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PAUL MURTON: Elemental nature
is at its most dramatic
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in the mountainous landscape
that frames the lochs
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00:00:11,300 --> 00:00:12,940
along Scotland's west coast.
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The rocks here have been weathered
for millions of years
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by ice and fire, wind and water,
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and, for generations,
the people have used
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the elements beneath their feet
to survive.
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Scotland's loch's are the product
of an element
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we have in spectacular abundance -
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water.
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With so much of the stuff about,
it's hardly surprising
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that there are tens of thousands
of lochs in Scotland,
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and they come
in all shapes and sizes.
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We've got long, fjord-like sea lochs,
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great freshwater lochs
of the Central Highlands,
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and innumerable lochans
that stud the open moors.
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In this series,
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I'm setting out on a loch-hopping
journey across Scotland,
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meeting the people
who live close to their shores,
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and discovering how lochs have
influenced an entire nation.
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For this Grand Tour,
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I'm heading
from a point way out west
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to a fabled mountain,
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unearthing stories, quite literally,
from the ground.
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My journey starts on Ardnamurchan,
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heads for the beautiful and secluded
Loch Sunart,
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then crosses the mountains
to Loch Linnhe,
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where I stop
at a medieval Stuart castle,
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and encounter an ancient goddess
guarding a dark loch.
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This is the Ardnamurchan peninsula,
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and this is the famous lighthouse
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facing the wild seas
of the North Atlantic.
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Ardnamurchan Lighthouse is not only
the most westerly lighthouse
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on the Scottish mainland,
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it also marks the most westerly point
on the whole island of Great Britain,
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making this a rather special place
for me to begin my Grand Tour.
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I love lighthouses.
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In fact, in a previous incarnation,
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I was briefly employed
by the Northern Lighthouse Board.
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As a mobile lighthouse keeper,
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I had to keep the lights burning
and the lenses turning
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at three lighthouses
around the Scottish coast.
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But I've never been up Ardnamurchan,
as they say.
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Ardnamurchan is a Gaelic name,
of course,
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and one translation means
'the headland of the great seas'.
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And from up here,
the view is truly oceanic.
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Despite the tame
and gentle weather today,
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this can be a wild and hostile place,
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and boats heading around the coast
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often face
a potentially dangerous voyage.
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Just around the coast
from the lighthouse,
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I come to one of the most scenic
beaches anywhere on the west coast.
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The gorgeous Sanna Bay,
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with its pristine white sands
and turquoise seas,
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has exceptional views
west to the Small Isles.
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But the peace and tranquillity
of Sanna today is in stark contrast
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to the destructive elemental forces
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that were once unleashed
deep within the Earth.
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It's almost impossible
to imagine now,
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but go back 60 million years,
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and there would have been
an absolutely enormous volcano
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rumbling underneath the ground
near to this spot.
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To find out more, I'm heading inland
to meet geologist Alan McKirdy,
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who wants to take me on a journey
through deep time
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into the heart of the volcano.
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Alan, we've come some distance
away from the beach,
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up here onto the hill.
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Now go back 60 million years ago,
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what would the environment here
have been like, do you think?
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Well, we're sitting in the remains
of an ancient volcano.
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A volcano, as you say, that was
active 60 million years ago.
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And since then, since that time,
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um, ice, wind and water has eroded,
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or cut down,
the surface of the volcano.
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So we're sitting in the,
what would have been,
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the magma chamber
of this ancient volcano.
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Now how big was this volcano?
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Something in the order of about six
or seven kilometres across.
Wow!
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I understand you can actually see
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a very distinct crater shape
from the air.
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Yes, indeed.
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And we've got
a wonderful aerial shot here,
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which shows this outer ring
of mountains
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that defines
the ancient magma chamber.
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We're sitting in the centre of it,
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so we've got a grandstand view
of the whole structure.
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This volcano wasn't by itself,
was it?
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It was part of a wider network?
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About 65 million years ago,
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and North America and Europe
went their separate ways
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forming the North Atlantic.
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And, as a result, the, uh, crust
thinned, quite dramatically,
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and a series of seven
or eight volcanoes popped up
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through this thin crust.
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So that's Rockall, St Kilda,
Skye, Ardnamurchan,
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00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:53,860
uh, Rum, Mull, Arran,
and Ailsa Craig were all active
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over a 10 million-year period.
