Original subtitles

Escape with us on a legendary voyage through

the western Scottish Highlands,

as we pass through some of the world's most spectacular scenery

en route to the glorious Isle of Skye.

It's a little ice-age gem.

It's absolutely astounding.

On this incredible journey,

we travel through landscapes steeped in folklore and myth...

It just oozes history.

You get the smell of that in your body

as soon as you come up here.

..pass through an ancient landscape of hills and lochs...

You're so aware of the seasons changing around you.

..a land filled with tradition and story.

It was a way of life very close to the land and to nature.

Oh, I wouldn't be anywhere else!

We'll meet the people who live and work along this special railway...

It is the most gorgeous place up here.

Everyone's in awe when they come off the train.

..before we arrive at our enchanting destination.

Skye has an atmosphere that I have never encountered

anywhere else in the world.

This is no ordinary railway journey.

This is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world -

the West Highland Line, Scotland.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

Our journey begins in Glasgow,

Scotland's largest city.

It's a world-class cultural gem,

famed for its ship-building heritage and rich history.

The city's latest architectural highlight is Queen Street station

in the heart of downtown Glasgow.

It's here, at precisely 12.23 each weekday,

that passengers board an unassuming train,

a Class 156 diesel multiple-unit,

to embark on one of the most magical scenic railway journeys

in the world.

GUARD'S WHISTLE BLOWS

WOMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, the front two coaches are

for stations to Oban and the rear four coaches are going

to Fort William and Mallaig.

Our four-carriage train soon weaves its way

into the lowlands beyond Glasgow.

It's a route whose passing landscapes inspired poets and

writers, and is a favourite of veteran rail ambassador

and railway aficionado John.

It's extraordinary how the journey unfolds

and the train takes you to places that the roads cannot reach.

It's also, in a sense, a journey that keeps on developing.

You might call it, in that sense, the gift that keeps on giving.

The first leg of our 200-mile journey takes us

through Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Stopping at Ardlui, we then journey north through

the remote Western Highlands,

pulling in at Upper Tyndrum,

then Corrour, Britain's highest station,

and Fort William, home to the country's tallest peak.

Finally we cross the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct

before arriving at our destination, Mallaig,

gateway to the Isle of Skye.

30 miles into our journey,

our train enters Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park...

..with salt-water Loch Long on one side of the tracks

and the south of Loch Lomond on the other.

At the heart of this 720-square-mile wilderness

is Britain's largest inland stretch of water.

Loch Lomond contains over 30 separate islands,

a miraculous ancient landscape that park ranger Jim

gets to regularly patrol.

So we've just passed over the Highland Boundary Fault here

and this is where two plates over thousands and thousands of years -

40 million years, in fact - came crashing together

and pushed these islands up.

Albeit over a long period of time,

there's a geological drama going on.

One of the islands near the southern end is Inchcailloch,

a protected gem unchanged for decades.

You just never know what you're going to see.

I thought I was about to see my first otter

and it turned out it was a squirrel.

I didn't know squirrels could swim at the time, but they obviously can.

All this woodland here is Atlantic oak woodland,

which forms part of this Celtic rainforest.

The conditions here are ideal. It's wet and mild,

and it has really, really good air quality,

which makes the perfect conditions for growing not just these trees

but all these mosses and lichens,

which gives it this really lush appeal.

This is one of the most diverse habitats in the UK.

At the top of island, Pinus sylvestris - or Scots pine.

These rare trees are a living remnant

of Scotland's original temperate rainforest

that first grew here almost 10,000 years ago.

I think this is one of my favourite views in

the whole of the national park.

The size of the landscape, the variety of habitats,

it means peace to me.

I see such a big landscape, such a lot going on in it,

all the different habitats

and the associated wildlife and people that are inside that.

It really is a very special place.

Far below, our train weaves its way through mile after mile

of dense woodland that surrounds the loch.

The forests are back now. Oh, yeah, now the forests are back,

so that's nice.

We like... We prefer the forests.

It's a really exciting journey. It's beautiful.

So Tarbet is the Gaelic for "the place where they drag

"the boats", so if you come to a place called Tarbet

it's usually on an isthmus, a narrow piece of land

between two lochs.

