:00:26. > :00:34.Big country with magnificent scenery, an adventurer's paradise.
:00:35. > :00:39.to celebrate a very special Diamond Jubilee.
:00:40. > :00:42.Yes, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is 60 years old this year.
:00:43. > :00:48.midway through their challenging expedition.
:00:49. > :00:53.This lot are canoeing, climbing and cycling for six days straight.
:00:54. > :00:56.It was just the sense of the unknown.
:00:57. > :01:01.Helen is with his Royal Highness, the Earl of Wessex,
:01:02. > :01:06.in the Peak District, finding out about the Scheme's enduring appeal.
:01:07. > :01:10.By getting people to do a type of physical activity,
:01:11. > :01:13.a type of volunteering, a type of expedition, hopefully
:01:14. > :01:17.they'll find a passion, the thing that drives them.
:01:18. > :01:19.As the grouse shooting season gets underway,
:01:20. > :01:22.Charlotte referees both sides of the argument.
:01:23. > :01:27.when the two sides are as far apart as you two are, by way of example?
:01:28. > :01:34.And Adam discovers that pigs have their own particular personalities.
:01:35. > :01:55.Glencoe, one of our most stunning landscapes.
:01:56. > :02:01.The UK's highest mountain, towering Ben Nevis.
:02:02. > :02:06.And glittering lochs, the gateway to the Great Glen.
:02:07. > :02:09.We are in Lochaber in the Highlands of Scotland,
:02:10. > :02:14.an area nicknamed the outdoor capital of Great Britain.
:02:15. > :02:16.To prove it, I'm heading to the Great Glen
:02:17. > :02:33.I'm on the lookout for some very special explorers.
:02:34. > :02:35.They are hiking, canoeing and cycling,
:02:36. > :02:38.all the way from Fort William to Edinburgh via Inverness,
:02:39. > :02:42.to mark the 60th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme
:02:43. > :02:54.Since it started, 2.5 million young men and women have walked, swum
:02:55. > :03:00.canoed and even danced their way to bronze, silver or gold awards.
:03:01. > :03:03.Including in 2000, an 18-year-old me,
:03:04. > :03:06.invited to Buckingham Palace with my dear old nan
:03:07. > :03:12.So, I'm well-qualified, if a little rusty,
:03:13. > :03:15.to join this team of six Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award holders,
:03:16. > :03:19.as they aim even higher on a special Diamond Challenge.
:03:20. > :03:25.So, Jen, everyone has heard of bronze, silver and gold
:03:26. > :03:29.Duke of Edinburgh awards, what is the Diamond Challenge all about
:03:30. > :03:32.The Diamond Challenge is more of everybody getting involved,
:03:33. > :03:36.whether they think it wants to be physical or a skill because D of E
:03:37. > :03:41.in itself has several different parts within it, to being an award,
:03:42. > :03:46.whereas this is more of a challenge for yourself and for a team.
:03:47. > :03:49.OK, so, talk me through, there's what six of you? Yep.
:03:50. > :03:52.What are you doing for your particular challenge?
:03:53. > :03:58.Then we're paddling the Great Glen from Fort William to Inverness
:03:59. > :04:03.Then we're going to cycle from Inverness to Edinburgh in two days.
:04:04. > :04:05.Wow! Today is the first day of canoeing.
:04:06. > :04:10.hopefully without me crashing into you too much!
:04:11. > :04:12.I'll only be here for the first day.
:04:13. > :04:15.So you've got all your stuff with you?
:04:16. > :04:19.You're camping, self-sufficient for five, six nights?
:04:20. > :04:25.It was the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip,
:04:26. > :04:27.who launched the scheme back in 1956.
:04:28. > :04:30.It was designed to bridge the gap between leaving school
:04:31. > :04:35.He enlisted a hero of the day, Lord Hunt,
:04:36. > :04:40.leader of the famous 1953 expedition that conquered Everest.
:04:41. > :04:43.It's perfectly true that the aim is to give young people the
:04:44. > :04:47.chance and encouragement to live fully to discover their own
:04:48. > :04:50.particular talents and make the very best use of their leisure,
:04:51. > :04:52.not just filling in time any old how,
:04:53. > :04:56.but adventurously and purposefully and interestingly
:04:57. > :04:59.Prince Philip hoped the scheme would give young people new skills
:05:00. > :05:06.These are the boys of Dunstable Grammar School out on fire practice,
:05:07. > :05:09.ably assisted by the local Fire Brigade.
:05:10. > :05:12.Health and Safety may have changed a bit since those days
:05:13. > :05:19.but every year, 250,000 14 to 24-year-olds start their award
:05:20. > :05:25.Prince Philip still attends many of the award ceremonies.
:05:26. > :05:38.So, this Diamond Challenge has a lot to live up to.
:05:39. > :05:41.Now, on Friday, this year's grouse shooting season opened
:05:42. > :05:45.and shoots will be taking place on moorland across the UK.
:05:46. > :05:48.But it's one of our most controversial countryside sports.
:05:49. > :06:01.You may find some of the images in this film upsetting.
:06:02. > :06:09.Remote, breathtaking and at this time of year, glorious.
:06:10. > :06:12.August 12, otherwise known as the Glorious Twelfth,
:06:13. > :06:18.is the start of the red grouse season.
:06:19. > :06:22.Every year, thousands of people take part in driven grouse shoots,
:06:23. > :06:30.A day's shooting can be anything from ?800 to more than ?2,000.
:06:31. > :06:34.Its supporters claim it contributes ?100 million a year
:06:35. > :06:39.to the rural economy and underpins 4,000 jobs.
:06:40. > :06:51.In walked-up shooting, the birds are flushed out by dogs.
:06:52. > :06:55.But in driven grouse shooting, beaters force the birds to fly
:06:56. > :07:00.over a standing line of guns and the numbers shot are much higher.
:07:01. > :07:06.It is estimated that in the 201 season, 700,000 were killed.
:07:07. > :07:10.Which is one reason why this is one of the more controversial
:07:11. > :07:16.So, we've brought together people from opposite sides of the argument.
:07:17. > :07:19.For driven grouse shooting, Andrew Gilruth,
:07:20. > :07:23.From the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
:07:24. > :07:29.who campaigns to ban driven grouse shooting.
:07:30. > :07:31.So, given these huge numbers, should we be doing this?
:07:32. > :07:34.The important point from a conservation perspective
:07:35. > :07:36.is actually what is on the ground afterwards.
:07:37. > :07:39.We know continuously from studies that some of our most
:07:40. > :07:43.threatened species exist in very high densities on grouse moors
:07:44. > :07:46.Its rich mosaic of habitat in this semi-natural habitat in the
:07:47. > :07:49.landscape that is behind us now is entirely down to what
:07:50. > :07:53.has been practised for generations on these moors.
:07:54. > :07:57.Driven grouse shooting is all about shooting
:07:58. > :08:00.large numbers of red grouse for fun.
:08:01. > :08:03.To produce those large numbers of red grouse for people to shoot
:08:04. > :08:07.you have to manage the habitat very intensively.
:08:08. > :08:10.That is actually where many of the problems come from.
:08:11. > :08:12.This is just a hobby, that's all it is.
:08:13. > :08:15.It needs to justify the damage it does to other species
:08:16. > :08:27.They can't be farmed so land is managed to maximise their numbers.
:08:28. > :08:33.stoats and crows are legally killed by gamekeepers.