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It's incredible to think
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that Scotland's west coast is
littered with volcanoes
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that witnessed
the birth of the North Atlantic,
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whose waters now fill
all these beautiful lochs.
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Like Loch Sunart, with the little
village of Kilchoan,
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which, until a road to the east
was opened in 1900,
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was only accessible by ferry.
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Kilchoan is traditionally
a crofting community,
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providing a way of life
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that was never meant
to get people rich.
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Not having enough land
to make a living,
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people were often forced
to look for other work
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to supplement their income.
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Rosie Curtis is a modern crofter,
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helping to keep the tradition alive
by working the land.
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But it's common for crofting culture
to hug the Highland coastline,
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and the sea is often
as important as the land.
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One of Rosie's many jobs is
tending a fish farm
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near the gaping mouth of Loch Sunart.
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This is your daily commute,
I'm guessing.
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This is my, yes,
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this is my beautiful travel to work
every morning which is fantastic.
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You do a lot of juggling
when it comes to work
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because you still croft,
is that right?
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Yeah, I've got a small croft,
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ehm, I've got 60 blackface sheep,
and some highland cows.
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Crofting was never
a full-time occupation, was it?
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It was there to, kind of,
supplement your income?
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Yeah, we do eight hours,
eight to 10 hours out here,
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and then you've obviously got
whatever you do on the croft.
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I'm also involved in the coastguard
and the fire brigade,
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so you never know when you might
be called out with them,
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so, um, you could be 24 hours.
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Do you ever sleep? (CHUCKLES)
Sometimes, sometimes, yeah.
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A short sea-journey brings us
to some large netted pens
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floating in the loch.
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I want to hear from Rosie about
some new pesticide-free techniques
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to control sea lice infestations
on fish.
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How many fish have you got in there?
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In this pen, I've got 26,000 fish
at the moment.
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What do you say to people
who are a bit critical of fish farms
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'cause of the potential
environmental consequences,
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I mean, you must be aware of that?
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I've got lumpfish and wrasse so,
you know,
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that's cleaner fish
which help to eat the lice
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off the back of the salmon.
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Well, that means, if the lice are
being picked off by the cleaner fish,
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then you're using less pesticide.
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Yeah, absolutely,
between wrasse and lumpfish
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and also now flushers coming in,
you know,
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you're hardly doing
any chemical treatments at all now.
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Well, that's brilliant.
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Hopefully, this is the future
in fish farming.
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Leaving Rosie to her duties,
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I'm pleased to hear
that this important part
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of the rural economy may have
a more sustainable future.
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My route now heads
for the upper reaches of Loch Sunart,
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which is one of the longest sea lochs
on the west coast
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running west to east for 31km.
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The views here seem to be timeless.
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Many of the hills above the loch
are covered in ancient woods.
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In places, they sweep
all the way down to the shore.
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These ancient woods are
a remnant of a great forest
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which once spread all the way
along the Atlantic seaboard,
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from Northern Spain to Norway.
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In Scotland, it's known
as the Celtic rain forest.
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Today, only fragments of it survive.
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Although undeniably beautiful,
it's not entirely a wild place.
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In fact, if you'd come down
to the woods
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in the 18th or 19th century,
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you'd have found a veritable
woodland industry flourishing here.
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The clues are there if you know
how to read the forest correctly,
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and one man who can do just that
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is woodlands expert and historian
Jamie McIntyre.
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He shows me how people
harvested wood sustainably,
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without felling whole trees.
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Exactly how industrial
was it here then?
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It was really quite
intensively managed for a period.
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Now what's significant
about this tree, Jamie?
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This is a coppice stool.
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You can tell it's a coppice stool
because it's multi-stemmed.
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What would have happened is it
would have been a single tree
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cut at the base,
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regrew as a thicket of shoots.
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These would have been thinned out
to maybe six or seven per stool
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and allowed to grow on
for the full rotation,
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which was about 25 years.
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But, as you can see,
this was never cut again,
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and each individual pole
has grown on
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to become a kind of a tree trunk
in it's own right.
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For centuries,
the wood here was harvested
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to supply bark
for the leather tanning industry
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and charcoal to fuel the iron forges.
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And it doesn't take Jamie long
to find evidence of this.
