Great British Railway Journeys (2010–…): Season 6, Episode 4 - Stirling to Pitlochry - full transcript
[OPENING THEME]
For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw
was a household name.
At a time when railways were new...
Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
to take to the tracks.
I'm using it to understand how trains
transformed Britain.
Its landscape, its industries,
society and leisure time.
As I arias-cross the country
150 years later...
it helps me to discover the
Britain of today.
I'm continuing my journey across
southern Scotland.
Now moving away from the central belt
towards hillier country.
At the time of my Bradshaw's guide, Queen Victoria
had bought Balmoral Castle...
and Highland dress had become
highly fashionable.
But being sentimental about tartans and kilts
was no disguise for the fact that...
the English and the Scots had fought
bitter battles over many centuries.
This week I've been making my way across
Scotland from west to east.
My journey began at the
Firth of Clyde...
and continued through the Scottish
lowlands to Glasgow.
Now I'm heading north to Stirling and Perth -
gateways to the Highlands.
I'll then travel east to Fife and the famous
university town of St Andrews.
Finally, I'll turn south to
Scotland's capital.
On today's leg, I begin in Scotland's
ancient stronghold.
Before travelling north to the
head of the Earn Valley.
Then on to the city with
royal connections.
And my journey will end in the
beautiful Highlands.
I visit the scene of a
bloody battle.
And eventually the English are forced back to
a position Where they are in complete chaos.
Enjoy a lesson in the skills of
an ancient craft.
It doesn't sound like it
sounded with you!
Need more porridge.
More porridge?
And treat my traveller's tastebuds.
Mmm, I'm slipping into ecstasy!
Very, very fruity!
I shall be leaving the train
at Stirling to visit...
the rivulet called Bannockburn which, according
to Bradshaw's, runs through a glen.
"The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade
in tartan and woollen cloth in general."
"Here the celebrated battle
was fought"...
"between Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland,
and Edward of England, in 1314."
And doesn't a spider's web come
into it somewhere?
Or have I got my stories tangled?
Stirling dates back to the
12th century.
And its striking monuments and battlefields are
testament to its strategic place in history.
In 1297 William Wallace defeated the English
at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
And in 1314, another Scottish hero fought to
remove the English from Caledonian soil.
I'm meeting historian Fiona Watson
at Bannockburn.
So here is Robert the Bruce, who
actually defeated the English.
He certainly did, right here, and he's looking
that way towards England, actually.
We're quite a long Way from England,
What were the English doing here?
Well, it's a long story but in essence the
English king, Edward the First...
was doing What medieval
kings did - expanding.
He saw an opportunity when the Scottish
king, Alexander the Third, died.
Well, he basically invaded in 1296
and took Scotland for his own.
Stirling Castle was occupied
by the English.
And besieged by the Scots.
At stake was not just a castle, but Scotland's
independence from England.
Edward the Second
comes in person?
He does - which is very unusual, by this period,
for kings to actually fight their battles
So we have the Scottish King and the
English King. Head to head.
- Crown to crown.
- Absolutely.
How does the battle go, then?
Very badly for the English,
it must be said!
Bruce has a plan.
He's trained his men as spearmen. Normally the
Scottish spearman are static, defensive.
But he's trained them to be offensive, to move in
formation and then get down when they are charged.
Edward doesn't have a plan.
He just thinks he's going to turn up...
bigger, greater, mightier army -
and the English will win.
At the start of the battle, nobleman
Sir Henry de Bohun...
challenged Bruce to single combat - and was
swiftly dispatched by the King's axe.
There's divisions among his commanders,
because he's set them up inadvertently between...
fighting each other...
So Bruce just has to exert the discipline and
the genius of his own military abilities.
He moves forward against the English -
they're hemmed in by the terrain.
They can't fan out and eventually the
English are forced back to a...
position Where they are
in complete chaos.
Their situation Wasn't helped by the
boggy battlefield conditions...
on the flood plain of
the River Forth.
The King is led off the field...
because the English nobles realise
he's about to be captured
and that would be a really,
really terrible thing!
Checkmate.
Absolutely.
And the minute the King's standard
is seen departing, of course...
that means it's every man for himself, and
the English start to flee.
Only one sizeable group of English foot
soldiers managed to escape.
No-one knows for sure how many
English infantrymen were killed...
but it was certainly thousands.
Now, I remember a story about
Robert the Bruce and a spider.
Something about trying and trying again.
So, is there any truth in this at all?
Well, the Wonderful story...
it's a Wonderful story
about the spider.
And it really does capture Robert the Bruce
at the beginning of his reign.
Where many Scots - as well as, of course,
the English - were against him...
because he had killed a
man to become king.
It was a dreadful story,
and he Went into exile.
And we can imagine him in a cave somewhere
off the west coast of Scotland...
Thinking it's all over - his brothers,
many of them, had been killed.
His wife, his daughter had all been captured.
Yeah, why would you go on?
And the spider teaches him that.
But unfortunately the original was actually
about his friend and commander, James Douglas.
But I think everyone realised how much that
encapsulates those dreadful days at...
the beginning of his reign, sol like it.
[LAUGHS]
Victorians would have enjoyed that romantic legend
as they came here hunting souvenirs.
Fiona, Bradshaw's says:
"Upon the top of an eminence"...
