So you could toil 14 hours a day in the fields and in smoky, ill-lit kitchens? Coping with widespread poor health and infant mortality? Banned from playing games on a Sunday? It never ceases to amaze me that people watch tourist promotion films and believe they're seeing social history.
@@gordon1545your view is amazing. We are in the end of days and you wouldn't go back?! Enjoy what's coming mate it's worse than the world has ever known
My Mate Ritchie Hislop and i cycled through the Highlands for 2 weeks in 1956,and we had a wonderful time staying at Scottish Youth Hostels .Our Country is certainly very beautiful , had very little cash in these days , so on our last day staying at Crainlarich in the morning all we had cash for was 2 wee packets of individual corn flakes to get us home to Bingham, Portobello, Edinburgh, aye we were a wee bit hungry that day cycling hame . Duncan Pitkeathly .
The actress reminds me of my wee redheaded Scottish Wifie of over 40 years - little did l realize how fiery a temper could be contained in such a beautiful small frame!
The late Duncan Macrae,then a Scottish Institution. We fifties born kids remember him. The Sergeant Piper In Tunes of Glory 1960, with John Mills and Alec Guiness.
Love these bits of old film..... I like to archive and after many years I now have a massive archive and a special section for bits of film like this. In this current age I hope people will watch these films and see that there is something we have lost back there somewhere and its something we need to get back..... respect for the land and the people, the mystery of the land and our connection with it.... the list goes on and these are things that we lose at our own peril.
Fantastic short video. It really doesn't need any further comment. For those and us who love the Highlands, this film captures every detail. Thank you Johnny Cassettes and TH-cam.
Loved the video, takes me back to my early childhood days back in the early 60s when the roads, towns and villages were just as in the video. I still visit the Highlands & islands every year as our main holiday, usually 2 or 3 weeks when we try to visit a new island each visit. Interestingly, whilst on Skye only a few years ago, I am certain the old 'dumper tractor' in the video (approx 19.55 in) was sitting at the side of the road on the coast road above Portree!! Has anyone else noticed it? Back in the '60s, a company called Hunter of Glasgow were the main contractors who 'dualled' the roads and bridges on the island. The company went bust and lots of their green liveried machines and vehicles were abandoned at the side of the road, i recall an Atkinson lowloader outfit with a road roller aboard in great, usable condition just parked up in a layby!!
Wonderful, colourful description of the Highlands and Islands. I was 11 when this was released. Seven years later I was on a camping/ touring holiday to many of these places. Writing this in Aug 2020 I'm sitting in my camper on a site in Gairloch overlooking Skye. The scenery is unchanging and remains magical. I love place.
We visited a caravan site in the 69s at Gairloch, loads of huge jelly fish on the beach after a wild storm. My dad served up in Scapa Flow on the Artic convoys
I love these films. They make a bit sad but also very very nostalgic for those far off days, when men were men and ladies were ladies, who wore fine cloths and people were much more relaxed and very happy with their life, even though they were only poor in money but not in pride and content with their lives.
Those things were never true though and these films were marketing material, not documentaries. Women were absolutely not more relaxed or happier with their lives in the Highlands, nor were they wearing fine cloths. What you're seeing is the small number of people wealthy enough to go on holidays, carefully shot for this promotional film. The women of the Highlands toiled in the fields in all weathers and in heavy clothes, just like the men. They are far more relaxed and happy now. The realities of social history are important to understand, otherwise we live in myths.
WONDERFUL!!! Went on a three day trip to the highlands about 5 years ago. It was beautiful, like going back in time, in fact, I think it was the same coach.
@Kiethnaylor : The same coach? Absolutely no way ! It's Citylink modern transport nowadays .I guess the best way to describe them are similar to American grey hound coaches. Those old types of buses seen in this film footage haven't been in existence in my whole lifetime and I'm 54 years young , born , bred and still live in Scotland. God bless you though and whatever mode of transport you used , thank you for visiting bonny Scotland 😊 🏴
Used to go to Scotland on holiday every year from 1970 to 1982 with my parents and sister. We used to tow a caravan and I have been to all f these places. Glen Coe was always my favourite then Fort William also liked Tralee Bay near Oban.
People on that bus would be talking to each other, these days each stupid head would be buried in a mobile phone, posting on anti-social media and not even looking at the landscape.
Hi You are quite correct we went to near Arrocahar from the south west of england 2 years ago 2 very middle aged woen totally spolit the journey and throughout the tour of 5 days by playing very loud music on their mobile phones and shouting when a call was made. To make matters worse on nthe last I counted in excess of 50 text messages. This was the third cpoach trip we made with the same company and all were spolit by unruly inconsiderate middle aged women shouting. Needless to say we will never travel on a long distance coach again. Being an exiled Scot we thought that this would ave us in car travel an be relaxing never never again!!
@@crawfordg Women are genitically programmed to talk incessantly whenever there is more than one present. When we go out for a meal we always find ourselves next to the table with the screechy woman. I note I'm not the only person to call it anti social media.
