:00:32. > :00:41.Hello and a warm welcome at two Landward. I will be meeting those
:00:41. > :00:51.who need a helping hand on a journey to live. Also: we arrive on
:00:51. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :01:00.Eigg. Big chunks of sunshine and the mainland is horrible.
:01:00. > :01:10.latest research into a growing countryside problem. Stop. Turn the
:01:10. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :01:16.blanket over. And we meet the master blender of whisky with a
:01:16. > :01:26.nose ensued �4 million. Now, we want to finish off with structure
:01:26. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:30.and that arrogance you have in the The European eel has one of the
:01:30. > :01:38.most fascinating lifestyles of any freshwater fish. They migrate
:01:38. > :01:46.thousands of miles and their offspring return to Scotland. The
:01:46. > :01:53.little eels can find big obstacles in their way. When it comes to
:01:53. > :01:59.great swimmers, forget the great white shark. Forget the Atlantic
:01:59. > :02:05.salmon. You can even forgets Olympic hopeful Hannah Miley. If
:02:05. > :02:09.you want efficient swimmers, what about the European eel, it can swim
:02:09. > :02:15.4,500 miles burning up 2000 calories. That is less than I eat
:02:15. > :02:21.in a day. And I am not greedy. The eels make their once-in-a-lifetime
:02:21. > :02:25.swim back to their spawning ground in the sea. After spawning, the
:02:25. > :02:32.eels die off and their rates drift backwards towards Europe and the
:02:32. > :02:36.Gulf Stream, transforming into transparent glass eels on the way.
:02:36. > :02:42.When they enter freshwater, they change colour and become elvers.
:02:42. > :02:51.Later, they mature into eels. Since the 70s, eel numbers have dropped
:02:52. > :02:56.dramatically. By about 90%. The reason for the decline is complex
:02:56. > :03:02.but overfishing, pollution, climate change and obstacles on the return
:03:02. > :03:07.journey play a part. Imagine you are a little Elva, you have fought
:03:07. > :03:12.through wild currents, swum across thousands of miles of ocean and
:03:12. > :03:22.battled away up streams and rivers, you are weary but close to your
:03:22. > :03:34.
:03:34. > :03:41.That is it, your journey is over. This is Tongland damn. Since it was
:03:41. > :03:48.built, no eels have made it past this. It has a fish ladder but eels
:03:48. > :03:53.are not able to use it. So, Galloway Fisheries Trust are
:03:53. > :04:01.trapping the elvers and relocating them upstream. The young elvers
:04:01. > :04:09.cannot get up, and whilst it is good for salmon to get past, their
:04:09. > :04:14.strong swimmers. The eels have come in at seven metres long. We are
:04:14. > :04:24.checking the traps. The eels are attracted to the water, they make
:04:24. > :04:24.
:04:24. > :04:32.their way up and drop into the container. It is a very simple trap.
:04:32. > :04:39.This bag. They do not mind being out of water. Look at them. There
:04:39. > :04:49.is about 50. What to do with him? We transport them up a stream. We
:04:49. > :04:51.
:04:51. > :04:56.put them in small areas. Eventually, they come back down. We will be
:04:56. > :05:04.setting them free surely but why is it important they get upstream?
:05:04. > :05:12.Well, these elvers are destined to go to war with an alien species.
:05:12. > :05:16.people know, we have the largest crayfish population in Scotland
:05:16. > :05:23.around Loch Ken. One of the key things we have found in Dumfries
:05:23. > :05:28.and Galloway is the eels are a key predator of the very young fish.
:05:28. > :05:34.There is a huge problem in the river of rapidly expanding crayfish
:05:34. > :05:42.population. It is not a silver bullets but we hope the eel
:05:43. > :05:47.population when it is established will help to control the crayfish.
:05:47. > :05:52.The signal crayfish damage riverbanks by borrowing and they
:05:52. > :06:01.eat and displace native Scottish species. So, the elvers have an
:06:01. > :06:06.important war to wage. Why have you chosen this bird? We chose this
:06:06. > :06:11.because it is clear water, no pollution, lots of different sizes
:06:11. > :06:15.of stones. A range of eels so they want to bury underneath all buried
:06:15. > :06:25.behind. There is Cup on the Bankside and a bridge where it is
:06:25. > :06:46.
:06:46. > :06:56.They are so small, it is incredible Let's hope they are successful.
:06:56. > :07:02.
