A Picture of Britain

In episode three of David Dimbleby's sumptuous journey round Britain to celebrate the creativity of painters, poets and composers, we visit the Highlands of Scotland and the Glens of Northern Ireland.

Kicking things off with a personal rendition of 'On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond', Dimbleby is soon heading for the most stunning mountainous landscapes in Britain. Edwin Landseer's 'Monarch of the Glen' takes David to the royal estate at Balmoral before he travels on to Glencoe, the site of the worst massacre in Scotland's history. A snack of Scottish oysters fuels Dimbleby for the sea voyage to Ireland and the lyrical qualities of WB Yeats and the paintings of Paul Henry who came to Achill for a holiday and stayed on for years producing some of the most moving pictures of the area.

Sailing back we stop at the stunning rocky island of Staffa, home of Fingal's cave and the site that inspired Felix Mendelssohn to romantic genius in his music. But no programme on Scotland would be complete without the national heroes of Robbie Burns and Sir Walter Scott.