All language subtitles for The Social UK - 1x01_track3_eng

Hi, I'm Kate and I'm from
the Isle of Lewis.

One of my favourite things
to do is sea swimming.

I've been doing it for as long
as I can remember.

One of the biggest obstacles
I face with sea swimming,

is the temperature...it is
Scotland, after all.

The dog is worried for me.

I find that if you try and keep
your mind off it,

then it's not so bad.

If you keep thinking about something
else, keep moving, keep...

..swimming, keep running,
keep doing whatever you're doing,

don't think about the temperature.

Once your hands are in, you need
to try and keep them in.

If you take your hands out of the
sea, they'll get much colder.

But if you give it about
ten minutes,

your body will adjust to it,
or at least mine does,

and then it's not so bad.

When you first put
your head underwater...

..it's like someone smashing the
back of your head with a hammer.

Other times that pain never
goes away.

Here we go.

The colour of your skin changes
to a healthy bright red.

Some say I'm mad.

But it's good for the soul...

..is what I like to think.

So that's about 35 minutes now.

Think it's time to get out.

Actually, I'm quite warm.

Here's my loyal dog waiting for me.

Being in the ocean brings me back
to my island roots.

It connects me to nature and it
gives me a sense of perspective.

I am, I guess you'd say,
drawn to the sea.

Colours, the cold, the animals,
the atmosphere.

I love the sea and there's nothing
that can keep me away.

This van's been to Berlin and back,
it's been to Holland and back.

It's been everywhere, this van,
so I trust it

and I hope that it would
get me places.

My name is Caitlin Minnie,
I'm 25 years old,

from Kirkintilloch originally,
live in Paisley now.

I grew up with a caravan
up in Fort William.

I always loved it and really wanted
to have my own growing up.

I really enjoyed the fact that
everything was just in the one

little tiny place and you could fit
so much in it.

I used to, like, pretend that
I would have a car

that had a bed in the back of it
when, like, playing

in my mum and dad's cars
when I was a kid.

And I really loved that,
and always was like,

"Wonder if you could get
a caravan that drives?"

But once I got older,
I kept the dream.

The reason I wanted to get into
van life is because,

I've been living in a flat in
Paisley for about four years and...

..it's not the best.

I have so much stuff as well,
and I just want

to condense my life
and live minimalistically...

..rent free.

People I know are too concerned
about having a huge house

with all these things that they
work so hard to have,

but they never get time to use.

And I just didn't...didn't
understand that.

Recently I took the van
to Holland and...

..it was, overall, like, the most
positive experience.

I felt very empowered, er...

..in my life, in my personal life.

Felt like I was doing something
for me and for my dog.

And, you know, we just had such
a great time just driving.

We didn't really know where we
were going, we just kept driving.

It was so good, it was
so liberating.

It was extremely lonely, and I wish
that there had been someone there

to, like, talk to and things.

It sometimes can be quite hard to
actually, like, push on by yourself.

But, you know, you have to,
I guess, so...

At night, I think it's a lot
worse because you're, kind of,

sitting in silence.

I'm not really scared of being alone
at night, though, in my van.

I know a lot of women especially,
of course, are.

But I've never been scared
at night and I camp alone

most of the time by myself, so...

My family are somewhat supportive.

They like that I have that
kind of mentality.

You know, I'm not just hooked to my
phone constantly, just living,

like, a normal life, I guess
I'm a bit more out there

and have crazy dreams, which
they quite like.

But as for going away and living
in a van, they are very traditional.

I don't think that they agree
with that,

but it's my life, I guess, so.

Over the winter, I hope to put
in the rest of this van,

like the kitchen and a small
bathroom and some storage idea.

And I plan to hopefully travel
in Europe with it

for a good couple of years,
I would hope.

It's a challenge, you're
pushing yourself.

You question, like, "Why am
I doing this?"

But once you get to the top of
a Munro, it's a great feeling.

It's a sense of achievement.

It's a really good experience,
once you've done it.

My name's Ross Cunningham,
I'm from Glenrothes in Fife,

and one of my favourite hobbies
is to go hiking

up Scotland's mountains.

In August and September 2017, I went
through depression.

It's something that I hadn't gone
through before

and it's something I thankfully
haven't gone through since,

but it's obviously a really
hard time.

