"In Scotland, it's possible to experience a sense of solitude without travelling too far." "The islands I'm heading to are small." "They're all under five miles in length and every one of them is very close to the mainland, yet they seem much further away." "For centuries, the magic of the Scottish islands has drawn travellers to these shores." "I'm exploring the remote and fascinating places scattered around our coastline..." "Any chance of a lift?" "...and meeting the people who call these islands home." "Wow, that is amazing." "For this Grand Tour, I'm exploring the Slate Islands." "which, despite being within easy reach, offer the visitor something exotic and intriguing." "My route begins on the Argyll Coast, just a stone's throw from the mainland." "I'll be visiting the island of Kerrera before heading south to the Slate Islands of Seil and Easdale." "From where I venture west to the sublime solitude of the Garvellachs." "And what better way to start my journey than on board an icon of traditional west coast travel." "Puffers like this one are an integral part of the history of the islands." "In the early years of the 20th century, they were a common sight all around the coast, bringing vital supplies to island communities and taking goods to markets on the mainland." "These stumpy little cargo ships achieved an almost mythical status thanks largely to Neil Munro's short stories about The Vital Spark and her captain, Para Handy." "The man at the helm of the VIC 32 is Alan MacFadyen - a former Puffer deckhand." "I have to say, Alan," "I'm really impressed with this steam-powered Puffer." "It's so quiet." "It's like a heartbeat, isn't it?" "Yeah, yeah." "A gentle heartbeat ticking away." "It's really nice, actually." "Aye, it's really nice." "It may all seem very sedate up here in the wheelhouse, but down below the VIC 32's coal-fired engine is working hard." "The first Puffers appeared around the 1850s, and they quickly proved to be versatile workhorses." "They were built by the Admiralty for running supplies out to the ships." "They started off in the canals." "That's why they're sized to fit the canal." "And then they gradually progressed to the sea." "What did they carry?" "What kind of goods would a Puffer carry?" "Coal." "Coal and timber." "The whisky back from Islay and things like that, you know." "And the beauty about the Puffers as well, they're flat-bottomed." "Because of their design," "Puffers could beach and unload at low tide - an essential requirement for landing at the many small islands without suitable piers." "[ Newsreel: ] Well, these dumpy little maids of all work carry their cargoes right up to the shallows." "The crews always received a warm welcome from the remote communities they served." "I think it was all a bit of an event when the Puffer come in." "'Cause not only were they getting their goods, but they would get a bit of gossip and a few stories and bit of banter." "Alan's own father and grandfather both worked on west coast Puffers and would often reminisce." "My father always talked very fondly about it." "He always had a smile on his face talking about the different places he'd go to." "The ceilidhs, etcetera, they used to go to." "They partied hard, I suppose, and worked hard." "[ Chuckles. ]" "They were always well received in the different places they went to." "So the Puffer men had a wee bit of a reputation?" "Aye." "I think they did." "They were characters." "At one time, these little vessels played an important role in keeping the islands connected with the mainland." "But nowadays, they are few and far between." "This is one of the last remaining seagoing Puffers in existence." "But just to see a Puffer, it is, you know, it's a wonderful sight." "Oh, it is." "They're icons of the west coast." "Very much so." "You'll see them passing by and it's just a puff of smoke." "Then you think, 'What's that?" "Some boat on fire?" "'" "Then, puff, puff, puff, the Puffer comes." "And then she clears herself and she's running, you know." "[ Horn toots. ]" "You can't help but smile at them." "'Cause they're lovely-looking wee boats." "Leaving the VIC 32 behind," "I'm heading just a mile across Oban Bay to my first island destination " "Kerrera." "Often overlooked, this tiny island has a fascinating and little-known history." "Local historian Neil Owen has researched the remarkable role Kerrera played as an RAF base during the Second World War." "What would it have been like back during the dark days of World War II?" "It was a very busy place." "It had been appropriated and requisitioned, in fact, by the Royal Air Force in 1939." "And this