"is a large limestone on which the
Scottish king planted his standard."
"So highly is this stone valued that fragments
of it are frequently out off and set in rings"...
"and worn as a memorial of one of the proudest
days in the annals of Scotland."
Was that stone here?
Yes - this was the site of
the Borestone.
The stone referred to there - it's like
a millstone with a wee hole in it.
And that's supposedly Where Robert Bruce
planted his standard.
And this would have been the Scottish camp.
What happened to it?
Well, um... Robert Burns came
here in the 18th century.
And he wrote his great poem
"Scots Wha Hae".
But in the 19th century, when the railways
arrive - bringing lots and lots more tourists...
it seems to have been the thing Where they
really did take bits of it away...
and they only have a tiny bit
left in the visitors' centre.
So a mixed blessing, the railways,
I think, for Bannockburn.
To celebrate the 700th anniversary of the battle,
there's a new addition to the Borestone.
And it's an offering of which I'm sure
Robert Burns would have approved.
"Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, and glints of sun"
"Belonging to none but itself."
We are mere transients, who sing
Its westlin' winds and Fernie braes"
“Come all ye', the country says,
You win me, who take me most to heart."
That was beautiful.
I feel my Scottish blood surging
from my heart!
Absolutely.
[LAUGHS]
And I wonder What today's visitors
make of the history.
What do you know about the battle?
Basically, that we won.
[LAUGHS]
Do you think you get a feeling about
the battle and Scottish history?
Well, you do. You do have a feeling about
the battle and Scottish history.
After all, Bruce finished the job
that Wallace started.
At this ancient battlefield I'm conscious of centuries
of struggle between the Scots and the English.
Fortunately, nowadays their relationship is settled
in the ballot box rather than by the sword.
I've headed back to Stirling station.
To travel north towards Perthshire and the hills
that so captivated Bradshaw's tourists.
My next stop will be Crieff - a village Where I have
a strong family connection, and which I know well.
A late edition of Bradshaw's tells me there are
mineral springs, pronounced by high authority...
to possess strong purgative
qualities.
I don't think I do wish to be
purged particularly...
but the Victorians believed that hydropathic
therapy was good for any number of ailments.
So I'm Willing to take
the plunge.
This part of Scotland has many
memories for me.
I've often visited Crieff to see relatives,
and the town's hydro-hotel...
was a favourite place for
family holidays.
[TRAIN TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT]
"This service will shortly be calling at Perth."
I must alight at the ancient city of Perth,
gateway to the Highlands.
In Victorian times, Perth station was a hub for
holidaymakers arriving to enjoy the great outdoors...
or to take the waters at Crieff.
But the Crieff Junction railway
that opened in 1856...
is now just a memory...
having fallen victim to the Beeching
closures in the 1960s.
And we find that Wherever there
is little passenger traffic...
then there's very little freight either and, of
course, this is ominous from the point of view...
of the future of those lines.
Amongst the crowds in the heyday
of Crieff Junction...
would have been the spa tourists
heading for the Hydro...
which opened its doors
in 1868.
Its success derived simply from pure
Water and mountain air.
I'm meeting the fifth generation of the
Meikle family to run it.
It is the most stunning countryside
that you have here.
What a place to build a hotel.
What is a "hydro"?
"Hydropathic" - Greek word for "water".
So originating with its first Water
supply, 150 years ago...
people came from the cities, having drunk
Water that Wasn't so clear...
and so good for them, and drank water
here and felt better - miraculously.
So even in those days it
was a family hotel?
Yes, for leisure, yes. A hundred
bedrooms - quite small then.
And then Within ten years realised this
could be a lot, lot bigger - so it grew.
Doubled in size Within thirty
years of first being built.
And it was your family that
started all this?
My great, great, grand-uncle, a doctor from Aberdeen,
chose Crieff - its climate, its scenery...
the views, the location, the ease with which you can
get to Crieff by train - from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
And of course, finally - and perhaps most
importantly today, the Water supply.
Meikle used the pure Water for the Hydro's
swimming pool, douches and steam baths.
Treatments made popular by, amongst others,
Captain Richard Claridge.
Claridge had been cured of rheumatism
at an Austrian spa...
and wrote a best-seller to promote
the cold-water cure.
And the hydrotherapy - did it consist of drinking
the waters or bathing in the Waters?
Bathing, yes. Our swimming
pool was built in 1900.
There was no heating, there was no
Way of cleaning the water...
so, of course, you were diving into
this manky, murky, muddy pool.
There was talk of salmon being in the
swimming pool at the time.
Talk of the swimming pool attendants
carrying fishing rods.
But What's your choice? In order to feel better,
having done your burpees and your lunges...
up in the upstairs public rooms, to go downstairs
and have a very, very cold swim.
They cleaned the pool by emptying
it out twice a week...
and filling it back up with
cold, murky water.
Here we are, near the top of a hill, and yet
people were able to take the Waters.
How did you get the Water up here?
Well, it used to be from the burns.
And now, today, for the past fifty or sixty years
We've drilled down an artesian well.
Drilled 150 metres down, but then it
was just from the streams.
In the mid-19th century, people
escaping the poor sanitation...
of Britain's larger towns were
attracted to spas.