Amazing to see how formally dressed everyone was back then, even traveling by bus. I was in the pass of Glencoe a few weeks ago, and it hasn't changed any. And those mountaineers are nuts. This film was made in the year I was born, so it's sobering to think that all of these people are no longer with us. Oh, and funny how it never rained.
That's why you go during the short sunny season. I imagine it is like many places: there is a short time of year, say two months of the year at most, where sun is fairly common. All the rest of the year it is quite uncommon.
@@unconventionalideas5683 We don't even get that in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. I've been trapped here for 40 years, and summers are a miserable affair! Cloudy and cold. But then there is no place to swim nearby anyway, except a river filled with fertilizer, pesticide, and algae. The right wingers here have destroyed the few good things that did exist. And they have gerrymandered the electoral boundaries so that 1 million right wing MAGAt farmers and seperatists can out vote over 3 million city dwellers. If only we could have a little bit of sun and warmth to give us a few nice days to lessen our misery! But not here. This summer, 2023, has been the worst I've seen in my whole life.
In the islands it actually rains a lot less than in the hills. The clouds just go overhead and drop their load when they hit the mountains on the mainland. We still get our share of wet weather, but it's funny the way the islands are often deserted and have beautiful weather, then we come to the mainland, up into the hills and into the fog and all of a sudden there are runners and hikers and joggers everywhere enjoying "scotch mist".
I first toured Scotland all around coast in 1974...went up in 2001 on motorbike bridges at Ballachulish and skye now there.. nearly parted this world at sligacan bike accident....have been many times I'm from cumbria this film may seem quaint but it is why Scotland is my first favourite place to go....brillant from dave
Ah....the Highlands...how lovely, unless you live there then it's putting up with rain from September to June, potholes that can swallow a bus and midges that can strip your epidermis in under a minute.
I'm a Dickson, or Deidreksen if you like, of Clan McLeod. My forebears never "neglected" their Skye cattle nor Croft nor kin a day in their lives! They were cleared, their livelihood stolen, their language and culture suppressed. But forgive the past sins, Hold Fast, God our Father is greater than all. And New Zealand did us all fine. Thank ye.
We stayed at Killin on the Scottish part our honeymoon. This is the first year we’ve not been back to Scotland as we had to cancel because of the pandemic.
17:59 - on its journey from the Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin turntable ferry to Somerled Square in Portree, the bus is travelling along the old A87 (then it would have been the A850) on Skye hugging the west coast of Loch Ainort, before the new road was built inland.
Did anyone ever read the novels by Lillian Beckwith starting with her first one, The Hills is Lonely a fabulous set of stories and wonderfully humorous
Portree harbour looks like how I last saw it in 1988 when I left. I can't remember what pub we used to drink in but from outside it we could see the police car doing their circuit so we could time our exit to nash up the road to Staffin without being stopped.
My grandpa trained up at Achnacarry. Adore that part of the world and it just brings me face to face with my 17 year old pa determined to defeat Hitler
What a beautiful and smartly dressed young lady that is on the bus. So elegant. As are all those in the film. I wasn't alive when this was made, but I've watched quite a lot of 20th century documentary film and people seem to have been better dressed. Nowadays people don't seem to have any sense of style or to make much effort. Is this me being nostalgic, or is there something to it? Could anyone who was around at this time let me know please?
better times, no question of that, the thickness of the old hemp climbing ropes is amazing they look 4 times thicker than the new synthetic ropes, I've seen them on a wall in a pub in the lakes and they look as if you could tow a ship with them,
What a bitter-sweet movie to watch. Back when Scotland was full of Scottish people, men were men and women were women. Climate change hadn't been invented, diversity wasn't engineered and everyone spoke the same language and believed in the same God. These days I feel like a foreigner in my own country.
Fully concur......... my dearest (sadly now late) Uncle born in 1926 in Kirkintilloch, was our last link to those wonderful and gentler times, and just so grateful to have had (through his eyes) a brief glimpse back to those times when visiting from NZ in 2008, - a true Scot, and a gentleman.
Bitter - sweet indeed, your post is just about word for word as I'd have written it! Although I love watching these types of videos, and always will, they also rub it in as to how far downhill our country has gone (been forced to go!) Luckily I've made it into the autumnal years of my life while the country was relatively unharmed. See what winter brings, eh ... ? 🤔🙄😐
PEOPLE ASK ME WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD I LIVE IF I COULD LIVE ANYWHERE OF CHOICE WELL I'VE SEEN A FAIR BIT OF THE WORLD AND IT'D BE SCOTLAND EVERY TIME. I'VE BEEN HALF A DOZEN TIMES CAMPED IN A FEW SPOTS BATTLED THE DREADED MIDGIES LOL SCOTLAND FOR ME THE LAND MOUNTAINS LOCHS AND PEOPLE BEAUTIFUL SCOTLAND AND I'M ACTUALLY ITALIAN ENGLISH 🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🌕➕❤️🙊🙉🙈💜💥
Looks like its already been said, vote snp again and it will look just like this again the land cleared and sold off to CCP to become poor bt independent
Rather different now - the great views are still there but the sides of the road are littered with the rubbish left behind or thrown out the car windows of the people going to see it who say they love it so much
Got to give credit to the person who does the subtitles bloody funny, ferry comes in where I stay, I could see my house, pretty cool, shame about the subtitles, it talks about Ben nevis in the subtitles it's pandavas
I don't know why 'anorak' has become such a slur - I think the climbers looked very stylish, bright primary coloured modern gear might occasionally be safer and probably drier, but it is ugly. I did that journey in 1971, the ferry at Kyle of Lochalsh was a bit bigger by then, but mostly it is as I remember it. They picked good days for the filming though, in desperate need to tempt in the American tourists, it's a wet place a lot of the time.
