Episode 14 Landward

Hello, and a very warm welcome to the first in a brand new series of

Landward celebrating the great Scottish countryside. We'll be with

you every Friday night between now and Christmas exploring all four

points of the compass. In a moment, Euan will be trying his hand at

chainsaw art but first, here's what else is coming up on the programme.

The new test to save the reputation of Scotch beef. It's a chemical

test. It's looking at the different compounds within the meat. These

vary depending on where the animal is farmed, particularly the last

parts of its life. We go training with Scotland's elite gun dogs.

Judges will be looking for a dog that hunts the ground with verve

and vitality, systematically. A sharp dog, keen and alert. And we

begin a mini-series snorkelling around Scotland. Once you're

comfortable swimming on the surface, you can start diving underneath the

Last month, competitors from around the world gathered in Carrbridge to

demonstrate their artistic skills with, wait for it, chainsaws. Euan

went along to see if he could carve Every year, 24 of the world's best

chainsaw carvers descend on the sleepy Highland village of

Carrbridge to take part in the Scottish chainsaw championships.

These guys have got just four hours to create a unique work of art

How difficult is it to use a chainsaw for carving? Well, you

have to get well used to using a chainsaw before you can attempt to

carve. A conventional chainsaw is It does look quite scary. It can be.

If you get it wrong and you cut yourself, you bleed to death very

quickly. We have to wear the proper protection to prevent that from

happening as far as we possibly can. Ideally, we have to be trained in

using a chainsaw properly. Safe starting, safe handling, before you

This year's event has attracted artists from Germany, America,

Russia and the Netherlands who are all here to defeat the reigning

champion - local boy, Iain Chalmers. How's it going? Progress has been

made. It's starting to emerge, isn't it? Aye. Highland cow up at

the top, a wee Westie at the bottom. Salmon in between, a little

squirrel. Have you had a chance to look at the opposition yet? No. I'm

We are now halfway through the carve and it's incredibly noisy,

but all kinds of things are emerging from these lumps of wood.

There's naked women, there's monks, there are three bears. Have a look

at this, it's just incredible. incredible how quick that first two

hours goes. I think I've got the rough shape there, starting to get

the feathers, so it's just more detail. Maybe do a little deer here.

If I haven't got time, ditch that. This competition is different. You

definitely see a lot more come to life in a very short period of time

because everybody's really put to the test. You've got really big

logs. Normally, if somebody came by and wanted me to carve something

this big, give me two weeks. I have to carve this in four hours.

The main event is a four-hour carve but while the judges deliberate,

the competitors take part in a 30 minute quick carve. I've been

invited to join in. Where do we start, what do I need

to know? Well, it's handy if you've got some sort of notion of 3D

shapes. This is where a lot of carvers fall down. We normally

start off carvers with a mushroom. I'm not doing a mushroom. What did

you have in mind? We are going to be creative. I'm going to go for -

you'll think I can't do this but I know I can. A very small serpent

coming out of an egg. If you have that in your mind, it would be very

interesting to see what sequence of cuts, what secret sequence of cuts

you can come up with to achieve A wee word of warning, don't do

this at home unless you've had some OK, so it's something only a

chainsaw carver could love but I think it's lovely. Not as lovely as

this totem pole, which won Iain Chalmers his second championship in

a row. Iain, done it again. It's an

impressive piece of work. There is about 10 that could have won it in

my opinion. Mine! I didn't see yours. Go and look at it and weep.

Well done. Thank you. Throughout the year, adventurer and writer

Andy Torbet has been snorkelling his way around the UK. We wanted to

know what the attraction is so asked him to take us on three

Scottish dives to find out what you can see with just a snorkel and a

mask. Hi, I'm Andy Torbet. In this series,

I'm going to show you just how easy it is to explore the magnificent

and diverse waters around Scotland. Today, I'm at St Abbs, regarded as

one of the best places to dive in the UK. Snorkelling is incredibly

simple and all you need is a few basic bits of kit. To start with, a

wet suit to keep you warm. Not essential but obviously jumping in

the North Sea in your birthsuit is a bold move, to say the very least.