They had been fashionable amongst the
“quality” since Georgian times...
and with the coming of the railways, resorts
opened their doors to the middle classes.
For me, it's nice to be immersed again
at the Crieff Hydro.
I'm swimming over Victorian tiles...
but the warmth and the cleanliness
are 21st century.
I've headed back to Perth on the
banks of the noble River Tay.
The city has been a Royal Burgh
since the 13th century...
and was a royal residence throughout
the middle ages.
The ancient capital of Scotland...
it was also one of its richest
trading burghs.
"Perth", says Bradshaw's "is the handsomest
town of its size in Scotland".
"Its situation on the Tay is
very, very beautiful."
"Some muslin, cotton and silk goods
are manufactured here."
So I'm hoping that they may be able to kit me
out before I put a toe in the Highlands.
Kilts and sporrans may seem like a
cliche on a Scottish tour today.
But in Victorian times tartan evening
Wear was much in fashion.
I'm meeting Greg Whyte of
Morrison Sporrans.
Well, this is our stockroom,
if you like.
A selection of What we
make as a standard.
A selection? It's an incredible range
of different sorts of sporran.
A lot of it is current dress.
We, as a company, have been
running for 15 years.
But we took over Nichol Brothers, who had
a history going back to 1840.
Which would have taken them right
through the Victorian period.
One of the largest customers
being the military.
We still make a lot of military
sporrans now.
The one on the left is the
Scots Guards.
The one in the middle, Royal Regiment
of Scotland, current issue.
And this rather flamboyant one over here is
the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
“Sporran” is a Gaelic word meaning
"purse" or "pouch".
Perhaps the most ornate were worn
by the kilted Scottish regiments...
who developed their own
individual style.
The whole product is made from
horse tail hair.
It's also stitched in seven
different layers.
Which is three layers in here, and then another
three or four layers up under the cantle itself.
So it has to have a lot of hair in
it and it's a fair Weight.
It's quite a heavy item.
And this is What it's ostensibly
all about.
You can put whatever you like in there.
That's the theory, yes -
that's the idea.
I mean, the military will not carry
very much in it.
But we do make them to accommodate beer cans,
we make them to accomodate Wallets...
mobile phones, all sorts of things.
And it looks like you can use almost
anything to make a sporran..?
Yes, road kill particularly.
These are literally road kill.
They are not killed to make sporrans.
Normally, sporrans are made
from cow skin.
Although some also make
use of old fur coats!
I mean, we quite often make
them for Weddings.
Granny's coat might get turned into a
dozen sporrans for a wedding.
The craftsmanship and skills involved
in making these beautiful...
and practical pieces have been handed
down the generations.
Many of the patterns and tools
used are unchanged...
since the mid-19th century.
Okay, first job in the stage would
be to out the leather.
So if you just Want to grab one
sheet of leather there.
And just pop it up on the machine.
So if you just place your knife
on to the leather.
You just Want to keep it clear of any blemishes.
Okay, that's good - no wastage.
If you just Want to pull the
beam press across.
Now, at this point everybody has to
keep their hands well clear.
Right!
So, grasp the handles, press
both triggers.
' MY goodness!
- Yep.
Swing the machine back.
Lift it up and then pop
the leather out.
Just push it out from the back.
That, effectively, is the back
of your sporran.
Early sporrans were simple
“Rob Roy” pouches.
Usually gathered at the top with
a basic drawstring.
As Highland dress grew in popularity
as eveningwear...
sporrans became more elaborately
embellished.
Okay, so What We're doing now is I'm going to show
you now to do the front of the sporran.
We're basically turning the gusset
or the edge of it over...
and to keep it in place, you
have to hammer it.
I'll give it a couple of strokes and
then you can try it.
- Okay?
- Okay
So, tugging at the leather here?
Tugging at the leather, pulling it in,
giving it a good bash.
Avoid the knuckles.
It doesn't sound like it
sounded with you.
[LAUGHS]
You need more porridge.
More porridge?
[LAUGHS]
And What does this achieve?
It basically breaks the leather
and it keeps it in place.
So it Won't spring back.
I don't think you'll have any trouble out
of that any more.
Well, let's say it's dead!
[LAUGHS]
Basically that's What you've done - you've
formed the front now, okay?
Oh, isn't that nice?
This handmade quality makes
them very collectable.
A 19th-century silver engraved
sporran with oak finials...
recently sold at auction
for over £2,000.
Right, so there we have finished product.
- Beautiful.
- One you can try on.
Oh, thank you.
The only thing is - not like that.
You'd better get a kilt on.
All right - I'll do that.
Let me have a look at it.
Oh! "Made in Scotland by Michael Portillo."
That's a big fib!
For Great British Railway Journeys -
and a lovely picture of a locomotive.
- I'd better go and get my kit on.
- You'd better.
So, Greg. Only one thing needed to pass
myself off as a Scotsman.
Indeed.
And here it is.
Right - that is you fit for the Highlands.
- That's Where I'm headed!
- Very good!
Now properly attired, I'm heading back to Perth's
station to catch the Highland main line.
In Victorian times, grand trains ran from London
to Inverness and Aberdeen...
passing through these platforms
here at Perth.
And I can imagine them teeming
with people...
headed to and from the Highlands, responding to
the fashion established by Queen Victoria.
