Grand Tours of Scotland's Rivers — Season 3

Paul explores the River Don from its source in the Grampians near Cock Bridge, downstream to Aberdeen. He meets kilted Highlanders, sculptors, eccentrics and bees along the way.The River Don rises in wild land, high on the moors of the Grampian mountains. Paul follows its easterly flow from the famous Cock Bridge, where he encounters the Lonach Highlanders and a clan chief with two feathers in his cap carrying relics of the Battle of Culloden. Close to Strathdon, Paul meets an artist and sculptor who creates lifelike creatures from scrap metal, and then learns how the Aberdeen Angus became a world-beating cattle breed.At Alford, he explores an unusual transport museum and hears about an eccentric and brilliant postman who invented a steam automobile. A trip in a vintage Rolls-Royce takes Paul further along the course of the river. At Kemnay, he visits the huge quarry that once provided granite for prestigious buildings across the UK. As the river nears the sea, Paul meets a woman who wove overcoats for the Red Army. He then helps a Bulgarian couple harvest honey from their black Scottish bees before reaching the mouth of the river on the North Sea coast.

Paul explores the upper reaches of the mighty River Tay, beginning with a flight in a microlight over the river's source, high above Ben Lui. Returning to earth, Paul goes underground to explore an active gold mine beside the river. Canoeing downstream, he meets the chief of Clan Macnab on a sacred island in the river.A boat trip on Loch Tay recalls the glory days of steamers, before Paul meets up with experimental archaeologists building a replica Iron Age village on the shores of the loch. In an ancient woodland, he meets up with a tree lover who makes fabulous furniture from the oak that grows beside the river. Journey's end is the centre of the elusive heart of Scotland.

On this Grand Tour, Paul continues his journey down the mighty River Tay, from the white-water rapids of Grandtully through the fair city of Perth to the briny firth. Beneath an ancient oak near Dunkeld, Paul meets a man who plays the music of Niel Gow on a fiddle once owned by the composer himself. At a riverside villa, Paul learns about author Beatrix Potter and the inspiration behind the characters of Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggy-winkle. Continuing downstream he hears tell of a monster salmon and gets excitingly close to a nest of Osprey chicks. In the fair city of Perth Paul listens to the authentic poetic voice of William Soutar, before meeting some rare moustachioed avians. Journey's end is high above the widening river beside a folly that resembles a castle on the River Rhine.

The River Irvine in Ayrshire is the hidden gem explored on this Grand Tour. From its source close to Loudoun Hill, Paul follows the river to the town of Irvine and the sea.The River Irvine in Ayrshire is the hidden gem explored on this Grand Tour. From its source close to Loudoun Hill, Paul follows the river through ancient battle fields and discovers a legacy of lacemaking and a treasure trove of gemstones along its banks. At Kilmarnock, he salutes the memory of whisky giant Johnnie Walker – but is shocked to learn how the national poet Robert Burns once contemplated emigrating to Jamaica to work on a slave plantation. In Irvine, Paul visits the Scottish Maritime Museum and pulls at the oars as he joins a team of rowers heading out to sea.

The River Forth is a quintessentially Scottish river, flowing from highlands to lowlands. Paul follows its meandering and history-filled course to the sea.This Grand Tour follows the River Forth from the eastern slopes of Ben Lomond in the southern highlands, through the picturesque Trossachs, to the Firth of Forth. On the way, Paul walks in the footsteps of outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy, discovers the secrets of Flanders Moss – the biggest lowland raised bog in the UK – and takes part in the victory over an English army at Bannockburn. In the city of Stirling, he is uplifted by the musical story of Big Noise, a movement that originated in Venezuela, and which champions musical skills for young people from less privileged backgrounds. Heading downstream, Paul arrives at the riverside town of Alloa, where he discovers the story of a teenage backing group. In 1960, they played a gig here with the heartthrob and crooner of the day, Johnny Gentle. The backing group called themselves the Silver Beetles. A few years later, they went on to conquer the world of music as The Beatles.

Paul explores the River Oykel in Sutherland from its source in Assynt, to the Dornoch Firth and the sea. He learns about the loneliest and highest war grave in Scotland, tries for trout in a lochan over 1000ft above sea level, and then hears tell of the riotous events of the Year of the Sheep.Downstream, he discovers the legacy of the Duke's giant toothpick when, in the 19th century, the fabulously wealthy Duke of Sutherland spent a fortune trying to create agricultural land out of a peat bog. In a remote glen, Paul meets a man who controversially hopes one day to bring back wild wolves to the highlands. Journey's end is on the Dornoch Firth where Paul learns about an ambitious project to re-create a huge native oyster bed.