatnot
754
00:54:32,680 --> 00:54:35,760
that suggest that we are losing,
some winter seasons,
755
00:54:35,760 --> 00:54:41,200
up to a metre of ground is lost
because of successive winter storms.
756
00:54:46,160 --> 00:54:48,920
And the evidence is
more than just anecdotal.
757
00:54:50,640 --> 00:54:55,200
In 1941, an RAF officer
took this aerial photograph,
758
00:54:55,200 --> 00:54:58,080
showing the land below
the northern wall.
759
00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:02,600
Today, seen from a drone,
760
00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:05,680
the retreat of this coastline
is clear.
761
00:55:09,320 --> 00:55:12,560
Coastal erosion and sea-level rise
are very much natural processes.
762
00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:15,000
They have always happened
and they will always happen,
763
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:16,960
but what makes it different now
764
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:19,520
and what makes it different
with climate change
765
00:55:19,520 --> 00:55:21,960
is the rate at which
this change is happening.
766
00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:26,840
So, in the past 20 years or so, sea
levels in Scotland have been rising
767
00:55:26,840 --> 00:55:29,320
by about three millimetres a year.
768
00:55:29,320 --> 00:55:31,240
That's higher than the UK average
769
00:55:31,240 --> 00:55:33,680
which is around about
1.4 millimetres a year
770
00:55:33,680 --> 00:55:37,640
for the 20th century. So what that
shows us is in the past 20 years,
771
00:55:37,640 --> 00:55:40,680
the rates of sea level have gone up.
That it's getting faster.
772
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:52,000
Do you think that the idea
that people could lose their history
773
00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:55,160
will impact on their ability
to change their behaviours?
774
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:59,000
What people need is they need to
react to something that they love.
775
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,120
And who doesn't love coming to
historic sites like this?
776
00:56:02,120 --> 00:56:04,480
And, in Scotland,
we are incredibly lucky
777
00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:08,160
to have such a rich and diverse
historic environment.
778
00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:11,760
It's part of our everyday lives,
it's part of our DNA, essentially.
779
00:56:11,760 --> 00:56:13,800
It's who we are as a nation.
780
00:56:13,800 --> 00:56:16,040
And people love
coming to sites like this.
781
00:56:16,040 --> 00:56:20,120
So, I think if people know
that the impacts of climate change
782
00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:22,480
means that they might lose this,
783
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,240
then that is potentially
what they need
784
00:56:25,240 --> 00:56:27,480
to sort of inspire them
to take action.
785
00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:33,960
The experts agree.
Over the next century,
786
00:56:33,960 --> 00:56:38,680
Scotland will almost inevitably lose
some of its historic coastal sites.
787
00:56:40,280 --> 00:56:42,720
The only question is how many.
788
00:56:57,480 --> 00:57:00,640
Take any beach, bay,
dune or cliffside
789
00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:04,520
and you will find the traces of us,
of people.
790
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:09,480
These shorelines have
represented opportunity,
791
00:57:09,480 --> 00:57:14,320
survival, threat and adventure
over many thousands of years,
792
00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:17,600
but not a day goes by without
the inevitable shift
793
00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:19,200
of this physical border.
794
00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:31,560
From the coming and going
of the tide
795
00:57:31,560 --> 00:57:36,720
to the never-ending process of
erosion, rising sea levels...
796
00:57:36,720 --> 00:57:40,160
..what we see when we look
down on our coast from above
797
00:57:40,160 --> 00:57:44,240
is a landscape rich
in history and memory.
798
00:57:44,240 --> 00:57:47,760
But it's also a landscape
that never stops changing.
799
00:57:47,760 --> 00:57:52,880
At once enduringly vibrant
and dangerously fragile.
800
00:58:03,120 --> 00:58:05,360
Next time
on Scotland From The Sky...
801
00:58:07,200 --> 00:58:12,760
..I use the view from above to find
out how we've lived off the land.
802
00:58:12,760 --> 00:58:17,360
Mysterious marks in a field reveal
how our Pictish ancestors lived.
803
00:58:19,800 --> 00:58:25,120
We explore how we farm the most
spectacular and remote of islands...
804
00:58:25,120 --> 00:58:26,480
Slainte. Slainte.
805
00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:29,160
..and discover why whisky
is our national drink.
68126
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