But now the main services to Aberdeen from London
go across the Forth and Tay rivers.
And these platforms have been turned
into something ghostly.
I'll soon be arriving at the most northerly
point of my journey - Pitlochry...
which Bradshaw's tells me is important as
"affording facilities to the tourist"...
"for visiting the beautiful pass
of Killiecrankie."
"A deep ravine, clothed with the richest verdure,
through which the Garry water flows."
It's at Pitlochry that there begins
What Bradshaw calls...
"the romantic scenery for which the Scottish
mountains are justly celebrated."
[TRAIN TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT]
"We'll shortly be arriving into Pitlochry."
In 1842, the twenty-three-year old
Queen Victoria holidayed in the Highlands.
She viewed the scenery through eyes coloured
by the romantic writing...
of one of her favourite novelists,
Sir Walter Scott.
And her visit made a lasting impression.
I'm meeting Pitlochry resident and former
Blue Badge guide...
Sally Spavern, to discover more about
this special relationship.
- Sally, how lovely to see you.
- Good evening, Michael.
A very historic station with
royal connections.
Yes, absolutely.
Queen Victoria came to this area of Scotland,
Highland Perthshire, about six times.
First on her honeymoon in 1842.
But she came on this particular line just six days
after it opened in 1863 on the ninth of September.
She was on her Way to visit
the Duke of Athol, the sixth Duke...
who was very, very ill at the time.
But after he died, her and the sixth
Duchess remained
great friends, and she made
two further visits to here.
In 1848, the Queen and Prince Albert acquired
the lease of Balmoral Castle.
She became the first monarch since Charles I
to make a home in Scotland...
for which she retained a lifelong
emotional attachment.
And I assume that she loved it here?
She absolutely loved it - and she recorded all
of her visits here in her journal.
On her two final visits, she was able to visit
much more of the countryside and...
toured around and visited quite a number
of places with John Brown.
In her diary, the Queen described Pitlochry as
one of the finest resorts in Europe.
And this is why she fell in love
with the Highlands.
Following the infamous Highland Clearances during
the 18th and 19th centuries, when landowners...
evicted tenants to make
room for sheep...
this area became one of the most
sparsely populated in Europe.
But these rugged hills hid a thriving
trade in unlawful Whisky-making.
The drink's popularity had led the government
to impose a tax on the distillers...
which left the industry unprofitable
and drove it underground.
By the 1820s, despite 14,000 illicit stills
being confiscated every year...
more than half the whisky consumed in Scotland was
being enjoyed Without payment of duty.
I've come to visit one of those original, but
now completely legal, whisky stills.
Andrew Symington from Edradour
distillery, knows its history.
- Michael, hi. Nice to meet you.
- How lovely to see you.
Looks like you've got a little Welcome
in store for me as well.
I have indeed, yes.
This distillery? Tell me about it.
Well, legally, it's the smallest
in Scotland.
Because of the size of the stills you
can see behind you there.
We have our own springs,
which we tap in together.
And that's Where we get our
spring Water from.
It's this spring water coupled with malted barley
that helps to make this spirit famous.
And tell me about your whiskies -
what are the characteristics'?
The characteristics of our two signature
ones are sherry cask.
Spanish Oloroso sherry cask, so it gives
it a very nice dark colour.
Very rich flavour, dried fruits, a bit
like liquid Christmas cake.
Sounds good.
After the Excise Act of 1823, it became profitable
again to make whisky legally.
Although the industry was still
tightly regulated.
Whenever the butts were opened or the
whisky was being bottled...
an Excise man had to be present.
The casks are filled in a special building...
sometimes known as a "spirit store" but here
called a "duty-free Warehouse".
The door is fastened by two locks.
One controlled by the Excise department,
the other by the distillery management.
Let's have a little go at that.
This is our signature ten-year-old malt.
Its 40 per cent alcohol by volume,
so it's not too strong.
Mm... I'm slipping into ecstasy.
I find it quite palatable.
I'm reassured that traditional production on a
small scale survives in the industry today.
Since you were licensed in the year that
Queen Victoria came to the throne...
I thought I might venture off and appreciate a view
that she had when she travelled to these parts.
Excellent.
One for the track!
As I Walk through the stunning scenery
of Highland Perthshire...
I can see why this countryside made such
an impression on Queen Victoria.
This famous vantage point, known
as the Queen's View...
looks out over one of the most iconic
panoramas in Scotland.
Queen Victoria thought the view had
been named after her.
In fact, it was after Robert the
Bruce's wife, Isabella.
The bitter enmity between Scotland and England,
fought out at battles like Bannockburn...
reached a curious outcome when a king of Scotland,
James VI, ascended the throne of England too.
Many frictions followed.
But in the 19th century, royalty made
sporrans fashionable...
and Queen Victoria could take the train north
and gaze out upon a united Kingdom.
Next time, I pay homage at
the birthplace of golf.
Great shot, Michael!
Discover how a penniless Scot
gave away a fortune.
He wrote the Gospel of Wealth, and in that he
said "he who dies rich, dies disgraced".
And tread the boards at the
Edinburgh Fringe.
I demand to know Where you deposited the
handbag that contained that infant!
I left it... in the cloakroom... of one of the
larger... railway stations in London.