:08:34. > :08:37.Other wildlife like black grouse and curlew flourish,
:08:38. > :08:42.So much so that they are often culled as well.
:08:43. > :08:45.But there are other predators, birds of prey.
:08:46. > :08:55.but some are still shot, trapped and poisoned.
:08:56. > :08:58.As Head of Investigations for the RSPB,
:08:59. > :09:03.Bob Elliott spends his life dealing with crimes like these.
:09:04. > :09:06.Hi, Bob, we picked a lovely day for this, didn't we?
:09:07. > :09:09.If you're managing the land for grouse,
:09:10. > :09:12.That is perfectly possible to do legally.
:09:13. > :09:16.What do you argue is actually happening then?
:09:17. > :09:19.We've had thousands of cases in 25 years of the illegal killing
:09:20. > :09:23.of birds of prey and lots of those cases are associated with the
:09:24. > :09:26.uplands where there is driven grouse shooting.
:09:27. > :09:30.So, the sheer desire to maximise the amount of grouse people have
:09:31. > :09:34.on the land is leading to criminal offences occurring.
:09:35. > :09:38.This year has been absolutely awful for the killing of birds of prey
:09:39. > :09:42.and every incident must be the tip of a much bigger iceberg.
:09:43. > :09:47.Can you definitely link those two in as confident a way as you just did?
:09:48. > :09:49.Yes, we are a conservation science organisation.
:09:50. > :09:53.I can only stand and talk to you because we have that science.
:09:54. > :09:56.So, who, in your mind, is doing this?
:09:57. > :10:00.I am very clear that gamekeepers are the people coming to court
:10:01. > :10:04.particularly with driven grouse moors.
:10:05. > :10:18.172 people were convicted of crimes against birds of prey in the UK
:10:19. > :10:32.I have come to the annual Game Fair here in Warwickshire to find out
:10:33. > :10:35.what the shooting lobby has to say about the illegal killing
:10:36. > :10:40.of birds of prey by members of their community.
:10:41. > :10:46.British Association for Shooting and Conservations, Duncan Thomas.
:10:47. > :10:50.The law is the law and there are strong wildlife laws in position
:10:51. > :10:57.Anybody found convicted of such offence would be expelled
:10:58. > :11:00.from our organisation. It does happen though, doesn't it?
:11:01. > :11:03.There might be a minute number of offences that occur.
:11:04. > :11:06.We will expel those people. We do not support it.
:11:07. > :11:09.We champion all the positivities of shooting.
:11:10. > :11:12.The shooting community is very good at policing itself.
:11:13. > :11:15.This argument surrounding birds of prey
:11:16. > :11:20.is perhaps the most heated part of the grouse shooting debate.
:11:21. > :11:23.Science shows that the bird called the hen harrier which is
:11:24. > :11:26.a particular problem on grouse moors, there ought to be
:11:27. > :11:31.300 pairs in England and this year there were three pairs.
:11:32. > :11:35.Can you honestly lay that simply at grouse shooting?
:11:36. > :11:38.Couldn't there be other environmental factors?
:11:39. > :11:44.I don't think anybody is going to argue that illegal persecution
:11:45. > :11:48.is anything other than the main and the vast
:11:49. > :11:50.majority of the problem for hen harriers.
:11:51. > :11:55.That is a bird that has been protected by law for over 60 years.
:11:56. > :11:58.Would you accept that, Andrew, that there is an issue with the
:11:59. > :12:00.illegal persecution, particularly of hen harriers?
:12:01. > :12:05.The incidents of interfering with birds of prey is going down.
:12:06. > :12:09.It is a known issue but I wouldn't suggest it is as big an issue
:12:10. > :12:16.Half of the suitable habitat that Mark's referring to for hen harriers
:12:17. > :12:18.doesn't have a gamekeeper on it at all,
:12:19. > :12:21.so it is a far more complicated picture
:12:22. > :12:23.than the one that he tries to suggest.
:12:24. > :12:27.Are you just oversimplifying this to get that hard message home? No
:12:28. > :12:32.Andrew is ducking the issue. You are just not facing up to reality.
:12:33. > :12:34.Look at the data on peregrines on grouse moors,
:12:35. > :12:38.look at the number of red kites that have died on grouse moors
:12:39. > :12:44.Wildlife crime is not a declining problem.
:12:45. > :12:49.Well, so Mark keeps saying, but actually the data doesn't show that.
:12:50. > :12:55.The disagreements continue but this isn't just an argument
:12:56. > :12:59.between small interest groups with little to do with the rest of us.
:13:00. > :13:01.Later I'll be looking at how the management of grouse moors
:13:02. > :13:08.has an impact far beyond the uplands.
:13:09. > :13:11.This is the Derbyshire Peak District,
:13:12. > :13:19.The great outdoors doesn't come much greater than this.
:13:20. > :13:23.It's where the right to roam was won back in the 1930s,
:13:24. > :13:31.and it's where I'm about to keep a royal appointment.
:13:32. > :13:35.I'm on the lookout for a bunch of intrepid explorers.
:13:36. > :13:40.of the Childwall Sports and Science Academy in Liverpool.
:13:41. > :13:43.They're all here practising for their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
:13:44. > :13:48.Teacher Stuart Cheetham will be keeping an eye on their progress.
:13:49. > :13:54.Try and find out where you are on the map using your compass.
:13:55. > :13:57.You need to start orientating the map
:13:58. > :14:00.so you know which way you're going to be travelling, OK?
:14:01. > :14:03.There are gold, silver and bronze awards.
:14:04. > :14:06.Bronze and silver involve learning a new skill,
:14:07. > :14:10.volunteering or undertaking an expedition,
:14:11. > :14:15.and there's an extra residential section at gold level.
:14:16. > :14:22.What made you sign up to Duke of Edinburgh in the first place, then?
:14:23. > :14:25.Well, it's kind of, like, very interesting, and...
:14:26. > :14:30.It's supposed to look good on your CV, so it's like...
:14:31. > :14:33.It'll benefit you if you wanted to go to university
:14:34. > :14:37.It's a very good experience, as well. Aye.
:14:38. > :14:40.Because, like, we don't normally ever go to the countryside
:14:41. > :14:42.cos we live in cities and stuff so it's good to be, like,
:14:43. > :14:46.out of our environment, and, like, have some freedom.
:14:47. > :14:48.Who has got the biggest backpack? Me!
:14:49. > :14:52.Is that because you've got... I've got... ..the most stuff? Yeah.
:14:53. > :14:56.I can hear tent pegs jangling somewhere.
:14:57. > :14:59.That for me is the short straw because they're hanging down behind
:15:00. > :15:05.'Today's expedition involves a nine-mile yomp
:15:06. > :15:09.'and it's their navigation and map-reading skills
:15:10. > :15:16.OK, so, we're going to look at what's called "take a bearing
:15:17. > :15:20."from the map", and we're going to follow the compass direction, OK?
:15:21. > :15:22.Which direction do you think you're going to follow?
:15:23. > :15:27.Brilliant, exactly right - you're going to follow that direction arrow
:15:28. > :15:33.all the way in that direction towards those trees.
:15:34. > :15:36.The ladies are working towards their silver level
:15:37. > :15:37.of the Duke of Edinburgh. Yes. How hard is it?
:15:38. > :15:41.They're undertaking something that not many people do.
:15:42. > :15:44.It is so difficult for them to get on with it,
:15:45. > :15:47.get the right kit and know how to use all the maps, the compasses
:15:48. > :15:51.walk, and physically do it carrying that really big, heavy bag.