"We'll know everyone that steps ashore. Or we can find out about those we don't know." A great idea. But it does not apply for young islamic men of fighting age breaking in to Britain today.
I love seeing holiday makers dressed in woolen suits and neckties, Mum in her best hat and dress, maybe knitting while looking at the sights. Quaint times.
What a cracking film,from 1957 I was 9 years old then, the views are stunning great to see passengers chatting together and I particularly liked the lady knitting.The coach they are in I think is a Bedford WTB model and the coachbuilder's were probably Duple,these are day's of no power steering of cause and I guess it would have with no synchromesh,but i'm no expert,quite a task driving along those windey B road,s and,the coach driver looking very smart in his uniform it would be standard dress for staff and complemented with a clean white shirt and most important a tie.Really enjoyed this,thanks for sharing
This is a charming film that creates deep nostalgia for the time it was made, evidently even in those who weren't alive then. I was, and an it's irresistable feeling. But when I take off the rose-tinted specs I wonder what it is we're all so affected by. Can it actually be a desire to be transported back to those times? Well, for me I'd be going back to almost certain death if I only had 1950s medical treatment to rely on. Similarly, I wouldn't be materially as well-off as I am in 2023. Despite those and other negatives, I can't shake off the feeling that there's something preferable and I guess it's the feeling of a simpler existence, one where it was easier to keep track of human priorities.
Highlander born and bred, I was 1 year old when this was made, this brought back memories of my childhood, holidaying in North Uist and Loch hourne, Glengarry. Roaming the hills of my home in Tomatin just South of Inverness. Lovely film which I have saved to show my grandchildren, thank you.
Beautiful. Living within the Highlands is spectacular. The scenery is out of this world. I'm a true scotsman. Born and bred in this beautiful country. Scotland. Your movie is fantastic. Wasn't born in that era. But nothing really hasn't changed. Except the buses. The scenery is still spectacular. Wild moors. And plenty of wild places to wild camp around our beautiful land for all to share. Plus you have that feeling of Freedom.
What? I'm 55 years old and have lived in the North Highlands my whole life (Sutherland). Scenically it may be the same but culturally it's entirely different. The Highlands were an isolated destination and there were few visitors until about the 2010s. Villages were vibrant and full, family homes were passed down through generations and families lived in close proximity. The local pub or hall was full of local life at the weekend (for good and bad) and as a community it felt like we were one - we pulled together and we were a large family of Highlanders. But ease of travel, advertising, NC500, AirBnB, second homes, greed, the Instagram generation and the "colonial" attitudes of some people who have settled or own land in the Highlands have changed things forever. So yeah - the mountains might still be there and the space might still be there. But the old spirit and culture of the Highlands is slowly changing and disappearing as it becomes gentrified for the masses and the money makers.
Lovely old film which awakened some memories. Many of my ancestors were Highlanders, with a few Irish for variety. From the age of 15 (1969), I would hitch rides up to the Highands with my Sheltie and my tent, to wander and explore. I once walked from Inverness to to Shiel Bridge via Gken Affric, and the hitched up to Skye. An epic trip and Glen Affric was always a favourite. In later years I would be up there scuba diving off Skye and the Western Isles. Accessed by liveaboard dive boats which were always converted fishing boats. Great days. I too noticed the unhistorical euphemism for the Clearances, "neglect", suggesting it happened by accident.
@@dougieranger It was not more elegant. Films like this don't show the realities of toiling in the fields, cutting the peats, endless carrying and washing. It was only elegant for the wealthy.
