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.
@@gordon1545 You're so right I grew up in Sutherland in the late 1950's & 60's, and to paraphrase "kitchen, kitchen dreamt of kitchen" oh the joys of peat cutting, stacking and then moving. Do just remember my father's still hidden under the floor Oh and the fun wet walk to school 5 miles away
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 .
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.
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
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
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!
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.
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.
Just, Wow! How things have changed from those days in the 50s! This is pure nostalgia and I love it . I was born in 52 in Edinburgh so it was great to see what it was like around then. Around 1965/66 my dad took us to Banavie near Fort William for a night or so in a rented coal-fired caravan. Driving an old black Ford Prefect (reg ASH 280!) on those old roads it must have been a real expedition! As an active 71 year old hiker I'm looking at those mountains and recognising some of the areas. Nowadays a weekly trip up to the Trossachs and beyond is the norm rather than a undertaking. Boots, walking poles, rucksack and (of course!) waterproofs are all to hand ready to explore our still glorious country! Thanks so much for sharing this memory stirring video. Much appreciated. [I've over 500 UA-cams covering most of my hikes!]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the registration ASH comes from Peebles, so maybe you can still get one. I considered it myself years ago when I spotted my name on a car in Newcastle. I'm from Northumberland, bu tI love the wesy coast in particular, so now I'll take a look at your videos.
@@ashleyhoward8926 Good morning! Its origins could well have been Peebles, probably traded in to an Edinburgh dealership. Thanks and I hope you find my (mainly hiking) videos enjoyable. The west coast is my favourite area too. 👍🤝
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
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 UA-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 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.
I have been visiting the west coast annually for 55 years and it never fails to make me feel alive in a way that the south can never achieve. It was two days by my parents car in the early days and I'm able to do it in 8 hours now! Had hoped to see the Oban of the fifties too. Joy.
Robin, the phrase 'the west coast' has only two meanings for me - the railway line to Carlisle, and THE west coast, of Scotland. You're so lucky going every year! Every time I hear the chorus of 'Dignity' by Deacon Blue I well up - it's so evocative of by far the most beautiful part of Britain. Best wishes.
@@HarvestHome2000 absolutely right. I had a colleague who was doing up a yacht for his retirement and died just before he made it to the big day. Dignity makes me shed a wee tear for him every time I hear it but it also places my mind in Lochgilphead, so a mixed blessing.
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
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.
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 😊 🏴
Edgar Anesty produced some wonderful travel log documentaries. Full of nostalgia . Steam trains, steam ships, and what appears to be an abundance of friendly happy people . He was the main producer of the British transport film unit and what I would have given to have had his career !!
*Edgar Anstey,* whom I knew, was a kind man although he didn't suffer fools gladly. His career in documentary films started in the late 1920s with *John Grierson* and pretty well finished when he retired from *BTF* _but_ it was a long career. He enjoyed his life with *Daphne,* his *Canadian* wife, and was respected within *BTF* though a couple of people didn't like his political views (he was centre/left and they were definitely left). He supported *Watford F.C.* before *_Elton John_* made it fashionable and his *_Who's Who_* entry reflected his propensity for giving loud advice to the referee from the touchline. Apart from most of the purely instructional films there was only one made under his ægis that he didn't influence at all - but he didn't want to. That was *_Terminus_* which was directed by *John Schlesinger* who was responsible for it from the _ground up._
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.
I was born in England but my heart is in Scotland, As a young man I travelled to the Highlands by train to Fort William camped beneath Ben Nevis, The next day I took the foot path to the top of the mountain, Never saw another soul up or down!!! Unlike today I've been told!! Also I took the train the west Highland railway to Malaig,From this experience I fell in love with Scotland and cried when the time came to leave😢 Fast forward 25years, I got married found myself on the property ladder!!At the time there came a property boom, My house doubled in price!! This was the opportunity I've been waiting for for so long, I found a 3bedroom cottage in 7 acres of ground and various out buildings, Not far from Fort William with far reaching views over the sea and mountains beyond,Just one stumbling block the wife didn't and wouldn't go!!! That was my only chance I'll ever get gone, The strange thing is our daughter moved to Glasgow to get her degree to which got with honours, Meanwhile meets a great partner a scot, She loves Scotland and wouldn't won't to live anywhere else, And she's expecting her first baby anytime now!!!Thanks for sharing this magnificent film brings my memories back to life!!🤔🥰🇬🇧🙏
Wonderful story. Best wishes to you all. I, too, love Scotland, I was a 14-year-old Sea cadet at Loch Ewe Navel Boom Station in 1966. My love affair with the Highlands began there & continues to this day. Oh! Happy Days.!
