Glasgow to Easdale

On Scotland's west coast, Neil Oliver joins the crew of the last surviving coal-fired, steam-powered Clyde puffer.

The puffers were tough little working boats carrying cargo out from Glasgow. In the 19th century, they brought the Industrial Revolution to the Western Isles of Scotland. Neil discovers how the Clyde puffer crews became local heroes immortalised in the much-loved fictional tales of skipper Para Handy and his boat the Vital Spark.

Out in the Western Isles, Hermione Cockburn visits the 'islands that roofed the world'. So much slate was taken away that the islands around Easdale have been turned into a paradise of deep, clear pools by the great flood that finally stopped the mining. No wonder it's now home to the world stone-skimming championship.