Just now, BBC iPlayer is showing the second series of Grand Tours of Scotland, presented by film-maker Paul Murton. In the spirit of Victorian tourists, who saw Scotland as a Romantic idyll, Murton follows a tattered copy of Black's Picturesque Guide to Scotland and uses as many forms of transport as possible. The first leg of his journey, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Melrose, is completed in a bow-top gypsy caravan pulled by a single horse, Jack.
On the road, Murton relates the story of the eccentric founder of pleasure-caravanning, 'gentleman gypsy' Dr. William Gordon Stables. Having been invited to see the interior of a gypsy caravan, Stables was so impressed that he commissioned his own version to be built. The result: The Wanderer, a mahogany coach-built vehicle drawn by two horses, which provided everything that Stables required on the road, from his writing desk to running water. The Wanderer is now owned by the Caravan Club.
As Murton discusses with Stables's great-grandson, Stables viewed high living on the road as a precious lifestyle which benefitted the health. He related the first tour of The Wanderer - taken in 1885 from Berkshire to Inverness with his valet, dog and cockatoo - in The Cruise of the Land-Yacht 'Wanderer': Or, Thirteen Hundred Miles in my Caravan (duly added to my Amazon Wish List - yes, it is available!)
Murton misses a trick by not showing us the interior of his caravan, but there are some nice close-ups of its external paintwork.
Episode 1 is available until Wednesday 14th December.
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