All language subtitles for The Worlds Most Scenic Railway Journeys S06E01 1080p WEB DL H264 BTN_track3_[eng]

Journey with us on a magnificent
coast-to-coast train

adventure across Scotland,

a place of poetry, legend
and perfect panoramas.

Travelling from the dramatic west
to the sedate and beautiful east.

As our train climbs into the austere
beauty of the Highlands...

We say this is the station with
the best view in Scotland.

..and on through the stunning
landscape of Aberdeenshire.

We'll visit the most magnificent
of lochs.

There's no place in all the world.

A beautiful place. I love it.

And descend through picturesque
glens.

This railway line is the most
beautiful railway line in Scotland.

We'll meet the people who live
and work along this very special
train line.

It's lovely. It's dry, sunny.

There's snow on top of the
mountains.

What more could you ask for?

This is no ordinary railway journey.

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

Scotland, coast to coast.

It's early morning in Kyle
of Lochalsh,

a picturesque village on Scotland's
northwest coast.

As well as being the gateway
to the beautiful Isle of Skye

just ten minutes away,

this is also where we begin
our coast to coast journey

across Scotland at this harbourside
station.

Our trip will take us through some
of Scotland's most magnificent

countryside from the coastal village
of Kyle, up into the Highlands

and on through Inverness, the glens
of Aberdeenshire and whisky country,

until we hit the east coast city of
Aberdeen and the North Sea,

a journey of 185 miles.

Our train is a ScotRail two-car
class 158 Express Sprinter diesel

unit, designed and built for
regional express services.

The 158 has an aluminium body shell

and a maximum speed of
90mph.

This very ordinary train
is about to take us

on an extraordinary journey.

Our driver today is Gareth.

You feel like you've won the lottery
driving along this line, especially

on a day like today.
It's unreal.

There's so much to take in.
So much to see.

Our five hour coast to coast trip
across Scotland starts in Kyle

of Lochalsh and heads north to
the charming township of Duirinish.

From here the train takes us
to the picture postcard village

of Plockton and our train
then starts its climb

into the Highlands to Attadale,

and on past the Mossford Power
Station at Lochluichart,

until we reach the capital of
the Highlands, Inverness,

where we will change trains.

From here we'll travel east
to Nairn, then through some

spectacular scenery
until we reach Keith.

Here we take a diversion
through whisky country to Dufftown.

Once back on the main line,

we continue until we arrive at our
east coast destination of Aberdeen.

On board today, taking care of all
passenger needs

is conductor Yvonne Smith.

Today is fantastic, weather's great.

It's lovely. It's dry, sunny.

There's snow on top of the
mountains.

What more could you ask for?

Kyle of Lochalsh to Aberdeen.

A single track line carries
mostly day-trippers, tourists

and of course locals.

So far so expected.

However, there is one thing
that lifts this train

out of the ordinary.

We have request stops
on this line, and that is

if we have a passenger on board that
requests to stop there,

we inform the driver to stop the
train.

The driving force behind this
railway line was local landowner

Sir Alexander Matheson.

He'd made his fortune from trading
opium before his attention turned

to constructing railways.

Built with admirable Highland
frugality,

there are 29 bridges, but no
viaducts and no tunnels.

The Victorian engineers just cut
through the unforgiving terrain.

This section of our journey
up to Inverness was built

in two phases...

..one opening in 1870
and the second in 1897.

Although a beautiful and scenic
route, its original use had nothing

to do with the glories seen
from its windows.

With us today on the train is
John Yellowlees, train enthusiast

and all round rail expert.

When it was first built,

this was a wild land of clans,

and the clan chieftains turned

into landlords and wished
to develop their property.

So the railway was built
to carry cattle and sheep.

But people realised early on
the great scenic delights

of the line. So today it's a railway
for the tourists

and for the local community.

Three and a half miles and just ten
minutes

after leaving Kyle of Lochalsh,
we're about to arrive

at our first stop, Duirinish.