Yes. It’s a great forgotten scandal. 70% of land was held by the Lord of the manor or the church for the benefit of all. Then in just 20 or so years it wasn’t anymore. You suddenly couldn’t feed yourself without paying someone
In 1957 people were polite, courteous and civil..and they looked clean and smart. Go forward 63 years in time to today and you will see how far backwards society has gone....no respect, no pride and no social graces... The future is bleak.
yes no one swore or was a C**t in the 50's! it was all tickety boo....what a load of mince...the future was bleak in 1939...get real...folk are folk...take off the rose tinted glesses..most folk are still ok these days...its the folk at the top that ultimately suck!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@boomtish4520 Sorry, but the statistical evidence does not support your comments….drug addiction in the highlands is far worse that the 1950’s by about a factor of 20 or greater and the same applies to crime….don’t forget that back then the Kirk played a major role in people’s lives and helped to promote the virtues of a decent, moral and ordered life albeit through the theology of hell and damnation if anyone transgressed. Poverty was always there and to a large extent it still is, although the influx of people leaving the wealthy cities in search of a dream or second homes has brought some affluence but also considerable other drawbacks…..in short, overall not a lot has improved in the 66 years that has passed since 1957…there may have been huge leaps in technology and health but society has not got a lot happier or content…and somewhere along the road an age of wonder and innocence has been lost.
This film was actually released in 1953, it is a charming reflection of a simpler time long gone now. I grew up in the North of Scotland in the fifties and had a wonderful childhood there. I thought the narrator was Duncan McRae but it is Duncan McIntrye another actor entirely, although he does sound very much like Duncan McRae who I remember fondly as Para Handy on TV in the late fifties.
Oh I wish I could time travel back to those times! ❤
So do I. So sad those times have gone.
So do I. Would you also travel to the future if you could?
So you could toil 14 hours a day in the fields and in smoky, ill-lit kitchens? Coping with widespread poor health and infant mortality? Banned from playing games on a Sunday?
It never ceases to amaze me that people watch tourist promotion films and believe they're seeing social history.
@@gordon1545your view is amazing. We are in the end of days and you wouldn't go back?! Enjoy what's coming mate it's worse than the world has ever known
@@gordon1545 No mention of rickets, TB, polio etc either. I wouldn't be so keen if I had to take the package in it's entirety.
I was 13 when this was made. I almost cried watching it. Expat in Canada.
@George Job aye. Too bad we can't turn back the clock. All the best my friend .
I would live to move to Canada one day
I was minus 2 ! Born 59
2 years but we went up every year ti 2010 doing the 500mile west coast wild camping trip
@@geoffpriestley7001 great stuff!
My Mate Ritchie Hislop and i cycled through the Highlands for 2 weeks in 1956,and we had a wonderful time staying at Scottish Youth Hostels .Our Country is certainly very beautiful , had very little cash in these days , so on our last day staying at Crainlarich in the morning all we had cash for was 2 wee packets of individual corn flakes to get us home to Bingham, Portobello, Edinburgh, aye we were a wee bit hungry that day cycling hame . Duncan Pitkeathly .
The actress reminds me of my wee redheaded Scottish Wifie of over 40 years - little did l realize how fiery a temper could be contained in such a beautiful small frame!
Hello Kevin - it is ofttimes said that the most explosive things comes in small packages. My wife was blond (now grey) and still very docile 🤞
My two years in the Highlands were the best ever. Everything right on your doorstep.
A wonderful wee film
What a beautiful documentary with such poetic a commentary.
The late Duncan Macrae,then a Scottish Institution. We fifties born kids remember him. The Sergeant Piper
In Tunes of Glory 1960, with John Mills and Alec Guiness.
Such a pleasant film.I will watch it again when I need a calming moment in my day. 🙂🦋joy
I agree!
Yep!
Love these bits of old film..... I like to archive and after many years I now have a massive archive and a special section for bits of film like this. In this current age I hope people will watch these films and see that there is something we have lost back there somewhere and its something we need to get back..... respect for the land and the people, the mystery of the land and our connection with it.... the list goes on and these are things that we lose at our own peril.
@SteveHoyland1963 Too much nostalgia for one's youth can wreck your present.
What a magnificent film. I have enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you.
Very enjoyable indeed! I love the sound of the narrators of these old films. Seeing the cars and busses in the year after I was born sigh.
Fantastic short video. It really doesn't need any further comment.
For those and us who love the Highlands, this film captures every detail.
Thank you Johnny Cassettes and TH-cam.
Loved the video, takes me back to my early childhood days back in the early 60s when the roads, towns and villages were just as in the video.
I still visit the Highlands & islands every year as our main holiday, usually 2 or 3 weeks when we try to visit a new island each visit.
Interestingly, whilst on Skye only a few years ago, I am certain the old 'dumper tractor' in the video (approx 19.55 in) was sitting at the side of the road on the coast road above Portree!!
Has anyone else noticed it?
Back in the '60s, a company called Hunter of Glasgow were the main contractors who 'dualled' the roads and bridges on the island.
The company went bust and lots of their green liveried machines and vehicles were abandoned at the side of the road, i recall an Atkinson lowloader outfit with a road roller aboard in great, usable condition just parked up in a layby!!
The narration is poetic and colourful!
fine old film. hills have not chaged much, but the roads have !! thanks for posting . Great Channel 😀😀
Wonderful, colourful description of the Highlands and Islands. I was 11 when this was released. Seven years later I was on a camping/ touring holiday to many of these places.