It can feel like you're drowning
and it could feel just...

It's a really horrible thing to go
through and a lot of the hobbies

and things that you have, you
just kind of lose interest in them.

Doing exercise helps you really to
try and get into a better place,

kind of, mentally, there's lots
of endorphins and things

that come from exercise. That
was really beneficial.

And so when I got into that,
my friend recommended

that join her to go hiking
up Munros,

and that's how I got
into Munro bagging.

So Dex is my eight-year-old dog,
he's a Westie,

and he loves hiking, he's the one
that's dragging me up

the mountains half the time.

He's a wee dog, he's got wee legs so
as much as he wants to do

the whole walk, there's times
I've got to lift him up,

rescue him from falling into
a bog, or I've had to carry him

over a river while I'm getting
totally soaked,

but just so he can
make it over OK.

He's a great wee character and I
think a lot of people quite like

to see pictures of him when I
post them on social media,

especially Instagram, to see him
at the top of some Scotland's

highest mountains with some
beautiful landscapes

in the background, I think a lot
people quite like that.

From getting into hiking, I've
really been getting out

most weekends, a few of my
friends that have came along

have been getting into hiking
themselves as well.

So it's nice to pass it on
and encourage other people

to get involved in it.

Over 2018 I managed to get
to the top of 70 Munros.

It's a long way away getting
to 282 Munros,

and I'm still over 200 away
from that final target.

But I think once I do it, which
I will, I think the next challenge

would be to do more mountains,
not just in Scotland.

Living in Scotland, I've
realised how lucky I am,

and how lucky people in Scotland are
to live in one the most

beautiful countries in the world,
which Scotland clearly is.

I would encourage people to get out
and explore Scotland, to see parts

of it that they've maybe never
seen before.

Hiking is a great way to do that,
and sights you've never seen before,

there's some beautiful
landscapes up Scotland's

mountains that you just simply
wouldn't see,

you need to the top of
a mountain to see it.

For anybody that's going through
things like depression,

it's just a great escape.
It's going to help you,

and it's going help you clear
your head.

If you're going to live in a tent,
you have to get the proper tents.

None of this weekend stuff.

You have to know where you can pitch
a tent to make it safe,

because even the most robust
tents

won't put up with the storms.

They have to be in certain
positions to put up with it.

There's no telephone signal
down here.

There's nobody passing, so if you
did have something wrong...

..you're stuck, you're on your own
and there's nothing else you can do.

Even although it's a ten mile
round trip walking

and a 50-mile train journey, that's
quite easy to get supplies in.

It wouldn't be for
the normal person,

but that to me is easy,
it's the easiest I've found.

You know, I've chosen to do that.

There's other places I could go to,
which would be easier

to get help, you know.

But, no, I just choose to be down
here and I'm happy.

I've got it down to a T, I know
exactly what do,

I know what to survive in,
I know what to do.

I've suffered. I've suffered from
hypothermia and I know

what to do if I get that.

You must keep yourself
spotlessly clean.

No shirking on washing.

That means cleaning your teeth
every day, washing your hands.

Having a bath every day, not washing
your hands and face every day.

Wading into the water every day.

You must keep yourself clean
every day and then you won't

get any infections.

As I said, I'd normally be naked
doing this,

but you're not getting to see that.

Two years ago, we had snow
down here.

It was... Nobody would have got
down, not even the stockers

got down in their vehicles.

There was nothing would have got
down here, not even the snowcats.

You couldn't walk in it
in snowshoes. It was three,

four feet deep around the tent.

I was stuck down here
for three weeks.

Visibility is down to about 100
yards now.

I dug paths so far just to
give me some walking space.

And I dug a path down to the loch
to get water

so that I could still wash
and get water for cooking.

Just at the end of 2007, I started
getting problems with my breathing.

And I went...

One day I woke up and found
I was pretty ill.

Went to the doctor's and they
thought I'd had a heart attack.

So I was treated for a heart attack.

But I was pretty ill.

Got a heart scan and they
came up with that I had

dilated cardiomyopathy, which is
a life-threatening condition.

And I was told I needed
a heart transplant.

So I told them I didn't want
a heart transplant.

I wasn't wanting considered
for that.

