Susan Calman is learning more about her home country – from a bleak battlefield to a pineapple made from stone
Claire Webb - 3 September 2020
Susan Calman recently found herself inside a vast underground fuel storage depot dug into a hillside near Invergordon in Rossshire/Highland. “The only way to access it was to be essentially shoved through a pipe into this abandoned oil tank under the hills of Scotland. It’s the size of a cathedral and it was absolutely extraordinary – it’s one of the favourite things I’ve ever done.”
Built in the early years of the Second World War to supply oil for warships, Inchindown Tunnel has six 237m-long caverns, each with a capacity of 5.6 million gallons, but they’ve been empty for decades. It was just one of the discoveries made by Calman while filming the third series of her travel programme, Secret Scotland. “It’s a bumper series,” she tells us, “and each of the ten episodes is packed full of beautiful places and wonderful things. We wanted to create a bit of escapism.”
For Calman, making the series was a voyage of discovery. “I live in Scotland, but like everyone else, I’m busy working and I don’t explore my own country. In this series alone, I’ve been to so many places that I’d never been to before: Glamis Castle, Falkland Palace, the Kelpies – these incredible equine sculptures in Falkirk. So my enthusiasm is genuine because I’m exploring them at the same time as the viewers.”
One place that made a deep impression on her was Culloden, the battlefield where rebel Highlanders made a bloody final stand against government troops in 1746 on a moor east of Inverness. “My family were one of the clans that fought there and we had a contributor from the National Trust for Scotland who was able to tell me where my clan fought, so that was very special. It’s a very haunting place and there’s a
wonderful visitor centre there. “My dad is into family history and has been to a lot of these places, so it’s been lovely to travel around and find out these little nuggets and then talk to my dad over Zoom about the places I’ve visited. And because we filmed it when we did, we’re often the only people in these places. Usually during July and August, they would be full of tourists.”
So what else can viewers expect to see when they follow the comedian on her latest educational trip round her home country?
THE HIDDEN TRAIN PLATFORM
“There’s a hidden Victorian platform at Glasgow Central station that was sealed up underneath the station – it’s still dirty from all the soot from the steam trains,” says Calman. “I also got to go on to the roof,which is one of the largest glass roofs in Europe.” While the roof isn’t open to the public, you can see the Victorian platform on a Network Rail station tour. To book, go to glasgowcentraltours.co.uk
A ROYAL PALACE
“Falkland Palace was absolutely stunning and has a wonderful secret room,” says Calman. “Give me a hidden room and I’m happy as Larry. I felt like Batman.” This Renaissance palace in Fife was the country bolthole of the Stuarts, and Mary, Queen of Scots used to enjoy a game of real tennis on what is now one of Britain’s oldest surviving courts. The palace and café are still closed, but the formal garden is open. Search for Falkland Palace at nts.org.uk
A DESIGN CLASSIC
“I’d never been to the V&A in Dundee and it’s wonderful, especially the painstakingly reassembled Charles Rennie Mackintosh room, which he designed in 1907 as a tearoom.” Opened in 2018, it’s housed in two
huge inverted, concrete-clad pyramids and currently has an exhibition on Mary Quant. For details see vam.ac.uk/dundee
THE STIRLING PINEAPPLE
“Near Stirling there’s a house that has a giant stone pineapple on top. A horticulturist explained to me that rich people grew pineapples to show how rich they were.” The Pineapple was built as a summerhouse
in 1761 by the Earl of Dunmore, who grew exotic fruits and veg in its walled garden. The folly isn’t open to the public, but entry to the grounds is free. See nts.org.uk.
Susan Calman recently found herself inside a vast underground fuel storage depot dug into a hillside near Invergordon in Rossshire/Highland. “The only way to access it was to be essentially shoved through a pipe into this abandoned oil tank under the hills of Scotland. It’s the size of a cathedral and it was absolutely extraordinary – it’s one of the favourite things I’ve ever done.”
Built in the early years of the Second World War to supply oil for warships, Inchindown Tunnel has six 237m-long caverns, each with a capacity of 5.6 million gallons, but they’ve been empty for decades. It was just one of the discoveries made by Calman while filming the third series of her travel programme, Secret Scotland. “It’s a bumper series,” she tells us, “and each of the ten episodes is packed full of beautiful places and wonderful things. We wanted to create a bit of escapism.”