Superb film recorded in a time when Britain was still truly British. In the 1950s those who could afford the time and money to travel the whole of Britain by rail, bus and car had a unique quality of life that could never be repeated today.
@@Paratus7 Thatcher was a total bitch. She and her counterparts in Canada and the US wrecked the economies and systems of their countries so badly that until today they are still unfixable!
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.
Absolutely wonderful. The sequence of trad climbing is particularly interesting. Having recently been over through Glen Coe and some of the backroads, it's amazing how the remoter parts are unchanged while much is overfilled with tourists.
I'm fairly certain that the route they were climbing is Agag's Groove (a classic V. Diff) which I've climbed myself many times. They did well to get a camera up there, even taking the easier line up Curved Ridge which runs alongside can be tricky!
@@adriankelly_edinburgh really basic equipment. No sit harnesses and the lead climber must have been 30ft above any protection. If he's have fallen there the second would have had no chance in arresting the fall.....
I have been visiting Skye every year for business and holidays since 1987, some 36 years. Over that time the island has seen an influx of visitors growing year on year. Not only holidaymakers but incomers buying property and land, building new, renovating old and pushing prices of property beyond the reach of the local people. So much has changed that the real character of the island is fast disappearing. This film stands, thanks to Edgar Anstey, as a testament to the old ways of crofting, and the hardy people that inhabited the isles when they were truly independent and proud!
Bloody marvellous to see this,,has anyone got a time machine,i want to travel there now,it makes me laugh at myself because of all the kit i've bought for hiking and watching the two fellas climb a mountain in their everyday clothing and use just a bit of rope!! Thankyou so much for putting this on here,it puts it all in perspective!!
i know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account? I stupidly forgot my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Achilles Gabriel i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm. Takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
The Highlands and Islands are very different these days than they were in the 1950s as shown by this film, when this film was made it was permanently sunny, every time I visit it pisses down.
When I used to walk in the hills in Scotland in the mid 60s, one had to make your own paths up the hills. I took my son up the Cobbler in 96 and it was mobbed. Its nice in one way that people are enjoying the mountains but sad in a way the.magic is being diluted
I’m old enough to remember the early sixties which means that I can indulge myself in some nostalgia when watching this film. The question whether the 50s and 60s were better or worse than today will depend on where you lived and your own family’s circumstances. My family were incredibly poor and we lived in a run down part of town with a large immigrant community. That immigrant community consisted of Italians, Poles, Afro Caribbeans and towards the end Indians. Each ethnic group endured bigotry and racism and they in turn visited bigotry back on others. I was fortunate in that I made friends with an Indian boy and family who treated me exceptionally well, which considering my family’s circumstances was a blessing. It was a blessing because seeing the racism they endured made my situation a little less hard. So, when I indulge myself in looking back nostalgically on the past it’s because I lament the loss of the railways. I lament the demise of the High St and so many, many, other things that I enjoyed back then. Do I lament the changes to society which others have expressed? No!
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".
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.
1:26 and 21:12 - Duntulm Castle, Skye. The section with the arch has disappeared, sadly along with most of the rest of it. It's wonderful to see what these fabulous places used to be like, before mass tourism began to ruin them. Loved the Kyle of Lochalsh ferry!
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.
Most enjoyable. I do indeed recall the old road to Mallaig creeping through Glenfinnan and down to Loch Eilt. It is still a great run but you need to slow down to appreciate the unchanging scenery. Gathering sheep too in Glen Suileag looking down to Loch Eil and over to The Ben. Our maths teacher, "Ferret", used to come out on Sundays in his old Ford Prefect for afternoon tea by the loch. All an eon ago and a long way from Sydney!
The film claims to be 1957 but the view of Edinburgh at 3:06 is earlier. The trams shown stopped running in November 1956 (only to be re-introduced on the same street some 58 years later!)
Lovely film; although dated 1957, it must have been shot a year or two earlier. The Edinburgh shots show the old trams fully operational in Princes Street, and these were phased out in 1955/56.
@@pegjones7682 Thank goodness that elegance, charm and character can on occasion win out over the bean-counters working in the finance department. Some things you can't put a price on!
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.
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.
How privileged they were on that coach to have travelled through Scotland in those times; totally unspoilt. My family only had a annual holiday in Southern England by coach in the 1950's, having no connection with Scotland. I think we missed so much.
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.
@@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.