And I thought, right, well, if I've
got only a short life expectancy,

I'm just going to come out
and live in the wild.

Which is what I was going to do
when I retired.

You know, now that I'm 65 and been
out for 12 years,

that's what I would have been doing
now anyway.

I would have sold up.

I got a heart scan two years ago.

And my heart scan showed that
my heart wasn't dilated any more.

So I came off the medication

and all of a sudden I became
as fit as a fiddle again.

But unfortunately,
in the last four weeks,

I've had another heart scan
and it's come back again.

So there's been a relapse and it's
quite serious at the moment.

So I'm on to a different medicine,
but the heart's relapsed again.

But fortunately,
I still feel pretty fit.

But I know it's quite
a life-threatening thing I've got.

I don't know what will happen
to me.

I might not wake up one day, like!

Which would be the ideal
situation, I suppose.

But I'm happy as Larry.

I'm really contented
with what I'm doing.

It's just a getaway.
It's the freedom.

It's not being stuck
in the same place.

It's so much better
than being in a house for us.

Although it's such a small space.

But we make the best of it.

I'm Laura, I'm 23.

I'm from Glasgow.

And I go to college to do
professional cookery.

I'm William, I'm 28.

I used to work on mechanics

but I've just started studying
photography.

We've been together for
three years now.

When we got the van,
it was not great.

No running water, the insulation
wasn't great.

Just things like that.

Since we got it we've added...

We've got solar panels,
a new ledge for batteries.

We've got the sink.

That's the third different
sink that's been in it.

I'd like to get a bigger
van, but a taller van.

So it's for standing up.

I'd like to add a shower cubicle
to a bigger van.

So that's probably the plans
for next year, maybe.

Privacy to use the toilet.
That's the plans!

For her, the toilet was such
a big deal.

Yeah, I'm really weird with that.

And then I was just like, right, I
just need to do this in front of you

because I can't hold it in any more!

So, yeah... It's just you need
to give each other privacy.

Yeah, like, don't look!
Close your eyes!

Turn the music up!

It's just one of them things.

It's not something we wanted to...
Or that we even thought about

until you're in that situation and
you're like, I now need to pee!

You get a lot of freedom.
It's a given.

But your upkeep of the van...
You're in it every day.

Even like a heater.

The diesel for the heater.

Diesel for running, servicing.

Everything comes... It's a lot
quicker.

It's eight months we've been here
and we've done 25,000 mile in it.

Even just your fuelling costs
with that.

Obviously we've done big trips
and everything.

But if you take away the trips,
it's still a lot of miles.

Your fuelling costs, everything...

It's not as cheap as a lot
of people think it would be.

It's not just a case of, "I'll live
in a van, I've got no expenditures."

Yeah, you definitely still do.

It's not a cheap way of living,
but it's a cheaper way of living.

Scuba diving plays a massive part
in my life.

Unfortunately, I've been diagnosed
with anxiety problems.

And this offers me a release
from it all.

See in films, when you see
the likes of James Bond

rising from the
sea like Poseidon himself?

That's a load of crap.

See if I can come out frae a dive

and I don't have snot running
down my nose

and my cheeks aren't as red
as a skelped arse?

That's a good day for me.

Just remember, folks, scuba diving
can be a hazardous sport.

I'm a master scuba diver
with just under 200 dives.

And if you do want to give it a go,

make sure you find an experienced
instructor to learn with.

Dive days don't just happen.

They take a good bit of planning.

And like everything else in
Scotland,

the first thing you need to take
into consideration is the weather.

It's not the rain that's
the problem.

I mean, let's be honest -
you're getting wet anyway.

It's the wind I find the problem.

When you're trying to drag your
soggy arse out of the water

with the weight of a small person
on your back

and the waves are buffeting you
frae side to side,

you do begin to rethink your life
choices.

So once you've checked
the weather,

you have to think
about what you want to see.

I don't mean used shopping trolleys!

Are you looking for a shore dive or
are you looking for a boat dive?

Are you looking for a rocky reef
or are you looking for a wall dive?

Or are you actually looking
for wrecks?

Here in Scotland we've got it all,
pretty much.

So today we've headed up
to Loch Lowes

and a dive site called Athriums.

So here you've got your weather
and your dive site picked.

Now it's time for the kit.