:07:02. > :07:06.Whisky is Scotland's number one export. The value of sales abroad
:07:06. > :07:10.is growing by a quarter in the first six months of this year. Nick
:07:10. > :07:16.will be meeting some of the people who make the industry tick. This
:07:16. > :07:21.week, drinking with a man who has a million pound knows.
:07:21. > :07:26.We becomes to whisky, I am a mild man, but 8% of all whiskies are
:07:26. > :07:31.single malt. The other 92% is blended. That is why I am
:07:31. > :07:41.travelling to the 9th floor of the Whyte & Mackay building to meet a
:07:41. > :07:42.
:07:42. > :07:50.man who can convey any with my own blended whisky. Level nine. Richard,
:07:50. > :07:54.a nice to meet you. Welcome to the world of whisky. It is part
:07:54. > :07:59.Aladdin's cave, part laboratory. This is a treasure chest weather
:07:59. > :08:04.lovely blended whiskies and single malts are put together. There are
:08:04. > :08:08.four regions, the lowlands, Highlands, Campbeltowns and islands.
:08:08. > :08:12.Single malts come from these areas but different characteristics. They
:08:12. > :08:19.blend them together, mixing grain whisky and malt whisky together,
:08:19. > :08:26.pure harmony. The industry is having a renaissance. It is really
:08:26. > :08:30.going great guns. They renew Distilleries opening. You have
:08:30. > :08:37.whetted my appetite. I am salivating at the prospect. Where
:08:37. > :08:46.do we start? Over here. Legon, maestro. -- lead
:08:46. > :08:52.on. Everything is monitored, we start with grain whiskies. We're
:08:52. > :08:57.not talking about one or two, maybe 20 or 25 single malts. It is
:08:57. > :09:03.fascinating to see how it is developing. Now, this is from this
:09:03. > :09:10.base side valley. Let's see how it is manipulated. Now, we want to
:09:10. > :09:16.finish off with a backbone, structure and the arrogance you
:09:16. > :09:26.have in the kitchen. Let me put one or two more in. Lots of different
:09:26. > :09:32.styles. This is alchemy, pure and simple. See the body and structure?
:09:32. > :09:42.The elegance and refinement. Look at the softness and you can feel
:09:42. > :09:48.the Sherif knows coming in. The way the whisky clings to the glass. It
:09:48. > :09:58.is 56.5% alcohol, strong and beefy. This will aid with distinguished
:09:58. > :10:03.leaders behind it. This is what whisky is all about. So, mission
:10:03. > :10:08.accomplished because I have never experienced the amazing taste and
:10:08. > :10:18.flavours and smells in this blended whisky, I have to confess I am a
:10:18. > :10:21.
:10:21. > :10:27.Still to come, making practical use of Scotland's native hardwood trees.
:10:27. > :10:32.These are fantastic woods. An oak tree droop -- gross for 100 years.
:10:32. > :10:36.The furniture will become an heirloom. Had we stop the toxic
:10:36. > :10:41.take making a walk in the countryside such a potentially
:10:41. > :10:51.harmful activity? How do we stop. It felt like aliens running up and
:10:51. > :10:54.
:10:54. > :11:01.After a disastrous start to his sailing challenge when he ran
:11:02. > :11:11.aground, UN is finally getting out of the harbour and setting sail for
:11:12. > :11:13.
:11:13. > :11:18.I have been sailing around the Hebrides for 30 years. I have never
:11:18. > :11:28.run aground before. But the one time I have a slight collision with
:11:28. > :11:33.a rock, there would have to be a film crew on board. Thankfully,
:11:34. > :11:43.myself, the crew and my yacht survived relatively unscathed so we
:11:44. > :11:44.
:11:44. > :11:52.could continue on our journey. That is asked sailing, this Gomis behind
:11:52. > :12:02.us. The open sea in front of us. A hint of sunshine. Perfect
:12:02. > :12:10.conditions. -- the open sea behind us. With me, the cameraman and
:12:10. > :12:15.Fiona, the director. And my expert tuition, they are learning. I am
:12:15. > :12:25.sailing around some of the Small Isles to meet the folks that make
:12:25. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:39.This is getting better, look at Eigg, chunks of sunshine and on the
:12:39. > :12:46.
:12:46. > :12:50.mainland horrible. Where we are In 1997, Eigg was bought by the
:12:50. > :12:54.community, a trust to run the island for the islanders. One of
:12:54. > :13:01.the first things on the agenda were setting up a reliable electricity
:13:01. > :13:04.system. There was no system, no connection to the mainland and
:13:04. > :13:11.everybody made their own electricity. For most people, they
:13:12. > :13:16.could only have power in the evening hours of darkness.