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What's this low retaining
wall ahead of us?
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This is part of a recessed platform,
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and these were the areas
that people burned the charcoal on.
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If we dig here,
we might find some charcoal.
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Well, there seems to be
a lot of roots down here, Jamie,
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but I don't see any charcoal.
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I think you need
to get your hand in amongst it
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and root around a bit.
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00:11:37,980 --> 00:11:39,460
There you go. There's a big bit.
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Wow, who would've thought it?
200-year-old charcoal.
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And what was this used for?
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This was used in the iron furnaces
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that were set up
along the west coast.
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Just look at that,
we've got archaeological evidence
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of the industrial past
of this beautiful wood.
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Amazing.
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Coppicing began a slow decline
from the 18th century onwards
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as coal,
mined from deep in the Earth,
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replaced charcoal from the forest.
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But it was mining lead,
rather than coal,
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that put this place on the map and,
rather surprisingly,
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an altogether new substance
called strontium,
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from this place, Strontian.
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On a hillside
overlooking the village,
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I hitch a lift in a giant dump truck
driven by Dan MacDonald.
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He owns the mines, which are silent
after centuries of use,
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and the site is now used
as a quarry.
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If you could just drop me off here,
Dan, that would be great.
No bother.
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00:12:42,780 --> 00:12:46,580
Dan drops me
near the dark mouth of a mine
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through which I'll be guided
by David McCallum,
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who has written
about the history of the place.
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00:12:51,420 --> 00:12:52,900
Hi, Paul, how are you?
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And who, thankfully, seems to know
his way around this labyrinth
of dark tunnels.
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Dave, how long has the mining been
going on here at Strontian?
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00:13:02,420 --> 00:13:06,900
Commercially, since the 1720s
right through to the 1990s.
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What were they actually
mining for down here?
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00:13:09,860 --> 00:13:11,780
Lead, copper, and iron.
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00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:17,380
Dave shows me the most important ore
for the production of lead.
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00:13:17,540 --> 00:13:20,020
This is galena,
which is lead sulphide.
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It occurs naturally
in those shiny, er, cubic forms.
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What was it used for?
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00:13:26,220 --> 00:13:28,580
It could be casted
and rolled into sheets
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and, of course,
for military purposes,
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00:13:30,460 --> 00:13:31,940
it could be used as lead shot.
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00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:35,300
Being so close to the, er,
Jacobite Rebellions
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00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:37,780
and the Napoleonic Wars,
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00:13:37,940 --> 00:13:40,180
the price of lead and these mines
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assumed a strategic importance
for the district.
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Now, that's quite interesting,
because this area around Strontian
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was famous for its support
of the Jacobite cause,
242
00:13:50,220 --> 00:13:53,460
and it was the army
that were using this
243
00:13:53,620 --> 00:13:55,900
to fire lead shot back at the locals.
244
00:13:56,060 --> 00:13:57,740
Absolutely.
245
00:13:57,900 --> 00:14:00,700
Now, there's a really interesting
connection between the lead ore
246
00:14:00,860 --> 00:14:04,140
that was being mined here
and strontium the element.
247
00:14:04,300 --> 00:14:08,940
That's right, the strontianite
occurs as a by-product in the veins.
248
00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:12,500
It wasn't commercially usable
to the lead miners,
249
00:14:12,660 --> 00:14:14,660
and they discarded it.
250
00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:17,780
And you've got an example here.
I have here, this is strontianite.
251
00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:19,820
It's absolutely beautiful, isn't it?
252
00:14:19,980 --> 00:14:22,660
Nobody really knew what was in it.
253
00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:24,820
They presumed
that it was a new earth,
254
00:14:24,980 --> 00:14:26,460
as they call it, a new element.
255
00:14:26,620 --> 00:14:28,100
How did it get its name?
256
00:14:28,260 --> 00:14:30,780
When scientists extracted
the element
257
00:14:30,940 --> 00:14:33,340
from the strontianite in 1808,
258
00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:35,780
they named the element 'strontium'
after the village.
259
00:14:35,940 --> 00:14:37,540
Strontium from Strontian the village.
260
00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:40,380
Strontian.
It's used in fireworks, is it not?