And this is no exception because this Tarbet lies

between Loch Long and Loch Lomond.

It's from here in days gone by that Viking raiders would launch

their boats to ambush unsuspecting settlers.

Following in their footsteps today is a different kind of warrior.

Local wild swimmer Bev won't be taking on the loch dwellers

but she will be trying to conquer water

that can reach as low as four degrees Celsius.

Going into the water may be considered the worst part

but it's also the most exciting part.

It's the bit when you're fighting your own natural instincts.

We call ourselves the Callander Coven,

because there's three of us mostly swim together,

and we cackle like witches every time we get in the water.

Warm water, I think we call... It's OK. Or it's braw.

When it's not OK, well, it's also a lot of swearing at times.

Some days in the depths of winter you do question your own sanity.

But once you're in, it's a completely full-body experience.

It's incredible.

You're submersed in one element completely,

and then you look at the landscape -

you're so aware of the seasons changing around you.

You're so in tune with every one of your senses.

You're listening, looking, feeling

because you're always in that moment.

It's musical.

Even when the weather is grim and dreich and misty,

every day is a different experience.

On really calm days, when the loch is still

and the wind is blowing in the west,

you'll hear the train just working its way up the track

in the distance.

And that's a lovely sound.

Next, our train journeys north, deeper into the Trossachs,

to enter a landscape steeped in history, legend and folklore.

I've had some strange experiences of the fairy kingdom.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

We're 70 miles into one of the world's most scenic railway journeys

through the western Scottish Highlands.

Our final destination is Mallaig and the Isle of Skye.

Our journey continues on through the northern reaches

of the national park,

stopping at Ardlui and Upper Tyndrum,

home of one of Scotland's best-kept geological secrets,

before entering the rugged heart of the western Highlands.

So we're now climbing out of the Loch Lomond system of rivers

and we're now in the country of Rob Roy MacGregor,

who was Scotland's favourite bandit, a sort of Robin Hood character,

robbing the rich to benefit the poor.

I think this is the first full glory of the Highlands that you're seeing.

By the time our train pulls in to Ardlui,

we're deep in the Trossachs.

The station itself - an ancient Gaelic name

that means "high ground of the calves" -

echoes a sweeping landscape beyond that is rich in legend and folklore.

MAN SINGS TO HIMSELF

That'll do, Jess. That'll do.

Fergus is the last farmer in his valley

to still follow crofting traditions

that date back to the era of Highland clans.

Stay there. Good girl.

Just stay there, Jess. I don't need you in here just now.

Now, ladies, let's have a look at you.

How are we doing?

Easy. Steady now, steady now, steady.

There we go.

Ah, you're a fine-looking bunch!

Fergus keeps traditional Highland breeds

on his 500-year-old Ledard Farm.

It just oozes history.

And you get the smell of that in your body

as soon as you come up here.

It's closer to the soil. Your senses are much stronger.

Celtic people tend to be close to the supernatural.

I've had some strange experiences of the fairy kingdom.

Some years ago we had a festival featuring New Zealand

and we brought the Maori concert party to do

all their singing and dancing and all the rest,

and with them came a holy man,

and he was tattooed from his forehead to the tip of his toes.

And when he was up here, he said,

"Well, take me to the Fairy Knowe, to the fairy hill."

So we took them up here. This is a guy from 12,000 miles away,

by the way

Now, as soon as we got up there, he started to get excited

and he produced a kind of whistly thing and he was playing it

and then he said, "I can see them." I said, "You're joking."

"No," he said, "Look at the tree.

"There on the tree on the left-hand branch,

"the main one on the left, you'll see them."

Now, we couldn't see anybody but the branch - and there was no wind -

was going up and down, as if people were sitting on it.

And he said, "They're laughing at us.

"And now they've jumped over to the other side."

And, sure enough, the branch on the other side started going

up and down. So we were a wee bit freaked out at this.

We don't mock the fairies round here. And I believe in them, yeah.

The Trossachs haven't just made a fine home for fairies.

They were also the stomping ground of Scotland's own Robin Hood,

Rob Roy MacGregor.

During the 17th century, the young clansman took refuge

in the wild forests that surround Fergus's farm.

