Hitchhiking To Grand Tours
Paul Murton’s journey from soaps to travel shows as he turned his passion into a career
HAVING grown up in Ardentinny, on the picturesque shores of Loch Long, it is unsurprising that BBC presenter and broadcaster Paul Murton has such an affinity with Scotland’s landscapes. Discovering the nooks and crannies of the West Coast was a childhood hobby, and this curiosity sparked a television career that would see him explore every possible angle of the country both behind and in front of the camera.
Perhaps most well-known for his Grand Tours of Scotland series, Paul has turned his passion into a career. The series has seen him travel Scotland from coast to coast, exploing all that his country has to offer – something his parents actively encouraged him to do from a young age.
“I think nature and the outdoors have always been something that were part of me,” Paul says. “I grew up in a rural environment and spent all my time playing outdoors.
“Aged 14, I was hitchhiking up to Glen Coe as a completely novice climber to scramble routes with my friend Gus. From an early age I was actively encouraged to do these sorts of things by my parents!”
Even from as young as five, Paul, now 62, has vivid memories of appreciating how lucky he was to live somewhere so magnificent. Thanks to his father, he has long harboured a love for the unsung corners of Scotland, where the greatest gems are so often found.
“Way back in the dim and distant past ... my father used to have a technique for finding interesting places. He would find the narrowest single track road that he possibly could and follow that, in hope it would lead us to a remote and beautiful place.
“A place we found and visited many times was Kilmoray beach on the shores of Loch Sween. We used to camp there, make driftwood fires, collect cockles and cook them up in a bucket. Then the sun would go down over the Paps of Jura and we would soak up the atmosphere.
“I don’t know what it is about childhood, but it’s always sunny looking back on it! That was the moment I was aware of the beauty of Scotland, that view in particular over the Sound of Jura is a magical vista.”
Paul knew that wherever his career led, it would circle round to his love of the outdoors, but what was it that led him to the world of television?
A lucky crossing of paths with one of film’s biggest stars, in the little village of Ardentinny, was to cement Paul’s place as a small screen staple.
“I was exposed to the thrills of television and a theatrical way of life by a close friendship that I formed at the age of nine with Emma Thompson. Now Dame Emma of course.
“Her parents had a holiday cottage nearby and the Thompson family would come up every Summer, Easter and Christmas. We became good pals over those holidays and I’m still very friendly with her today.
“Her father was a theatre director and her mother was an actress – it was through them that I was introduced to this world. I managed to hitchhike down to London to stay with them and I would be taken backstage at shows.
“I would have been about 15 and that gave me the insight into doing something a bit different.
“After university in Aberdeen I went to the National Film and Television School in England as I never quite got over the attraction of the camera. I think I knew television was the path I wanted to follow but I was never sure how to bring that about.”
The world Paul entered into after leaving film school is one all too familiar to current graduates. Britain was in the depths of the 80s recession where jobs and money were scarce, so it was a stroke of luck that Paul became involved with the Edinburgh Film Workshop Trust.
“The first documentaries were politically motivated and anti-nuclear. In Ardentinny, we lived cheek by jowl with the American Forces who had a huge submarine base in Holy Loch and it used to offend my sensibilities in all kinds of ways.
“I got some money from Trade Unions and CNT, and I put together a pilot. I showed it to the guy at the workshop, he invited someone from Channel 4 to come and look at it, and they commissioned a full-scale documentary.”
Just like that, Paul was on the way to forging a career in television. From these independent documentaries, he soon found himself behind the camera once again, this time working on television heavyweights such as
“That magical” view over the Sound of Jura is
The Bill and Casualty. As a young assistant director on such well-established series, Paul admits that he had a lot to learn. Fresh out of film school, working on shows with such loyal followings and well-known characters was not always easy.
“It was difficult for me to tell the actors playing the part – like Sergeant Boyson in The Bill – how to play their roles. He knew the character better than I did, and they inhabited their characters so completely!”
Paul’s thoughts inevitably turn to the role that these programmes play in reflecting the new reality during lockdown and beyond. He says it is important that soaps continue to hold up a mirror to current events.
“The ones that I’ve done, The Bill in particular, are always very current and tapping into things that are happening at the time. It’s a bit of a mirror, maybe more a refined mirror, a prism or a lens!
“TV soaps are quite bound up with the public service remit, they need to be socially responsible and reflect the real world back to the audience. In that sense, they need to show things such as social distancing and
“The place that exhibits enthralling history, Iona” natural beauty and Scottish culture is
handwashing otherwise it will reinforce the idea that they are just characters and remove their relatable aspect.”
An undeniable homesickness for Scotland eventually drew Paul back over the border.
With a young family in tow and a need to make a living in a country with little in the way of a drama scene, Paul switched back from soaps to documentaries. This time though, he was in front of the camera.
“After moving back I started doing a lot of work for BBC Scotland, STV and Channel 4 as a documentary producer and director. I was asked to produce and direct a series on Scotland’s clans about 13 years ago and at that time the big star was Neil Oliver. We couldn’t afford Neil Oliver so they suggested I give it a go. So I did a screen test and they thought I was passable!”
After making a name for himself with four series of
Scotland’s Clans, it was over drinks with friends that the idea for Grand Tours of Scotland came about. They started their own company, Gadabout Films, and once again Paul was in front of the camera.
“I think just about every contour of the Scottish landscape has some kind of story if you can just unpick it,” he says.
Combining his television experience with his innate passion for Scotland, the series was a success and took Paul to every corner of the country. However, there is one place in particular that still holds the coveted top spot as Paul’s favourite.
“The obvious candidate of a place that exhibits enthralling history, natural beauty and Scottish culture would have to be Iona. It kind of smacks you in the face as soon as you go there.
“It’s just a delightful place. It is like the Hebrides distilled with this wonderful atmosphere and aura of peace about it. I’ve been visiting regularly for about 35 years and it’s still such a special place.”
From riding a vintage motorbike through Pitlochry to an enlightening meeting with Transalpine monks on Papa Stronsay, the series has uncovered some breathtaking scenery and fascinating stories but Paul knows that Scotland has plenty more to offer for series to come.
“I should be filming another series of Grand Tours about Scotland’s lochs as we speak but I don’t if you’ve heard but there is this strange virus ... So instead I am stuck in my shed writing.”
Perhaps Paul is doing his shed a disservice, however, as his office haven is currently allowing him to write 2000 words a day of his upcoming book. It seems that Paul knows no such thing as lockdown writer’s block.
Following the success of his travel books, The Hebrides in 2017 and The Viking Isles: Travels on Orkney and Shetland which came out last year, Paul is now working on the next in the series, focussing on the Grampian mountains and the Cairngorms. It is full of history, legend, memoir and anecdote, and he adds, “Hopefully there are a few chuckles in there too.”
In a time where the world has been confined indoors and change is a constant, series such as Paul’s Grand Tours of Scotland offer escapism into the ever-reliable wonders of nature, the intrigue of history and joy of Scottish culture.
Although there may be a wee wait for the next series, one of Paul’s books or previous series will tide you over with a grand tour of Scotland – albeit from your armchair.
Series one to three of Grand Tours of Scotland are now available to rewatch on the BBC iplayer.