Grand Tours of Scotland - Season 3

Paul Murton travels around one of Scotland's best-loved holiday destinations, the Isle of Arran, known as 'Scotland in miniature'. Paul sets off to explore this diverse island that has something for everyone - ruined castles, rugged mountains, stunning wildlife and even a nudist beach.

The first travellers to come north were predominantly men. Scotland was considered to be very much a 'man's world' - full of unseen perils that could only be faced down by the brave and definitely not a placefor ladies! Paul Murton travels through Dumfries and Galloway to uncover the stories of the pioneering female tourists who were determined not to be left at home and bravely headed north to explore Scotland.

If you want to experience the wild side of life, then the northern highlands of Scotland is where you have to be.

Paul Murton crosses the country coast to coast, from the remote lighthouse at Tarbat Ness over to the iconic castle of Eilean Donan. Travelling off the beaten track, Paul encounters the beautiful bottlenose dolphins that live in the Cromarty firth and travels by horseback through one of Scotland's most spectacular locations, Glen Affric.

The search for a comfortable bed for the night is a challenge that has faced tourists coming to Scotland for two centuries. Some early traveller accounts are very complimentary about the hospitality theyreceived while others are not quite so favourable, and the same could probably be said by tourists today.

In this episode, Paul Murton travels from the shores of the Firth of Forth into the depths of rural Perthshire, and his trip requires him to bed down in everything from a hippy yurt to the exclusive Lochnagar suite at the Gleneagles Hotel.

Paul Murton visits the places connected to the life of one of the first global superstars - Robert Burns - the man who made Ayrshire famous. Paul's 'grand tour' takes him from Alloway, following the Burns Trail to Mauchline, before heading for the coast and discovering the delights of Butlins, bathing and betting.

By the end of the Victorian era, Scotland had become a favourite summer holiday destination. But what happened when the chill winds of winter began to blow and the tourists packed their bags and headed forhome? In this final episode, Paul Murton travels from the icy shores of the Lake of Menteith to the summit of Britain's highest and most wintry mountain, Ben Nevis, to discover how Scotland was first promoted as a winter holiday destination - after all, 'it's just like Switzerland' - isn't it?