As a young man he even used the barn that still stands here today.

Jess. Come on, Jess.

Okey dokey, here we go.

So this is MacGregor's barn,

and of course young Rob came in here in October 1689

to be welcomed and introduced to the company of men.

That was the standard thing at harvest time,

the Feast of the Hairst Kirn, when young men who'd turned 18

joined the company of their fellow men.

And, of course, the buzz at that particular dinner

was the battle that had been fought,

involving 50 MacGregors from here, including Rob Roy,

the Battle of Killiecrankie.

So everybody was talking about that battle

and indeed the chairman of the evening invited Rob

to give a wee account of the battle.

So he stood up as a young man and he gave his account

of the Battle of Killiecrankie as he saw it.

Six centuries on, Fergus plays a traditional folk song

with his son, Gregor, that honours this heroic saga,

outside the same barn where young Rob Roy once grew

from child to man.

THEY PLAY A GENTLE, LILTING MELODY

MUSIC FADES AWAY

100 miles into our journey,

forest gives way to wild moorland.

Upper Tyndrum, that serves a nearby rural town, population less

than 200, at first appears to be a quiet, ordinary-looking station.

But passengers alighting here will be blissfully unaware

that inside a grey, A-listed waiting room

lies a clue to the country's shiniest secret.

On a quest to find it, exploration geologist Charlie.

Scotland is really rich in gold.

There's actually some records of gold being found

as early as the 1600s

and that is where they found gold nuggets in rivers.

But it's not always easy to find gold here.

And Tyndrum station is really useful for us

because it's right in the middle of quite a prospective area.

But not every station in the world has its very own

Lara Croft on Platform 1.

In the summer we get lots of walkers coming past.

They always want to know when the train's coming,

can they buy a ticket from me,

but, unfortunately, no, I'm not the ticket officer

so I can't issue them anything.

When not redirecting lost passengers,

Charlie is out on site, deep inside the Cononish Mine,

which they believe sits on top of a huge vein of gold.

But only by investigating thousands of core samples,

drilled down to 200 metres, will Charlie be able to find

the best place to extract the ore.

I'm just going to spray them with water.

That really helps to bring out the different colours.

Sometimes we get really great pieces

and there can be as much as 5, 10, 20, 40,

50, 60 grammes per tonne of gold.

Worldwide, that would be considered a really high-grade deposit.

Usually pretty shiny, so shiny means gold.

TRAIN HORN SOUNDS

Leaving behind Tyndrum's hidden bonanza,

our train now winds its way slowly

through one of Scotland's remotest landscapes.

And the views just get better.

Every time you lift your head up and look out the window,

it's something different.

Really incredible. Really mesmerising.

Yeah, it's definitely picturesque.

We were just saying that it's probably the best view

that I've ever seen from a train my whole life so far.

It's stunning.

But this stunning scenery hides a dark secret.

During the 19th century,

the challenging mountain terrain had discouraged

the building of a railway here.

But when construction on the West Highland Line finally began

in the 1890s,

the dirty work was left to seasonal migrant labourers -

the navvies.

Many were from Ireland,

the forgotten heroes of railway history.

The 3,000 navvies and more who worked on it

found it very, very difficult

because we didn't have mechanical shovels in these days, excavators.

It was mostly done by hand.

They worked in atrocious winter conditions.

And, of course, there were many accidents.

When darkness fell, they lost their way and

they were never seen again.

By the time the construction had reached

the steep valley five miles north of Tyndrum,

the railway money had run out.

And building a one-mile long bridge across marshy ground

was far too expensive.

So they decided to go round in a horseshoe shape over two viaducts

to get to Rannoch Moor,

a big feat of endurance and, actually, as railways go,

probably unique in Britain.

Here comes the train now and heading for the first viaduct.

It's now crossed the second of the two viaducts

at the entrance to Glen Lyon.

It'll run round the flanks of this mountain

before it heads for Rannoch Moor.

And when our train eventually reaches Rannoch Moor,

passengers are greeted with one of the most spectacular scenes

on any railway journey in the world.

It's just got complete scenery both sides of the carriage.

So you've got a full 360 view.