would have been an absolute hive of activity." "And this was probably the most westerly of the RAF Coastal Command bases." "So this was absolutely key in the prosecution of the Battle of the Atlantic." "During the war, this base was vital for providing safe passage for convoys making the treacherous journey across the Atlantic." "[ Newsreel: ] Along the vital westerly approaches to the British isles, the U-boats lie in waiting, four, five and six of them together, working in flotillas." "But it wasn't just the location that proved decisive, because stationed here was a very special fleet." "This was the home of the RAF's flying boat squadron." "[ Newsreel: ] An amphibian, equally at home on land or water." "Looking across the bay here, you could have seen up to a dozen very large flying boats moored across here." "A-hundred-and-twelve-foot wingspans." "They were huge!" "Which is a very large aircraft." "Absolutely enormous." "With a crew of ten." "They could stay in the air for up to sixteen hours." "They could forage, or range, as far as sixteen hundred miles out into the Atlantic." "Uh-huh." "What they accomplished in those days was absolutely astonishing." "As Churchill pointed out, if we'd lost the Battle of the Atlantic, we would have lost the war." "[ Newsreel: ] Atlantic patrol makes few headlines." "But merchant seamen of a thousand plodding convoys know the friendly shadow of their wings." "The remarkable range of these aircraft would be vital in protecting convoys from U-boat attack." "Extra-strong wings meant they could carry huge amounts of fuel." "And there was no need to build runways - the ocean was their landing strip." "A warship with wings." "Her sturdy hull built to withstand the roughest seas." "In 1941, it was the flying boats based here at Kerrera which were instrumental in the sinking of one of Hitler's most feared weapons, the Bismarck." "[ Newsreel: ] The Bismarck, the largest battleship afloat, and called unsinkable by her Nazi builders, represented Hitler's challenge to Britain's ancient supremacy at sea." "The Bismarck was a formidable pocket battleship with eight fifteen-inch guns." "Now, had that got in amongst the convoys, the Royal Navy at that time had very little in the convoy system to match that sort of firepower." "It cannot be understated just what a threat a vessel like the Bismarck would have posed to a very vulnerable convoy system at that time." "[ Newsreel: ] From the Admiralty the order went out - find the Bismarck and sink her." "Operations were put in place to trace the Bismarck, shadowing it until surface vessels of the Royal Navy could engage it and hopefully sink it, which was a direct order from Churchill." "Somewhere under that mystery of fog the Bismarck was steaming under forced draught for a safe haven." "Three aircraft were dispatched on 26 May to cover a vast swathe of the North Atlantic looking for the Bismarck." "Then a rift in the clouds." "The telltale wake." "The quarry is sighted." "Bismarck, although it was lost after its first sighting, was picked up again and a continuous chain of relief aircraft," "Catalinas, set out to shadow the aircraft until it was closed by the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and heavy surface vessels of the Navy." "[ Cannon booms. ]" "[ Dramatic music plays. ]" "After a pursuit lasting more than two days, the Bismarck was finally sunk on 27 May, 1941." "I imagine very few people who sail in here and use this marina have any idea of the significance of the waters around here to the war effort." "Absolutely crucial." "Leaving Neil at the boat yard," "I set off to explore this intriguing little island." "Kerrera is just four miles long, and has a population of around thirty." "I'm heading to the south of the island in the hope of encountering some of its other inhabitants, who, I'm told, also played their part in the war effort." "The story goes that a passing U-boat crew disembarked here under cover of darkness, in search of supplies and fresh water." "But upon hearing noises which they assumed were sentry patrols, the crew rapidly retreated empty-handed." "It turns out that this was who they actually heard that night." "[ Goats bleat. ]" "Meet Kerrera's very own battalion of wild goats." "Now, this is really quite exciting." "I've just spotted some of the famed fascist-fighting goats up on the hillside." "And the billy goats in particular are really quite warlike looking." "I'm not surprised that the Nazis were scared off." "Goats aren't the only wildlife to be found on Kerrera." "There's a seal colony, otters, dolphins and porpoises." "If you're lucky, you might catch