Scotland's highlands: Loch Ness, legends and magical beauty

DW (English)

DW explores the Scottish Highlands: Myths, castles, the hunt for Nessie and culinary surprises included.

Transcript

00:00Freitsegu Albe, that means welcome to Scotland in Gaelic, a language that is still spoken

00:06here in the Highlands, a place of myth, history and a weather that has feelings.

00:12I'll meet fuzzy animals, explore spooky castles and taste the unthinkable.

00:17Wish me luck!

00:20But before we get to that, let's start at the very beginning, with a monster.

00:28Inverness is the sometimes quite windy capital of the Highlands and gateway to the Scottish wonder.

00:34It has 47,000 inhabitants and a lot of tourists, especially during summer.

00:40Nessie, the greatest mystery of the Highlands.

00:43Nessie is said to be a monster that lives here in the Lake Loch Ness.

00:47This lake is almost 230 meters deep and that's also why it's so cold.

00:52Not even 15 degrees of average temperature in July.

00:56And therefore swimming is strongly discouraged.

00:59But maybe this is the perfect temperature for monsters.

01:04The story around the Loch Ness monster Nessie surged in 1933, when Hugh Gray published this

01:09photo of it.

01:11Many now believe the picture actually shows his Labrador with a stick in its mouth, but

01:16the image essentially sparked the modern hunt for Nessie.

01:19We're now going on a search on this boat together with some other spotters.

01:28We've come to see if we can see the Loch Ness monster.

01:42Aha!

01:43So you're a Nessie hunter?

01:44Yeah.

01:45Yeah.

01:46Yeah.

01:47What do you think?

01:48How does Nessie look like?

01:49Um, we kind of think it's like a dinosaur, but it's like, I personally think it's like

01:55a big eel, but like a mutated eel thing, like evolution.

02:00Yeah.

02:01And it goes to the surface to get fish to survive.

02:04Yeah.

02:05Okay.

02:06That's a very specific idea of Nessie.

02:08Perhaps she's just camera shy because she knows how many people are looking for her, including

02:13up here at Urquhart Castle, which has a great view of Loch Ness, for those who are allowed

02:19in.

02:20I am Mike the Knight.

02:23I am the constable of the castle.

02:25My job would be to guard the gate and check everyone going in and out and see they were

02:29allowed to come in.

02:30And at which time are we right now?

02:32Oh, 1314.

02:33I'm over 700 years old.

02:35Oh, wow.

02:36Moisturizer.

02:37Yeah.

02:38Yeah.

02:43Urquhart Castle is not only the place where most Nessie sightings were reported, it's also

02:48one of Scotland's most visited ruins today.

02:51And it has a long history.

02:53Built in the 13th century, it was once an important fortress in the Middle Ages to defend the Highlands.

03:06And there is another place where the Highlands were defended long ago.

03:09We'll continue by car.

03:13And don't forget to sit on the right and drive on the left side.

03:18The Highland tourist route isn't just a drive, it's a cinematic journey.

03:22Every curve reveals a new amazing view.

03:28This field also has a long and bloody history.

03:31The battlefield of Culloden. In 1746, around 1500 Jacobite soldiers were killed or wounded

03:38in the fight for the British throne.

03:40And if you're a fan of the series Outlander, you might have recognized this field.

03:46Some of the series was filmed right here on the battlefield, since parts of the show's

03:51story focus on the Jacobite rising.

03:56And if you'd rather focus on the here and now instead of the past?

04:03Around Inverness you'll find many spots to spot Scottish cattle grazing.

04:07They are not only very shaggy, but pretty undemanding.

04:13These animals eat everything the pasture has to offer and are outside in all weather.

04:18Their fur just protects them from all adversities.

04:21So perfect for the Highlands then.

04:24It is one of Scotland's national dishes, haggis.

04:28Its ingredients are not to everyone's taste.

04:32Enjoy.

04:33Let me just ask you one question.

04:34What are the ingredients of haggis?

04:36Haggis is really sheep's intestines and goats.

04:39And this is what she is, it's stuffed with other parts of the sheep and goats.

04:43Okay, good, interesting, thank you very much.

04:46Here it's also baked with cheese and served with turnips and potatoes, or neeps and tetties

04:51as they are called in Scotland.

04:56Honestly, this is really good.

04:58I like it.

04:59And the good thing is, while I finish this, I can also listen to music over there because

05:04that is also very typical for the Highlands, that in pops like this, you have live bands

05:09every night.

05:16I came to Chase Legends and I found stories, strength and a little piece of peace.

05:21The Highlands are just more than a place, they are a feeling and I think I will carry

05:25some of that with me for a while.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended