The pontoon bridge constructed by the National Pontoon Adventure Consultancy with some assistance from Clarkson, May and Hammond spanned around 1,000 feet from the coast near Griminish, North Uist to the nearby uninhabited tidal island of Vallay.
The "spiky building" Clarkson suggests visiting with Hammond - supposedly the site of the fictitious town of Hammondsburg - is in real life Taigh Mòr, which in English means "Big House". The well-appointed Edwardian mansion boasted running water piped in from North Uist as well as fireplaces in every room.
It was built in 1905 for Scottish textile manufacturer, historian and landscape photographer Erskine Beveridge, one of the heirs to the estate of an internationally-renowned tableware manufacturer. After his passing in 1920, the property was inherited by his son George, who drowned in 1944 while attempting to make the crossing from North Uist to Vallay at high tide.
With no heirs, the mansion was abandoned soon after his death and its staff dismissed. In the three-quarters of a century since it has gradually become a ruin, and its story has been documented by Scottish-Indian writer, musician and academic Arun Sood, whose grandmother Katie MacNaughton was one of the last to leave the island.
The "spiky building" Clarkson suggests visiting with Hammond - supposedly the site of the fictitious town of Hammondsburg - is in real life Taigh Mòr, which in English means "Big House". The well-appointed Edwardian mansion boasted running water piped in from North Uist as well as fireplaces in every room.
It was built in 1905 for Scottish textile manufacturer, historian and landscape photographer Erskine Beveridge, one of the heirs to the estate of an internationally-renowned tableware manufacturer. After his passing in 1920, the property was inherited by his son George, who drowned in 1944 while attempting to make the crossing from North Uist to Vallay at high tide.
With no heirs, the mansion was abandoned soon after his death and its staff dismissed. In the three-quarters of a century since it has gradually become a ruin, and its story has been documented by Scottish-Indian writer, musician and academic Arun Sood, whose grandmother Katie MacNaughton was one of the last to leave the island.
Richard Hammond talks about celebrities who drove a Buick Riviera of his car's vintage, the celebrities being Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges and Bruce Willis. Eastwood and Bridges drove one in the film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and Bruce Willis drove one in The Last Boy Scout (1991). Jason Statham also drove one in Crank (2006). None of the cars in those movies survived.
In a segment, the presenters race 3 worst US cars vs 3 worst cars from USSR. To represent USSR they used a Lada, a Polonez and a Zastava. While it's correct in the case of the Lada, a Soviet car, Polonez and Zastava were made in Poland and Yugoslavia respectively. Neither country was ever part of USSR.
When the three arrive to the proper shooting trip Jeremy says that he isn't worried, as "after what happened in Argentina, I can't sweat"... a nice dual reference:
First, to the controversy caused when the three were still with Top Gear and Jeremy arrived for a car challenge in Argentina in a Porsche 928 sporting the personalized plate "H982 FKL". Locals felt the plate was a thinly veiled reference to the 1982 conflict between their county and the UK over ownership of the nearby Falkland Islands and therefore an insult. Cast and crew soon fled the country following protests.
Second, the remark references Prince Andrew's famous interview addressing sexual abuse allegations when he, among other things, stated that his accuser's claim that he sweated profusely was not correct as he'd lost the ability to sweat after an 'adrenaline overdose' while serving with the Royal Navy in the same Falklands conflict.