Trust me, there ain't nothing
glamorous

about getting into a dive suit.

Especially when you've got use lube
to help you put it on.

The kit itself weighs about 50 kilo.

And believe it or not, you still
actually have to add weight to get
yourself down.

There cannae be many sports

where you have to actually
add weight to do it.

And unfortunately, you cannae
add weight by eating cake.

I wish you could.
That'd be right up my alley.

Just a wee bit does me.

But diving in Scotland opens up
a whole new world.

You're not going to be finding Nemo.

But what you will find is a world
that's rugged, that's untamed

and is just as beautiful under
the water

as Scotland is on the surface.

As I said, I suffer from
anxiety issues.

Scuba diving might not seem
like the best activity to do.

The deep ocean.

Limited supply of air.

Risk of drowning.
Risk of decompression sickness.

Actually, maybe I should just go
for a massage.

Controlling your breathing
is a massive part of scuba diving,
as you'd expect.

During a dive for 50 minutes, all I
need to think about is my breathing.

There's my dive buddy.

And the beauty that I'm
surrounded by.

So we may not be the Maldives

and we may not be the diving capital
of the world,

but Scotland's
certainly got plenty to offer.

And we've not even actually started
talking about the wrecks yet.

What I do is not hugely weird.

Like, I'm a normal person,
I have a job, I pay tax.

You know, I do all of these things.

I just also don't have a brick
and mortar house.

My name is Emma.
I am 35.

Unfortunately!

I came from Aberdeen, where I worked
in the oil industry

and then I decided I was moving
to Edinburgh

and I became a barista.

So, yeah, I now work in a little
coffee shop full-time in Leith.

So my normal day in the van,

I get up reasonably early,
depending on when I'm working.

I usually get up about six-ish.

I walk the dogs, give them their
breakfast,

and then I obviously don't have
a shower in the van.

So I have to go to the gym.

And I try and do exercise
at the gym.

But quite often I'm lazy
and I just go in and have a shower.

And then...

Yeah, then I... Then I go to work
and I work Monday to Friday

and then I come home and, again,
I walk the dogs.

We often go to a pub or whatever
to see friends.

And then, yeah, I end up coming back

and maybe reading a book
or watching Netflix.

I have a TV so that's always nice.

And yeah, it's a really nice place
to come back and relax

after a long day of working.

So I had a flat in Edinburgh
for a while and it was lovely.

But it was really difficult once
I gave that flat up

to find a dog-friendly flat.

I now have two dogs.

So it was tricky.

Somebody I know lives in a van and
had said,

why don't you think about it?

And so I looked into it
and I started researching it.

And here we are!

I don't have to worry about
accommodation.

You know, I just take the van and
I park outside my friend's house

and I can sleep in it.

It's... Yeah, that element
of freedom

and not having to spend money where
you don't need to.

You know?

I can go on a day trip to anywhere

and all I have to pay for
is my fuel.

And it's great.

I never really got to travel
when I left uni,

so at the end of 2020
I plan to do a road trip.

I'm going to start off in Europe
and see where I end up, really.

I haven't planned really very far.

I'd like to do some work-aways.

I'd like to just travel
around and meet new people.

And I am slightly nervous
of travelling alone,

but I think travelling alone has
become a lot less dangerous

these days than it used to be.

So I'm sure it will be OK.

People often ask me what
do Muslims do to have fun

or what do Muslim women
do to have fun?

Now, I can't speak for every Muslim
but one thing I love to do is...

..hike in the Scottish
Highlands.

Today I'll be hiking up
the Pap of Glencoe.

Glencoe is one of my favourite
spots to visit in Scotland.

The views are stunning

and there are lots of special places
to hike and to discover.

The Pap is considered a Graham
and is 2,349 feet up.

It's not a Munro but a little
challenging nonetheless.

For the hike I'm wearing waterproof
hiking boots and an umbrella abaya.

An abaya is the dress you'd often
see Muslim women wear.

This one is cut in a way where
there's no restriction to the legs,

although you still have to be
cautious

when hiking in a home garment.

As well as making sure
I have enough food, water

and the trusted first-aid kit,

I also need to bring a prayer mat
and a compass.

Muslims pray five times a day
and on a hike like this,

at some point I would need to find
a safe place to do so.