@@gordon1545 You're so right I grew up in Sutherland in the late 1950's & 60's, and to paraphrase "kitchen, kitchen dreamt of kitchen" oh the joys of peat cutting, stacking and then moving. Do just remember my father's still hidden under the floor Oh and the fun wet walk to school 5 miles away
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 .
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.
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!
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
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
Such beautiful scenery, we caravanned all over in the mid 60s and had a simply wonderful time, midges included
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 🤞
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.
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.
Just, Wow! How things have changed from those days in the 50s! This is pure nostalgia and I love it . I was born in 52 in Edinburgh so it was great to see what it was like around then. Around 1965/66 my dad took us to Banavie near Fort William for a night or so in a rented coal-fired caravan. Driving an old black Ford Prefect (reg ASH 280!) on those old roads it must have been a real expedition! As an active 71 year old hiker I'm looking at those mountains and recognising some of the areas. Nowadays a weekly trip up to the Trossachs and beyond is the norm rather than a undertaking. Boots, walking poles, rucksack and (of course!) waterproofs are all to hand ready to explore our still glorious country! Thanks so much for sharing this memory stirring video. Much appreciated. [I've over 500 UA-cams covering most of my hikes!]
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the registration ASH comes from Peebles, so maybe you can still get one. I considered it myself years ago when I spotted my name on a car in Newcastle. I'm from Northumberland, bu tI love the wesy coast in particular, so now I'll take a look at your videos.
@@ashleyhoward8926 Good morning! Its origins could well have been Peebles, probably traded in to an Edinburgh dealership. Thanks and I hope you find my (mainly hiking) videos enjoyable. The west coast is my favourite area too. 👍🤝
My two years in the Highlands were the best ever. Everything right on your doorstep.
A wonderful wee film
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
Such a pleasant film.I will watch it again when I need a calming moment in my day. 🙂🦋joy
I agree!
Yep!
Wonderful ! Makes one think about our world today... and what we call 'progress'..... Thanks for sharing!
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.
fine old film. hills have not chaged much, but the roads have !! thanks for posting . Great Channel 😀😀
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 UA-cam.
Thanking you for showing this film it pulls the heart back again .
What a magnificent film. I have enjoyed every moment of it. Thank you.
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!!
Beautiful footage, thanks for sharing it 😀👍
An atmospheric commentary complimenting the superb scenery.
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.
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.
I have been visiting the west coast annually for 55 years and it never fails to make me feel alive in a way that the south can never achieve. It was two days by my parents car in the early days and I'm able to do it in 8 hours now! Had hoped to see the Oban of the fifties too. Joy.
Yes would love to See Oban there is a glimpse of it in the film en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridal_Path_(film)
Robin, the phrase 'the west coast' has only two meanings for me - the railway line to Carlisle, and THE west coast, of Scotland. You're so lucky going every year! Every time I hear the chorus of 'Dignity' by Deacon Blue I well up - it's so evocative of by far the most beautiful part of Britain. Best wishes.
@@HarvestHome2000 absolutely right. I had a colleague who was doing up a yacht for his retirement and died just before he made it to the big day. Dignity makes me shed a wee tear for him every time I hear it but it also places my mind in Lochgilphead, so a mixed blessing.
That was an absolute joy to watch. Thank you so much for sharing it.
This is absolutely magnificent!! ❤
Superb footage. Beautiful music score.
The narration is poetic and colourful!
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
H. Kristiansen
A very interesting and charming presentation of a beautiful part of Scotland. They don’t do it any better these days.
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.
So beautiful. Visited on family vacay almost 10 yrs ago. I hope I can visit again.🇨🇱❤️🏴
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.
My word, this looks so majestic!
That's it - we are booking a trip to visit the land of my ancestors.
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 :)
Lovely old film, many thanks for posting.
Thats how to advertise your product. Beautiful film and a story well told. 👍
Great film.......a Time Capsule......Clan MacDuff here! I retired to Montana....
Beautiful film, and the narrator and music 🎶 is excellent.oh for a time machine 😂 would go to those times in a heartbeat.
Yeh right😂
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 accent. A touching and magnificent interlude.
hello all new here, my husband crazy for this thankyou
Ive been looking for this for ages! Love these old films.
Edgar Anesty produced some wonderful travel log documentaries. Full of nostalgia . Steam trains, steam ships, and what appears to be an abundance of friendly happy people . He was the main producer of the British transport film unit and what I would have given to have had his career !!