Writing this in Aug 2020 I'm sitting in my camper on a site in Gairloch overlooking Skye. The scenery is unchanging and remains magical. I love place.
We visited a caravan site in the 69s at Gairloch, loads of huge jelly fish on the beach after a wild storm. My dad served up in Scapa Flow on the Artic convoys
I love these films. They make a bit sad but also very very nostalgic for those far off days, when men were men and ladies were ladies, who wore fine cloths and people were much more relaxed and very happy with their life, even though they were only poor in money but not in pride and content with their lives.
Those things were never true though and these films were marketing material, not documentaries. Women were absolutely not more relaxed or happier with their lives in the Highlands, nor were they wearing fine cloths.
What you're seeing is the small number of people wealthy enough to go on holidays, carefully shot for this promotional film. The women of the Highlands toiled in the fields in all weathers and in heavy clothes, just like the men. They are far more relaxed and happy now.
The realities of social history are important to understand, otherwise we live in myths.
Superb footage. Beautiful music score.
My word, this looks so majestic!
That's it - we are booking a trip to visit the land of my ancestors.
WONDERFUL!!! Went on a three day trip to the highlands about 5 years ago. It was beautiful, like going back in time, in fact, I think it was the same coach.
The same coach...?
Really?
@Kiethnaylor : The same coach? Absolutely no way ! It's Citylink modern transport nowadays .I guess the best way to describe them are similar to American grey hound coaches. Those old types of buses seen in this film footage haven't been in existence in my whole lifetime and I'm 54 years young , born , bred and still live in Scotland. God bless you though and whatever mode of transport you used , thank you for visiting bonny Scotland 😊 🏴
Beautiful movie. Love it
Love films like this,I would have been 4,we didn’t have all the stuff that we have now but life was much better and simpler
Mark, all the best, young fellow!
I would have been four as well.
@@martm216 Me too :)
@@MegAndJas we should form a nostalgic fellowship exclusively restricted to those born in 1953!
@@martm216 There's an idea :)
Beautiful film, and the narrator and music 🎶 is excellent.oh for a time machine 😂 would go to those times in a heartbeat.
Yeh right😂
Thats how to advertise your product. Beautiful film and a story well told. 👍
'Nostalgia is a comfortable disease.'
"The loneliest moor in all of Scotland" -- sounds like it's inviting me to live there.
Used to go to Scotland on holiday every year from 1970 to 1982 with my parents and sister. We used to tow a caravan and I have been to all f these places. Glen Coe was always my favourite then Fort William also liked Tralee Bay near Oban.
17:40 neglect!? That was the Clearances!
It is There To Find!!! Thanks for posting!! Chilling!!
Lovely old film, many thanks for posting.
People on that bus would be talking to each other, these days each stupid head would be buried in a mobile phone, posting on anti-social media and not even looking at the landscape.
Hi You are quite correct we went to near Arrocahar from the south west of england 2 years ago 2 very middle aged woen totally spolit the journey and throughout the tour of 5 days by playing very loud music on their mobile phones and shouting when a call was made. To make matters worse on nthe last I counted in excess of 50 text messages. This was the third cpoach trip we made with the same company and all were spolit by unruly inconsiderate middle aged women shouting. Needless to say we will never travel on a long distance coach again. Being an exiled Scot we thought that this would ave us in car travel an be relaxing never never again!!
CGH doesn’t matter what age they are, not about that for me, I see idiots of all ages addicted to their mobiles.
@@crawfordg Women are genitically programmed to talk incessantly whenever there is more than one present. When we go out for a meal we always find ourselves next to the table with the screechy woman.
I note I'm not the only person to call it anti social media.
Sad but true.
How right you are. I live in a tourist resort and I see this every day.
Beautiful part of the world.
In those days in scotland there was always understated classical music playing
A mix of popular tunes, Scottish reels and filler played by an orchestra. Not actual "classical" music.
Oh Bonnie Scotland how I love thee! 🤗😍☺️❤️🌊🌅🌺🎶🐬🏔️
Amazing to see how formally dressed everyone was back then, even traveling by bus. I was in the pass of Glencoe a few weeks ago, and it hasn't changed any. And those mountaineers are nuts. This film was made in the year I was born, so it's sobering to think that all of these people are no longer with us. Oh, and funny how it never rained.
That's why you go during the short sunny season. I imagine it is like many places: there is a short time of year, say two months of the year at most, where sun is fairly common. All the rest of the year it is quite uncommon.
@@unconventionalideas5683 We don't even get that in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. I've been trapped here for 40 years, and summers are a miserable affair! Cloudy and cold. But then there is no place to swim nearby anyway, except a river filled with fertilizer, pesticide, and algae.
The right wingers here have destroyed the few good things that did exist. And they have gerrymandered the electoral boundaries so that 1 million right wing MAGAt farmers and seperatists can out vote over 3 million city dwellers.
If only we could have a little bit of sun and warmth to give us a few nice days to lessen our misery! But not here. This summer, 2023, has been the worst I've seen in my whole life.