Then, a mask so you can see where you're going. A snorkel to breathe

on the surface. A set of fins to propel you through the water more

easily. A weight belt, so if you want to leave the surface and dive

down, it makes it much easier. The The first time you put your face in

the water, it feels a bit unnatural. Just try and relax and you'll soon

get used to it. The visibility is about five metres today so there's

Now, once you're comfortable swimming on the surface, you can

start diving underneath the water. To do that, you simply bend at the

waist, kick your feet into the air and just descend down. You'll soon

feel the pressure build up in your ears. Just pinch your nose, blow

very gently and you'll feel them clear. You might not be able to

hold your breath for very long at The water here at St Abbs is

unusually clear, and divers come from all over the UK and Europe to

enjoy the spectacular wildlife habitat. The most obvious feature

is this thick band of greeny brown forest. Kelp are the trees of the

reef which hide and protect many species of fish. If you look inside

the nooks and crannies, you might just find the lobsters and crabs.

Snorkelling is a simple and fantastic way to access a

completely different world. Well, that's it for St Abbs. Next week,

I'm travelling to look at something different. The wreck of the Port

Napier, a ship that sank in the Second World War, just off the Isle

Still to come, I'll find out about the re-emergence of woodland

hutting. We're not looking at highly technical construction

skills. We're trying to make it simple. Anything beyond simple

isn't appropriate for a hut. And we meet the elite gun dogs preparing

to represent their country. would be a great privilege to have

the top dog, either a spaniel a retriever, but we would really

Scotland's meat industry is fighting back against food

fraudsters. A new test has been developed which will help prove

whether meat claiming to be Scotch has actually been produced in this

country. Scotch beef, lamb and pork have an

enviable reputation for quality. But how confident can we be that

the label on the packet matches the origin of the meat inside? Peter

Midgley is head of enforcement at the Food Standards Agency in

Scotland, which is leading the fight against food fraud. Food

fraud has been around for a long time and so have those who have

been detecting it and controlling it. What it is is one person trying

to profit by misdescribing or adulterating a food and selling it

knowingly to a customer. confident should consumers be that

when they see Scotch beef, either on a label on a menu, it is

actually Scotch beef? We gather intelligence from the industry and

members of the public who give us information. Consumers should be

confident because of the controls that exist. Can you give me an

example of food fraud? One that is current has been the substitution

of beef or lamb. The meat itself is disguised in curry sauces and in

other ways that would deceive the consumer. The primary means of

tracing the origins of meat comes in the form of a paper trail which

follows every animal from the farm through the abattoir on to the

retailer. Now, technology has been put to work in the food service

sector which will give restaurant owners and customers more

confidence in the origins of the meat on the menu. Scotland's meat

promotion body, Quality Meat Scotland, has collaborated with

other agencies to come up with a scientific test which can establish

whether meat was produced in Scotland or not. It's isotope

traceability and it's a chemical test. It's looking at the different

compounds within the meat and these vary depending on where the animal

is farmed, particularly in the last parts of its life. It's things like

how far from the sea it is, the geology of the soil that it's been

on, of the water it's been drinking. We end up with a very unique

footprint for the location of each farm that the animals have been on.

Why, from your point of view, is it important to be doing something

like this? The industry invested a huge amount of money, time and

effort over centuries in building Scottish beef into the world-

leading brand that it is. That comes at a premium. We don't want

to see that undermined by imports from wherever they are coming in

and passing themselves off as Scotch beef. Restaurants and food

service outlets are probably at a higher risk than retail outlets

because at least retail outlets have to have the paperwork visible

to you. In a restaurant, you're just taking what it says on the

menu. What we're looking to end up with

is about 40 grams of sample, but we need to make sure that it is as

clean and uncontaminated as possible. We are looking to get it

out of the centre of the piece of meat. What actually happens to the

meat once you bag it? Once it is into the bag, we will get this in

the freezer first of all. Bundle up a load and get it off to the

laboratory. If you were to find somebody who was selling Scotch

beef that was not actually Scotch beef, what is the process? The next

stage of that, we would speak to the Food Standards Agency and the

food fraud team. With many things, it's a case of trying to work out

whether it is cock-up or conspiracy. How much more developing has to be

done of this process before it becomes a real tool on the fight

against good fraud? The more samples we have in the database,

the more accurate we will get. The narrower the geographical area will

be to pinpoint that piece of meat. Theoretically, it should be

possible to get it down into individual farms and regions but I

think that is a bit of a way from us yet.