261
00:14:40,540 --> 00:14:45,300
It is, the...every element has
a characteristic colour
262
00:14:45,460 --> 00:14:51,940
and strontium, er, in an explosion,
for example, or a fire,
263
00:14:52,100 --> 00:14:56,420
will emit a beautiful
crimson red flame, vivid red flame.
264
00:14:56,580 --> 00:14:59,020
Now, I think you are going
to show me a wee flame test.
265
00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:03,100
Right, we've got a lovely flame.
266
00:15:03,260 --> 00:15:05,180
We've got some strontium salt here,
267
00:15:05,340 --> 00:15:08,780
very, very similar to the
strontium carbonate in the mine,
268
00:15:08,940 --> 00:15:11,220
mixed with a little water.
269
00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:14,820
Whoa! Look at that flame!
270
00:15:14,980 --> 00:15:18,340
That's typical
strontium firework red.
271
00:15:20,900 --> 00:15:24,700
Heading east, I cross the mountains
and down to sea level
272
00:15:24,860 --> 00:15:26,860
to the saltwaters of Loch Linnhe,
273
00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:30,260
formed by the upper reaches
of the Firth of Lorne,
274
00:15:30,420 --> 00:15:35,300
which penetrates 50km inland
to Fort William in the north.
275
00:15:40,420 --> 00:15:42,500
This is Loch Linnhe,
276
00:15:42,660 --> 00:15:47,580
known in Gaelic as 'An Linne Dhubh',
or 'The Black Pool'.
277
00:15:47,740 --> 00:15:50,180
Crossing the loch
to the eastern shore,
278
00:15:50,340 --> 00:15:52,060
I make my way through an area
279
00:15:52,220 --> 00:15:56,660
which glories in the
romantic-sounding name of Appin.
280
00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:04,980
In my mind,
Appin is forever associated
281
00:16:05,140 --> 00:16:07,900
with tales of Jacobite intrigue,
282
00:16:08,060 --> 00:16:12,180
symbolised by the improbably
picturesque Castle Stalker,
283
00:16:12,340 --> 00:16:16,780
standing proud on its tidal island
in Loch Linnhe.
284
00:16:20,100 --> 00:16:24,260
Castle Stalker is one
of the most iconic fortified houses
285
00:16:24,420 --> 00:16:26,420
to be found anywhere in Scotland,
286
00:16:26,580 --> 00:16:29,980
and its image appears
on a host of postcards,
287
00:16:30,140 --> 00:16:32,100
calendars, and in advertising.
288
00:16:32,260 --> 00:16:35,420
And it's a place
I've always wanted to visit.
289
00:16:40,460 --> 00:16:44,620
I've come to meet Alasdair Allward,
the castle's current keeper.
290
00:16:46,820 --> 00:16:49,740
Now, your family have had the castle
for a while.
291
00:16:49,900 --> 00:16:51,820
Ah, yes, since 1965.
292
00:16:51,980 --> 00:16:53,780
My late father bought it as a ruin.
293
00:16:53,940 --> 00:16:57,380
And he then spent the next
10-20 years restoring it
294
00:16:57,540 --> 00:16:59,020
to what you see today.
295
00:16:59,180 --> 00:17:02,420
I spent every school holiday here
working on the castle,
296
00:17:02,580 --> 00:17:04,580
but I've got to say now,
looking back at it,
297
00:17:04,740 --> 00:17:06,340
it was worth it.
298
00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:09,020
Now, Alasdair, the name
'Castle Stalker',
299
00:17:09,180 --> 00:17:10,660
where does that come from?
300
00:17:10,820 --> 00:17:14,020
Well, 'Stalker' is a Gaelic word,
and it means 'falconer'.
301
00:17:14,180 --> 00:17:15,660
So this is 'Castle of the Falconer'.
302
00:17:15,820 --> 00:17:21,140
But its got a great, uh,
link with falconry, this castle,
303
00:17:21,300 --> 00:17:24,220
because it was used as a royal
hunting lodge by King James IV.
304
00:17:24,380 --> 00:17:26,460
Uh-huh.
He was really keen on falconry.
305
00:17:26,620 --> 00:17:28,100
Because he was a Stuart.
306
00:17:28,260 --> 00:17:30,460
The Stuarts of Appin were cousins
of the royal Stuarts,
307
00:17:30,620 --> 00:17:32,980
which is why James used this
as a hunting lodge.