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS

We're halfway through one of the most scenic railway journeys

in the world,

the West Highland Line in Scotland.

It's a five-hour voyage from Glasgow to Mallaig.

This is meant to be one of the most beautiful

train journeys in the world.

I didn't know what to expect.

I mean, it's just quite a stark contrast

to what we're used to on a train journey.

You'll be in, like, a green field, or in a forest,

then suddenly a massive loch or a big mountain will appear.

Our train now shoots through the wild interior

of the western Scottish Highlands to stop at Corrour,

Britain's highest station,

and Fort William, that sits next to the tallest mountain in the country.

Rising to over 1,200 feet,

Rannoch Moor is an upland plateau surrounded on all sides

by barren hills and peat bogs.

Its sweeping views have come to define the elemental beauty

of the Scottish Highlands.

Less well known is the moorland's secret kingdom

of ancient glacial lochs...

..some of which can be accessed from Rannoch Moor station,

altitude 1,000 feet.

Just a short walk away, Loch Laidon,

a favourite escape of locals Gordon and Ron.

I was up at Loch an Duin with Jim Brown,

the butcher in Blair Atholl.

Right, OK. And I had a wee Mepps spoon,

and I caught six and he caught none.

We stopped for a cup of tea and a wee bite to eat

and we went back out with the same tackle,

and he caught six and I caught none. All right.

Well, that's fishing for you, isn't it? That's why we do it.

You've never actually got it sussed.

Aye, the midgies are getting pretty bad again.

Bloody midgies are horrendous the now. Yeah, absolutely.

This is prime midgie weather. Indeed. They just love it.

Yeah. No wind, bit of sunshine, a bit of warmth.

I'm quite sure, Gordon, that when mother-in-laws die

they come up to Loch Laidon and get reincarnated as midgies

and attack innocent men.

GORDON LAUGHS I think they do, aye.

Just because we're enjoying ourselves fishing.

This is Scotland.

Commit any crime you like as long as you don't enjoy it.

When not swatting midges,

Ron is a distinguished marine biologist

specialising in Highland fish species.

He's discovered that four genetically distinct species of

brown trout have evolved here at Loch Laidon.

It's a little ice-age gem.

We're a kind of aquatic Galapagos

because we've got the same kind of evolutionary processes going on,

with different body shapes, head shapes,

just like the Galapagos finches have different beaks

for eating different foods.

To be able to discover new species in your own back yard

is absolutely... It's just...

The word is gobsmacking.

One species lives almost completely in the dark,

below 120 feet.

Another eats fish up to a third of its size.

The ferox is a freshwater wolf from the Ice Age.

It really is the last of the ice-age megafauna,

when the mammoths and the muskox and the bears were

all round about here.

But catching one requires some rather unorthodox methods.

This is called trolling.

Basically, it's a lure that imitates a sick or injured fish.

So we're trying to initiate a strike.

It's a kind of bovine activity.

It's not particularly sophisticated but it works.

Oh, you know when you've caught a ferox.

That rod will just about hit Gordon in the face.

No ice-age wolf on the line today,

but Gordon offers a masterclass in fly fishing.

That's another one of these black-spotted ones.

It's consistent with their diet with salmon, feeding near the surface.

Yeah. A bigger one. Aye, it's a nice fish, yeah.

Aye. And that little rod. You can see why you're getting them. I know.

It's a fighting chance - you're fishing fair, unlike me.

Aye, I know, yeah. LAUGHTER

Yeah. Pull this line in. Yeah.

Lovely.

Oh!

Oh, there we go. He's off. He's off!

Less than a few long casts from the railway tracks,

our train continues across Rannoch Moor,

gently ascending towards Britain's highest station.

We're going to Corrour for a couple of days

to stay in the old Signal Box.

The station can only be accessed by train.

There's no roads or footpaths nearby.

So it's going to be really nice to be completely cut off

and just be alone with the beautiful scenery.

Staying overnight in Scotland's remotest station

may not be everyone's idea of a great escape,

but a stopover in Corrour's Signal Box provides you

with unbridled access to some of Scotland's finest moorland walks...

..followed by a hearty meal on Britain's

highest platform restaurant.

So people come up and they'll have big parties

because they've climbed all of the 282 Munros in Scotland

and this is their last one.