Clive, thank you very much for letting us come into the Champany

Inn. I know you know the origins of the meat here in the restaurant,

but how important is this test? we can know the source of it and

know where it is coming from and be able to prove that, it will stop

all the cowboys in the business. How big an issue do you think it is

within the industry that people are not being fully truthful? Enormous.

There wouldn't be enough Angus in the fields around here for the

number of restaurants that have Angus on their menu.

The Food Standards Agency which partly funded the research says the

new test has the ability to play an increasing part in the

investigative toolkit that agencies have to detect food fraud.

Quality Meat Scotland hopes it will lead to convictions and safeguard

the reputation of Scotch red meat. We're going to continue developing

the tool. The equivalent would be DNA fingerprinting and the way

that's come on in criminal cases. 40 years ago, it was not accurate

enough and needed further work. Now it is cast-iron and used in courts

of law. That is what we aspire to If you have a comment about

anything you see on the programme or have a wonderful story to share

or have a wonderful story to share with us, send us an email. Now, the

Comrie, winners of a gold medal in the Britain in Bloom competition,

is pretty dull and overcast, but is pretty dull and overcast, but

what about the prospects for this weekend and beyond? To find out,

here's Cat Cubie with the Landward Good evening. Even if it has not

been sunny over the last few days, it has been warm with a record-

breaking temperatures. It is changing for the weekend, turning

cooler and cloudier. We have a front pushing in from the West

which will cross the country overnight. It will stagnate across

many parts for much of the weekend. A cloudier picture tomorrow with

outbreaks of rain, the rain heavy at times and we will also see nest

and hill fog developing. Drier and brighter towards the northwest. Let

us look at the detail - much cooler everywhere but in the south, highs

of 17 or 18 Celsius. The further north, the: It becomes with highs

of 15 degrees. In the north-west where it is drier and brighter away

from the cloud and rain, it will feel fresher with highs of 13

Celsius. Into the hills this weekend and the north-west

Highlands - that will be the driest but cool on the summits. Elsewhere,

wetter with temperatures on the summits of 12 Celsius. Wins in a

south-westerly direction. Winds will be forced three or force for

with a moderate visibility. Visibility will be moderate. Into

tomorrow evening and overnight - that rain will gradually sink

southwards so many places will become drier with clear spells

developing. It will turn chilly in the north with lows of five Celsius.

With the cloud and rain in the south it will be milder. Let us

look at the pressure charge. Because of the light winds that

front will stick around for much of Sunday. It will be a cloudy day in

the south of the country with further outbreaks of rain. Drier

and brighter further north. Cooler and brighter everywhere. That is

the theme for the next few days with temperatures closer to normal

for this time of the year. At the start of the week we have any area

of low pressure pushing in from Iceland which means it will turn

unsettled. It will turn when day, almost a gale force in the north-

west. For many places a windy start, drier and brighter in the east.

Into Tuesday - that front moves towards Norway's so we will see

more settled conditions. It will stay windy so we will see blustery

showers. There will also be some brightness with temperatures closer

to normal for this time of year. Wednesday - we get off to a good

start with bright and sunny spells but as we go through the day we

will see rain pushing in from the West. That is your Landward weather.

Over the last century the ancient skills of woodland management have

been lost as forestry changed in favour of mass plantations. Now

there is a growing trend to reconnect with the forests. "A

Thousand Huts" is a Reforesting Scotland campaign to promote

woodland living, working and learning.

Lots of people enjoy getting out into the nation's woodlands whether

it is wildlife spotting, foraging or going for a nice walk but some

people want to take it one step further. By building huts right

here in the woods. Earlier this year the charity Reforesting

Scotland launched a campaign to encourage the building of 1,000

huts in woodlands throughout the countryside.

The idea behind it is that, there is something simple and quite

beautiful about a hut. It is about having a place to be able to go to

reconnecting nature. To be able to get away from it all. To get away

from the world we live in which is fast moving and often disconnected

from the land. Do we have a tradition of huts in

our country? Yes, particularly at the beginning of the 20th century.

There was a movement, I suppose partly related to scouting but also

to working-class communities in the city of coming to an agreement

within an estate. Having some huts where people could go so places

like Carbeth, there are various ones in the borders, have a

tradition of people being able to get away and go to those huts in

the woods. Falkland Estate is leading the way

by organising a hut building course to create the first of many

woodland huts which will be used for future social enterprises.

is not too difficult. We're not looking at high technical

construction skills. We are trying to make it simple. Anything beyond

simple is inappropriate for a hut. We're trying to use local materials,

materials from the site, wind-blown timber, a mobile sawmill. The main

cost is Labour. The labour is free or it's your labour.