So now we're at the bottom.

I'm going to start going up.

Being religious does not mean
leading a boring lifestyle.

Everyone's priorities and enjoyments
are different.

I love hiking because it's
a healthy activity

that takes me out of the city and
into the beauty of nature.

It also helps me to relax
and reflect on life.

We are climbing.
No more hiking.

We're just climbing up the top now.

As a modest Muslim,
I refuse to compromise

what I choose to wear
for what I love to do.

But I also refuse not to do
what I love because of my cause.

There are lots of fun things
I enjoy doing

and hiking in my beautiful
country is just one of them.

GORDON: The first thing you think
of, having a van,

is to travel and be away from a
place,

but it's once you're in
the van and you've realised

you've got so much time, there's
just no rush to do anything.

You can just switch off from the
hectic kind of life of uni

or working life or being in a
city, even.

And just go out to a remote place
and relax and slow down.

My name is Gordon Yule,
I'm from Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.

I'm 24 years old and I'm doing
environmental geography

at Stirling University.

So I bought the van in November
and then I just started clearing out

what was in the van previously.

That was probably the hardest job,

actually, was getting stuff
out of the van.

And once that was out you've just
basically got a shell

of where you just kind of start
building.

But the building process, I
basically didn't plan much in
advance

of where everything's going and what
to buy and what to do.

Everything was planned very last
minute.

So first thing, insulation,
I needed that.

So bought that, put it on the walls
and insulated everywhere that I
needed.

And then you're just, mostly
through YouTube,

figuring out what I need to do
next,

what I need to buy and throwing
stuff together.

And it's surprisingly easy to build
a van

if you just do a tiny bit of
research.

Watching stuff on YouTube, I've seen
van life kind of videos.

And I kind of wanted to be part
of that,

so did a quick research online,
found this van, bought it,

and yeah, started converting it.

So I guess I always have a kind
of drive to travel.

I wanted it mainly for the freedom
that a van gives you.

You know, you've got everything
here, it's a kind of enclosed,

self-containing unit where you've
got your sink, cooking facilities,

you've got your bed.

And it means you just have
the ability to put a few things in

and you can go for a weekend
or longer, if you wish,

and just get out of the cities
and into the countryside.

I've not really seen that much
of Scotland yet,

so having the van just gives you
that ability

to leave on weekends
and go for weekends away.

That is my initial kind of travel
plans for this term at university,

to try to see as much of Scotland
as I can

cos it's right on your doorstep

and it's not far at all to get out
into the country.

ANDREW: As a wildlife film-maker,

I spend a lot of time away
from home.

I'm not complaining.

The adventures were one of the
reasons I wanted to do this job,

but it does mean I spend a lot
of time away from the family.

Even when I am back home,
days off can be a bit of a rarity,

so I often take my son
to work.

If you can call it work.

It's a nice way to spend
time together.

Plus, childcare is bloody
expensive.

My son's also getting to that age

where he's coming in handy
for lugging kit.

I try to get him involved
in the film-making process,

doing a bit of sound here and there.

He talks too much to be a sound
recordist, though.

HE GIGGLES

Wildlife film-making can demand
a bit of patience, to say the least,

so like any juvenile, after sitting
still for half an hour,

he's bored out his nut...

..but it's nothing a punnet of sugar
can't handle.

But not everything always goes to
plan.

Sometimes there's a wee accident,

or four...

Can you jump? Yeah.

..but Mummy doesn't need to
know about that.

It's pretty important to me that he
gets to see a bit of his own country

and the natural world.

I'm not the kind of parent who wants
my child to follow in my footsteps.

He can do whatever makes him
happy when he's older.

He might be an erotic dancer,

a sandwich artist,

an actual Pokemon,

whatever the kids are into these
days.

I would, however, like him
to have an interest

or at least feel comfortable in the
natural world.

It's a subject which needs to be
exposed more to kids, I think.

And it's much more relevant than
algebra, let's be honest.

Anyway, he'll be going to school
next year

and he won't be able to come out
with me as much,

but I do hope the adventure
and outdoor stuff

is rubbing off on him a bit...

Hello! ..because even if he grows
up to be a wee shite,

he'll always have a friend.

What do they say? If one becomes
acquainted with the wild...

..one will never be alone.