*Edgar Anstey,* whom I knew, was a kind man although he didn't suffer fools gladly. His career in documentary films started in the late 1920s with *John Grierson* and pretty well finished when he retired from *BTF* _but_ it was a long career. He enjoyed his life with *Daphne,* his *Canadian* wife, and was respected within *BTF* though a couple of people didn't like his political views (he was centre/left and they were definitely left). He supported *Watford F.C.* before *_Elton John_* made it fashionable and his *_Who's Who_* entry reflected his propensity for giving loud advice to the referee from the touchline.
Apart from most of the purely instructional films there was only one made under his ægis that he didn't influence at all - but he didn't want to. That was *_Terminus_* which was directed by *John Schlesinger* who was responsible for it from the _ground up._
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.
I was born in England but my heart is in Scotland, As a young man I travelled to the Highlands by train to Fort William camped beneath Ben Nevis, The next day I took the foot path to the top of the mountain, Never saw another soul up or down!!! Unlike today I've been told!! Also I took the train the west Highland railway to Malaig,From this experience I fell in love with Scotland and cried when the time came to leave😢 Fast forward 25years, I got married found myself on the property ladder!!At the time there came a property boom, My house doubled in price!! This was the opportunity I've been waiting for for so long, I found a 3bedroom cottage in 7 acres of ground and various out buildings, Not far from Fort William with far reaching views over the sea and mountains beyond,Just one stumbling block the wife didn't and wouldn't go!!! That was my only chance I'll ever get gone, The strange thing is our daughter moved to Glasgow to get her degree to which got with honours, Meanwhile meets a great partner a scot, She loves Scotland and wouldn't won't to live anywhere else, And she's expecting her first baby anytime now!!!Thanks for sharing this magnificent film brings my memories back to life!!🤔🥰🇬🇧🙏
typical englishman, always trying to stake a claim somewhere else
@@kevinfitz8516lol 🤣
Wonderful story. Best wishes to you all. I, too, love Scotland, I was a 14-year-old Sea cadet at Loch Ewe Navel Boom Station in 1966. My love affair with the Highlands began there & continues to this day. Oh! Happy Days.!
Hope your wife doesn’t see this, you blaming her!
Superb film recorded in a time when Britain was still truly British. In the 1950s those who could afford the time and money to travel the whole of Britain by rail, bus and car had a unique quality of life that could never be repeated today.
Then Thatcher happened. Not one has been any better since then unless of course you are a multimillion company, only then can you be in their club
Yes the exiles indeed were lucky to travel back to their motherland just couldn't live there.
@@justintime1307yawn. Do you blame Thatcher for your bad acne too.
@@Paratus7 Thatcher was a total bitch. She and her counterparts in Canada and the US wrecked the economies and systems of their countries so badly that until today they are still unfixable!
@@justintime1307 Absolutely right! She did so much damage that the country STILL hurts from it today!
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!!
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.
Absolutely wonderful. The sequence of trad climbing is particularly interesting. Having recently been over through Glen Coe and some of the backroads, it's amazing how the remoter parts are unchanged while much is overfilled with tourists.
I'm fairly certain that the route they were climbing is Agag's Groove (a classic V. Diff) which I've climbed myself many times. They did well to get a camera up there, even taking the easier line up Curved Ridge which runs alongside can be tricky!
@@adriankelly_edinburghI think they used a helicopter for the camera, though.
@@adriankelly_edinburgh really basic equipment. No sit harnesses and the lead climber must have been 30ft above any protection. If he's have fallen there the second would have had no chance in arresting the fall.....
Awesome....1957 less than a second ago geologically speaking...
I have been visiting Skye every year for business and holidays since 1987, some 36 years. Over that time the island has seen an influx of visitors growing year on year. Not only holidaymakers but incomers buying property and land, building new, renovating old and pushing prices of property beyond the reach of the local people. So much has changed that the real character of the island is fast disappearing.
This film stands, thanks to Edgar Anstey, as a testament to the old ways of crofting, and the hardy people that inhabited the isles when they were truly independent and proud!
A lovely film thank you sir
What a relaxing way to travel through wonderful Scotland..I want to do this trip...!
I absolutely love this vid .. Had me enthralled
"The loneliest moor in all of Scotland" -- sounds like it's inviting me to live there.
Bloody marvellous to see this,,has anyone got a time machine,i want to travel there now,it makes me laugh at myself because of all the kit i've bought for hiking and watching the two fellas climb a mountain in their everyday clothing and use just a bit of rope!! Thankyou so much for putting this on here,it puts it all in perspective!!
i know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to log back into an Instagram account?
I stupidly forgot my login password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.