This is being cut here and used over there. It should not travel

very far. You're speaking to landowners in getting their

permission, I guess that is a difficult thing. Yes, this will be

a broad-based campaign. So in part we have a growing Facebook

community which people can just tap into. We're looking at some early

discussions with planners. We have begun a discussion and will take up

an opportunity to have a discussion with the Forestry Commission. We

have also recently been approached by Scottish Landed Estates who said

they are interested. We want to work with a whole range of people.

It is a really exciting opportunity to allow people to get back to

experience in the wild. You could have at least 1,000 huts across

Scotland? I think we could. least is the right way to describe

it. 1,000 is a good starting point. No Scottish sporting estate would

be complete without the hard working and intelligent gundog. The

best dogs from across the country are selected to represent their

country at a prestigious international competition. Sarah

went to meet the dogs and their handlers as they prepared for the

This is the Country Land and Business Association Game Fair and

is the biggest country sports This year Blenheim Palace is

hosting the event. Every country sport you can imagine is on display

here. Dogs and handlers come to compete in one of the UK's Premier

dog events - the Home International. Teams from England, Scotland,

Ireland and Wales compete for the prestigious title.

You want to do your best and you want to beat Scotland, Wales,

England, you know. It is not easy done. It takes a lot of time and

effort to train a dog and when you get picked to represent your

country, it is an honour. It is not just you going to a trial. If you

don't do any good, you let the whole team down.

It is very important really. It is more nerve-racking. There is a lot

of pressure. Definitely yes. Dogs have to be at the top of their game.

To reach this level they have been trained since they were puppies and

just like athletes, throughout their career they have to train for

hours every week. Earlier we joined the Scottish team

for their last training session before the event. Well, we will go

over the blind first, the blind and the pole... Peter Holmes is the

team captain. Put the blind first. OK. One of the most important

things is to keep the dogs fit. The conditions are usually absolute

roasting and the dogs have to be, you know, ready to cope with the

severe heat. The team is made up of five spaniels and five labradors.

The breeds each have different jobs to do in the shooting fields and

this is reflected in the competition. The labs have to show

they can retrieve dummies quickly and effectively. Spaniels, as well

as having to retrieve, are also judged on their ability to scare

the game out of the undergrowth, into the path of the guns. We're

talking here about the spaniel hunting ground and making sure that

any game that is there is flushed so that the guns can get a shot and

then the spaniel is sent for the retrieve. The judges will be

looking for a dog that hunts the ground with verve and vitality,

systematically, a sharp dog, keen and alert. For both the spaniels

and the labs are there different types of retrieves. They can be

what's called marked when the dog sees the dummy being thrown and

have to remember when it has landed or what is called Blind, where the

dummy is placed in the ground without a dog seeing it and the

handler uses whistle and voice commands to direct the dog onto the

dummy. There is an individual prize for best dog and best handler work

but that is not the goal for the Scottish team. We're looking for

all of the dogs to get a decent average mark because we are looking

for the Scottish team to win this. It would be a great privilege to

have a top dog, either a spaniel or retriever, but we would rather have

the team prize. It is not just the conditions that

the dogs will have to contend with, conditions at Blenheim Palace are

very different from the peace and quiet of the Scottish borders.

noise, the background noise, the commentator, all the noise and the

buzz of the whole thing, it is quite awkward for the dogs. There

is no question about it. So it is the same for everyone, you have got

to go there and get on with it. Well, the competition is on and,

one of the Scottish dogs is in the ring now but to find out how the

team get on, you will have to tune in next week.

And here's what else we have for you on next week's programme. I'll

be finding out how to turn poo into power and pounds. We are really

harnessing nature's own bugs to do the work and getting these two

products, the fertiliser and the energy. We go snorkelling in a fast

flowing section of river. The wreck is a mile and half from

the Skye Bridge just off the Skye shoreline.

And Euan tells the story of life on a Peterhead Whaler.

Back in the 19th century the Peterhead fleet were not fishing

for cod or haddock, they were heading to the Arctic in search of