:15:52. > :15:55.They're on their own, independently making decisions for themselves
:15:56. > :16:00.We want them to have a lifelong love of the outside world,
:16:01. > :16:11.This is a big year for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
:16:12. > :16:14.It's 60 years since they first began.
:16:15. > :16:21.I'm joining His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex,
:16:22. > :16:23.out with a different group of youngsters,
:16:24. > :16:26.and this time, they're going for gold.
:16:27. > :16:31.These guys are doing their gold award, which you completed. Yep
:16:32. > :16:40.which is about, what, 65 miles, I suppose.
:16:41. > :16:43.I think people don't realise how many elements there are.
:16:44. > :16:46.That's the expedition, but there's volunteering, skill, sport,
:16:47. > :16:48.all the other bits of it. Yeah It's a big undertaking, isn't it?
:16:49. > :16:53.you can do bit by bit, do it in your own time,
:16:54. > :16:55.but the object of the exercise is to try and introduce you
:16:56. > :16:59.to other types of activities, to other types of passions.
:17:00. > :17:04.So, you may play football because all your mates play football.
:17:05. > :17:08.Is that really what is your passion? So...
:17:09. > :17:12.And so by getting people to do a type of physical activity,
:17:13. > :17:15.a type of volunteering, a type of expedition,
:17:16. > :17:18.hopefully, they'll find a passion, THEIR passion,
:17:19. > :17:22.the thing that drives them, and is what they really want to do.
:17:23. > :17:24.Six decades of success... Yeah. ..for the awards.
:17:25. > :17:28.Where'd you think they'll be in another 60 years?
:17:29. > :17:34.I think there's going to be a real continuing need for the D of E
:17:35. > :17:38.to help young people to develop and to push the boundaries.
:17:39. > :17:43.But if there was one ambition, it would be that any young person
:17:44. > :17:49.anywhere in the world can do it if they want to.
:17:50. > :17:51.'But the Earl is keen to push still further,
:17:52. > :17:54.'and he's calling on Countryfile to help.'
:17:55. > :17:58.I was going to set one of your team a little bit of a challenge.
:17:59. > :18:01.I come across many young people who come across livestock...
:18:02. > :18:06.And for many people who come from cities or what have you,
:18:07. > :18:07.that's a bit of a shock to the system,
:18:08. > :18:11.and it would be brilliant if you could come up with some useful tips
:18:12. > :18:16.Sheep are not too bad, but cattle seem to be the big problem.
:18:17. > :18:22.HE LAUGHS A new chapter, livestock handling!
:18:23. > :18:25.There are plenty of stories of people disappearing over
:18:26. > :18:32.So, Team Countryfile - yes, that is you.
:18:33. > :18:36.If you have any tips to pass on to his Royal Highness,
:18:37. > :18:41.get in touch with the programme via Twitter or the website.
:18:42. > :18:44.Now it's time to catch up with the silver award pupils I met earlier.
:18:45. > :18:49.'And by the look of things, the challenge is taking its toll.'
:18:50. > :18:59.Oh, he's not stopping, he's head down!
:19:00. > :19:03.'But it's downhill to the camp, and in no time at all, the tents are up,
:19:04. > :19:09.'the rucksacks are off, and there's a sense of relief in the air.'
:19:10. > :19:12.This is a very organised camp! GIRLS LAUGH
:19:13. > :19:16.It was...great, but it was tiring as well. Yeah.
:19:17. > :19:19.How many hours did you walk for in the end?
:19:20. > :19:22.Six hours or something. Six hours of walking.
:19:23. > :19:24.I'm impressed, seriously, guys hats off!
:19:25. > :19:29.How different is this for you guys, because you live in Liverpool
:19:30. > :19:36.It was a big contrast, because we wouldn't usually...
:19:37. > :19:37.like, some of us wouldn't usually camp,
:19:38. > :19:41.If you weren't here, what would you be doing?
:19:42. > :19:48.because this is a big break in the norm for you
:19:49. > :19:50.Like, you get a good experience and, like,
:19:51. > :19:54.a sense of self sufficiency, and when you're older,
:19:55. > :19:57.you'll be able to, like, provide for yourself.
:19:58. > :20:02.towards their silver Duke of Edinburgh Award,
:20:03. > :20:05.but the real tests lie in the months ahead.
:20:06. > :20:08.For now, though, it's all smiles at a job well done.
:20:09. > :20:13.CAMERA CLICKS Brilliant work.
:20:14. > :20:23.The majestic splendour of the Scottish Highlands.
:20:24. > :20:26.Getting out there, finding a connection with nature,
:20:27. > :20:30.is something that enriches our lives.
:20:31. > :20:32.But what happens when things go wrong?
:20:33. > :20:35.The elements overwhelm us, we lose our way or fall,
:20:36. > :20:39.or simply find ourselves in need of rescue?
:20:40. > :20:43.If you're unlucky enough to find yourself in such a situation,
:20:44. > :20:48.86-year-old living legend Hamish MacInnes,
:20:49. > :20:51.will have had some part in saving you.
:20:52. > :20:58.When it comes to mountain rescue, Hamish literally wrote the book
:20:59. > :21:01.When I came to live here, there was a rescue team,
:21:02. > :21:04.and they went out with their Wellington boots and whatnot,
:21:05. > :21:07.and there was no money to buy anything else,
:21:08. > :21:13.and started getting money in so they could buy boots and that.
:21:14. > :21:20.Hamish led Glencoe Mountain Rescue from the 1960s to the 1990s.
:21:21. > :21:24.During this time, he designed his world-famous stretcher.
:21:25. > :21:27.In those days, there was no helicopters,
:21:28. > :21:36.So I had the idea of making a stretcher that would fold up, and...
:21:37. > :21:38.So you could get it into difficult places.
:21:39. > :21:42.I'd no desire to make stretchers - we just made one for the team
:21:43. > :21:47.but everybody wanted them, so that was the start of a new industry
:21:48. > :21:50.'Modern, lighter versions of Hamish's stretcher are now in use
:21:51. > :21:53.'all over the world, but he made an even bigger contribution
:21:54. > :21:57.'to saving lives with the invention of the all-metal ice axe.'
:21:58. > :22:01.you developed them with a metal handle.
:22:02. > :22:04.That's right. What inspired you to do that?
:22:05. > :22:06.Because the wooden ones were breaking.
:22:07. > :22:11.And I remember on one occasion in a gully on Ben Nevis,
:22:12. > :22:15.three climbers attempting it, and they fell off, and they had
:22:16. > :22:18.their ice axes stuck in the snow with the rope tied around.
:22:19. > :22:35.Now, just about every ice axe you see is made of metal.
:22:36. > :22:42.I could have been, but I was primarily interested in safety
:22:43. > :22:46.Staying safe in wild places starts with knowing where you are,
:22:47. > :22:48.and map and compass work is critical,
:22:49. > :22:51.'as Helen saw earlier with the Duke of Edinburgh participants
:22:52. > :22:56.'but mountain guide Dave Anderson is going to put that right.'
:22:57. > :23:02.I'm starting on a small knoll, shown on the map as a ring contour
:23:03. > :23:08.at the foot of a stunning mountain - the Buachaille Etive Mor.
:23:09. > :23:09.We know exactly where we are now, Sean,
:23:10. > :23:12.so what we're aiming for is a little hut in that direction,
:23:13. > :23:15.but we can't see that from here so we're going to have to take
:23:16. > :23:17.a bearing on a different feature first.