sight of a golden eagle, or perhaps even a sea eagle." "Another rare sight is a car." "Any chance of a lift?" "Oh, thanks very much." "'Cause my plates of meat are absolutely killing me." "I'm hitching a lift to see some rather exotic creatures that have been given shelter on the island." "Nine years ago, Yvonne MacMillan came here from the mainland." "Welcome to the sanctuary." "Thanks very much." "She decided this was the ideal place to set up a bird sanctuary with a difference." "How many birds have you got in here?" "Just under a hundred." "Just under a hundred?" "[ Laughs. ] That's a lot." "It's a sanctuary within a sanctuary." "It's a very, very safe place." "The island is wonderful, the people are incredible." "So we couldn't ask for a safer place for the birds." "And the birds that Yvonne is looking after need very special care and attention." "I'll just watch my head." "Because this is the location for Scotland's one and only parrot sanctuary." "Be warned - you may want to turn down the volume at this point." "[ Parrots screech loudly. ]" "Enough." "Enough." "There are many different species here." "Macaws, African greys, eclectus and cockatoos, to name but a few." "Sanctuaries are traditionally places of solitude and quietness and peace." "[ Laughs. ] But it's pretty noisy in here." "You're definitely right on that one." "It is very noisy in here." "Especially in the mornings when it's feeding time or when visitors appear." "These birds come here when there is nowhere else for them to go." "In some cases they've been mistreated and are deeply disturbed." "Charlie came to us from a rescue centre down south." "He was very, very badly abused." "There you are, darlin'." "He's a beauty, isn't he?" "He is now, but when he first came in he was bald." "Was he bald?" "Yeah, he had no head feathers, body feathers - he was a mess." "But he had been beaten up." "And the gentlemen who done it got a five hundred pound fine." "Inca is a ten-year-old macaw who was agitated and aggressive when Yvonne first took her in." "I worked with her and my arms were scarred and she was stressed." "She was biting you?" "Yeah." "But once we broke through the four hours, she was lying in my arms..." "What do you say?" "[ Parrot: ] Thank you." "Good boy." "♫ Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go" "♫ We work all day and we get no pay" "♫ Hi-ho, hi-ho. ♫" "Parrots can be faithful lifelong companions who can live for up to a hundred years." "But people often underestimate just how much care and attention these highly intelligent creatures need." "They can be ear-piercingly loud, hyperactive and messy." "And when they become attached to someone, they can become jealous and aggressive." "These two fellas here..." "They're fighting over me." "They're two girls, and they're fighting over me." "Are they?" "Yeah." "Yeah, stop it." "Yes, she says stop it." "When owners can't cope, the birds can be passed from home to home before ending up here where Yvonne tries to deal with their emotional baggage." "And how long do you keep them for?" "Ever." "You keep them forever?" "Yeah." "We do not rehome birds." "Do your parrots respond well to this environment?" "They watch everyday birds flying, trees moving." "They can see everything." "And for them, that's as close as we can get them to the wild." "Want me to blow bubbles?" "[ Blows raspberry. ]" "[ Laughs. ] Do they like that?" "For many of these beautiful creatures, this is their last chance." "Kerrera may not be the tropical climes that is the natural habitat for these birds, but what they do have here is love, affection and safety." "[ Squawks. ]" "Close as it is to the mainland," "Kerrera still feels very much apart." "As I make my way back across the water to my next destination, it's becoming clear that the sense of remoteness and isolation that islands offer is defined as much by a state of mind as distance." "I'm heading now to a group of islands with a very different character." "And it's a route that involves my shortest ever island crossing." "To get to Seil Island, I need to cross this wonderful old bridge." "It's called The Bridge Over the Atlantic, although I have to say, the stretch of ocean it actually crosses is really rather narrow." "This bridge was built at the height of the Industrial Revolution and it's a gateway to a group of islands that are very much defined by their industrial past." "They're known as the Slate Islands and I'm heading across Seil to make another short crossing to Easdale, which is just half a mile long by a quarter of a mile wide." "Easdale is such a tiny island that cars are completely