Episode 17 Landward

Hello and a warm welcome at two Landward. I will be meeting those

who need a helping hand on a journey to live. Also: we arrive on

Eigg. Big chunks of sunshine and the mainland is horrible.

latest research into a growing countryside problem. Stop. Turn the

blanket over. And we meet the master blender of whisky with a

nose ensued �4 million. Now, we want to finish off with structure

and that arrogance you have in the The European eel has one of the

most fascinating lifestyles of any freshwater fish. They migrate

thousands of miles and their offspring return to Scotland. The

little eels can find big obstacles in their way. When it comes to

great swimmers, forget the great white shark. Forget the Atlantic

salmon. You can even forgets Olympic hopeful Hannah Miley. If

you want efficient swimmers, what about the European eel, it can swim

4,500 miles burning up 2000 calories. That is less than I eat

in a day. And I am not greedy. The eels make their once-in-a-lifetime

swim back to their spawning ground in the sea. After spawning, the

eels die off and their rates drift backwards towards Europe and the

Gulf Stream, transforming into transparent glass eels on the way.

When they enter freshwater, they change colour and become elvers.

Later, they mature into eels. Since the 70s, eel numbers have dropped

dramatically. By about 90%. The reason for the decline is complex

but overfishing, pollution, climate change and obstacles on the return

journey play a part. Imagine you are a little Elva, you have fought

through wild currents, swum across thousands of miles of ocean and

battled away up streams and rivers, you are weary but close to your

That is it, your journey is over. This is Tongland damn. Since it was

built, no eels have made it past this. It has a fish ladder but eels

are not able to use it. So, Galloway Fisheries Trust are

trapping the elvers and relocating them upstream. The young elvers

cannot get up, and whilst it is good for salmon to get past, their

strong swimmers. The eels have come in at seven metres long. We are

checking the traps. The eels are attracted to the water, they make

their way up and drop into the container. It is a very simple trap.

This bag. They do not mind being out of water. Look at them. There

is about 50. What to do with him? We transport them up a stream. We

put them in small areas. Eventually, they come back down. We will be

setting them free surely but why is it important they get upstream?

Well, these elvers are destined to go to war with an alien species.

people know, we have the largest crayfish population in Scotland

around Loch Ken. One of the key things we have found in Dumfries

and Galloway is the eels are a key predator of the very young fish.

There is a huge problem in the river of rapidly expanding crayfish

population. It is not a silver bullets but we hope the eel

population when it is established will help to control the crayfish.

The signal crayfish damage riverbanks by borrowing and they

eat and displace native Scottish species. So, the elvers have an

important war to wage. Why have you chosen this bird? We chose this

because it is clear water, no pollution, lots of different sizes

of stones. A range of eels so they want to bury underneath all buried

behind. There is Cup on the Bankside and a bridge where it is

They are so small, it is incredible Let's hope they are successful.

Whisky is Scotland's number one export. The value of sales abroad

is growing by a quarter in the first six months of this year. Nick

will be meeting some of the people who make the industry tick. This

week, drinking with a man who has a million pound knows.

We becomes to whisky, I am a mild man, but 8% of all whiskies are

single malt. The other 92% is blended. That is why I am

travelling to the 9th floor of the Whyte & Mackay building to meet a

man who can convey any with my own blended whisky. Level nine. Richard,

a nice to meet you. Welcome to the world of whisky. It is part

Aladdin's cave, part laboratory. This is a treasure chest weather

lovely blended whiskies and single malts are put together. There are

four regions, the lowlands, Highlands, Campbeltowns and islands.

Single malts come from these areas but different characteristics. They

blend them together, mixing grain whisky and malt whisky together,

pure harmony. The industry is having a renaissance. It is really

going great guns. They renew Distilleries opening. You have

whetted my appetite. I am salivating at the prospect. Where

do we start? Over here. Legon, maestro. -- lead

on. Everything is monitored, we start with grain whiskies. We're

not talking about one or two, maybe 20 or 25 single malts. It is

fascinating to see how it is developing. Now, this is from this

base side valley. Let's see how it is manipulated. Now, we want to

finish off with a backbone, structure and the arrogance you

have in the kitchen. Let me put one or two more in. Lots of different

styles. This is alchemy, pure and simple. See the body and structure?