This small crofting township
presents a typical Highland scene,

a cluster of whitewashed and
local stone cottages wrapped

around a village green.

A croft, for those not in the know,
is an agricultural smallholding,

particular to the Scottish Highlands
that is used for small scale food

production or for grazing livestock.

Following in a long line of
Duirinish crofters

is Morag MacKenzie and her daughter
Mary.

Although the list of the other
inhabitants of their croft reads

like the register of the local
girls school.

Well, what have we got?

Who have we got?

We've got Margo, Hannah, Morag.

We've got Lily.

Where's Hermione gone? Hermione
must be round with the other ones.

That's Latte. Cappuccino's not here.

This is a village where
the traditional Highland cattle

almost outnumber the humans.

We've got 34 residents in this
village and we've got 22

cows and calves.
So the cows have it.

Morag has been breeding these
Titian-haired beauties since 1994.

Look at them. Aren't they beautiful?

They've got three layers of hair.

They've got a short layer,
a medium layer and a long layer,

and that keeps them warm.

In the wintertime, they can
have icicles hanging to them.

The land around Duirinish is owned
by the National Trust and Morag and

her neighbours are tenants.

It's a system that resists change
and the crofters are fiercely

protective of their rights.

We haven't changed any in
generations, and we don't intend

to change either.

It's our way of life and there's
no changing for anybody.

You have rules and regulations
that you have to abide

by and you can't abuse your ground.

You've got to keep it
in a workable state.

And when you've got the cattle
here, the grass gets cut.

One of the benefits of being
a crofter here is having the right

to graze your livestock on common
land so these beauties wander

wherever they so choose.

It's good that they've got
the right to roam.

And why not?

It's our tradition.

Although sometimes it doesn't
always run smoothly.

The cars usually have to give way
to the cows because the cows

will stand in the way, and
they'll not move.

I sometimes get scared
that they will get hit.

Cars go through the village
far too fast.

But all summer they're out.

The visitors definitely
slow down for the cattle.

Locals aren't
so good at slowing down.

We don't need speed bumps here.

Now you're seeing traffic
calming at its best.

The railway line has always
been important to these small

communities for the transportation
of livestock, but also

for connecting them to other
communities.

In the 1960s, when the then chairman
of British Rail, Dr Beeching, made

huge cost-saving cuts and closed
many of these small lines down,

it meant the death of many of
the villages that depended on them.

Although Duirinish escaped
many of the cuts, Morag's father

was stationmaster here,
and it's a time she remembers well.

The station when I was young
was a beautiful building.

Beeching shut down a lot of
stations in the late 1970s

that would have been knocked down.

And then we got this concrete box.

That's what they've given
us as a station now.

I suppose it serves a purpose, but
it's not like what it used to be.

All that's left of the old station
is that step that's there.

Yes, it is sad because it used to
be a lovely place to come and visit.

Beautiful inside, all like all
these railway buildings were.

I remember being down here as a
child and there'd be a fire

in the waiting room and a fire in
the office where my dad worked.

The station may be long gone,
but there are some things

that haven't changed.

Duirinish is a request stop.

You have to put your hand
out to stop the train.

And there's one coming now.

This railway line is the most
beautiful railway line in Scotland.

You certainly won't be disappointed
if you take a trip on this line.

Absolutely beautiful.

As we leave the beautiful village
of Duirinish, it's time to put our

hand out and request that the train
stops here as our journey

across Scotland continues.

We're now heading on to one
of the most beautiful villages

on the West Coast,

Loch Carron and the jewel
of the Highlands,

the village of Plockton.

We're travelling from coast to coast
on one of the world's most

scenic railway journeys.

Through the Highlands of Scotland,
from Kyle of Lochalsh

to Aberdeen via Inverness.

I mean, you can't beat this,
can you?

Sometimes you'll see otters.

You'll see a lot of herons, crows,
all sorts of birds.

Yeah, it's really, really nice.

Our train journey now
continues northeast.

As it hugs the coast, our next
stop comes into view...

..Plockton.

