“One of the most remarkably beautiful places”: Michael Palin named his favourite UK trip
Few have made such an impact on travel documentaries that they have carved out a space for themselves amid a mass of figures vying to be heard. Of course, the late Anthony Bourdain is perhaps the most lauded of the contemporary form of cultural wanderers, but Michael Palin is one who had a tremendous impact on the likes of the New Yorker coming to the fore with his astute and eye-opening journeys.
Fusing his naturally inquiring, Oxford-educated mind, humble Yorkshire roots and his Pythonesque brand of comedy, this makes for a compelling treat that has produced numerous moments of verve. Visiting both Poles, travelling the Sahara Desert, crossing the Himalayas, and providing an exclusive inside account of North Korea, since the days of Monty Python, his life has taken many twists and turns, with him visiting climes that many of us could only dream of doing.
Likely, Palin couldn’t have fathomed just how his travel career would pan out when he started his long career. While he had enjoyed much success before it commenced and risen to global fame as a vital part of the Monty Python comedy troupe, things in this area started earnestly. He was given his break in 1980 with the fourth episode of the BBC’s Great Railway Journeys of the World, titled ‘Confessions of a Trainspotter’.
In the hour-long instalment, Palin’s candour became immediately apparent and formed the basis of his iconic presenting style. Throughout its duration, he comically reflected on his childhood love of trainspotting as he travelled across the UK via train, starting in London and finishing in the Kyle of Lochalsh, via the Manchester, York, and Edinburgh, and others.
This is a funny but touching insight into Palin’s being, primarily remembered for him purchasing the Kyle of Lochalsh’s metal platform sign and carrying it back to London. There’s no real surprise it kicked off such an immense career as it refreshed the scope of travel documentaries. It was also significant as it revealed Palin’s lifelong adoration of the UK’s rail arteries and the arresting vistas that Scotland contains.
These are two topics he has returned to time and time again. When speaking to The Guardian in 2020, he did so again by disclosing his favourite UK trip. Unsurprisingly, it is the trek up to Scotland’s Glen Coe via train from London that touches on the many breathtaking visuals of Caledonia.
He explained that he discovered the west coast of Scotland, which he called “one of the most remarkably beautiful places” when filming 1975’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Notably, the movie was shot in the country because Monty Python couldn’t afford to film in the capital, with the production financed by rock acts such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin to save it from the doldrums.
Palin recalled that the group travelled to Scotland from Euston by train, and by the following morning, they had arrived at the Bridge of Orchy station, which was “surrounded by waving grass as far as you could see.” From there, they would drive to Rannoch Moor, “which is as bleak and wild and romantic a place as you could imagine in the British Isles, and then into Glen Coe itself with extraordinary mountains on either side. The west coast of Scotland combines the most beautiful scenery with a sort of accessibility.”
During the movie’s filming, Palin met the famous mountain climber Hamish MacInnes, an eccentric and unorthodox man who helped Monty Python bring the film to life. As the head of mountain rescue for Glen Coe, he played a pivotal role in a famous scene.
Palin recalled: “He had to throw the bodies off the Bridge of Death to the Gorge of Eternal Peril when people couldn’t remember their favourite colour. He would throw these dummies high in the air and into a gorge 2,000ft below. I always thought that was rather wonderful for someone who was head of mountain rescue. It gave him something to work out of his system.”
It’s one of the many unforgettable moments from one of the finest comedies in film history. Watch the scene below.