In the islands it actually rains a lot less than in the hills. The clouds just go overhead and drop their load when they hit the mountains on the mainland. We still get our share of wet weather, but it's funny the way the islands are often deserted and have beautiful weather, then we come to the mainland, up into the hills and into the fog and all of a sudden there are runners and hikers and joggers everywhere enjoying "scotch mist".
Mallaig... when there was still fish in the sea and things hadn't been trawled out
So true.
So natural so beautiful so like Ireland was back then.
hello all new here, my husband crazy for this thankyou
I first toured Scotland all around coast in 1974...went up in 2001 on motorbike bridges at Ballachulish and skye now there.. nearly parted this world at sligacan bike accident....have been many times I'm from cumbria this film may seem quaint but it is why Scotland is my first favourite place to go....brillant from dave
Lovely. Thanks Rmb
4:04 is my old house, Gray Street, Killin
A beautiful wee town, always love visiting it..
Was that loch Lubnaig a few seconds before Killin..
Ah....the Highlands...how lovely, unless you live there then it's putting up with rain from September to June, potholes that can swallow
a bus and midges that can strip your epidermis in under a minute.
Braw wee film , reminds me ae bein' a young boy in the late 60s early 70s .
This video came out in 1957! Who'd of thought':
I'm a Dickson, or Deidreksen if you like, of Clan McLeod. My forebears never "neglected" their Skye cattle nor Croft nor kin a day in their lives! They were cleared, their livelihood stolen, their language and culture suppressed.
But forgive the past sins, Hold Fast, God our Father is greater than all. And New Zealand did us all fine. Thank ye.
We stayed at Killin on the Scottish part our honeymoon. This is the first year we’ve not been back to Scotland as we had to cancel because of the pandemic.
Mark if you do go back plan a visit to Fife, it’s beautiful, has more sunshine and no midges!
Really enjoyed this
17:59 - on its journey from the Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin turntable ferry to Somerled Square in Portree, the bus is travelling along the old A87 (then it would have been the A850) on Skye hugging the west coast of Loch Ainort, before the new road was built inland.
Did anyone ever read the novels by Lillian Beckwith starting with her first one, The Hills is Lonely a fabulous set of stories and wonderfully humorous
I did yes, beautiful stories.
Own them all, and reread from time to time!
@@pegjones7682 They are wonderfully funny and well written too. I'm so glad you enjoyed the books
Yes read them when I was young. " He bugger, she bugger, quick come little bugger" sticks in my mind 😊
Portree harbour looks like how I last saw it in 1988 when I left. I can't remember what pub we used to drink in but from outside it we could see the police car doing their circuit so we could time our exit to nash up the road to Staffin without being stopped.
What a life so uncomplicated. Tack me back please
Lovely wee film. Cheers mate...
The thing is - all the houses in these villages were inhabited by ordinary working-class folk, who did Real jobs!
I once raced the train to mallaig on me bike , great place and the roads are a bikers dream.
My grandpa trained up at Achnacarry. Adore that part of the world and it just brings me face to face with my 17 year old pa determined to defeat Hitler
wonderful....thank you very much.
What a beautiful and smartly dressed young lady that is on the bus. So elegant. As are all those in the film. I wasn't alive when this was made, but I've watched quite a lot of 20th century documentary film and people seem to have been better dressed. Nowadays people don't seem to have any sense of style or to make much effort. Is this me being nostalgic, or is there something to it? Could anyone who was around at this time let me know please?
People are easier to control when they're made to feel alienated.
better times, no question of that, the thickness of the old hemp climbing ropes is amazing they look 4 times thicker than the new synthetic ropes, I've seen them on a wall in a pub in the lakes and they look as if you could tow a ship with them,
Hi from CANADA.
What a bitter-sweet movie to watch. Back when Scotland was full of Scottish people, men were men and women were women. Climate change hadn't been invented, diversity wasn't engineered and everyone spoke the same language and believed in the same God. These days I feel like a foreigner in my own country.
Fully concur......... my dearest (sadly now late) Uncle born in 1926 in Kirkintilloch, was our last link to those wonderful and gentler times, and just so grateful to have had (through his eyes) a brief glimpse back to those times when visiting from NZ in 2008, - a true Scot, and a gentleman.
Bitter - sweet indeed, your post is just about word for word as I'd have written it!
Although I love watching these types of videos, and always will, they also rub it in as to how far downhill our country has gone (been forced to go!)
Luckily I've made it into the autumnal years of my life while the country was relatively unharmed.
See what winter brings, eh ... ? 🤔🙄😐
Great video. Thanks
PEOPLE ASK ME WHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD I LIVE IF I COULD LIVE ANYWHERE OF CHOICE WELL I'VE SEEN A FAIR BIT OF THE WORLD AND IT'D BE SCOTLAND EVERY TIME. I'VE BEEN HALF A DOZEN TIMES CAMPED IN A FEW SPOTS BATTLED THE DREADED MIDGIES LOL SCOTLAND FOR ME THE LAND MOUNTAINS LOCHS AND PEOPLE BEAUTIFUL SCOTLAND AND I'M ACTUALLY ITALIAN ENGLISH 🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🏴🇮🇹🏴🌕➕❤️🙊🙉🙈💜💥
That was a Scotland never to be seen again.