You've just got the best views.

There's nowhere like it in the country.

Out of every window there's a spectacular view.

It is very vast but it is one big bog,

so that's what we always refer to - it's just "the bog".

Lots of heather and lots of deer.

And, yeah, quite a barren landscape up here. But it's lovely.

Beautifully barren.

Well, you can get some sort of spooky evenings up here

and there's a few characters around.

And there's two hermits which live on the loch.

There's one proper hermit and one sort of fake hermit, we call him.

So Ken, who's the real hermit, he lives in the woodlands

and he's travelled the world and this is his most favourite place.

He's got about three or four log cabins

and he's lived in there for the last 30 years.

And there's another hermit who lives at the other end of the loch.

He's stayed in a two-man tent for the last ten years

and he's been planting lots of trees, which is one miracle.

So he's an awfully nice guy.

With the B&B based on Platform 2,

there's no excuse for missing the train -

unless, of course, you fancy hanging around here a few years as a hermit.

We know all the conductors on the line.

Our favourite one is a woman called Suzie. She's such a character.

If you get a chance to go on the train,

she'll be singing down the Tannoy.

The West Highland Line is one of the most beautiful railways.

It's just got complete scenery both sides of the carriage.

You've got a full... Full 360 view.

With its magnetic beauty,

it's no wonder passengers from all over the world make

their own pilgrimages to the West Highlands,

including a tour of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain.

We're camping below Ben Nevis tonight

and then walking the mountain tomorrow.

So we've been training, so hopefully it goes well.

For outdoor enthusiasts, Fort William is

the launching-off point for big adventures.

Some people walk the 4,500-foot mountain.

Others run!

Local twins, Fraser and Ruaraidh,

both have an equal passion for hill running.

I just love the simplicity of running.

Just with a pair of shoes and we can run anywhere.

When you're running, the senses change so much,

so the smells of the grass, the trees

and then just the way the grass and trees change colour

during the seasons as well. Mm. It's really visual.

I think that's the beauty of it. Aye, aye.

But today's run to Steall Falls, Scotland's biggest waterfall,

is just a warm-up.

These twins are training to scale Ben Nevis and back

in less than two hours.

So if you ask me who you think is the better runner,

I would say me.

I'm usually quite a bit faster than Ruaraidh.

But I know on the Ben Nevis race that Ruaraidh's, what,

20 seconds ahead? 40, I think.

Oh, all right. 40 seconds ahead.

Usually my big toe gets it. Aye, aye.

We've had a few races where we've crossed the line together.

While our runners brace themselves for their next ascent,

railway workers at Fort William prepare our train

for the final stretch to Mallaig.

The last 40 miles of the route travel northwest,

crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct

before reaching the Atlantic coastline

and our destination, Mallaig,

gateway to the magnificent Isle of Skye.

After skirting the picturesque Loch Eil,

our train approaches one of Scotland's greatest landmarks.

Glenfinnan Viaduct is sometimes nicknamed the Harry Potter Crossing

after featuring in the famous fantasy movie.

I heard about the train journey

because it's the one the Hogwarts Express is based on.

So I didn't know what to expect.

But, erm, no chocolate frogs, but it's been beautiful.

However, it's not just the scene in Harry Potter that has sealed

its fame, but its place in world engineering history

as revealed in the museum on Platform 1, run by Hege.

What Harry Potter fans don't perhaps know is that

the reason why the Glenfinnan Viaduct was so famous

is that, like all of the viaducts on this line,

it's built from concrete.

It's built from mass concrete.

During the end of the 19th century,

the pioneering Victorian engineer Sir Robert McAlpine,

nicknamed Concrete Bob, won the contract

to build much of the West Highland Line.

Oh, it just wouldn't have been built because it was impossible to do it

in any other way for the money available.

We just wouldn't have had a railway line if not.

All 21 arches of the bridge were constructed

in preformed mass concrete.

In engineering terms, this was revolutionary.

It started here.

This was the first contract that concrete was used exclusively

for the full line, and we all know what a fabulous role

it has played in engineering ever since.

I look at it and think,

"This concrete, this grey, old concrete, is gorgeous." Mm.