:13:16. > :13:22.islands now has a sophisticated system of wind, Soler and a big
:13:23. > :13:28.bank of batteries. What happens when you generate more than you
:13:28. > :13:32.need? Just renewables, you never get 24 hour power because they will
:13:32. > :13:37.be periods when the sun does not shy, when the wings does not know
:13:37. > :13:42.and when the rain does not fall. We back the system up with a bank of
:13:42. > :13:48.batteries, 96 of them, when there is less power being produced by the
:13:48. > :13:52.renewables, than the islanders can see me, power flows out of the
:13:52. > :13:57.batteries into the grid to make a difference. When there is a surplus
:13:57. > :14:03.the Powell flowed back into the batteries to recharge them. People
:14:03. > :14:10.come from all around the world to study the electric system. Schemes
:14:10. > :14:15.like this are bringing folk back to the island to stay. Since the
:14:15. > :14:20.islanders bought by the community, the population has grown. From 60
:14:20. > :14:24.in 1997, to around 90 people today. They're not just older people
:14:24. > :14:33.looking for an idyllic place to retire, many of the people coming
:14:34. > :14:41.here are young folk. They are Sarah Boden spent part of her child
:14:41. > :14:43.had on Eigg. Until recently, she was making as any -- working as a
:14:43. > :14:51.music journalist in London but she has given up the bright lights to
:14:51. > :15:00.become a farmer on new. It has been a steep learning curve. -- A farmer
:15:00. > :15:04.on that Eigg. I have learned to work. I have got two sheepdogs.
:15:04. > :15:09.There are two other farmers on the island who are very helpful and
:15:09. > :15:15.also on the Island of Muck, so I can ring them up and ask advice if
:15:15. > :15:23.I am struggling. But I am doing things like fence building and
:15:23. > :15:32.repairing, which is going to take at least five or six years to help
:15:32. > :15:37.get the basic infrastructure up to speed. Next stop, we are aiming for
:15:37. > :15:44.the Island of Muck. But you will be glad to hear we are not planning to
:15:44. > :15:48.roll of the hallway. -- to get there by boat. Go if you have a
:15:48. > :15:56.comment about anything you see on the programme, please drop us an e-
:15:56. > :15:59.mail. The weather here at Boat of Garten
:15:59. > :16:09.is sensational! What about the prospects for this weekend and
:16:09. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:19.Hello. A windy weekend across most parts of the country and a wet
:16:20. > :16:23.weekend for some of us. Here is the synoptic chart for tomorrow. We had
:16:23. > :16:28.some heavy fabrics of rain across the Western Isles and into western
:16:28. > :16:33.coastal areas. Strong winds tomorrow morning and through much
:16:33. > :16:39.of the day. Through parts of Aberdeenshire and parts of the east
:16:39. > :16:44.coast, it will be a dry day. The rain is coming your way later on.
:16:44. > :16:49.Across the south, highs of 12 degrees. The rain is working into a
:16:49. > :16:55.share and the north-west. The north-east is strange drier and
:16:55. > :17:03.brighter for longer. Behind that weather front, it is starting to
:17:03. > :17:08.Brighton. If you are walking or climbing, it will be wet. A
:17:08. > :17:15.southerly wind direction of around 40 mph and a steady speed. In the
:17:15. > :17:24.east, it will be drier but the winds will be stronger. It will be
:17:24. > :17:29.strong enough to blow you from your feet as it gets up to 80 mph. A
:17:29. > :17:38.rough sea state with the moderate visibility and there will be rain.
:17:38. > :17:43.In the Firth of Forth, gale force three to play the -- to force for.
:17:43. > :17:51.Into the evening and overnight, the rain shifts, leaving it dry and
:17:51. > :17:55.calm. As we move into Sunday, the pressure chart shows we are
:17:55. > :17:59.starting to get an area of low pressure off the south coast of
:17:59. > :18:07.Ireland. Its associated weather front are working their way up to
:18:07. > :18:13.us. In Caithness and Sutherland, dry, fine and even bright but the
:18:13. > :18:17.rain is moving in from the south with some strong winds. It will be
:18:17. > :18:22.staying breezy and even a windy for the next few days. To start next
:18:22. > :18:28.week, we can see the low-pressure continuing to move north. Tight
:18:28. > :18:34.isobars, so pretty strong winds. The rain confined to western parts
:18:34. > :18:38.of the country and elsewhere it is dry. Come Tuesday, the weather
:18:38. > :18:43.front is working its way further inland, so more rain for most of us
:18:43. > :18:47.and the rain will be heavy and slow moving. The Met Office has issued a
:18:48. > :18:52.yellow alert because we could see some localised flooding. The dark
:18:52. > :19:01.Blues here in decades the hoodie et rain. They are mainly across
:19:01. > :19:11.western and southern parts of the country. -- the heavier rain. On
:19:11. > :19:14.