Known as the jewel of the Highlands,

this picturesque village sits in
a magnificent, sheltered bay

overlooking Loch Carron.

With breathtaking scenery, secluded
bays and coral beaches,

Plockton once thrived on fishing
for herring.

With that trade now gone, these
days, it's the tourist that throngs

the harbour, not the herring boats.

Skipper Calum Mackenzie has lived
in this village his whole life.

Well, let's go underneath
a wee bridge.

Nothing like the Skye Bridge.
But a wee bridge.

ENGINE CUTS OUT
Oh, that was a good start.

Calum takes visitors out
onto the loch to search

for a creature common
to these parts.

The grey seal.

And so sure is he of spotting
these sleek little beasties

that he offers his customers a deal
that is hard to refuse.

After I started trips, I suddenly
realised we're on a good thing here.

So I started guaranteeing
people would see the seals.

And I was investigated by the Office
of Fair Trading because they thought

I had plastic seals planted
somewhere. And just on cue,

they appear.

I think I can actually see
them from here.

So there's Ronseal, and there's
Lucille.

Well, OK, sometimes that raises a
wee bit of a laugh,

but maybe not today.

Calum is also a local historian
and knows a great deal

about the railway he lives
alongside.

One of the reasons this section
of the railway lane was so expensive

is because they had to build
29 bridges.

So in a wee minute we'll go
underneath this bridge.

That's the railway line there.

When this lane was opened,
it was costing £20,000 just to build

one mile of lane.

And all the rock cuttings
had to be drilled by hand, a man

holding a chisel and somebody
whacking it with a big hammer.

Although one of the most scenic
railway journeys in the world,

as we've seen, this line
was eyeballed by the infamous

Dr Beeching and was a prime
candidate for closure in 1963,

when it was reprieved, and again
in the early 1970s.

And it's easy to see why.

In 1971, it was reported
that the costs of operating the line

were £318,000 per annum,
with a revenue of only 51,000.

The Secretary of State for Transport
agreed that the line should close.

However, the railway lived to fight
another day and was saved

by its sudden usefulness
when transporting building material

for the Ninian Central
oil rig, constructed here

at Kishorn Dry Dock, and where
Calum worked as a joiner

for almost three years.

This is where 3,500 people worked
at in 1976, and it was

one of the biggest construction jobs
in Britain at the time.

People came from all over the world
to work here.

If it wasn't for the rush to get
North Sea oil out, it

might have been a different
story with the railway line.

The workforce was so large
that they even had their own song.

# We never joined the Navy

# We never joined the RAF

# We never joined the Army

# We're not so bloody daft

# We rather go to Kishorn

# And get paid for skiving off

# Remember we're the Kishorn
commandos. #

There's no place in all the world.

Beautiful place.

I love it.

It is now time for us to leave
the quiet beauty of Plockton.

Back on the train,

we are now 35 minutes into our
journey and approaching

our next stop, Attadale.

This station was built especially
for local landowner

Alexander Matheson, when he owned
the nearby Attadale Lodge,

now home to Joanna Macpherson.

We say this is the station with the
best view in Scotland.

Those are the Applecross
hills in the distance,

with a little bit of snow on.

That's the metropolis of Lochcarron.

That way you're going to Kyle
and the Isle of Skye, and that way

you're going to Inverness.

Covering almost 10,000 square miles,

for many centuries, the Highlands
were an area of rugged and unspoiled

beauty, rarely seen by outsiders.

However, the arrival of the train
changed all that.

Suddenly, all this beauty
was accessible.

When Queen Victoria and her husband,
Prince Albert, first arrived

at Balmoral Castle in 1848,

Scotland suddenly became
fashionable and people flocked

here to buy their own fairy-tale
castle.

Attadale Lodge started
life in the 18th century,

but was extended into a grand
sporting estate in the 19th.

This is the oldest part
of the house, the bit in the middle,

and then they built that one
on, and then put on the turret

and they built the smartest
part of the house

with the highest ceilings.