@Zachariah Wade instablaster =)
@Achilles Gabriel i really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and im in the hacking process atm.
Takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
@Achilles Gabriel It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thanks so much, you really help me out :D
@Zachariah Wade glad I could help :D
17:40 neglect!? That was the Clearances!
The Highlands and Islands are very different these days than they were in the 1950s as shown by this film, when this film was made it was permanently sunny, every time I visit it pisses down.
Andy, they saw you coming. They just want to sell raincoats. Have a wee dram and you'll feel better!
Love your reply....made me laugh alot ....so very true.... It's always raining when I go....must be that damned global warming !
Technicolor painted the great scenery even nicer.
Oh Bonnie Scotland how I love thee! 🤗😍☺️❤️🌊🌅🌺🎶🐬🏔️
When I used to walk in the hills in Scotland in the mid 60s, one had to make your own paths up the hills. I took my son up the Cobbler in 96 and it was mobbed. Its nice in one way that people are enjoying the mountains but sad in a way the.magic is being diluted
Mallaig... when there was still fish in the sea and things hadn't been trawled out
So true.
Amazingly rich colourful shots and so few people. Now we're overrun.
Overrun! Hahahaha
Beautiful movie. Love it
Somewhere out there, the much loved and missed Tom Weir is probably walking over the hills.
With his wee wooly bunnet!
He was great wasn't he,loved his programme.😃
Weir’s Way. I loved that show.
I’m old enough to remember the early sixties which means that I can indulge myself in some nostalgia when watching this film. The question whether the 50s and 60s were better or worse than today will depend on where you lived and your own family’s circumstances. My family were incredibly poor and we lived in a run down part of town with a large immigrant community. That immigrant community consisted of Italians, Poles, Afro Caribbeans and towards the end Indians. Each ethnic group endured bigotry and racism and they in turn visited bigotry back on others. I was fortunate in that I made friends with an Indian boy and family who treated me exceptionally well, which considering my family’s circumstances was a blessing. It was a blessing because seeing the racism they endured made my situation a little less hard.
So, when I indulge myself in looking back nostalgically on the past it’s because I lament the loss of the railways. I lament the demise of the High St and so many, many, other things that I enjoyed back then. Do I lament the changes to society which others have expressed? No!
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".
It is There To Find!!! Thanks for posting!! Chilling!!
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.
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.
Thank you, JC, hugely enjoyable.
1:26 and 21:12 - Duntulm Castle, Skye. The section with the arch has disappeared, sadly along with most of the rest of it.
It's wonderful to see what these fabulous places used to be like, before mass tourism began to ruin them. Loved the Kyle of Lochalsh ferry!
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.
This is my country, thank you.
So natural so beautiful so like Ireland was back then.
Most enjoyable. I do indeed recall the old road to Mallaig creeping through Glenfinnan and down to Loch Eilt. It is still a great run but you need to slow down to appreciate the unchanging scenery. Gathering sheep too in Glen Suileag looking down to Loch Eil and over to The Ben. Our maths teacher, "Ferret", used to come out on Sundays in his old Ford Prefect for afternoon tea by the loch. All an eon ago and a long way from Sydney!
Oh beautiful. I am a lover of Argyll but all the west coast is lovely. How smart it was then.
Excellent video made a year before I was born. Thank you for the upload. Loved it. Subscribed.
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':
Truly the good 'ol days. How did we lose our way...?
Lovely. Thanks Rmb
The narrator is wonderful.
A genuine "Highland's" accent. ;-)
The film claims to be 1957 but the view of Edinburgh at 3:06 is earlier. The trams shown stopped running in November 1956 (only to be re-introduced on the same street some 58 years later!)
Such a beautiful film
Fabulous film
Lovely film; although dated 1957, it must have been shot a year or two earlier. The Edinburgh shots show the old trams fully operational in Princes Street, and these were phased out in 1955/56.
And brought back at huge cost around 2007
@@pegjones7682 Thank goodness that elegance, charm and character can on occasion win out over the bean-counters working in the finance department.
Some things you can't put a price on!
Beautiful part of the world.
'Nostalgia is a comfortable disease.'
Lovely wee film. Cheers mate...
Anybody remember as a wee yin being scared when the steam engines roared into the station?
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..
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.
Lush that film was thanks for taking the time to post
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.
How privileged they were on that coach to have travelled through Scotland in those times; totally unspoilt. My family only had a annual holiday in Southern England by coach in the 1950's, having no connection with Scotland. I think we missed so much.
What a fantastic way of life!