[END THEME]
For Victorian Britons, George Bradshaw
was a household name.
At a time when railways were new...
Bradshaw's guidebook inspired them
to take to the tracks.
I'm using it to understand how trains
transformed Britain.
Its landscape, its industries,
society and leisure time.
As I arias-cross the country
150 years later...
it helps me to discover the
Britain of today.
I'm continuing my journey across
southern Scotland.
Now moving away from the central belt
towards hillier country.
At the time of my Bradshaw's guide, Queen Victoria
had bought Balmoral Castle...
and Highland dress had become
highly fashionable.
But being sentimental about tartans and kilts
was no disguise for the fact that...
the English and the Scots had fought
bitter battles over many centuries.
This week I've been making my way across
Scotland from west to east.
My journey began at the
Firth of Clyde...
and continued through the Scottish
lowlands to Glasgow.
Now I'm heading north to Stirling and Perth -
gateways to the Highlands.
I'll then travel east to Fife and the famous
university town of St Andrews.
Finally, I'll turn south to
Scotland's capital.
On today's leg, I begin in Scotland's
ancient stronghold.
Before travelling north to the
head of the Earn Valley.
Then on to the city with
royal connections.
And my journey will end in the
beautiful Highlands.
I visit the scene of a
bloody battle.
And eventually the English are forced back to
a position Where they are in complete chaos.
Enjoy a lesson in the skills of
an ancient craft.
It doesn't sound like it
sounded with you!
Need more porridge.
More porridge?
And treat my traveller's tastebuds.
Mmm, I'm slipping into ecstasy!
Very, very fruity!
I shall be leaving the train
at Stirling to visit...
the rivulet called Bannockburn which, according
to Bradshaw's, runs through a glen.
"The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade
in tartan and woollen cloth in general."
"Here the celebrated battle
was fought"...
"between Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland,
and Edward of England, in 1314."
And doesn't a spider's web come
into it somewhere?
Or have I got my stories tangled?
Stirling dates back to the
12th century.
And its striking monuments and battlefields are
testament to its strategic place in history.
In 1297 William Wallace defeated the English
at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.
And in 1314, another Scottish hero fought to
remove the English from Caledonian soil.
I'm meeting historian Fiona Watson
at Bannockburn.
So here is Robert the Bruce, who
actually defeated the English.
He certainly did, right here, and he's looking
that way towards England, actually.
We're quite a long Way from England,
What were the English doing here?
Well, it's a long story but in essence the
English king, Edward the First...
was doing What medieval
kings did - expanding.
He saw an opportunity when the Scottish
king, Alexander the Third, died.
Well, he basically invaded in 1296
and took Scotland for his own.
Stirling Castle was occupied
by the English.
And besieged by the Scots.
At stake was not just a castle, but Scotland's
independence from England.
Edward the Second
comes in person?
He does - which is very unusual, by this period,
for kings to actually fight their battles
So we have the Scottish King and the
English King. Head to head.
- Crown to crown.
- Absolutely.
How does the battle go, then?
Very badly for the English,
it must be said!
Bruce has a plan.
He's trained his men as spearmen. Normally the
Scottish spearman are static, defensive.
But he's trained them to be offensive, to move in
formation and then get down when they are charged.
Edward doesn't have a plan.
He just thinks he's going to turn up...
bigger, greater, mightier army -
and the English will win.
At the start of the battle, nobleman
Sir Henry de Bohun...
challenged Bruce to single combat - and was
swiftly dispatched by the King's axe.
There's divisions among his commanders,
because he's set them up inadvertently between...
fighting each other...
So Bruce just has to exert the discipline and
the genius of his own military abilities.
He moves forward against the English -
they're hemmed in by the terrain.
They can't fan out and eventually the
English are forced back to a...
position Where they are
in complete chaos.
Their situation Wasn't helped by the
boggy battlefield conditions...
on the flood plain of
the River Forth.
The King is led off the field...
because the English nobles realise
he's about to be captured
and that would be a really,
really terrible thing!
Checkmate.
Absolutely.
And the minute the King's standard
is seen departing, of course...
that means it's every man for himself, and
the English start to flee.
Only one sizeable group of English foot
soldiers managed to escape.
No-one knows for sure how many
English infantrymen were killed...
but it was certainly thousands.
Now, I remember a story about
Robert the Bruce and a spider.
Something about trying and trying again.
So, is there any truth in this at all?
Well, the Wonderful story...
it's a Wonderful story
about the spider.
And it really does capture Robert the Bruce
at the beginning of his reign.
Where many Scots - as well as, of course,
the English - were against him...
because he had killed a
man to become king.
It was a dreadful story,
and he Went into exile.
And we can imagine him in a cave somewhere
off the west coast of Scotland...
Thinking it's all over - his brothers,
many of them, had been killed.
His wife, his daughter had all been captured.
Yeah, why would you go on?
And the spider teaches him that.
But unfortunately the original was actually
about his friend and commander, James Douglas.
But I think everyone realised how much that
encapsulates those dreadful days at...
the beginning of his reign, sol like it.
[LAUGHS]
Victorians would have enjoyed that romantic legend
as they came here hunting souvenirs.
Fiona, Bradshaw's says:
"Upon the top of an eminence"...