pointless." "Instead, islanders use a much more environmentally friendly form of transport - the humble but glorious wheelbarrow." "It may not keep you dry in the rain, but it's the most convenient way of getting your shopping from the ferry to your front door." "A wheelbarrow isn't just convenient, it's also extremely cheap." "The running costs are next to nothing." "And when it comes to parking, well, when you stop, you simply drop." "And you don't have to spend too long on Easdale to see why this is one of the Slate Islands." "This is quite a sight - there's slate everywhere." "Harbour walls made of slate, the houses are made of slate." "The slate roofs, obviously, and piles of slate on the beaches." "The geology of these islands ensured a plentiful supply of rock that could be easily split and shaped." "Slate is highly durable, waterproof and was in demand in the early part of the 18th century." "For some two hundred years, millions of tonnes of slate were extracted from here and the neighbouring islands of Seil, Luing and Belnahua." "In fact, the landscape of Easdale has been transformed by the slate industry which literally dug the heart out of the island." "This is a very spectacular location, Iain." "It's astonishing." "Yes." "My guide today is Iain McDougall who comes from a long line of Easdale slate quarriers." "Once the technology improved, where they could actually pump significant amounts of water, the quarries, as you see them now, started." "Now, what depth of water are we looking at here?" "There's about a hundred and twenty, a hundred and forty feet." "Good grief." "Really?" "Yes." "So the bottom of these quarries was a hundred and twenty, a hundred and forty feet below sea level?" "Yes." "How would men have got down to the bottom of the quarry?" "Ladders." "They climbed down ladders?" "Yes." "You're exposed to the weather." "Uh-huh." "It was a dirty, dusty, mighty job." "And what kind of life do you think the men had living here?" "I wouldn't have thought it would be an easy life." "The men were paid in company tokens." "Right." "To be spent in the company shop." "Their houses had no water, no electricity, no sanitation." "They weren't much better than slaves, really, were they?" "But in comparison with life outside, I think they had a fairly good life." "Uh-huh." "Because the company actually employed a doctor to look after the welfare of the families on the island." "One of the houses there was a library and there was a school on the island, which was paid for by the company." "At its peak, ten million tonnes of slates were exported every year from here all over the world." "But in 1881, production was dramatically halted." "Now, what happened to stop the industry in its tracks?" "There was the once in the century gale." "November, 1881." "Hundred mile an hour winds." "High spring tides coming from the south-west, which brings the water up the Firth of Lorne, channels it so the tide is even higher and it just literally washed into the quarries." "My grandfather told me that the waves were so big, they were breaking over, right over the island." "It must have been absolutely terrifying." "It was terrifying, yes." "So they thought the whole place was going to be washed away." "You know, it was in dire danger of total inundation." "I mean, of course, what was inundated were the quarries." "The quarries." "Yeah." "What we're talking about here is a post-Industrial landscape, in a way." "We certainly are." "Although the quarrying industry is long gone, these huge, volcanic-like craters remain surrounded by an endless supply of slate." "And islanders have come up with a novel way of making use of these natural resources." "For the past few years, Easdale Island has become the venue for a world championship event, which has to be one of the most affordable sports ever." "To show me how it's done, I'm meeting local resident Donald Melville." "So we're heading down here towards the quarry." "Yep." "This is a natural amphitheatre." "Right." "This is an arena for gladiators, is it?" "It feels like that on the day sometimes, yes, uh-huh." "Uh-huh." "Do you get nervous when you come down here?" "Big competition day?" "Yes, uh-huh." "People come from all over the country and in fact travel internationally to come and see us as well." "If you haven't already guessed," "Easdale is home to the World Stone Skimming Championships." "So that's that." "Oh, wow!" "Now, that was superbly done." "So, you've got rules and regulations governing this sport." "Absolutely." "The stones have to be naturally formed from Easdale slate." "Uh-huh." "You can't bring your own stones." "This is