:23:18. > :23:18.I'm going to show you how to do that.
:23:19. > :23:21.We know we are on this ring contour, so we take a bearing
:23:22. > :23:24.to the stream junction, which is between where we are,
:23:25. > :23:28.We're going to line up the compass, this black line,
:23:29. > :23:31.from where we are to where we're going on that stream junction,
:23:32. > :23:34.we're going to turn the compass around,
:23:35. > :23:37.so that we're lined up with these blue lines,
:23:38. > :23:41.we're going to align that needle to north,
:23:42. > :23:43.and we're going to look in that direction there.
:23:44. > :23:46.So I'm aiming for this junction of two streams,
:23:47. > :23:50.where I'll take another bearing for the hut.
:23:51. > :23:53.What you do now is to choose waypoints along this compass
:23:54. > :23:56.bearing, so that we actually are following our bearing.
:23:57. > :24:00.Those can be boulders, or little grassy knolls,
:24:01. > :24:02.or even changes in colour in the grass, something like that.
:24:03. > :24:05.It's going to keep you on a bearing. Yeah.
:24:06. > :24:08.You're going to get to that stream junction, and from there take
:24:09. > :24:13.That's it, yeah! SEAN LAUGHS
:24:14. > :24:16.Well, tell my wife I love her if I don't make it!
:24:17. > :24:18.I shall see you, hopefully, in a couple of hours!
:24:19. > :24:20.Hopefully see you soon, yes! THEY LAUGH
:24:21. > :24:27.'The ground is incredibly rough and boggy.
:24:28. > :24:30.'Travelling in a straight line is difficult,
:24:31. > :24:32.'but the waypoints will get me back on track
:24:33. > :24:41...to help you work out exactly where you are,
:24:42. > :24:45.and I think that's where the join in the streams is, just down there.
:24:46. > :24:51.I take another bearing towards the climber's hut,
:24:52. > :24:56.where I'm going to meet up with Dave.
:24:57. > :24:59.Visibility is good today, but I'm starting to understand
:25:00. > :25:20.just how easy it would be to become lost in this vast, wild terrain
:25:21. > :25:24.After hundreds of boggy yards, the hut comes into view.
:25:25. > :25:36.We kind of have something in the way, don't we? We certainly have!
:25:37. > :25:39.Not going to cross this river, it'd be too dangerous.
:25:40. > :25:42.So what you're going to do is to handrail the river,
:25:43. > :25:46.so use the river to get yourself to a footbridge further downstream.
:25:47. > :25:49.You don't need your compass for this - there's about three big
:25:50. > :25:53.bends in the river, so you can just tick them off as you pass them
:25:54. > :25:56.So, have the map in your head rather than your head in the map,
:25:57. > :25:58.and that will get you to the footbridge.
:25:59. > :26:02.OK, see you there, Dave. Nice one.
:26:03. > :26:05.'Using the river as a handrail is a great tip.
:26:06. > :26:11.'I soon have the three bends behind me.
:26:12. > :26:27.Hey! SEAN LAUGHS
:26:28. > :26:33.navigating my way around the map, actually, it's made me really
:26:34. > :26:36.aware of my surroundings, and aware of this beautiful place.
:26:37. > :26:43.Wilderness is beautiful, but can be hazardous.
:26:44. > :26:45.Thanks to people like Dave and Hamish,
:26:46. > :26:50.it's made just that little bit safer for us all.
:26:51. > :26:54.The issue of driven grouse shooting has polarised rural communities
:26:55. > :26:57.but as Charlotte's been finding out, there's evidence that its impact
:26:58. > :27:10.stretches far beyond the moorland estates.
:27:11. > :27:17.Our uplands might seem remote, but what happens here affects us all.
:27:18. > :27:23.The moors act as sponges, reducing flooding in towns and cities.
:27:24. > :27:25.Much of our drinking water comes from here,
:27:26. > :27:31.and the peat bogs capture CO2, helping to fight climate change
:27:32. > :27:35.They're also a much-loved part of the rural landscape.
:27:36. > :27:39.Grouse moors cover three and a half million acres of the UK,
:27:40. > :27:42.and given that we all have a stake in what happens on them,
:27:43. > :27:45.it's perhaps not surprising that the way they're managed
:27:46. > :27:49.is another subject of intense debate.
:27:50. > :27:55.It's been created by man over the centuries.
:27:56. > :27:59.Now, critics claim that on driven grouse moors, this management,
:28:00. > :28:01.especially the practice of burning the heather,
:28:02. > :28:10.shows that intensive moorland management
:28:11. > :28:13.increases flood risk, increases water treatment costs
:28:14. > :28:18.increases greenhouse gas emissions, reduces the life...
:28:19. > :28:28.The impact on water quality and also on flooding,
:28:29. > :28:32.because when you change these peat bogs by burning the heather,
:28:33. > :28:35.they absorb less water, and that's a worry.
:28:36. > :28:42.but the reality is that after the war and for 30 or 40 years
:28:43. > :28:45.the Government paid landowners to drain the land to increase it
:28:46. > :28:52.this was considered absolute wilderness out here.
:28:53. > :28:55.They were actually trying to bring it into agricultural production
:28:56. > :28:57.Now, that was mistaken, but that's fine,
:28:58. > :28:59.so we're putting that back together again now.
:29:00. > :29:03.So, Mark, it's not the grouse shooting,
:29:04. > :29:06.it's a long history of what we wanted this land to do?
:29:07. > :29:09.Well, Andrew seems to be living in the past all the time.
:29:10. > :29:12.I'm living right now and looking at the science and looking at
:29:13. > :29:15.what the future of these hills could look like.
:29:16. > :29:17.Look at Scandinavia, look at around the world,
:29:18. > :29:20.these places where they don't have driven grouse shooting,
:29:21. > :29:24.they manage that land partly to deliver clean water,
:29:25. > :29:33.Mark regularly keeps saying... Referring to back into the past
:29:34. > :29:36.the way that fire is managed on moors now is completely different
:29:37. > :29:38.to how it was being done 20 years ago,
:29:39. > :29:41.the way that we restore bogs is different.
:29:42. > :29:44.So, just to be clear, you think you can have all
:29:45. > :29:47.the environmental benefits and driven grouse shooting?
:29:48. > :29:50.I certainly do, yes. As a conservationist.
:29:51. > :29:57.Opponents of driven grouse shooting also claim that heather burning
:29:58. > :30:02.indiscriminately kills wildlife like snakes and small mammals.
:30:03. > :30:05.Back at the game fair, I asked Duncan Thomas from the
:30:06. > :30:09.British Association for Shooting and Conservation why it's necessary
:30:10. > :30:13.We want to create a diverse length of heather so we've got some stuff
:30:14. > :30:18.for shelter, some stuff for food and some stuff for a foraging area
:30:19. > :30:21.If we didn't manage that moor for grouse shooting,
:30:22. > :30:25.the moor would become a wild, sterile place and the vast
:30:26. > :30:29.range of species which benefit simply wouldn't be there.
:30:30. > :30:32.And also the other problem, the big problem here
:30:33. > :30:34.is the incredible fire risk that we'd be creating.
:30:35. > :30:38.We've seen moors devastated this year by wildfire.
:30:39. > :30:43.The tactical, careful, managed burning process produces
:30:44. > :30:48.thin strips of burns which stops the moorland fires.