"is a large limestone on which the
Scottish king planted his standard."
"So highly is this stone valued that fragments
of it are frequently out off and set in rings"...
"and worn as a memorial of one of the proudest
days in the annals of Scotland."
Was that stone here?
Yes - this was the site of
the Borestone.
The stone referred to there - it's like
a millstone with a wee hole in it.
And that's supposedly Where Robert Bruce
planted his standard.
And this would have been the Scottish camp.
What happened to it?
Well, um... Robert Burns came
here in the 18th century.
And he wrote his great poem
"Scots Wha Hae".
But in the 19th century, when the railways
arrive - bringing lots and lots more tourists...
it seems to have been the thing Where they
really did take bits of it away...
and they only have a tiny bit
left in the visitors' centre.
So a mixed blessing, the railways,
I think, for Bannockburn.
To celebrate the 700th anniversary of the battle,
there's a new addition to the Borestone.
And it's an offering of which I'm sure
Robert Burns would have approved.
"Here lies our land: every airt
Beneath swift clouds, and glints of sun"
"Belonging to none but itself."
We are mere transients, who sing
Its westlin' winds and Fernie braes"
“Come all ye', the country says,
You win me, who take me most to heart."
That was beautiful.
I feel my Scottish blood surging
from my heart!
Absolutely.
[LAUGHS]
And I wonder What today's visitors
make of the history.
What do you know about the battle?
Basically, that we won.
[LAUGHS]
Do you think you get a feeling about
the battle and Scottish history?
Well, you do. You do have a feeling about
the battle and Scottish history.
After all, Bruce finished the job
that Wallace started.
At this ancient battlefield I'm conscious of centuries
of struggle between the Scots and the English.
Fortunately, nowadays their relationship is settled
in the ballot box rather than by the sword.
I've headed back to Stirling station.
To travel north towards Perthshire and the hills
that so captivated Bradshaw's tourists.
My next stop will be Crieff - a village Where I have
a strong family connection, and which I know well.
A late edition of Bradshaw's tells me there are
mineral springs, pronounced by high authority...
to possess strong purgative
qualities.
I don't think I do wish to be
purged particularly...
but the Victorians believed that hydropathic
therapy was good for any number of ailments.
So I'm Willing to take
the plunge.
This part of Scotland has many
memories for me.
I've often visited Crieff to see relatives,
and the town's hydro-hotel...
was a favourite place for
family holidays.
[TRAIN TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT]
"This service will shortly be calling at Perth."
I must alight at the ancient city of Perth,
gateway to the Highlands.
In Victorian times, Perth station was a hub for
holidaymakers arriving to enjoy the great outdoors...
or to take the waters at Crieff.
But the Crieff Junction railway
that opened in 1856...
is now just a memory...
having fallen victim to the Beeching
closures in the 1960s.
And we find that Wherever there
is little passenger traffic...
then there's very little freight either and, of
course, this is ominous from the point of view...
of the future of those lines.
Amongst the crowds in the heyday
of Crieff Junction...
would have been the spa tourists
heading for the Hydro...
which opened its doors
in 1868.
Its success derived simply from pure
Water and mountain air.
I'm meeting the fifth generation of the
Meikle family to run it.
It is the most stunning countryside
that you have here.
What a place to build a hotel.
What is a "hydro"?
"Hydropathic" - Greek word for "water".
So originating with its first Water
supply, 150 years ago...
people came from the cities, having drunk
Water that Wasn't so clear...
and so good for them, and drank water
here and felt better - miraculously.
So even in those days it
was a family hotel?
Yes, for leisure, yes. A hundred
bedrooms - quite small then.
And then Within ten years realised this
could be a lot, lot bigger - so it grew.
Doubled in size Within thirty
years of first being built.
And it was your family that
started all this?
My great, great, grand-uncle, a doctor from Aberdeen,
chose Crieff - its climate, its scenery...
the views, the location, the ease with which you can
get to Crieff by train - from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
And of course, finally - and perhaps most
importantly today, the Water supply.
Meikle used the pure Water for the Hydro's
swimming pool, douches and steam baths.
Treatments made popular by, amongst others,
Captain Richard Claridge.
Claridge had been cured of rheumatism
at an Austrian spa...
and wrote a best-seller to promote
the cold-water cure.
And the hydrotherapy - did it consist of drinking
the waters or bathing in the Waters?
Bathing, yes. Our swimming
pool was built in 1900.
There was no heating, there was no
Way of cleaning the water...
so, of course, you were diving into
this manky, murky, muddy pool.
There was talk of salmon being in the
swimming pool at the time.
Talk of the swimming pool attendants
carrying fishing rods.
But What's your choice? In order to feel better,
having done your burpees and your lunges...
up in the upstairs public rooms, to go downstairs
and have a very, very cold swim.
They cleaned the pool by emptying
it out twice a week...
and filling it back up with
cold, murky water.
Here we are, near the top of a hill, and yet
people were able to take the Waters.
How did you get the Water up here?
Well, it used to be from the burns.
And now, today, for the past fifty or sixty years
We've drilled down an artesian well.
Drilled 150 metres down, but then it
was just from the streams.
In the mid-19th century, people
escaping the poor sanitation...
of Britain's larger towns were
attracted to spas.