The elegance and refinement. Look at the softness and you can feel

the Sherif knows coming in. The way the whisky clings to the glass. It

is 56.5% alcohol, strong and beefy. This will aid with distinguished

leaders behind it. This is what whisky is all about. So, mission

accomplished because I have never experienced the amazing taste and

flavours and smells in this blended whisky, I have to confess I am a

Still to come, making practical use of Scotland's native hardwood trees.

These are fantastic woods. An oak tree droop -- gross for 100 years.

The furniture will become an heirloom. Had we stop the toxic

take making a walk in the countryside such a potentially

harmful activity? How do we stop. It felt like aliens running up and

After a disastrous start to his sailing challenge when he ran

aground, UN is finally getting out of the harbour and setting sail for

I have been sailing around the Hebrides for 30 years. I have never

run aground before. But the one time I have a slight collision with

a rock, there would have to be a film crew on board. Thankfully,

myself, the crew and my yacht survived relatively unscathed so we

could continue on our journey. That is asked sailing, this Gomis behind

us. The open sea in front of us. A hint of sunshine. Perfect

conditions. -- the open sea behind us. With me, the cameraman and

Fiona, the director. And my expert tuition, they are learning. I am

sailing around some of the Small Isles to meet the folks that make

This is getting better, look at Eigg, chunks of sunshine and on the

mainland horrible. Where we are In 1997, Eigg was bought by the

community, a trust to run the island for the islanders. One of

the first things on the agenda were setting up a reliable electricity

system. There was no system, no connection to the mainland and

everybody made their own electricity. For most people, they

could only have power in the evening hours of darkness.

islands now has a sophisticated system of wind, Soler and a big

bank of batteries. What happens when you generate more than you

need? Just renewables, you never get 24 hour power because they will

be periods when the sun does not shy, when the wings does not know

and when the rain does not fall. We back the system up with a bank of

batteries, 96 of them, when there is less power being produced by the

renewables, than the islanders can see me, power flows out of the

batteries into the grid to make a difference. When there is a surplus

the Powell flowed back into the batteries to recharge them. People

come from all around the world to study the electric system. Schemes

like this are bringing folk back to the island to stay. Since the

islanders bought by the community, the population has grown. From 60

in 1997, to around 90 people today. They're not just older people

looking for an idyllic place to retire, many of the people coming

here are young folk. They are Sarah Boden spent part of her child

had on Eigg. Until recently, she was making as any -- working as a

music journalist in London but she has given up the bright lights to

become a farmer on new. It has been a steep learning curve. -- A farmer

on that Eigg. I have learned to work. I have got two sheepdogs.

There are two other farmers on the island who are very helpful and

also on the Island of Muck, so I can ring them up and ask advice if

I am struggling. But I am doing things like fence building and

repairing, which is going to take at least five or six years to help

get the basic infrastructure up to speed. Next stop, we are aiming for

the Island of Muck. But you will be glad to hear we are not planning to

roll of the hallway. -- to get there by boat. Go if you have a

comment about anything you see on the programme, please drop us an e-

mail. The weather here at Boat of Garten

is sensational! What about the prospects for this weekend and

Hello. A windy weekend across most parts of the country and a wet

weekend for some of us. Here is the synoptic chart for tomorrow. We had

some heavy fabrics of rain across the Western Isles and into western

coastal areas. Strong winds tomorrow morning and through much

of the day. Through parts of Aberdeenshire and parts of the east

coast, it will be a dry day. The rain is coming your way later on.

Across the south, highs of 12 degrees. The rain is working into a

share and the north-west. The north-east is strange drier and

brighter for longer. Behind that weather front, it is starting to

Brighton. If you are walking or climbing, it will be wet. A

southerly wind direction of around 40 mph and a steady speed. In the

east, it will be drier but the winds will be stronger. It will be

strong enough to blow you from your feet as it gets up to 80 mph. A

rough sea state with the moderate visibility and there will be rain.