one of the regulation size." "It's less than three inches in diameter." "And that forms the perfect skimming stone if thrown." "If thrown well, yes, uh-huh." "And how does the competition actually work?" "It's got to hit the water three times." "In other words, bounce twice." "Right." "And it's where the stone sinks out of sight, and it's the distance it goes by, not the amount of bounces." "Do you want to have a wee shot?" "I'll have a wee shot." "Now, I've skimmed a few stones in my time and I reckon I have what it takes to become a champion." "Oh, no!" "That was pathetic." "Not the best." "Would you like to demonstrate how it's done?" "I'll have a go." "Just get down as low as you can, good long arm back and spin as hard as you can." "Well, that's pretty good." "Ooh." "I think that slowed down towards the end." "That wasn't too bad." "Yeah." "And what's your personal best now?" "Personal best is forty-seven metres." "And that was at the European Championships in Holland." "Right." "So this has gone international, this sport?" "Mm-hm, yep, there are actually competitions in Australia," "Switzerland, Holland, and I believe Germany as well." "And what's the furthest anyone has managed to skim one of these stones?" "Several people have actually hit the back wall." "Well, how far away is that?" "That's amazing." "Sixty-five metres." "Sixty-five metres?" "!" "That can't happen very often." "Every year, for the last three or four years, people have hit the back wall." "There's nothing I like better than a challenge." "Don't suppose there's any chance of you guys ever running out of slate, is there?" "Well, we know that there are a lot of them down there." "[ Chuckles. ]" "It can fill up your quarry." "There's something strangely compulsive about skimming stones." "But I'm learning there's a lot more to it than meets the eye." "A big part of it is getting the correct amount of spin as the stone leaves your hand." "And it's crucial that you hit the surface of the water at the right angle." "The optimum is twenty degrees, apparently." "That's pretty good." "Yes, that's good." "Yep." "Yes." "Much better." "That's a good thirty, is it not?" "Easily thirty-seven." "Forty?" "We'll go for forty." "I'm up there." "But I've got a long way to go before I can match the experts." "Oh." "Oh!" "Oh!" "Wow, that is amazing." "That was my personal best." "Definitely." "I'm gonna have another shot now." "It's quite addictive, this, isn't it?" "It does get you." "Yes." "Oh!" "What happened there?" "I think you hit a fish." "For the final leg of my journey," "I'm heading south-west to the Garvellachs." "While these islands are only a short distance from the mainland, they were sought out for their solitude and sense of isolation." "My destination is the holy island of Eileach an Naoimh, which is Gaelic for the Isle of the Saints." "I'm retracing the journey of a remarkable Irish monk from the 6th century " "Saint Brendan of Clonfert, better known as Brendan the Navigator, who set off from Ireland in search of the Isle of the Blessed." "With seven disciples," "Brendan embarked on a seven-year voyage in a boat made of leather." "He finally arrived here on Eileach an Naoimh, where he established his religious settlement." "Incredibly, the ruins of the monastery are still here." "Now, this is a truly impressive sight." "This is the oldest Christian building in the whole of Scotland and was built before Columba arrived on Iona." "And it's a beautifully-preserved example of the type of architecture that's intimately associated with the early Irish monks who brought Christianity to Scotland." "They were known as beehive cells because of their distinctive conical shape." "Monks of the Celtic church sought out lonely islands like this to pray and contemplate the wonders of creation." "Here, they felt far from the distractions of the human world, yet close to God." "It's been claimed that St Columba himself visited the island." "And on a hillside above the monastery is intriguing evidence that supports this theory." "This, according to legend, is the grave of an Irish princess." "Now, the story goes that her name was Eithne, and she was the mother of St Columba." "This is reputedly one of the oldest Christian burial sites in Scotland." "And somewhat appropriately, the stone used to mark her grave is slate." "And what a beautiful and peaceful last resting place she has, surrounded by the sea and within sight of the mainland." "I can't think of a better place to end this Grand Tour of the Scottish islands." "On my next Grand Tour, I'm heading north to explore some of the farthest flung islands in the Orkneys."