HE has bounced, bunny-hopped and flipped his way around some of the most iconic locations in the world, achieving cult status and winning a legion of fans for his daring and mesmerising two-wheeled moves.

For his latest project, Scottish stunt rider Danny MacAskill has returned to his roots filming a series of gravity-defying feats along the Cuillin Ridge in his native Skye.

The jaw-dropping video, which sees MacAskill, 28, traverse the edge of sheer cliff faces, ascend rugged mountain passes and even somersault over a barbed-wire fence, has become a viral hit since being released on Thursday.

One of his toughest challenges, the making of the film is charted in a new BBC Scotland documentary, Danny MacAskill: Riding The Ridge, which will be shown this Friday.

"I grew up on Skye and lived there until I was 17 but somewhere I hadn't ever been was the Cuillin Ridge," he says. "It has always been in my mind to go up there with a bike, try to do some riding and make a video."

The six-and-half-minute clip, set to the haunting soundtrack of Blackbird by Martyn Bennett, opens with MacAskill rowing his way across Loch Scavaig on Skye under the watchful eye of curious seals.

Upon reaching the shore, he swaps boat for bike and begins his adventure across the breath-taking landscapes, navigating cascading waterfalls and tinkling streams, riding across craggy rock faces and soaring over gaping ravines.

The stunning aerial shots come courtesy of a drone camera with ground-level action captured by a GoPro camera attached to MacAskill's helmet.

"I'm comfortable with heights and there are some real standout features on the ridge," he says. "I rode along Collies Ledge where in places the path is only around two feet from the cliff and then you've got a 500ft drop down into Corrie Laggan."

While conceding that it would be "very lucky to survive a fall" had mishap occurred, MacAskill insists he was comfortable with all of the stunts he performed. "I actually found it a lot less stressful than I did riding along a spiky fence in Edinburgh where, in my head at least, there is more real danger," he says.

The film, directed and produced by Cut Media, saw him scale the Inaccessible Pinnacle at the top of the 3235ft (986m) Sgurr Dearg, a mountain which has the distinction of being the only munro which necessitates rock-climbing to reach its peak.

To the dismay of his support team, MacAskill chose to scramble up it one-handed, without safety ropes and with his bike balanced precariously on his back. "You have around 100ft exposure on either side and the pinnacle is only four feet wide in some places," he says. "I got some really cool shots but I think it will make people's stomachs churn when they watch it."

MacAskill's rise to fame began in 2009 when, then aged 23, he released a five-and-a-half minute street trials video on YouTube titled Inspired Bicycles. The clip garnered several hundred thousand views overnight and has been watched more than 35 million times.

The former bike mechanic has since racked up an impressive CV that includes stunt double in the Hollywood thriller, Premium Rush, and a starring role in the music video Winter Hill by Doves.

The rider released Imaginate in 2013, a snapshot of childhood memories complete with giant Rubik's cube, pencils, toy soldiers and racing car - all used as props. Earlier this summer, he performed a series of heart-stopping stunts atop the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow.

MacAskill, who credits his success to being in "right place at the right time" for the rise of the YouTube generation, feels "incredibly lucky" that he gets to do this for a living. "I still ride my bike for the same reasons I did when I was eight years old - I enjoy doing it," he says.

He may make it look easy, but MacAskill has had his fair share of injuries. "You do a lot of tumbling around but luckily I'm like a cat - I manage to land on my feet most of the time. If you want to progress and learn new things, you have to take the rough with the smooth."

Danny MacAskill: Riding the Ridge is on BBC One, this Friday at 7.30pm