So in the end, it looks a bit
more impressive than

perhaps it did in the old days.

The grand Victorian estates of 150
years ago were also famous

for their herds of red deer.

And today, the modern estate
is no exception.

Tom Watson is head stalker
on Joanna's 30,000-acre estate.

It turns out red deer love
raw potatoes.

Come on, boys.

Who knew?

Come on.

Thomas just started this for fun
with two old stags back in the day,

but now they're all rather keen
on being fed by Thomas.

So he comes up here and gives them
a few old tatties in the evening

and it's quite impressive to see
them running up the hill after him.

What do you say, George?
Are you a good boy today?

I call this one George. An old stag.

He's probably about nine or
ten-year-old.

The one next to him,
I call him Norman.

He's one of the tamest ones
I've got.

Four or five year old. And then
the one back again is One Horn.

He's a half hummel.

He only ever had one horn.

It's just a genetic thing.

I mean, they're totally wild
animals,

but they do get a little bit tame,

especially when you feed
them potatoes. They like that.

It's not enough to sustain them.

It's just a wee treat for them.

This is an area of austere yet
outstanding natural beauty,

and it is a place that Tom loves.

You never get bored of it.

It's a great part of the world.

You can't beat it.

The only thing that destroys it for
us is the midges and the rain.

But skin's waterproof.

The Kyle of Lochalsh to Aberdeen
line may have arrived in the 1870s,

but it took another 80 years
for that other great moderniser

to make an appearance in the Glens.

Electricity.

We now pass Mossford Power Station
on the way to Lochluichart.

This is the newest section
of our railway line.

Newest, because in the 1950s
Lochluichart was dammed,

raising its level by 20 feet,
which meant the shoreline railway

line had to be rebuilt higher
and out of harm's way.

This whole area was then flooded
in order to create the Mossford

hydroelectric plant, something
that finally brought the light bulb

to the Highlands.

Peter MacInnes is the operations
manager here.

We've walked up 300 metres
here to the portal valve house

above Mossford Power Station,
and this is what the power

of the glens is all about.

We're taking the water that's
natural here, and we're creating

electricity from it.

Even on an overcast day
like this today,

it's absolutely stunning up here.

We can also see the railway line
here snaking its way

around the loch.

Built in 1957, Mossford Power
Station is fed from two lochs higher

up the glen, where the water
is funnelled into this surge tower.

So at the moment, behind us
this pipe,

there's 15 cubic metres of water
a second are passing us by.

That's enough to fill an
Olympic-sized swimming pool

in about two minutes.

From this upper level, a five-mile
long pipe carries the roiling water

down to Mossford, which is
where the magic happens.

The water comes from the hill
behind us here and then disappears

under the road and into the power
station, which then spins

the turbine, which is about 30
feet below us here.

The turbine spins the shaft

and into the generator that I'm
standing beside here just now.

The part you can see here
is the stator.

This is the bit that remains
stationary, and the centre,

the rotor spins round, creates
an electromagnetic force, and makes

electricity. Between the two
machines here

we've got 18 and a half
megawatts of power.

That's enough to power 4,500 homes
for a day.

Once the water has done its job
and passed through the turbines,

it empties into Lochluichart.

The water you can see here just now,
running underneath the railway

bridge, carries on its journey
down the Conon Valley

to Lochluichart Power Station
and then onwards to Torr Achilty.

So it's going to be used to make
power twice more before it hits

the Cromarty Firth.

I feel that it's also very fitting
that we're powering the glens

using power from the glens.

Back on the train,

we have now been travelling
for an hour and a half

and have covered 43 miles.

Now it is full steam ahead
as we rush towards the capital

of the highlands, Inverness.

Our train is continuing its coast
to coast journey

from Kyle of Lochalsh to Aberdeen.

We are now approaching Inverness -
the capital of the Highlands -

and have completed the first leg
of our journey from Scotland's

Atlantic coast to the shores
of the Moray Firth.

Here, we must disembark.

Although we are changing trains,
it is exactly the same model

that will carry us on to our
destination, Aberdeen

and the North Sea.