308
00:17:34,260 --> 00:17:35,900
These, of course,
are the battlements.
309
00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:38,940
And, of course, it's been used
as a location for some films.
310
00:17:39,100 --> 00:17:43,420
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
filmed here, back in 1974 it was,
311
00:17:43,580 --> 00:17:46,620
and, yes, I am, in fact,
in the film.
312
00:17:46,780 --> 00:17:48,860
I came up here
as a 20-year-old student
313
00:17:49,020 --> 00:17:50,580
to let them in
for the day's filming,
314
00:17:50,740 --> 00:17:52,540
and they ended up giving me
a part in the film.
315
00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:54,300
What were you doing?
316
00:17:54,460 --> 00:17:56,900
In fact, I play the part
of one of the French taunters
317
00:17:57,060 --> 00:17:59,060
up in the battlements here
with John Cleese
318
00:17:59,220 --> 00:18:00,780
taunting King Arthur down below.
319
00:18:02,740 --> 00:18:05,380
Alasdair has made
a little museum in the castle
320
00:18:05,540 --> 00:18:10,700
to commemorate taking part in one
of the cult comedies of the 1970s,
321
00:18:10,860 --> 00:18:13,660
and this picture of him
on the day of filming
322
00:18:13,820 --> 00:18:16,020
is surely its centrepiece.
323
00:18:17,300 --> 00:18:18,900
It must have been tremendous fun.
324
00:18:19,060 --> 00:18:20,540
Absolutely amazing!
325
00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:23,180
We spent the whole day,
literally, just laughing, all of us.
326
00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:25,820
It was like a boy's weekend out.
Mm-hm.
327
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:29,620
Especially John Cleese, so funny.
He kept on cracking up.
328
00:18:29,780 --> 00:18:32,500
Every time he came out
with some outrageous French accent,
329
00:18:32,660 --> 00:18:34,220
it was the first time he'd done it,
330
00:18:34,380 --> 00:18:37,620
he just fell about laughing,
and then we did, and everyone did.
331
00:18:39,180 --> 00:18:41,940
From the ridiculous to the sublime.
332
00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:46,900
I'm heading inland, up Loch Linnhe,
333
00:18:47,060 --> 00:18:51,260
where an eastward branch
of this huge sea loch takes me
334
00:18:51,420 --> 00:18:53,420
to the much more sheltered
Loch Leven,
335
00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:55,420
and the village of Ballachulish.
336
00:18:55,580 --> 00:18:57,820
(HARP PLAYS)
Sounds heavenly!
337
00:18:58,820 --> 00:19:02,340
That beautiful music comes
from a harp workshop
338
00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:05,220
where extraordinarily
skilled craftsmen
339
00:19:05,380 --> 00:19:07,700
make instruments for angels.
340
00:19:11,300 --> 00:19:13,260
Ingrid Henderson lives locally
341
00:19:13,420 --> 00:19:16,700
and has been playing the harp
since childhood.
342
00:19:18,020 --> 00:19:22,180
Long before the bagpipe made its
stamp on the mythology of Scotland,
343
00:19:22,340 --> 00:19:25,540
the Gaelic harp
was our national instrument
344
00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:28,140
and the mainstay of courtly music.
345
00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:31,420
The harp in Scotland can
trace its history
346
00:19:31,580 --> 00:19:34,340
at least as far back
as the ancient Picts,
347
00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:37,140
and images of harps have
been discovered
348
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:39,740
cut into decorative Pictish stones.
349
00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:45,580
Ingrid is playing an instrument
made by Starfish harp makers,
350
00:19:45,740 --> 00:19:47,820
founded in 1987.
351
00:19:47,980 --> 00:19:50,140
I meet up with Dave Shepton,
352
00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:53,780
who shows me how
this musical tradition lives on here
353
00:19:53,940 --> 00:19:55,780
near the banks of Loch Leven.
354
00:19:57,060 --> 00:19:59,300
Now, how did you
get into making harps?
355
00:19:59,460 --> 00:20:02,380
Well, my history is actually
in boatbuilding,
356
00:20:02,540 --> 00:20:06,900
and I just came to Starfish
for a, um, summer job once...
357
00:20:07,060 --> 00:20:09,940
Uh-huh.
..and ended up staying.
