Grand Tours of Scotland's Lochs

Paul explores the wilds of Loch Etive and travels to Loch Gairloch and Loch Maree.

Paul explores Loch Ba, Knoydart and Lochaber.

Paul explores Sutherland and Assynt and travels to the Trossachs lochs.

The first programme of the series sees Paul travelling hopefully from the shores of Loch Hope to the glorious and lonely expanse of Sandwood Bay on the far north west of Scotland. Along the way he encounters a Pictish king and an ancient Broch, discovers wartime secrets in Loch Eriboll and a hidden monument to a naval disaster.

In this programme, Paul follows in the footsteps of Bonnie Prince Charlie, exploring the lesser-known lochs along the west coast of Scotland. Landing at Glenuig, he makes his way inland to Loch Moidart and MacDonald country, walking the old coffin road, which was used for centuries by funeral parties, taking their dead to a sacred isle. On the track, Paul meets a trials bike enthusiast and learns the secrets of a 'dabbing coat', before landing of the Green Isle where he rings a 1100 year-old bell for the dead. Taking a boat north, Paul sails up Loch Shiel to Glenfinnan where Bonnie Prince Charlie officially began his rising to reclaim the throne for the Stuart Dynasty. From a forgotten monument that commemorates this event, Paul heads back to the coast and Loch Ailort, where he learns how to knife fight before taking a trip across the loch to a deserted community on the roadless Ardnish peninsula.

Paul sails along a much-loved route through the Kyles of Bute to Dunoon, discovering a secret history of WW2 bouncing bombs along the way. From Dunoon and its connections with international singing star Harry Lauder, Paul gets nostalgic about nuclear submarines in the Holy Loch. Here he meets a man with an impressive water-powered organ. Crossing the loch, Paul beats hot steel with a blacksmith whose ancestors have been working Vulcan’s forge for six generations. Their work includes the Golden Gates at Benmore gardens, where Paul learns about a sugar daddy who collected art on a scale to rival the Tate collection. On the shores of Loch Long, Paul discovers a Viking connection in the shape of a vintage sailing boat that takes him to scale the heights of the people’s mountain – the Cobbler.

Paul explores the lochs of Skye. He hears tales of the singer Donovan and his dream of a hippy colony. He then goes in search of a Viking ship canal, before tackling one of the longest rock climbs in the Cuillin Mountains – the Dubhs Ridge. Visiting Scotland’s longest sea loch, Paul learns how to paddle a coracle, then follows Queen Victoria on the trail of poverty tourism, before having fun with the tale of MacPhunn - a man who cheated the noose. From the wreckage of a World War II superfortress and stories of diamond smuggling, Paul visits a sacred Tinkers’ Heart before ringing the changes at Inveraray.

Paul discovers a forgotten German PoW camp from WWI before walking to the Blackwater Dam – built 100 years ago by the last of the navvies. Afterwards, a trek across the moors leads to the UK’s highest and remotest railway station. After enjoying luxury in the middle-of-nowhere at Corrour Lodge, Paul makes a long hike down to Loch Laggan, where he is taken out to an island with a legendary feasting tradition. Further south, he explores the lochs of the northern Trossachs. Here, he learns about mythic water horses and the legend of Rob Roy MacGregor, and meets a man who casts doubt on this legendary character. Paul then travels along a disused railway to the ‘Shaky Toun’ – Scotland’s earthquake centre. A trek on horseback takes Paul to Loch Tay, where he goes back to the Iron Age and learns how to light a fire without matches. Journey’s end is on the summit of mist-wreathed Ben Lawers.

Paul’s loch-hopping journey starts in the west, on a wild and windswept stretch of Loch Hourn. Travelling inland, he reaches the sheltered Loch Quoich, where he hears tales of Scotland’s last outlaw. On the shores of Loch Lochy, he meets a couple who had a memorable encounter with a monster from the deep called Lizzie. A detour south leads to a ruined bridge where the first shots of the ’45 were fired, and on Loch Ness, Paul meets a man who remembers the fastest man on water, John Cobb. Heading west again to the forgotten lands of Morvern, Paul sees the devil in a fossil before plunging deep underground to discover a connection between sand and WW2. At Fort William in Lochaber, he follows a Jacobite theme, encountering the Strange Plate and the secrets of Jacobite bank notes. Journey’s end is a ‘loch that never was’ beneath the magnificent 300ft Steall Falls.