However, this is no time to tarry.

We have a schedule to keep.

After leaving Inverness, we travel
15 miles to one of the longest

railway stations in the UK, Nairn.

Then we hit some seriously
spectacular scenery before we reach

the tiny station at Keith.

Here we take a slight diversion and
change trains for whisky country

before arriving in Dufftown, a place
so steeped in the stuff

you can smell it on the air.

Then we are on the last
leg of our journey.

After five hours and 185 miles,

we arrive at our destination,

Aberdeen.

The Highlands simply
can't be beaten.

It's just wonderful,

particularly today - the scenery
we've got, the white tops,

the blue seas. It's just stunning.

We are now arriving at Nairn.

This lovely set of buildings date
from 1886, and until as recently

as the year 2000 the signalman
was given a bicycle

so he could shuttle between
the signal boxes at each end.

Today, the parcels office,
left luggage, porters' room

and waiting rooms have all gone.

The rooms themselves, however,
have recently been given

a new lease of life.

John Rushforth is the chairman and
founder of the Nairn Men's Shed,

a community project set up
to support people who live alone

and have little social
interaction with others.

We started five, six years ago now
and we were very fortunate to get

a couple of buildings on
the actual station.

With over 30 members ranging from
their late '60s up to 92,

the group has turned these rooms -
until quite recently used

for storage - into workshops
and craft spaces.

This is our workshop.

The guys over here are working
on the collection box

for the Rotary Club.

One of the small little jobs
we were doing,

their collection box
had been broken into.

We're now in the process of just
a simple repair on a box

to make it look good again.

So we do all sorts of things.

There is also a cafe here
which gives the members a place

to gather and eat cake.

A great bunch of guys,
and ladies as well.

Everyone's welcome.

Everybody has been so welcoming.

And I get a lot of cheek,
as you might imagine.

And I have to give as good as I get.

But it's been really good.

For retired taxi driver Derek
especially,

this group has been
an important lifeline.

I had two Shetland ponies, which
used to take up a lot of my time,

but when I retired the expense
of keeping the ponies was too much.

Then I lost my dog.

So then I lost my sense of being,
shall we say?

It's been quite hard.

The Men's Shed movement
helps enormously.

It gives me a sense of purpose.

The joy of Nairn Men's Shed for me
is it's a very uplifting place,

full of people that are having fun
and then enjoying

one another's company.

So, yeah, it's an uplifting
story, I hope.

It's time for us to climb back
on board and to leave Nairn

behind as we continue our
coast-to-coast journey

across country to Aberdeen.

We are three hours and 40 minutes
into our Scottish adventure.

We are now crossing
the River Spey.

At 107 miles long it may be the
second longest river in Scotland,

but with a mean flow of 3,000 feet
per minute it is the fastest.

And it is this water that gives
Scotland its biggest export.

We are now in whisky country.

And as our train weaves its way
through this most majestic

of landscapes, we arrive at Keith.

There are over 130 active
whisky distilleries in Scotland,

with around half of those,
such as Glenrothes, Macallan

and Strathmill, nestled into
the countryside around Keith.

If we want to investigate this most
welcome part of the country,

we must make a small diversion
and change trains onto something

a little smaller.

And it is here that we come across
yet more evidence of community

involvement, in the Keith and
Dufftown Heritage Railway.

Known as the Whisky Line,

this was originally part of
the Great North of Scotland Railway.

Michael Langford now runs it
as a charity.

Back in the '90s it was used
as a long siding

for the Glenfiddich distillery.

When the traffic to the distillery
stopped and the line was closed

by British Rail in 1993,
a team of people decided they would

try and keep the line open
as a heritage railway.

Now this British Rail Derby Class
108 Diesel Multiple Unit from 1958

takes tourists, day trippers and
whisky tipplers on an 11-mile trip

through the Scottish Glens
to Dufftown.

There's even a station dog.

This is Peggy, our station dog.

She's my dog.