They had been fashionable amongst the
“quality” since Georgian times...
and with the coming of the railways, resorts
opened their doors to the middle classes.
For me, it's nice to be immersed again
at the Crieff Hydro.
I'm swimming over Victorian tiles...
but the warmth and the cleanliness
are 21st century.
I've headed back to Perth on the
banks of the noble River Tay.
The city has been a Royal Burgh
since the 13th century...
and was a royal residence throughout
the middle ages.
The ancient capital of Scotland...
it was also one of its richest
trading burghs.
"Perth", says Bradshaw's "is the handsomest
town of its size in Scotland".
"Its situation on the Tay is
very, very beautiful."
"Some muslin, cotton and silk goods
are manufactured here."
So I'm hoping that they may be able to kit me
out before I put a toe in the Highlands.
Kilts and sporrans may seem like a
cliche on a Scottish tour today.
But in Victorian times tartan evening
Wear was much in fashion.
I'm meeting Greg Whyte of
Morrison Sporrans.
Well, this is our stockroom,
if you like.
A selection of What we
make as a standard.
A selection? It's an incredible range
of different sorts of sporran.
A lot of it is current dress.
We, as a company, have been
running for 15 years.
But we took over Nichol Brothers, who had
a history going back to 1840.
Which would have taken them right
through the Victorian period.
One of the largest customers
being the military.
We still make a lot of military
sporrans now.
The one on the left is the
Scots Guards.
The one in the middle, Royal Regiment
of Scotland, current issue.
And this rather flamboyant one over here is
the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
“Sporran” is a Gaelic word meaning
"purse" or "pouch".
Perhaps the most ornate were worn
by the kilted Scottish regiments...
who developed their own
individual style.
The whole product is made from
horse tail hair.
It's also stitched in seven
different layers.
Which is three layers in here, and then another
three or four layers up under the cantle itself.
So it has to have a lot of hair in
it and it's a fair Weight.
It's quite a heavy item.
And this is What it's ostensibly
all about.
You can put whatever you like in there.
That's the theory, yes -
that's the idea.
I mean, the military will not carry
very much in it.
But we do make them to accommodate beer cans,
we make them to accomodate Wallets...
mobile phones, all sorts of things.
And it looks like you can use almost
anything to make a sporran..?
Yes, road kill particularly.
These are literally road kill.
They are not killed to make sporrans.
Normally, sporrans are made
from cow skin.
Although some also make
use of old fur coats!
I mean, we quite often make
them for Weddings.
Granny's coat might get turned into a
dozen sporrans for a wedding.
The craftsmanship and skills involved
in making these beautiful...
and practical pieces have been handed
down the generations.
Many of the patterns and tools
used are unchanged...
since the mid-19th century.
Okay, first job in the stage would
be to out the leather.
So if you just Want to grab one
sheet of leather there.
And just pop it up on the machine.
So if you just place your knife
on to the leather.
You just Want to keep it clear of any blemishes.
Okay, that's good - no wastage.
If you just Want to pull the
beam press across.
Now, at this point everybody has to
keep their hands well clear.
Right!
So, grasp the handles, press
both triggers.
' MY goodness!
- Yep.
Swing the machine back.
Lift it up and then pop
the leather out.
Just push it out from the back.
That, effectively, is the back
of your sporran.
Early sporrans were simple
“Rob Roy” pouches.
Usually gathered at the top with
a basic drawstring.
As Highland dress grew in popularity
as eveningwear...
sporrans became more elaborately
embellished.
Okay, so What We're doing now is I'm going to show
you now to do the front of the sporran.
We're basically turning the gusset
or the edge of it over...
and to keep it in place, you
have to hammer it.
I'll give it a couple of strokes and
then you can try it.
- Okay?
- Okay
So, tugging at the leather here?
Tugging at the leather, pulling it in,
giving it a good bash.
Avoid the knuckles.
It doesn't sound like it
sounded with you.
[LAUGHS]
You need more porridge.
More porridge?
[LAUGHS]
And What does this achieve?
It basically breaks the leather
and it keeps it in place.
So it Won't spring back.
I don't think you'll have any trouble out
of that any more.
Well, let's say it's dead!
[LAUGHS]
Basically that's What you've done - you've
formed the front now, okay?
Oh, isn't that nice?
This handmade quality makes
them very collectable.
A 19th-century silver engraved
sporran with oak finials...
recently sold at auction
for over £2,000.
Right, so there we have finished product.
- Beautiful.
- One you can try on.
Oh, thank you.
The only thing is - not like that.
You'd better get a kilt on.
All right - I'll do that.
Let me have a look at it.
Oh! "Made in Scotland by Michael Portillo."
That's a big fib!
For Great British Railway Journeys -
and a lovely picture of a locomotive.
- I'd better go and get my kit on.
- You'd better.
So, Greg. Only one thing needed to pass
myself off as a Scotsman.
Indeed.
And here it is.
Right - that is you fit for the Highlands.
- That's Where I'm headed!
- Very good!
Now properly attired, I'm heading back to Perth's
station to catch the Highland main line.
In Victorian times, grand trains ran from London
to Inverness and Aberdeen...
passing through these platforms
here at Perth.
And I can imagine them teeming
with people...
headed to and from the Highlands, responding to
the fashion established by Queen Victoria.