:19:14. > :19:18.Wednesday, it turns brighter and a Less than 1% of the timber
:19:18. > :19:23.processed in Scotland comes from hardwoods such as oak. Most of the
:19:23. > :19:28.oak, ash, elm and birch is exported or used for firewood. In the final
:19:28. > :19:32.part of my series looking at our native woodlands, I have been at
:19:33. > :19:39.the Borders company set up to use these trees to make furniture. This
:19:39. > :19:43.week, I am at Real Wood Studios near Jedburgh, where something like
:19:43. > :19:50.this becomes something like this all in one site - and it is all
:19:50. > :19:53.done with sustainability in mind. Real Wood Studios is a whole but
:19:53. > :19:59.for furniture-makers to run their own businesses within a collective
:19:59. > :20:05.workshop. We work from a log coming in through the saw mill and we have
:20:05. > :20:13.our own drying system, and we also have the next stage from that which
:20:13. > :20:19.turns it into furniture. It is a treat to table operation. The ethos
:20:19. > :20:22.of the place is to use locally sourced to timber. Real Wood
:20:22. > :20:27.Studios was set up by Borders Forest Trust to combine the talents
:20:27. > :20:31.of young furniture designers with undervalued native hardwoods. How
:20:31. > :20:34.important are these native hardwoods to Scotland's economy?
:20:34. > :20:43.They are very important but they make up a very small percentage of
:20:43. > :20:47.water that we grow and produce - less than 10%. A lot of the hard
:20:48. > :20:51.words that we do produce get processed elsewhere it, so it does
:20:51. > :20:55.have the potential to be a great economic boom that for local
:20:55. > :20:59.communities and businesses like Real Wood Studios. People think
:20:59. > :21:04.about it in terms of green issues and environmental cost, and for us
:21:04. > :21:08.we have this resource - are some great old trees - and we prefer
:21:08. > :21:14.using the ones we have got rather than importing from overseas.
:21:14. > :21:18.is the attraction for you to work here? It is about creating things,
:21:18. > :21:22.to be honest. It is about taking a blank canvas and creating something
:21:22. > :21:27.which is going to be functional and loved by the owner, and which is
:21:27. > :21:33.going to last for generations. It is the antidote to mass-produced
:21:33. > :21:38.furniture, I suppose. The majority of the furniture made at Real Wood
:21:38. > :21:42.Studios is sold right here, but the best thing - apart from the beauty
:21:42. > :21:48.of the word - is that every piece of wood comes from a tree less than
:21:48. > :21:52.50 miles away. These are fantastic words. An oak
:21:52. > :21:56.tree grows for 50 years and though it deems it is going to produce on
:21:56. > :22:00.the furniture is going to become an heirloom. It is a fantastic product
:22:00. > :22:10.rather than a quick, throwaway product. We should be making the
:22:10. > :22:14.
:22:14. > :22:17.Ticks by a real problem for anyone who spends time outside, but for
:22:18. > :22:24.shooting estates they can have a real impact on the local impact.
:22:24. > :22:28.Sarah is finding out what it can be done to control these harmful bugs.
:22:28. > :22:32.Anyone who is frequently in the great outdoors knows what can be
:22:32. > :22:39.lurking in the undergrowth. These nasty bloodsuckers are waiting to
:22:39. > :22:44.pounce and cling on for life. The effects of tick Looe can be
:22:44. > :22:50.devastating, as Jane Thomson found out three years ago. She contracted
:22:50. > :22:55.to Lymes disease from one single tick bite. It affected my movement.