But she's been coming to the railway
for the last 17 years.

She's getting on a bit now.

Peggy's going to join us
on the train.

Our train will be travelling
at a stately 18mph

and Lorna Sheriff is the on board
volunteer for today.

She also knows quite a lot
about whisky.

Nearly half the distilleries
in Scotland are here in Speyside.

Many reasons for that.

Here we've got excellent pure,
clear, soft water.

That's what you want for
whisky production.

We also had lots of peat to heat
the stills and to malt to barley.

You've got a big barley growing area
called the Laich o' Moray.

So you had all the three things
you needed for whisky making.

As well as taking in the lush
scenery, there is another

altogether more alcoholic reason
to travel on this train.

The whisky tasting.

So we have this morning, ladies
and gentlemen, Strathisla,

12-year-old, quite light.

Unpeated, of course.

We choose these two for
our whisky tastings because

Glenfiddich of course is one end
of the line

and Strathisla, at the other end.

LAUGHTER

Would you like a wee dram, sir?

There we go.

You're not old enough, are you?

No, I don't think so.

I know you're 18.
LORNA LAUGHS

Thank you.

Thank you, my dear. Thank you
very much. Thank you.

And you're crew so you don't get,

but you're a passenger so you get.

OK. Thank you.

I think that's it.

And if whiskey wasn't enough,
this train also serves up

another taste of Scotland.

Would you like a wee piece
of shortbread to go with your...

Oh, I would!
LAUGHTER

It's a lovely day out.

Autumn is particularly pretty
on the line, and again

when the rhododendrons are out
it's a lovely time.

It's always nice when you see
the naughty sheep

or the naughty deer on the line.

And with the rest of the journey
happening in the gentlest

of hazes...

..our train arrives at Dufftown.

This vibrant and thriving Highland
village is the malt whisky capital

of the world.

We are three quarters of the way
through our coast-to-coast journey

across the Highlands of Scotland,
and we have now arrived in Dufftown.

With 135 million bottles
made here each year,

Dufftown can rightly proclaim itself
the malt whisky capital

of the world.

Whisky making is
the lifeblood of this town.

For it to be officially classed
as Scotch Whisky, this spirit

must be produced in Scotland
and matured in oak casks

for a minimum of three years.

When new and fresh from the still,
the spirit is clear and raw.

It is the cask that gives it
the colour and flavour

we all know and love.

The longer in the cask, the deeper
the colour and flavour.

Just three miles outside the village
is Speyside Cooperage, the largest

independent barrel maker in the UK.

John Richard has been a cooper here
for the past 20 years.

The majority of the work that we do
here is refurbishment of older

barrels, but we do have the ability
to make brand-new ones,

which we do from time to time.

Although new oak casks are not rare,

most whisky casks have previously
held another alcohol

before they are bought
by the distillery.

Whether it's a sherry cask from
Spain or one that held

American bourbon, it's the spirit
of the old spirit that gives

Scotch Whisky its taste.

And preparing the old casks for
the new spirit is quite a skill.

So this is the start of the process,
where I'm going to check the cask

for any defects.

I'm looking for the end.

It should be nice and flat,
no splits in it.

The hoops all nice and solid.

And I'm going to brush round
the cask to look for

broken staves.

With a damaged stave found,
John must remove it and replace it

with a sound one from a donor cask.

Often they need to be cut to fit.

I'm jointing the edge of the stave
to make sure that we've got

a good seal.

With the new stave in place,
the hoops secure it.

Then the top and bottom
of the cask are removed to

prepare it for the next
part of the process.

Charring.

This opens the pores of the oak
and allows the whisky to penetrate

deep into the wood, picking up
colour and flavour as it goes.

At the moment, we're gradually
building up heat

to the point that the wood
will actually catch fire.

We're going to burn this one
for 200 seconds.

With the cask then steamed to expand
the wood,

the ends are put back on
and sealed.

Then the hoops are tightened.

Just put a bung in the bunghole...

HE KNOCKS ON CASK

..and this cask is good to go.