:30:49. > :30:51.But wouldn't walked-up shooting where fewer grouse is shot,
:30:52. > :30:59.Within a few years, with the lack of investment, you would end up
:31:00. > :31:03.with long, rank heather that you couldn't even walk through.
:31:04. > :31:07.It's all about creating a sustainable surplus that we can
:31:08. > :31:10.shoot and we can celebrate and we can have an amazing time doing it.
:31:11. > :31:13.Shooting is fun! Just look at this all around you here.
:31:14. > :31:20.So, amidst all the differing points of view, is there a way forward
:31:21. > :31:24.Bob Elliott from the RSPB thinks there is.
:31:25. > :31:28.We've talked a lot about the problems, what are the solutions?
:31:29. > :31:31.Well, one thing we think could make a real difference is licensing
:31:32. > :31:36.We don't have any regulation at the moment and we think
:31:37. > :31:40.that would drive down the amount of criminality we're seeing and
:31:41. > :31:44.good estates would have nothing to fear from that.
:31:45. > :31:51.really important to the rural economy, and what you're
:31:52. > :31:53.trying to do is actually put them out of business.
:31:54. > :31:55.Come on, it's not asking for the world.
:31:56. > :32:00.and I absolutely don't want overregulation,
:32:01. > :32:05.Licensing is commonplace elsewhere in the world,
:32:06. > :32:09.Mark, what do you make of the idea of licensing?
:32:10. > :32:12.I don't think it's the best idea, because I've think licensing
:32:13. > :32:15.would be complicated and difficult to implement.
:32:16. > :32:20.Licensing has many roles in our society, but the question is,
:32:21. > :32:22.what is it we're actually trying to address?
:32:23. > :32:25.And if we're trying to address the conflict and the interests of
:32:26. > :32:27.the grouse moors and the birds of prey,
:32:28. > :32:30.there's no evidence that licensing is actually a solution.
:32:31. > :32:36.When the two sides are as far apart as you two are, by way of example...
:32:37. > :32:39.Well, we've agreed licensing wasn't a good idea!
:32:40. > :32:41.Well, we've agreed on one thing So what is the way forward?
:32:42. > :32:45.I'd like to see driven grouse shooting banned.
:32:46. > :32:49.We've already talked about the huge benefits out here.
:32:50. > :32:52.You've referred to the... Well, we've argued about them!
:32:53. > :32:55...about the ?100 million that it contributes to our economy
:32:56. > :32:57.and the 4,000 jobs that it underpins.
:32:58. > :33:00.And there I think we should leave it, yes? Yes.
:33:01. > :33:03.Hoods up! SHE LAUGHS
:33:04. > :33:06.Driven grouse shooting has been part of the fabric of our
:33:07. > :33:10.countryside for 150 years and it increasingly inspires
:33:11. > :33:14.passionate and contradictory opinions.
:33:15. > :33:17.As we've seen, there's very little common ground between those
:33:18. > :33:20.for and those against driven grouse shooting.
:33:21. > :33:25.And anyone expecting resolutions to these arguments any time soon, well,
:33:26. > :33:37.that's a little bit like expecting sunshine on a rainy summer's day.
:33:38. > :33:41.I'm on Loch Lochy in Scotland's Great Glen,
:33:42. > :33:44.tagging along with an expedition marking the 60th anniversary
:33:45. > :33:56.They're all tough adventurers, but there's one thing even they dread.
:33:57. > :34:03.The minute monsters are almost invisible to the human eye,
:34:04. > :34:07.but they swarm in clouds of thousands and have a nasty bite
:34:08. > :34:12.I'm taking my chances ashore to find out more.
:34:13. > :34:15.Bill Kerr is a retired engineer but for the last two years,
:34:16. > :34:22.Now, what are you up to here? This is a midge trap.
:34:23. > :34:26.Have you heard about midges? I've definitely heard of midges, yes
:34:27. > :34:28.How do you trap them, how does this work?
:34:29. > :34:32.It's made out of cardboard with a wee bit of string, as you can see.
:34:33. > :34:35.And inside it, you'll notice that there's another piece of
:34:36. > :34:40.which has got an extremely sticky surface.
:34:41. > :34:43.So anything that lands on that surface will actually adhere to it.
:34:44. > :34:47.But just to give you an idea how effective this is... Yeah?
:34:48. > :34:51...this is actually an old one from a few weeks ago
:34:52. > :34:53.which shows that there's midges on there.
:34:54. > :34:57.At its worst, what would it look like?
:34:58. > :35:02.and if you can imagine from there to there,
:35:03. > :35:06.Really? The whole thing just covered with midges?
:35:07. > :35:15.Well, information produced by Bill and other volunteers is added
:35:16. > :35:21.to weather data to produce an online midge forecast for Scotland.
:35:22. > :35:23.Now, Bill, there's a few in the air today,
:35:24. > :35:26.they're very hard to see on camera and I've checked the midge forecast.
:35:27. > :35:29.This is what your observations feed into.
:35:30. > :35:32.So if we look at our forecast for our Duke of Edinburgh kayakers
:35:33. > :35:35.starting Ben Nevis area, lots of midges.
:35:36. > :35:38.But interestingly, as they go along the Caledonian Canal,
:35:39. > :35:41.it goes five, four, three, two and one, up in Invergordon.
:35:42. > :35:45.So it just directly reduces the further north-east you go.
:35:46. > :35:48.Yeah, there aren't a lot of midges on the east coast of Scotland.
:35:49. > :35:52.and the north-west Highlands in particular.
:35:53. > :35:56.So presumably, the conditions of geography and land conditions
:35:57. > :35:59.must suit the midges more than it does over in the east.
:36:00. > :36:04.The bracken and rushes here provide ideal habitat.
:36:05. > :36:08.And midges love Western Scotland's warm, damp summers.
:36:09. > :36:18.but good news for birds and bats which feast on clouds of midges
:36:19. > :36:23.Scotland's midges are so notorious, there's even an online game.
:36:24. > :36:26.'But they've also spawned serious scientific research.
:36:27. > :36:28.'Before heading back out on the water,
:36:29. > :36:33.'the world's leading expert on midges.'
:36:34. > :36:35.How are you? Hi, I'm fine, thank you.
:36:36. > :36:38.So, tell me, why do they pick on us, Alison? Why do they bite us?
:36:39. > :36:40.Well, it's only the female midge that bites,
:36:41. > :36:44.and she needs a protein source to mature her eggs, so she'll feed
:36:45. > :36:49.on any mammal, so she loves cows, sheep, deer, erm, people as well.
:36:50. > :36:53.'Midges have an incredible sense of smell, and they use a neat trick
:36:54. > :36:57.'to track us down - it's all to do with the air we breathe out.'
:36:58. > :36:59.A midge will know that you're breathing
:37:00. > :37:04.and then as she becomes a little bit closer to you,
:37:05. > :37:08.she follows your CO2 plume and then your body chemistry kicks in
:37:09. > :37:11.as well, so the different smells your body's emanating,
:37:12. > :37:15.your body temperature as well and moisture, movement...
:37:16. > :37:17.All these cues kind of allow a midge to home in on
:37:18. > :37:19.a particular target they want to feed on.
:37:20. > :37:22.There's a whole industry around this, how did you get involved
:37:23. > :37:27.we use midge attractants we've identified for trapping systems
:37:28. > :37:30.but also we've developed our own insect repellent which is
:37:31. > :37:33.based on everything we know about how an insect finds you,
:37:34. > :37:37.and it's got components in it which will specifically block those
:37:38. > :37:40.receptors on insect antennae which find you.