And just behind the station, another reason to get off at Glenfinnan -

Loch Shiel.

Here, as a young man, the now 89-year-old Tearlach

would once roam the hills barefoot.

That is, until he discovered the wheel.

A perfect day would be for me to put the bicycle

into my little sailing boat and row across the loch

and take the bike out onto the top on the pointed hill over there

and then come down in the corrie

and dive into a rock pool.

Spectacular scenery.

Oh, I wouldn't be anywhere else!

Looming over the head of the loch, its most famous landmark,

the monument to the Unknown Highlander.

It commemorates the Jacobite uprising,

one of Scotland's bleakest periods of history.

It was here in 1745 that Scottish clans gathered

in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie,

who claimed his right as heir to the British throne.

Well, this was where the prince raised his standard.

There would have been over 1,000 people there.

It was more or less at the centre of the area

that was sympathetic to the cause.

It's exactly 275 years ago today

that the clans mustered.

In the end, the British crushed the uprising.

But with defeat went an ancient clan way of life.

No, it was... It was...

..much worse than people realise.

It brought an end to a culture, a way of life,

very, very close to the land and to nature.

The bond between the land and the people was very strong.

It was in a sense a classless kind of community

because the chief was looked on as the father of the people

and the people all looked upon themselves as part of the family.

Although the clan system was largely destroyed centuries ago,

within feet of our railway tracks ancient Scottish traditions

still linger.

Music and poetry and story were all very much part of it all too.

And, yes, the story was important. Very important, yes, yeah.

And the story of our journey is soon to reach

its final, riveting chapter along west Scotland's coast

as it glides towards our destination - Mallaig and Skye.

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS

It's the final stretch of our 200-mile train journey

aboard Scotland's West Highland Line.

For the first time, passengers get a glimpse of the coast.

So here the railway to the isles is approaching

its magnificent conclusion.

Mallaig is a jumping-off point to the islands

and also to the coastline beyond.

After five hours' travel across Western Scotland

our train glides in to the coastal station of Mallaig.

But this is far from the end of our Highland journey

because just across the water...

..lies one of the most enchanting island landscapes in the world.

WOMAN: Skye is known as the Misty Isle for good reason.

The moving mist, the changing light -

you have four seasons in one day.

The Skye landscape is magical.

It's ever-changing,

and never do I tire of looking at the same view.

An atmosphere that I have never encountered

anywhere else in the world.

Isabella is a daughter of the Macdonald clan chief.

Their family roots date back more than 800 years.

We can trace ourselves back to 1140,

when Somerled married Ragnhilda, the daughter of Olaf the Red,

so going back to Viking times.

For me, the clan and being part of the Clan Macdonald

is something I feel very proud of.

So there's an awareness of the history and the heritage,

which is poignant.

The clan's former hunting lodge has now been converted

into a boutique hotel and restaurant.

But the house remains a treasure trove of clan history.

The lodge sits right on the edge of Loch na Dal.

It's part of Skye's unique landscape

that lures visitors from all over the world

for its traditional Highland fare.

As an island, we're surrounded by water.

You can taste the beauty of the scenery -

the shellfish, the fish, is second to none...

..and is just rich in what I call the natural larder.

One of Skye's most sought-after delicacies

are the island's fresh scallops.

How's it going, buddy? Good. How are you? I'm good, yeah.

And how are they today?

Fresh as always. Awesome.

Let's see how good these are.

Ooh! Hand-dived this morning.

Always beautiful.

Super scallop.

They are unlike any scallop I've ever come across

in any other part of the world.

They are like steaks, almost,

and even eaten raw they are sweet and delicious and succulent.

Skye is a real foodie destination.

I could go on forever about reasons for people to visit Skye.

BAGPIPES: The Skye Boat Song

This enchanting isle is a land steeped in ancient history

and spectacular scenery...

..and a place with the warmest of welcomes -

a fitting end to our journey.

On our epic, 200-mile trip from Glasgow to Mallaig,

we have travelled across some of Scotland's finest landscapes,

met living legends,

discovered its hidden treasures

and even caught ice-age megafauna.

Our West Highland voyage has been a truly magnificent railway journey.