The Scottish _Globalist_ Party are turning it into a Third-World shithole.
Looks like its already been said, vote snp again and it will look just like this again the land cleared and sold off to CCP to become poor bt independent
@@naradaian9196 Would you prefer the Tories? The SNP have done some truly fantastic things for Scotland!
A fine piece of old film despite the dated tone and strange history.
……. despite or because of ?
Aidy here a would love to rewind 100 years and live on a island am from Ayr but barra come s to mind no internet iPhone peace and quiet
A window back to a more elegant time.
I am Conner McCloud of the clan McCloud. I was born in 1518 in the village of glenfynnen on the shores of loch sheel and I am immortal.
Well i am 83 and i dinnae believe that , although i have a Grandson called Connor and he is an Aussie cause me and the Misses migrated to Brisbane.
Your spelling is crap for an immortal scotsman
I have to ask though.. Is it the voice of a real Scot?
Richie90090 yes Duncan Macrae the famous Scottish actor
@@superjimfer Thanks for that James
Tir nan Ogg, land of eternal youth
Beautiful video the rock climbing had me a little bit giddy though
Scotland presented for the English. No clearances and no Glasgow.
How they loved that chronic music back then!
Sounds like duncan McRae the Scottish actor
Yes, I agree it sounds very much like Duncan Macrae. I remember his widow was one of custmers more than 45years ago!
It’s not Duncan McRae, same accent but not his voice.
Show them all the direction to go...teach them!!
It used to be macbraynes to the scottish highlands which years later became highland omnibuses
Rather different now - the great views are still there but the sides of the road are littered with the rubbish left behind or thrown out the car windows of the people going to see it who say they love it so much
Got to give credit to the person who does the subtitles bloody funny, ferry comes in where I stay, I could see my house, pretty cool, shame about the subtitles, it talks about Ben nevis in the subtitles it's pandavas
My ancestors on the isle of Skye include: The Ross, Grant's and McLean's
Any relation to Big Morag by any chance ?
@@williamf4544 I am unaware of "Big Morag"
Beautiful.not that romantic now. the wonderful past.
People were more down to earth, then.
Also way more racist & sexist lol.
When life was simpler.
I don't know why 'anorak' has become such a slur - I think the climbers looked very stylish, bright primary coloured modern gear might occasionally be safer and probably drier, but it is ugly. I did that journey in 1971, the ferry at Kyle of Lochalsh was a bit bigger by then, but mostly it is as I remember it. They picked good days for the filming though, in desperate need to tempt in the American tourists, it's a wet place a lot of the time.
min 20.49-20.57 Scottish national flower
Lovely film but patronising shit....lived in Scotland for 50 years and never heard anybody talk like that
Is it still a friendly land for the English?
Yes it is. Everyone is welcome here. 'Bring what ye seek tae find'.
It's not even friendly for people from other parts of Scotland. You'll be regarded as a foreigner even if you're from Glasgow or Aberdeen etc.
Peter Hill yes as long as you spend loads of money !!
The script for this commentary uses words like 'simple' and 'primitive ', it's colonial in the view it has of the people who live there.
I know the area well, but I don't think the words were used in a pejorative manner. The simple life is something that many of us might aspire to.
"We'll know everyone that steps ashore. Or we can find out about those we don't know." A great idea. But it does not apply for young islamic men of fighting age breaking in to Britain today.
I love seeing holiday makers dressed in woolen suits and neckties, Mum in her best hat and dress, maybe knitting while looking at the sights. Quaint times.
Gran and Grandad sitting in deck chairs in their Sunday best.
What a cracking film,from 1957 I was 9 years old then, the views are stunning great to see passengers chatting together and I particularly liked the lady knitting.The coach they are in I think is a Bedford WTB model and the coachbuilder's were probably Duple,these are day's of no power steering of cause and I guess it would have with no synchromesh,but i'm no expert,quite a task driving along those windey B road,s and,the coach driver looking very smart in his uniform it would be standard dress for staff and complemented with a clean white shirt and most important a tie.Really enjoyed this,thanks for sharing
This is a charming film that creates deep nostalgia for the time it was made, evidently even in those who weren't alive then. I was, and an it's irresistable feeling. But when I take off the rose-tinted specs I wonder what it is we're all so affected by. Can it actually be a desire to be transported back to those times? Well, for me I'd be going back to almost certain death if I only had 1950s medical treatment to rely on. Similarly, I wouldn't be materially as well-off as I am in 2023. Despite those and other negatives, I can't shake off the feeling that there's something preferable and I guess it's the feeling of a simpler existence, one where it was easier to keep track of human priorities.