:37:41. > :37:43.Let's do a bit of myth busting what does and doesn't work?
:37:44. > :37:51.vitamin B we know is slightly repellent to midges,
:37:52. > :37:55.And what about whisky, or is that just an excuse?
:37:56. > :37:58.I think that's just to kind of dull the effect of the midges, yeah
:37:59. > :38:01.'So, the advice during midge season -
:38:02. > :38:05.'check the forecast, cover up, and use repellents,
:38:06. > :38:12.'otherwise it could be game over for your Highland holiday.'
:38:13. > :38:15.'Now, this week, Adam's at home catching up with some of his
:38:16. > :38:18.'farm favourites, and that means pigs.
:38:19. > :38:20.'He's been around them his whole life,
:38:21. > :38:28.'Best of all, there are some new arrivals on the way.'
:38:29. > :38:36.We've got a number of pigs on the farm,
:38:37. > :38:40.we've got Iron Age, Tamworths, we've recently purchased some Berkshires,
:38:41. > :38:44.and these are my favourites, the Gloucestershire Old Spots.
:38:45. > :38:49.and the general rule of thumb is that pigs with floppy ears
:38:50. > :38:52.like this that cover their eyes are more docile than the ones
:38:53. > :38:55.with pricked ears where they can see more and are more alert.
:38:56. > :38:58.They're absolutely gorgeous, I adore them.
:38:59. > :39:04.'and we're expecting her to give birth any day now.'
:39:05. > :39:13.It's a cross between a Tamworth and a wild boar.
:39:14. > :39:16.She's so friendly, if you scratch her tummy, look
:39:17. > :39:21.She's perfectly happy to give birth out in the fields,
:39:22. > :39:26.I brought her into the stable just to keep an eye on her.
:39:27. > :39:31.When the piglets are born they want to move round to get to the teats,
:39:32. > :39:37.you'll see she lifts it, and the piglets will then be able to
:39:38. > :39:41.walk underneath her leg and attach themselves to the teats.
:39:42. > :39:44.Her leg then goes back down, a bit like a door shutting, and the
:39:45. > :39:48.piglets are caught in the arc between her front and her back legs.
:39:49. > :39:55.Hopefully she'll give birth in the next day or two.
:39:56. > :39:59.'But there's a sow next door that's already had her piglets
:40:00. > :40:03.'and there's a test I'm keen to try on them that's always amazed me '
:40:04. > :40:06.When the piglets feed, it's believed by scientists
:40:07. > :40:09.that they always line up on the same teats,
:40:10. > :40:13.so I've got a marker pen here, and I'm going to mark them
:40:14. > :40:16.in a row, and we'll look at them later and see if it's true.
:40:17. > :40:26.This is a little bit like a hierarchy, and the best milk is on
:40:27. > :40:30.the front teats, and so the piglets will jostle for position
:40:31. > :40:35.'If all goes to plan, when they next feed,
:40:36. > :40:39.'they should line up again in numerical order.'
:40:40. > :40:46.The sow has started feeding the piglets again,
:40:47. > :40:56...then we've got four, three, two, so they're jostling for position.
:40:57. > :41:03...three and four are the wrong way around, five, six...
:41:04. > :41:12.They've all gone into the completely correct position.
:41:13. > :41:17.I think it's absolutely remarkable, it's really quite exciting.
:41:18. > :41:23.Oh, no, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're a clever girl!
:41:24. > :41:25.'The more you understand your animals,
:41:26. > :41:27.'the better you can be at rearing them,
:41:28. > :41:30.'so when I heard about some new research into pig husbandry,
:41:31. > :41:33.'I headed to Abbey Home Farm to find out more.'
:41:34. > :41:38.'Dr Lisa Collins and Mary Friel from the University of Lincoln are
:41:39. > :41:44.'They've devised a way to determine personality traits in pigs
:41:45. > :41:47.'that could be of great benefit to farmers.
:41:48. > :41:55.Nice pen of pigs here, John, for the job.
:41:56. > :41:57.Yeah, I hope they'll work for the test.
:41:58. > :41:59.Mary, you've been on the ground doing the testing.
:42:00. > :42:01.What sort of things are you looking for?
:42:02. > :42:03.I'm measuring one main trait of their personality, which is,
:42:04. > :42:06.erm, whether they're reactive or proactive,
:42:07. > :42:09.so reactive pigs tend to be more cautious,
:42:10. > :42:12.they react more slowly, they're quieter,
:42:13. > :42:16.whereas proactive pigs tend to be more outgoing, they're more vocal.
:42:17. > :42:18.So would one be better than the other?
:42:19. > :42:21.No, not necessarily, they both have advantages and disadvantages.
:42:22. > :42:27.they're more likely to get to the resources first and potentially
:42:28. > :42:32.monopolise them, whereas reactives, although they're a little bit afraid
:42:33. > :42:34.of a new environment when they're first introduced to it,
:42:35. > :42:37.they tend to adapt better to it over time.
:42:38. > :42:39.So when getting groups of pigs together you need a bit of
:42:40. > :42:42.a balance, a bit of a mix? Absolutely, you do.
:42:43. > :42:46.do you know which ones are proactive and which ones are reactive?
:42:47. > :42:49.Er, well, it's going to be really interesting to see whether
:42:50. > :42:51.what I think is going to be what the test shows.
:42:52. > :42:53.So you reckon you've got a couple of bullies in here?
:42:54. > :42:55.There's certainly one who's a boss, yes.
:42:56. > :42:57.THEY LAUGH OK, well, let's give it a go.
:42:58. > :43:04.'each pig is put into a small pen for four minutes
:43:05. > :43:12.'Lisa will time how long the pigs spend exploring the test area,
:43:13. > :43:18.'Mary will record the grunts and when they touch the cone.
:43:19. > :43:21.'I'll time how long the pigs are stood still for,
:43:22. > :43:26.'red for proactive and green for reactive.'
:43:27. > :43:28.Just the one. Who's going to be first?
:43:29. > :43:34.we'd expect it to come in and take quite
:43:35. > :43:37.a long time to contact the cone but if it's a proactive pig it might
:43:38. > :43:41.come in a lot faster, more grunts, and generally move around more
:43:42. > :43:53.'Pig Number One doesn't seem to know what to do,
:43:54. > :43:57.'and is much more interested in the grass than the cone.'
:43:58. > :44:02.It just hasn't gone anywhere near the cone. No. Oh...
:44:03. > :44:13.OK, so what are the results for standing? 1:42. OK.
:44:14. > :44:16.'Mary records the timings on her computer,
:44:17. > :44:18.'and the formula confirms the result.'
:44:19. > :44:22.15 grunts per minute, so that makes him a really reactive pig
:44:23. > :44:34.It's a green R on the shoulder then, John. Yep, will do.
:44:35. > :44:36.'Pig Number Two is much the same as Pig Number One,
:44:37. > :44:42.'Pig Three may have taken two minutes to pluck up the courage
:44:43. > :44:51.'And this little pig wastes no time making friends.'
:44:52. > :44:59.'Pig Number Five seems pretty content with being tested.'
:45:00. > :45:11.So how did we end up, then, with the results?
:45:12. > :45:15.So we've found, out of six pigs here, we've got four reactive
:45:16. > :45:20.ones and only two proactive, and we also had quite a range within that.
:45:21. > :45:22.We had one pig that only grunted once in the test,
:45:23. > :45:25.and one pig that grunted over 150 times.