358
00:20:10,100 --> 00:20:13,380
Was it useful for you, having had
a background in boatbuilding?
359
00:20:13,540 --> 00:20:17,780
Yeah, I think both industries have
strange shaped pieces of wood,
360
00:20:17,940 --> 00:20:19,540
we don't work with straight lines,
361
00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:22,020
we work with curves and angles
all the time,
362
00:20:22,180 --> 00:20:25,180
and so there is a correlation
between the two.
363
00:20:25,340 --> 00:20:27,740
And you will quite often see
boatbuilders in this industry.
364
00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:32,100
In a way, there is something
hull-like about this, isn't there?
365
00:20:32,260 --> 00:20:35,380
Very much so, and we use
some bracing inside
366
00:20:35,540 --> 00:20:38,380
which is not unlike the ribs
of a boat for extra strength,
367
00:20:38,540 --> 00:20:40,020
there's a lot of tension on a harp,
368
00:20:40,180 --> 00:20:42,340
so we have to make this structure
very strong.
369
00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:46,180
Now, Dave, this is, I'm guessing,
the business end of the harp, is it?
370
00:20:46,340 --> 00:20:48,100
It is, it's the sound box.
371
00:20:48,260 --> 00:20:51,660
This is made
of American black walnut,
372
00:20:51,820 --> 00:20:53,860
11 separate pieces
all the way round.
373
00:20:54,020 --> 00:20:56,380
These harps, are they clarsachs?
374
00:20:56,540 --> 00:20:58,900
They are the modern version
of a clarsach.
They are?
375
00:20:59,060 --> 00:21:00,900
And, here in Scotland,
376
00:21:01,060 --> 00:21:03,060
we tend to still refer to them
as clarsachs,
377
00:21:03,220 --> 00:21:04,700
whereas in other parts of the world,
378
00:21:04,860 --> 00:21:09,020
they are sometimes called
lever harps and Celtic harps.
379
00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:15,060
There is history and tradition
380
00:21:15,220 --> 00:21:17,500
everywhere in this part
of the country,
381
00:21:17,660 --> 00:21:21,540
but the peaty soils here
are riddled with mysteries
382
00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:25,260
that run much deeper
than recorded history,
383
00:21:25,420 --> 00:21:27,220
into the Iron and Bronze Age,
384
00:21:27,380 --> 00:21:31,740
when it seems goddesses were
venerated on the banks of the loch.
385
00:21:33,740 --> 00:21:37,700
In 1880, a labourer digging
in a peat bog
386
00:21:37,860 --> 00:21:40,140
made a remarkable discovery.
387
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:44,900
Lying face down in the mud
was the carved figure of a woman.
388
00:21:45,060 --> 00:21:49,100
A photograph taken at the time
reveals a totemic representation
389
00:21:49,260 --> 00:21:50,820
of the female form.
390
00:21:52,020 --> 00:21:56,380
Tragically, the Victorians didn't
possess modern preservation skills,
391
00:21:56,540 --> 00:22:00,540
and the wooden figure dried out,
cracked, and warped
392
00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:02,620
by the time it got to Edinburgh.
393
00:22:02,620 --> 00:22:04,420
is this her?
394
00:22:04,580 --> 00:22:08,420
I've joined this local Scout group
in an archaeological experiment
395
00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:12,340
in order to understand
how the local peaty soils
396
00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:14,660
preserve wooden artefacts like this,
397
00:22:14,820 --> 00:22:17,460
and how they degrade when removed.
398
00:22:17,620 --> 00:22:20,340
This is just a replica
of the Goddess,
399
00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:22,260
but it's a way
for the kids to connect
400
00:22:22,420 --> 00:22:26,340
to one of Scotland's most mysterious
archaeological finds.
401
00:22:27,700 --> 00:22:31,780
But what could
this 2,500-year-old female represent?
402
00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:37,620
I've come to meet a man who has
an interesting theory on the subject.
403
00:22:37,780 --> 00:22:39,780
Jimmy Cormack,
whose interest in the goddess
404
00:22:39,940 --> 00:22:42,740
was sparked through his work
at a local museum.
405
00:22:42,900 --> 00:22:44,700
Do you think there's any connection
406
00:22:44,860 --> 00:22:48,500
between the Ballachulish Goddess
and the loch, Loch Leven, in any way?
