Paul begins his adventure at one of the star attractions of this part of the island, the Old Man of Storr, and his journey takes him on journey of discovery following in the footsteps of the dinosaurs who once walked this land, through the enchanted fairy glen and out to the seldom-visited Fladda-Chuain islands. But in all of the three islands Paul explores, he discovers they have their own voice, made proud and distinctive by the determination of the islanders to keep their communities alive. Part 2: Bridging the Gap: Scarp, Great Bernera and Scalpay This grand tour takes Paul around the coast of the Long Island of Harris and Lewis, beginning on Scarp, travelling north to Great Bernera, then south east to Scalpay. From there he heads south to capture the colours of Grimsay, and then weaves through the marram grass of Kirkibost, to end on the deserted whisky island of Pabbay. On Loch Morar, Paul meets a man who claims to have seen the legendary monster Morag pronounced Voorag , before getting a ferry to Inverie in the heart of the Rough bounds, before searching for gold beside Loch Arkaig. On this Grand Tour, Paul is exploring a cluster of islands in the Outer Hebrides. Part 5: War and Peace in the North: From Flottay to Sanday On this journey Paul crosses the great natural harbour of Scapa Flow to the island of Flotta, before heading round the main island of Orkney to Stronsay, and from there travelling north to the stunning beaches of Sanday.
Tiree is one of the stormiest places in Europe and with a gale blowing 160 days of the year, life here is always something of a battle against the elements. Grand tour of the Scottish Islands returns for a second series from Monday 22nd September until Monday 27th October 2014. Part 3: Against the Odds: Out Skerries, Whalsay and Papa Stour Paul explores the eastern outposts of Shetland — Papa Stour, Whalsay and the Out Skerries, encountering along the way newborn lambs, ancient ruins and traditional Shetland sword dancing. Please see below for a description of the series and a summary of all 6 episodes. These islands may seem to exist in the shadow of their much larger neighbours but Paul discovers they have a distinct identity all of their own, as he hears remarkable stories of crofter rebellions, rocket mail and a rich local culture.
As a natural resource, lochs have provided us with an abundance of fish; they have served as reservoirs, and have provided the electrical power for distant cities through a variety of hydro schemes. Grand Tour of the Scottish Islands with presenter Paul Murton returns for a second series, visiting the Orkneys in the north, and travelling as far as the island of Gigha in the southwest. Part 6: Off the Map: North Rona and the Monach Islands Paul embarks on his most difficult island Grand Tour to date. To explore what keeps all these remote places together, Paul is beginning his grand tour of Outer Orkney at North Ronaldsay. It can indeed be beautifully sunny here but it can also be extremely windy. His final destination is the most southerly of the Orkneys; the island of Stroma in the Pentland Firth which sadly is no longer inhabited. Paul makes a poignant journey to visit Stroma along with one the last people to live on the island, John Manson, who remembers what it was like when it still had a thriving community.
From here Paul is island hopping to Papa Stronsay, which is now populated by an unconventional order of Monks who have chosen to make the island their home. Part 1: The Riddle of the Sands: From Berneray to Pabbay Paul Murton continues his island odyssey, exploring the remote and fascinating places which scatter our coastline, and meeting the people who call these islands home. Tragically, a terrible storm in 1881 flooded the quarries with seawater and put an end to the slate industry here, but Easdale itself remains unchanged, with its white-washed cottages and a vibrant, though small, community. To begin his odyssey around this beautiful part of Scotland he is travels on an icon of the west coast; an original steam powered puffer and finds out their vital role in years past providing an essential link between the islands and the mainland. .
In a new series of Grand Tours, starting on 4 September 2017, presenter Paul Murton sets out to explore Scotland's glorious lochs. To celebrate the rich and longstanding relationship between lochs and people in Scotland, Paul Murton sets off on a Grand Tour of Scotland to explore the deep sea lochs of the west coast, and to ply the freshwater lochs that adorn the Highlands. He then heads to explore Mull itself, which he sees at break neck speed thanks to rally driver Louise Thomas who regularly competes in the world famous Mull Rally. On the shores of several lochs, agents were trained in the dark arts of Sabotage. The wreckage of this cataclysmic event has been almost completely worn away by time, but the rocks in the landscape still bear some traces, which Paul unpicks as he embarks on a Grand Tour from Lairg on Loch Shin, to Lochinver and finally, to the summit of Suilven — the sugar loaf mountain. Paul continues his exploration of the island by taking a boat trip to experience the infamous Corryvreckan whirlpool at the north of Jura, which nearly claimed the life of author George Orwell before visiting the remote and beautiful Glen Garrisdale Bay and getting a lesson in how to cut peat. Part 4: Land of Giants and Faeries: Northern Skye Paul heads to the northernmost spur of Skye — the stunningly beautiful Trotternish Peninsula.
He uncovers the past and reveals its connections with the present, pointing to the quirky, the surprising and the beautiful lying just offshore. Beginning his journey on the tidal island of Erraid, which inspired famous Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, Paul is then island hopping to beautiful Ulva and the mysterious island of Inch Kenneth, where some of the earliest kings of Scotland are buried, and finds out about its more modern-day connection to the eccentric English aristocrats, the Mitfords. Along the way Paul discovers stories of World War One, a mysterious beast, and Orkney selkies. Lying just off the North Uist coast is princely Berneray, where his journey begins. Heading across the causeway to Vatersay, Paul joins local fishermen trawling for lobsters and ends his journey at spectacular Barra Head which has been uninhabited for more than a hundred years. Since the earliest times, lochs and their associated waterways, have provided a network which helped link the country long before the development of roads, railways and motorways. Today Gigha is owned by the community, and many of its residents are incomers attracted by the opportunity to begin a new island life on this small and fertile place.
Every destination has been long abandoned by people, there are no ferries, no piers or proper landings at these islands making it quite a challenge to get there. Amid the stunning scenery, the six-part series has some choice nuggets of Scottish history as well as tales from modern-day islanders about their livelihoods, such as peat-cutting on Jura, and interesting pursuits, such as sand yachting on the beaches of Tiree, interspersed with archive clips and pictures of times past. Paul Murton sets out to experience island life today. Paul begins his journey on Coll where he meets Nicolas Maclean Bristol, owner of Breachacha Castle and descendent of the ancient MacLeans of Coll whose history on the island goes back to the 14 th century. Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands For centuries, the magic of the Scottish Islands has drawn travellers from far and wide. Starting on the banks of the most famous lake in Scotland — the Lake of Menteith, Paul wanders through an enchanted landscape, visiting Loch Ard, Loch Arklet, Loch Katrine and Loch Achray, before climbing a mountain in miniature, Ben Venue.
Despite only being two miles from the mainland, life on this island became just too difficult and it was abandoned in the 1950s. Along the way he meets a cast of characters who live along the shores of our great waterways, uncovering intriguing tales from the past, and experiencing the glories and variety of the ever changing scene. Once you have watched these episodes get ready for already commisioned series 3 of Grand tour of the Scottish Islands. . .