:45:26. > :45:28.They're very different characters, then, within the pen. Yep.
:45:29. > :45:30.What is it you're hoping to achieve, in the long term,
:45:31. > :45:35.So, I think, just to raise awareness first of all that different
:45:36. > :45:38.animals will have different personalities, and this will
:45:39. > :45:41.automatically impact on how they react to the environment
:45:42. > :45:44.around them and also how they react to each other.
:45:45. > :45:48.but these tests have a real practical purpose.'
:45:49. > :45:52.When you scale it up at the commercial level, what's happening
:45:53. > :45:55.is pigs generally tend to get split and mixed according to their
:45:56. > :45:59.weight, so you'd have a group of 50 pigs of a similar weight,
:46:00. > :46:02.and the reason that's problematic is that essentially,
:46:03. > :46:05.when you have proactive pigs, one of their characteristics
:46:06. > :46:07.is that they're better at getting to the resources,
:46:08. > :46:10.so they're more likely to be the heavier ones, and that could
:46:11. > :46:13.then lead to aggressive problems within those groups potentially
:46:14. > :46:16.And I suppose aggression and bullying will affect growth rates,
:46:17. > :46:21.it's a financial issue because the animals aren't growing so well.
:46:22. > :46:24.Exactly, yep, so it has multiple impacts, really, on the
:46:25. > :46:28.welfare of the pigs but also for the profit of the farmers themselves.
:46:29. > :46:32.Will it change the way you view the farming of your pigs?
:46:33. > :46:35.Yeah, really interesting and I think it will definitely make us
:46:36. > :46:37.think about what else we can do for the pigs cos, yeah,
:46:38. > :46:41.Yeah, I'll certainly be taking something home from this
:46:42. > :46:53.and thinking about the way we manage our pigs more carefully
:46:54. > :46:59.'This is Glencoe - one of Britain's best-loved wild spaces.
:47:00. > :47:04.'The rocks here are volcanic, the land carved by glaciers,
:47:05. > :47:09.'the crags etched by wild Atlantic weather.'
:47:10. > :47:21.'The National Trust for Scotland is responsible for the
:47:22. > :47:24.'conservation of the glen, which features
:47:25. > :47:32.'a wide range of habitats, from low moorland to stark, exposed cliffs.
:47:33. > :47:36.'But I've come to explore one of the rarest habitats in the world,
:47:37. > :47:39.'which only exists because of the persistent,
:47:40. > :47:46.'and a very particular type of landscape called
:47:47. > :47:55.'I'm heading up high with ecologist Dan Watson to discover what
:47:56. > :48:01.Well, it's a rare set of circumstances, particularly where
:48:02. > :48:05.we are in Scotland on the north west coast, there's a lot of rain.
:48:06. > :48:09.Yeah! We've also got these colossal boulders that have been
:48:10. > :48:12.brought down during the last Ice Age.
:48:13. > :48:15.They restrict access to things like deer that would come in
:48:16. > :48:20.So the combination of the narrow gorge,
:48:21. > :48:24.the boulders and the trees mean there's great humidity in here
:48:25. > :48:28.and that's what a lot of these oceanic bryophytes need,
:48:29. > :48:34.the things that are very special here.
:48:35. > :48:37.'Bryophytes are mosses and liverworts,
:48:38. > :48:43.'and in this strange and magical landscape, they are everywhere.
:48:44. > :48:46.Well, the most obvious thing here is that we're just surrounded by
:48:47. > :48:51.It's on the rocks, it's on the trees, just all around us.
:48:52. > :48:55.they way they're tumbled in all directions,
:48:56. > :48:57.they've got many different micro habitats,
:48:58. > :49:00.so we've got the top surface, which gets carpeted in this.
:49:01. > :49:02.You can see we've got vertical faces,
:49:03. > :49:06.we've got sloping faces, so there's just a vast variety
:49:07. > :49:11.'This variety of micro habitat is home to many types of mosses
:49:12. > :49:16.'with exquisite structures and fantastically descriptive names '
:49:17. > :49:19.Look at that one, it's really beautiful, isn't it
:49:20. > :49:23.Oh, yeah, just like an ostrich feather.
:49:24. > :49:28.Lovely. This one is also reasonably common,
:49:29. > :49:30.but has a much more western distribution.
:49:31. > :49:32.This one has a very descriptive name as well,
:49:33. > :49:34.this is bottlebrush moss. Bottlebrush?
:49:35. > :49:37.Yeah, cos it looks like something you could use to clean a bottle out.
:49:38. > :49:39.It looks like you could put it between your teeth,
:49:40. > :49:42.one of those little brushes you use...! Oh, yeah.
:49:43. > :49:45.I wouldn't advise that. Maybe not, maybe not.
:49:46. > :49:49.'Bryophytes are the oldest land dwelling plants on Earth.
:49:50. > :49:53.'They were the first to leave the sea and adapt to life on dry land.
:49:54. > :49:58.'Unlike normal plants they have no roots and no internal plumbing.
:49:59. > :50:01.'They absorb moisture from the atmosphere.
:50:02. > :50:04.'Botanist Gordon Rothero has made studying these fascinating plants
:50:05. > :50:09.How did you come to be so obsessed by these tiny little plants?
:50:10. > :50:14.Erm, just that if you spent a lot of time in this sort of habitat,
:50:15. > :50:19.much of what you see is sort of green stuff,
:50:20. > :50:22.and you eventually become quite interested in green stuff,
:50:23. > :50:25.and then when you start looking at it closely,
:50:26. > :50:27.it's absolutely fascinating. Yeah, each one's so different.
:50:28. > :50:31.they are really, really intricate species, and, you know,
:50:32. > :50:34.they've been around a very long time and they've evolved all kinds
:50:35. > :50:37.of intricate shapes, and, you know, they're just beautiful.
:50:38. > :50:40.Do we have any especially exciting species here? Yes, we do.
:50:41. > :50:43.For example, we have this purple spoonwort here,
:50:44. > :50:46.which is the name of this. Is this one rare?
:50:47. > :50:50.and you can find it all the way up and down the west coast of
:50:51. > :50:54.Scotland, and it occurs in parts of western Ireland and it occurs
:50:55. > :50:56.locally in parts of south-west Norway,
:50:57. > :50:59.but it doesn't occur anywhere else in Europe.
:51:00. > :51:04.And the biggest populations by far are in the west of Scotland.
:51:05. > :51:06.It doesn't occur in Wales or in England.
:51:07. > :51:10.So why is it so important to conserve habitat like this,
:51:11. > :51:15.Erm, it's important because it's part of our natural heritage.
:51:16. > :51:18.Things would be very, very different if the bryophytes weren't here
:51:19. > :51:23.They hold the moisture, they provide a habitat for frogs and for insects.
:51:24. > :51:26.We don't have very many rare plants in Scotland,
:51:27. > :51:29.and it's quite nice to look after the ones that we do have.
:51:30. > :51:34.'Coming to Glencoe, it's easy to be impressed by the grandeur of
:51:35. > :51:38.'the mountain landscape, the big picture.'
:51:39. > :51:42.But looking down and focusing in on that lush green carpet reveals
:51:43. > :51:45.a miniature landscape just as beautiful,
:51:46. > :51:48.and all thanks to that rainy Atlantic weather.
:51:49. > :51:50.But will they be getting more in the week ahead?
:51:51. > :52:06.Let's find out - here's the forecast.
