Aardman Animation's Morph tours Western Isles By Steven McKenzie

BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter Published duration 18 May 2018

image copyright Peter Lord image caption Morph at Calanais Standing Stones on Lewis

Morph, a clay figure who first appeared on TV more than 40 years ago, has been taken on a tour of the Outer Hebrides.

Animator Peter Lord, who co-created the character with David Sproxton for BBC children's series Take Hart, has been photographing Morph on the isles.

The "grand tour" has included visits to Eriskay, Scarista on Harris and the ancient Calanais Standing Stones and Arnol Blackhouses on Lewis.

Morph's first appeared on TV in February 1977.

image copyright Peter Lord image caption Peter Lord says this is Morph wearing McMorph clan colours

image copyright Peter Lord image caption The Isle of Barra was another of the destinations on the character's Hebridean tour

image copyright Peter Lord image caption Morph looking a bit queasy at the prospect of taking the Harris ferry

Morph also later appeared in another children's TV art show SMart, which ran between the mid 1990s and early 2000s.

The clay figure continues to be a major character of Bristol-based Aardman Animations, which Lord helped to co-found.

Aardman's other creations include Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.

Lord, who is on a holiday in the Western Isles has been posting his pictures of Morph on social media.

image caption Morph first appeared on TV in children's art show Take Hart, which was presented by artist Tony Hart

image copyright Peter Lord image caption Blending in with seats on a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry

image copyright Peter Lord image caption In the rain on Harris

image copyright Peter Lord image caption And in the sunshine at Scarista on Harris

image copyright Peter Lord image caption Warming up by a fire at Arnol Blackhouses