World Tour of Scotland

infobox television|
show_name = World Tour of Scotland


caption = DVD box-set cover
rating = MA-15
format = Documentary / Comedy
runtime = 180 minutes
(30 min/episode)
creator = Billy Connolly
Nobby Clark
Steve Brown
starring = Billy Connolly
country = UK
network = BBC
first_aired = 1994
last_aired = 1994
num_episodes = 6
imdb_id = 0298763

"World Tour of Scotland" is a six-part television series — the first of Billy Connolly's (thus far) four "world tours" — originally broadcast by the BBC in the winter of 1994. It involved his touring around his homeland of Scotland for 54 nights during the spring of 1994, beginning in Greenock and visiting cities and towns and performing live on stage to audiences. However, this, like all his other tours, involved more than just shows: he visited numerous places of historic and scenic value, as well as some places that resonate with his own upbringing.

The series was dedicated "with much love and thanks to the people of Scotland".

Opening and closing titles

The opening titles features an aerial view of the Range Rover (driven by Connolly throughout the series) [Another Range Rover (number plate L863 ORV, as opposed to the one Connolly drove (L154 THP)), was used for pick-ups. The hair and eyebrows of the look-alike (from behind, at least) driver are more bushy than Connolly's, and he is wearing a big ring on his right hand and bracelet on his right wrist. Connolly, however, wears neither.] making its way through various locations and weathers. The camera is mounted atop four metal legs, several feet in length.

The closing titles features an excerpt of Connolly's performing his live cover of Van Morrison's "Irish Heartbeat" over landscape views of the areas visited in the respective episodes.

Episode guide

Episode One

The series began with Connolly aboard a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailing down the west coast.

*Isle of Arran. As Connolly drives off the ferry, his best friend, Danny Kyle, is shown to be in the passenger seat
**Brodick Village Hall (concert venue)
**Connolly is shown playing the banjo with his Isle of Arran-based friends
*Glasgow
**Dover Street, the street on which Connolly was born
**Provand's Lordship
**The tenement building where Connolly lived between the ages of fourteen and twenty
**Glasgow Cross
**Necropolis
**King's Theatre (concert venue)
** [http://www.auchengillan.com/ Auchengillan scout camp] (where Connolly, in the 141 Pack, visited as a cub scout)

*Loch Lomond

Episode Two

*Partick and Govan
*Stirling (including the MacRobert Centre concert venue) and Bannockburn
*Scone Palace ("Never to be pronounced "Scone".")
*Forth Bridges and South Queensferry

Episode Three

*Blair Atholl
*Highlands
*Inverness
*Culloden Moor

Episode Four

*Ulbster, Caithness
*Wick
*Candacraig House (Connolly's Highland home) [ [http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=966&id=2044982005 "Connolly sells Hollywood home to live the good life in Scotland" - The Scotsman] ]
*Orkney Islands
**Ring of Brogar (referred to by Connolly as the "Standing Stones of Brogar")
**Kirkwall
**Scapa Flow (to which he travelled on the fishing boat "Triton")
*Lerwick, Shetland (including two performances in the same night at the Garrison Theatre; the latter took him into the next day)

Episode Five

*Arbroath (where he sampled a "smokie")
*Dundee (including footage from his performance at Caird Hall)
** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
] (Connolly gave a straight reading of William McGonagall's poem "The Tay Bridge Disaster" within sight of the Tay Rail Bridge. During the course of filming, a blizzard happened, and about two inches of snow fell)
*Scottish Borders, Kelso (including footage from his performance at Tait Hall)

Connolly almost ventured into English territory at the end of the fifth episode when he cycled past the "Scotland" sign in Roxburgh. "I've come a bit far here, I believe," he says, after screeching his bike to a halt. "And me out without my passport. It is a "Scottish" tour, after all. One thing confuses me, however," he continued, as he prepared to retrace his route. "If this is the border with England, and this is the border with Scotland, what happens in [between] ? Maybe it's owned by the Manx government, or something. I don't know. Perhaps you can build a house here and never pay tax again."

Episode Six

*Edinburgh
**Edinburgh Castle (including the firing of the one o'clock cannon)
**Court of Session
**St. Giles' Cathedral
**Mary King's Close (Annie's room)
**Usher Hall (concert venue, from where Connolly performs a pre-show piece to camera)

Music

The music featured in the series is available on Connolly's 1995 album "Musical Tour of Scotland".

Notes and references