:52:07. > :52:13.Yes, some areas of the UK have had too much of the Atlantic rain, and
:52:14. > :52:17.others nothing at all. We can see a turnaround later in the week. A busy
:52:18. > :52:23.day in the fields today, this picture sent in by a weather watcher
:52:24. > :52:28.in Kent. For the next few days, no sign of any rain. Temperatures will
:52:29. > :52:30.be rising, mainly because there will be more sunshine, but from the
:52:31. > :52:36.weekend onwards things turn more settled. Some rain is likely,
:52:37. > :52:40.perhaps not in Scotland, which had a lot of rain last week, but it could
:52:41. > :52:46.be further south, where it is needed most. No rain just yet because the
:52:47. > :52:50.pressure is rising. This area of high pressure is building across the
:52:51. > :52:54.UK. Because of that and the sun getting lower, we have more sunshine
:52:55. > :53:02.this evening in southern and eastern parts. Tonight, the cloud will
:53:03. > :53:06.continue to break. Maybe a bit cloudy for northern England and
:53:07. > :53:10.Northern Ireland. Chilly in the countryside in Scotland. Warming up
:53:11. > :53:16.quickly in the sunshine on Monday. Not much cloud first thing. We could
:53:17. > :53:20.see a bit more cloud late morning, around lunchtime, but the cloud will
:53:21. > :53:26.be thinner, so it will break up more readily. In the afternoon, returning
:53:27. > :53:30.more widely. Temperatures should be higher than today. It will feel
:53:31. > :53:34.pleasant with light winds. Tuesday looks dry and, for many places, it
:53:35. > :53:41.will be sunny. Temperatures rising quickly. A bit more cloud at times
:53:42. > :53:45.in eastern parts of England, with an onshore breeze, but away from here
:53:46. > :53:50.temperatures continuing to rise Highest of all in Wales and the West
:53:51. > :53:53.Country, mid to high 20s. We will not see the really hot air we
:53:54. > :53:58.thought we might. That is really across Spain, heading as far north
:53:59. > :54:04.as northern parts of France. Wind flow will be crucial because, around
:54:05. > :54:09.the high, it looks like our air may come all the way from Germany and
:54:10. > :54:13.the low countries. Still very warm, up to the mid-to high 20s. As the
:54:14. > :54:18.high pressure drifts further east on Wednesday, we have a weather front.
:54:19. > :54:22.This is the first sign of significant rain. Shower room rain
:54:23. > :54:29.overnight on Wednesday. Northern Ireland and Wales, it could be some
:54:30. > :54:33.thunderstorms. Very humid. Not as warm as Tuesday but, further east,
:54:34. > :54:38.still dry. This is where temperatures continue to rise.
:54:39. > :54:42.Getting into the high 20s perhaps through the Midlands and south-east
:54:43. > :54:47.England, and very warm around the Moray Firth, warmer than it has been
:54:48. > :54:52.for some time. In the late evening, things get more uncertain. We could
:54:53. > :54:55.see an area of low pressure developing, bringing rain rather
:54:56. > :54:59.than heat up from the near continent. It could be heavy and
:55:00. > :55:03.sundry overnight into Thursday across Wales in southern England. A
:55:04. > :55:08.bit of rainfall Northern Ireland. Further east, it is still dry. With
:55:09. > :55:13.an easterly wind, not quite as warm. Towards the end of the week, we have
:55:14. > :55:20.still got a weather front on the scene, much weaker by now. This area
:55:21. > :55:23.of low pressure threatens to come in off the Atlantic, Raby bringing some
:55:24. > :55:28.rain. Otherwise, some shower rebates of pieces of rain. -- showery bits
:55:29. > :55:40.and pieces. 'We're in Lochaber in Scotland's
:55:41. > :55:43.western Highlands, 'and I've been with
:55:44. > :55:46.a team of adventurers marking 'the 60th anniversary of the
:55:47. > :55:49.Duke of Edinburgh Awards, 'with a six-day expedition for the
:55:50. > :55:52.Diamond Challenge. 'It's time for me to catch up with
:55:53. > :55:55.them again on the waters of David and Katie, you're both sort of
:55:56. > :56:03.Gold D of E holders, is that right? Yep. What, for you, was the appeal
:56:04. > :56:06.of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards would you say? For me, erm, it was
:56:07. > :56:10.just the sense of the unknown. I didn't come from an outdoors-y
:56:11. > :56:14.family, erm, none of my family like being outdoors, so I fancied
:56:15. > :56:18.doing something different. Also, the fact that it looks quite
:56:19. > :56:21.good on your CV, I thought it'd be quite good for getting into
:56:22. > :56:24.universities, that sort of thing. But it kind of
:56:25. > :56:26.became more than that. It was a lot more fun than I
:56:27. > :56:28.expected it to be, and now it's kind of just like a way of life, which is
:56:29. > :56:32.why I still volunteer now, so.. I mean, obviously, it was
:56:33. > :56:34.conceived 60 years ago, that's why there's this
:56:35. > :56:37.diamond anniversary. Do you think it's dated?
:56:38. > :56:40.Do you think it's still as relevant, because a lot of young people now
:56:41. > :56:43.are chasing Pokemons around city centres, they're not
:56:44. > :56:46.necessarily canoeing lochs. I think it's more relevant now
:56:47. > :56:49.than it has ever been. Young people, I think, these days
:56:50. > :56:53.have kind of lost confidence in themselves, and I think doing
:56:54. > :56:56.something like this, they are capable of doing
:56:57. > :57:02.the big stuff really helps. You've devised quite
:57:03. > :57:07.a fiendish challenge here. Yeah You are only halfway through your
:57:08. > :57:10.second day, but at the end of it all, let me show you this, have
:57:11. > :57:14.you seen one of these? Oh, yeah Oh, wow! This is the
:57:15. > :57:17.diamond pin that will be at the end of it for you all,
:57:18. > :57:19.very exciting. And so I'm going to leave you there,
:57:20. > :57:22.guys, that's what's ahead of you, but to be honest,
:57:23. > :57:25.you're only a day and a half in You've still got four and
:57:26. > :57:28.a half days of hard slog before you earn that wonderful pin,
:57:29. > :57:32.so good luck. Thank you. I hope it goes well, I hope the wind
:57:33. > :57:36.stays behind you. All the best 'And the good news is anyone can
:57:37. > :57:42.join the adventure. 'The Diamond Challenge is open
:57:43. > :57:46.to all ages, even if you missed out 'on the Duke of Edinburgh Award
:57:47. > :57:51.Scheme the first time round.' All right, there, Joe?
:57:52. > :57:54.Hey, Naomi, how's it going? Good, come to offer you a lift
:57:55. > :57:56.You know what? I've come to offer you my
:57:57. > :57:58.spare paddle, d'you fancy it? Er, actually,
:57:59. > :58:01.I'm quite comfortable up here. Well, that's it from the Highlands
:58:02. > :58:04.and our look at 60 years of If you've been inspired to have
:58:05. > :58:08.a go, head for the website, Now, next week,
:58:09. > :58:13.we have something very special exclusive coverage from our first
:58:14. > :58:15.Countryfile Live event. Yes, Blenheim Palace is the setting
:58:16. > :58:23.for Countryfile's four-day celebration of the very best of
:58:24. > :58:26.the British countryside. Are you absolutely sure I can't
:58:27. > :58:31.give you a lift? The sun is shining, there's
:58:32. > :58:35.no midges, and, quite frankly, Fair play. See you later.
:58:36. > :58:39.See you later, take care. Bye!