407
00:22:48,660 --> 00:22:53,060
Well, it's not very far away
from the narrows,
408
00:22:53,220 --> 00:22:55,220
the narrowest part of Loch Leven.
409
00:22:55,380 --> 00:22:59,980
And that's where most travellers
would cross the loch.
410
00:23:00,140 --> 00:23:05,580
And some people say
it was like a goddess there
411
00:23:05,740 --> 00:23:08,340
that you left offerings
for safe passage.
412
00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:09,980
Like a guardian angel?
413
00:23:10,140 --> 00:23:12,420
Like a guardian angel,
the very same, yep.
414
00:23:12,580 --> 00:23:16,180
But what's great, though, is the fact
that she's ultimately mysterious.
415
00:23:16,340 --> 00:23:19,860
Everybody needs a bit of mystery
in their life, Paul.
416
00:23:20,020 --> 00:23:22,420
And we've got ours
here in Ballachulish.
417
00:23:24,820 --> 00:23:29,380
Having paid due homage to this
ancient and mysterious goddess,
418
00:23:29,540 --> 00:23:32,340
I make my way
along the banks of Loch Leven,
419
00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:35,020
which is one of the darkest
and most mysterious
420
00:23:35,180 --> 00:23:37,380
of all Scotland's sea lochs.
421
00:23:37,540 --> 00:23:41,380
I'm heading for the final destination
of this Grand Tour -
422
00:23:41,540 --> 00:23:44,460
a sacred mountain
that dominates the view
423
00:23:44,620 --> 00:23:47,620
from where the loch goddess
was first erected.
424
00:23:56,340 --> 00:23:58,260
Guarding the entrance to Loch Leven
425
00:23:58,420 --> 00:24:01,260
and to the approach
to formidable Glen Coe,
426
00:24:01,420 --> 00:24:03,100
is The Pap of Glencoe,
427
00:24:03,260 --> 00:24:06,180
named for all the obvious reasons.
428
00:24:08,780 --> 00:24:11,780
It - or should I say 'she'? -
dominates the scene,
429
00:24:11,940 --> 00:24:14,740
and I'm told that there's
a particularly fine view point
430
00:24:14,900 --> 00:24:16,740
from the lofty summit.
431
00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:20,260
Although, be warned,
it's relentlessly steep.
432
00:24:22,780 --> 00:24:26,460
As I climb, I'm minded
of the beginning of my journey
433
00:24:26,620 --> 00:24:28,300
at the Ardnamurchan volcano,
434
00:24:28,460 --> 00:24:31,100
grumbling away 60 million years ago.
435
00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:35,580
The whole of Glen Coe was also
an ancient volcano,
436
00:24:35,740 --> 00:24:37,740
one of the Earth's monsters,
437
00:24:37,900 --> 00:24:41,300
big enough to earn the title
of 'supervolcano',
438
00:24:41,460 --> 00:24:46,140
except this one was blowing its top
400 million years ago.
439
00:24:47,260 --> 00:24:50,220
In the presence
of such deep Earth history -
440
00:24:50,380 --> 00:24:54,460
the coppice woods, Castle Stalker,
and the Ballachulish Goddess
441
00:24:54,620 --> 00:24:57,500
all seem rather recent.
442
00:24:57,660 --> 00:25:01,660
It really is quite tricky under foot
up here.
443
00:25:04,460 --> 00:25:08,340
What a brilliant place
to end my Grand Tour.
444
00:25:08,500 --> 00:25:10,500
And what a superb view.
445
00:25:10,660 --> 00:25:13,780
To the north you've got
Ben Nevis and the Mamores,
446
00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:17,180
and below me
the dark waters of Loch Leven.
447
00:25:17,340 --> 00:25:20,620
While, to the east,
you've got the entrance to Glen Coe,
448
00:25:20,780 --> 00:25:22,860
and the highest mountains in Argyll.
449
00:25:23,020 --> 00:25:25,980
And behind me,
the waters of Loch Linnhe,
450
00:25:26,140 --> 00:25:28,220
and the distant hills of Moidart,
451
00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:30,900
stretching all the way
to Ardnamurchan
452
00:25:31,060 --> 00:25:35,060
and the beginning of my journey,
from Point to Pap.
453
00:25:36,860 --> 00:25:39,860
Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2019
38000
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