But now the main services to Aberdeen from London
go across the Forth and Tay rivers.
And these platforms have been turned
into something ghostly.
I'll soon be arriving at the most northerly
point of my journey - Pitlochry...
which Bradshaw's tells me is important as
"affording facilities to the tourist"...
"for visiting the beautiful pass
of Killiecrankie."
"A deep ravine, clothed with the richest verdure,
through which the Garry water flows."
It's at Pitlochry that there begins
What Bradshaw calls...
"the romantic scenery for which the Scottish
mountains are justly celebrated."
[TRAIN TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT]
"We'll shortly be arriving into Pitlochry."
In 1842, the twenty-three-year old
Queen Victoria holidayed in the Highlands.
She viewed the scenery through eyes coloured
by the romantic writing...
of one of her favourite novelists,
Sir Walter Scott.
And her visit made a lasting impression.
I'm meeting Pitlochry resident and former
Blue Badge guide...
Sally Spavern, to discover more about
this special relationship.
- Sally, how lovely to see you.
- Good evening, Michael.
A very historic station with
royal connections.
Yes, absolutely.
Queen Victoria came to this area of Scotland,
Highland Perthshire, about six times.
First on her honeymoon in 1842.
But she came on this particular line just six days
after it opened in 1863 on the ninth of September.
She was on her Way to visit
the Duke of Athol, the sixth Duke...
who was very, very ill at the time.
But after he died, her and the sixth
Duchess remained
great friends, and she made
two further visits to here.
In 1848, the Queen and Prince Albert acquired
the lease of Balmoral Castle.
She became the first monarch since Charles I
to make a home in Scotland...
for which she retained a lifelong
emotional attachment.
And I assume that she loved it here?
She absolutely loved it - and she recorded all
of her visits here in her journal.
On her two final visits, she was able to visit
much more of the countryside and...
toured around and visited quite a number
of places with John Brown.
In her diary, the Queen described Pitlochry as
one of the finest resorts in Europe.
And this is why she fell in love
with the Highlands.
Following the infamous Highland Clearances during
the 18th and 19th centuries, when landowners...
evicted tenants to make
room for sheep...
this area became one of the most
sparsely populated in Europe.
But these rugged hills hid a thriving
trade in unlawful Whisky-making.
The drink's popularity had led the government
to impose a tax on the distillers...
which left the industry unprofitable
and drove it underground.
By the 1820s, despite 14,000 illicit stills
being confiscated every year...
more than half the whisky consumed in Scotland was
being enjoyed Without payment of duty.
I've come to visit one of those original, but
now completely legal, whisky stills.
Andrew Symington from Edradour
distillery, knows its history.
- Michael, hi. Nice to meet you.
- How lovely to see you.
Looks like you've got a little Welcome
in store for me as well.
I have indeed, yes.
This distillery? Tell me about it.
Well, legally, it's the smallest
in Scotland.
Because of the size of the stills you
can see behind you there.
We have our own springs,
which we tap in together.
And that's Where we get our
spring Water from.
It's this spring water coupled with malted barley
that helps to make this spirit famous.
And tell me about your whiskies -
what are the characteristics'?
The characteristics of our two signature
ones are sherry cask.
Spanish Oloroso sherry cask, so it gives
it a very nice dark colour.
Very rich flavour, dried fruits, a bit
like liquid Christmas cake.
Sounds good.
After the Excise Act of 1823, it became profitable
again to make whisky legally.
Although the industry was still
tightly regulated.
Whenever the butts were opened or the
whisky was being bottled...
an Excise man had to be present.
The casks are filled in a special building...
sometimes known as a "spirit store" but here
called a "duty-free Warehouse".
The door is fastened by two locks.
One controlled by the Excise department,
the other by the distillery management.
Let's have a little go at that.
This is our signature ten-year-old malt.
Its 40 per cent alcohol by volume,
so it's not too strong.
Mm... I'm slipping into ecstasy.
I find it quite palatable.
I'm reassured that traditional production on a
small scale survives in the industry today.
Since you were licensed in the year that
Queen Victoria came to the throne...
I thought I might venture off and appreciate a view
that she had when she travelled to these parts.
Excellent.
One for the track!
As I Walk through the stunning scenery
of Highland Perthshire...
I can see why this countryside made such
an impression on Queen Victoria.
This famous vantage point, known
as the Queen's View...
looks out over one of the most iconic
panoramas in Scotland.
Queen Victoria thought the view had
been named after her.
In fact, it was after Robert the
Bruce's wife, Isabella.
The bitter enmity between Scotland and England,
fought out at battles like Bannockburn...
reached a curious outcome when a king of Scotland,
James VI, ascended the throne of England too.
Many frictions followed.
But in the 19th century, royalty made
sporrans fashionable...
and Queen Victoria could take the train north
and gaze out upon a united Kingdom.
Next time, I pay homage at
the birthplace of golf.
Great shot, Michael!
Discover how a penniless Scot
gave away a fortune.
He wrote the Gospel of Wealth, and in that he
said "he who dies rich, dies disgraced".
And tread the boards at the
Edinburgh Fringe.
I demand to know Where you deposited the
handbag that contained that infant!
I left it... in the cloakroom... of one of the
larger... railway stations in London.
[END THEME]