:22:55. > :23:00.It affected my legs, which were very painful when I could feel them
:23:00. > :23:03.- sometimes they were not really there. The best way to describe it
:23:04. > :23:09.is that it felt like there were aliens inside my legs, running up
:23:09. > :23:14.and down, which is the nerve activity. I was extremely tired and
:23:14. > :23:18.was slipping for about 14 hours a day. I had no energy, no strength
:23:18. > :23:24.and could only walk up half the stairs without having to stop and
:23:24. > :23:31.have a rest. But they are not just a problem for us humans and our
:23:31. > :23:37.dogs. By anys can contain -- can cause havoc for all types of
:23:37. > :23:41.wildlife that stumble across them. This can be a problem for estates
:23:41. > :23:45.that rely on a good number of chicks every year. This man has
:23:45. > :23:50.been the head keeper for Gannochy Estate 40 years and has seen the
:23:50. > :23:57.damage they can cause. The highest number I have counted on a grouse
:23:57. > :24:03.chick was 147 on a four day old chick. There is no way the chick
:24:03. > :24:08.can survive. To control it is a major thing. You might not know
:24:08. > :24:13.this, but the tick is part of the spider family. It is a cross
:24:13. > :24:18.between a spider and a vampire. Not the most endearing combination, but
:24:18. > :24:26.what do we do about these gritters? The key is to find out how they
:24:26. > :24:31.operate. -- critters. David in bushes and a long grass and wait
:24:31. > :24:38.for possible prey to pass. In this case, an unsuspecting runner. The
:24:38. > :24:42.tick has no eyes but has a highly developed sense in hits -- in its
:24:42. > :24:49.legs. It is just a matter of waiting for the right time to
:24:49. > :24:53.attack. Laura Taylor is a scientist
:24:53. > :24:58.specialising in ticks and she has been researching the effectiveness
:24:58. > :25:04.of sheep as pest control. She has been sweeping this Angus Campbell
:25:04. > :25:08.land with her blanket, accounting tick numbers. We normally leave it
:25:08. > :25:15.out for 10 metres and usually it is a slow walking pace to mimic a
:25:15. > :25:21.sheep going through the heather. Just stop. Turn the blanket over
:25:21. > :25:30.and have a look. We will see if we can find any ticks. We have got one
:25:30. > :25:36.here. This is quite a small one. It is a middle-sized tick that you get.
:25:36. > :25:42.We have got some examples of some other ticks. I can hardly even see
:25:42. > :25:46.this! This is an adult female here. You can see that is a lot bigger.
:25:46. > :25:54.Unfortunately, the tick not only sexual Blood but its saliva can
:25:54. > :25:57.carry a range of diseases. -- socks your blood. When treated with
:25:57. > :26:04.pesticides, they can help to kill these nasty beasts.
:26:04. > :26:10.By gather these sheep are part of the tick solution. A Yes, we use
:26:10. > :26:15.them as tick mops on the hill. We treat them with acaricide and treat
:26:15. > :26:21.them on the hill and as they move around, the ticks jump on to them
:26:21. > :26:25.and get killed by the acaricide. This has helped us cut the number
:26:25. > :26:33.by approximately half in five years. Although the trials have shown that
:26:33. > :26:36.sheep mopping can be effective, it depends on the local circumstances.
:26:36. > :26:42.For victims like Jane, a solution to the tick problem could not come
:26:42. > :26:48.too soon. So, 3, four years on, how are you
:26:48. > :26:52.feeling? I would say 90% better. Still quite a week in my legs. I am
:26:52. > :26:57.fine walking on flat surfaces but as soon as I go up hill, I have no
:26:57. > :27:01.power at all. I am not sleeping so much and I have got more energy and
:27:01. > :27:06.I can walk. I have done two sponsored walks this year, so I am
:27:06. > :27:11.better than I was. As it stopped you from going out and enjoying the
:27:11. > :27:15.outdoors and the countryside? just check myself very carefully
:27:15. > :27:20.and night and make sure I have got no ticks. It should be noted that
:27:20. > :27:25.not every tick bide will result in Lymes disease, but there are some
:27:25. > :27:31.things you can do to reduce the risk. Wear trousers and tuck them
:27:31. > :27:35.into socks. Avoid overhanging vegetation. Use a repellent. Carry
:27:35. > :27:39.a bonny remover all very fine tweezers, gripping the tick at the
:27:39. > :27:43.very top of its head. Do not squash or burn the tick, because this
:27:43. > :27:49.could cause them to regurgitate back into your body. If you did
:27:49. > :27:53.develop a rash and start to feel unwell, call your GP.
:27:53. > :27:56.The ongoing battle against the dreaded tick. As the clock ticks
:27:56. > :28:00.towards the end of the programme, I have time to tell you what is
:28:01. > :28:06.coming up next week. A Sarah finds out about the
:28:06. > :28:10.challenges of setting up a deer farm. Experts say we should be
:28:10. > :28:18.producing an extra 100,000 tonnes a deer. If that was to come from the
:28:18. > :28:24.farming sector, we would need about 500 new farms. And our reporter is
:28:24. > :28:29.up against the clock on his sailing adventure. Hart is thumping a bit
:28:29. > :28:36.coming in here! It is quite straightforward but some of the