Highlander born and bred, I was 1 year old when this was made, this brought back memories of my childhood, holidaying in North Uist and Loch hourne, Glengarry. Roaming the hills of my home in Tomatin just South of Inverness. Lovely film which I have saved to show my grandchildren, thank you.
This is absolutely magnificent!! ❤
Such beautiful scenery, we caravanned all over in the mid 60s and had a simply wonderful time, midges included
Awesome....1957 less than a second ago geologically speaking...
Beautiful. Living within the Highlands is spectacular. The scenery is out of this world. I'm a true scotsman. Born and bred in this beautiful country. Scotland. Your movie is fantastic. Wasn't born in that era. But nothing really hasn't changed. Except the buses. The scenery is still spectacular. Wild moors. And plenty of wild places to wild camp around our beautiful land for all to share. Plus you have that feeling of Freedom.
Spot on.
What? I'm 55 years old and have lived in the North Highlands my whole life (Sutherland). Scenically it may be the same but culturally it's entirely different. The Highlands were an isolated destination and there were few visitors until about the 2010s. Villages were vibrant and full, family homes were passed down through generations and families lived in close proximity. The local pub or hall was full of local life at the weekend (for good and bad) and as a community it felt like we were one - we pulled together and we were a large family of Highlanders. But ease of travel, advertising, NC500, AirBnB, second homes, greed, the Instagram generation and the "colonial" attitudes of some people who have settled or own land in the Highlands have changed things forever. So yeah - the mountains might still be there and the space might still be there. But the old spirit and culture of the Highlands is slowly changing and disappearing as it becomes gentrified for the masses and the money makers.
Lovely old film which awakened some memories. Many of my ancestors were Highlanders, with a few Irish for variety. From the age of 15 (1969), I would hitch rides up to the Highands with my Sheltie and my tent, to wander and explore. I once walked from Inverness to to Shiel Bridge via Gken Affric, and the hitched up to Skye. An epic trip and Glen Affric was always a favourite. In later years I would be up there scuba diving off Skye and the Western Isles. Accessed by liveaboard dive boats which were always converted fishing boats. Great days. I too noticed the unhistorical euphemism for the Clearances, "neglect", suggesting it happened by accident.
What a beautiful youth you had. I had my heart captured by Scotland and look forward to when I can return. A timeless beautiful place.
A more elegant time indeed.
@@dougieranger It was not more elegant. Films like this don't show the realities of toiling in the fields, cutting the peats, endless carrying and washing. It was only elegant for the wealthy.
@@gordon1545 I think there was less mugging, rape, fraud etc. Maybe that’s why I thought that. It was also a bit of a paraphrase of Obi Wan.
Yes. It’s a great forgotten scandal. 70% of land was held by the Lord of the manor or the church for the benefit of all. Then in just 20 or so years it wasn’t anymore. You suddenly couldn’t feed yourself without paying someone
In 1957 people were polite, courteous and civil..and they looked clean and smart. Go forward 63 years in time to today and you will see how far backwards society has gone....no respect, no pride and no social graces... The future is bleak.
yes no one swore or was a C**t in the 50's! it was all tickety boo....what a load of mince...the future was bleak in 1939...get real...folk are folk...take off the rose tinted glesses..most folk are still ok these days...its the folk at the top that ultimately suck!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get a grip snowflake
People are easier to control when they have no sense of community or belonging. Its by design, not an "accident".
Absolute nonsense. We died younger, there was more poverty,more crime, more addiction problems. This is not reality. It’s television.
@@boomtish4520 Sorry, but the statistical evidence does not support your comments….drug addiction in the highlands is far worse that the 1950’s by about a factor of 20 or greater and the same applies to crime….don’t forget that back then the Kirk played a major role in people’s lives and helped to promote the virtues of a decent, moral and ordered life albeit through the theology of hell and damnation if anyone transgressed. Poverty was always there and to a large extent it still is, although the influx of people leaving the wealthy cities in search of a dream or second homes has brought some affluence but also considerable other drawbacks…..in short, overall not a lot has improved in the 66 years that has passed since 1957…there may have been huge leaps in technology and health but society has not got a lot happier or content…and somewhere along the road an age of wonder and innocence has been lost.
This film was actually released in 1953, it is a charming reflection of a simpler time long gone now. I grew up in the North of Scotland in the fifties and had a wonderful childhood there. I thought the narrator was Duncan McRae but it is Duncan McIntrye another actor entirely, although he does sound very much like Duncan McRae who I remember fondly as Para Handy on TV in the late fifties.
It is odd that Macintyre couldn't pronounce Buachaille correctly
No,he was Dougie the ‘mate’.
@@nledaigProbably didn't have the gaelic.
Wonderful ! Makes one think about our world today... and what we call 'progress'..... Thanks for sharing!
An atmospheric commentary complimenting the superb scenery.
I remember as a boy being really excited to go on the Ballachulish ferry, the same type as the one shown here. Long gone now replaced by a bridge.
Thanking you for showing this film it pulls the heart back again .