Back on our main line,

we are speeding towards the North
Sea coast and our final destination.

Over the past 150 years,
this railway

has had a rather chequered past.

So, what does the future hold
for this most picturesque of lines?

Scotland's Railways has a
decarbonisation plan to do away

with diesel traction by 2035.

That would involve electrifying
the main lines while introducing

alternative technologies such
as battery and hydrogen

on the rural routes.

So, the Inverness-to-Aberdeen line
is a candidate

for a future electrification.

Next stop is Aberdeen.

We have now arrived at Aberdeen.

Our journey is at an end,
and all passengers must disembark.

Aberdeen is a city of big skies
and wide horizons,

where ships dock right up against
the city streets

and dolphins leap in the
North Sea harbour.

Today, because of
North Sea oil,

it's known as the offshore
oil capital of Europe.

But 150 years ago, it was a humble
fish that oiled the local economy,

the herring.

At the peak of the herring industry,
Britain exported a quarter

of a million tonnes of herring
a year,

much of it from the waters
around Aberdeen.

The herring may be long gone.

However, there is one thing
around here that hasn't changed,

and that is the coastline
and the North Sea.

With a new harbour
extension about to open,

this is one of the busiest ports
in the UK, and it's been protected

by this impressive building
for the past 200 years.

Casting its shadow across the city
and its light across the harbour

is Girdle Ness Lighthouse.

The keeper of this majestic erection
is 78-year-old Gordon Stewart.

He has been the keeper of the flame

- well, the electric lamp -
for the past 40 years.

This is a middle balcony.

A lot of the funnels around
the outside used to be glass,

but because of the wartime,
they were all covered up.

In case a bulb goes or there is a
problem seagull,

he's on call 24 hours a day.

Sometimes there's bird's nests
further up,

and they drop wire and
everything on here just to see

if everything secures.

There've been a lot of changes
since I've started here,

I'll tell you.

There's a brand-new harbour for
Aberdeen

been made here for the
last two years.

It's a wee bit behind schedule,
but I think

it'll be finished next year.

A big attraction for public
are dolphins.

They see that the dolphins start
leaping just off here.

Designed by Robert Stevenson,
the grandfather of the famous author

Robert Louis Stevenson,

at 121 feet, with a beam range of 22
miles and 182 steps, this tower

was completed in 1833 in response
to a maritime disaster

that had happened here 20
years earlier.

So, this is a dangerous part
of the sea around this coast,

this corner here.

I think it was a shipwreck
just off here long before my time.

On the 1st of April 1813, a local
whaling ship, the Oscar,

went aground on the rocks.

43 men out of a crew of 45
were lost.

It seems the disaster had nothing
to do with the lack of light.

After returning from shore
leave, reports say the crew

were all so drunk they were
incapable of saving themselves

when a squall hit.

Tales of shipwrecks and drunken
sailors aside, Gordon's job

here is to maintain the light
and change the bulbs when needed.

Just up into the main lamp room.

That's where everything happens.

There are things with dates here.

This is where I get lamp
failures at times,

so I have to check there's
no fused bulbs sometimes.

Here's the main light on.

I hope they're all going.

So, that's OK.

Girdle Ness is just one of six
lighthouses that Gordon cares

for on this dramatic stretch
of coast.

As the last lighthouse-keeper
in Aberdeenshire, Gordon is unsure

of the future of his job.

This is an old-fashioned lamp.

New lights now are LED things,

and they're simple compared
to this thing here.

So, whether this thing will be
replaced

when they need a refurbishing,
I don't know.

Aye, it could well be.

So, it keeps me occupied.

It keeps me occupied.

Our train has travelled
from the glories of the West Coast

and its dramatic views
over the Atlantic Ocean.

We have soared over stunning
mountains, powered

on through the most beautiful
of glens and gloried in the beauty

and simplicity of nature.

This is a railway line that provides
a vital link between the excitement

of the West Coast and the gentle
charm of the East.

It is one of the most scenic railway
journeys in the world.