In the Firth of Forth, gale force three to play the -- to force for.

Into the evening and overnight, the rain shifts, leaving it dry and

calm. As we move into Sunday, the pressure chart shows we are

starting to get an area of low pressure off the south coast of

Ireland. Its associated weather front are working their way up to

us. In Caithness and Sutherland, dry, fine and even bright but the

rain is moving in from the south with some strong winds. It will be

staying breezy and even a windy for the next few days. To start next

week, we can see the low-pressure continuing to move north. Tight

isobars, so pretty strong winds. The rain confined to western parts

of the country and elsewhere it is dry. Come Tuesday, the weather

front is working its way further inland, so more rain for most of us

and the rain will be heavy and slow moving. The Met Office has issued a

yellow alert because we could see some localised flooding. The dark

Blues here in decades the hoodie et rain. They are mainly across

western and southern parts of the country. -- the heavier rain. On

Wednesday, it turns brighter and a Less than 1% of the timber

processed in Scotland comes from hardwoods such as oak. Most of the

oak, ash, elm and birch is exported or used for firewood. In the final

part of my series looking at our native woodlands, I have been at

the Borders company set up to use these trees to make furniture. This

week, I am at Real Wood Studios near Jedburgh, where something like

this becomes something like this all in one site - and it is all

done with sustainability in mind. Real Wood Studios is a whole but

for furniture-makers to run their own businesses within a collective

workshop. We work from a log coming in through the saw mill and we have

our own drying system, and we also have the next stage from that which

turns it into furniture. It is a treat to table operation. The ethos

of the place is to use locally sourced to timber. Real Wood

Studios was set up by Borders Forest Trust to combine the talents

of young furniture designers with undervalued native hardwoods. How

important are these native hardwoods to Scotland's economy?

They are very important but they make up a very small percentage of

water that we grow and produce - less than 10%. A lot of the hard

words that we do produce get processed elsewhere it, so it does

have the potential to be a great economic boom that for local

communities and businesses like Real Wood Studios. People think

about it in terms of green issues and environmental cost, and for us

we have this resource - are some great old trees - and we prefer

using the ones we have got rather than importing from overseas.

is the attraction for you to work here? It is about creating things,

to be honest. It is about taking a blank canvas and creating something

which is going to be functional and loved by the owner, and which is

going to last for generations. It is the antidote to mass-produced

furniture, I suppose. The majority of the furniture made at Real Wood

Studios is sold right here, but the best thing - apart from the beauty

of the word - is that every piece of wood comes from a tree less than

50 miles away. These are fantastic words. An oak

tree grows for 50 years and though it deems it is going to produce on

the furniture is going to become an heirloom. It is a fantastic product

rather than a quick, throwaway product. We should be making the

Ticks by a real problem for anyone who spends time outside, but for

shooting estates they can have a real impact on the local impact.

Sarah is finding out what it can be done to control these harmful bugs.

Anyone who is frequently in the great outdoors knows what can be

lurking in the undergrowth. These nasty bloodsuckers are waiting to

pounce and cling on for life. The effects of tick Looe can be

devastating, as Jane Thomson found out three years ago. She contracted

to Lymes disease from one single tick bite. It affected my movement.

It affected my legs, which were very painful when I could feel them

- sometimes they were not really there. The best way to describe it

is that it felt like there were aliens inside my legs, running up

and down, which is the nerve activity. I was extremely tired and

was slipping for about 14 hours a day. I had no energy, no strength

and could only walk up half the stairs without having to stop and

have a rest. But they are not just a problem for us humans and our

dogs. By anys can contain -- can cause havoc for all types of

wildlife that stumble across them. This can be a problem for estates

that rely on a good number of chicks every year. This man has

been the head keeper for Gannochy Estate 40 years and has seen the

damage they can cause. The highest number I have counted on a grouse

chick was 147 on a four day old chick. There is no way the chick

can survive. To control it is a major thing. You might not know

this, but the tick is part of the spider family. It is a cross

between a spider and a vampire. Not the most endearing combination, but

what do we do about these gritters? The key is to find out how they

operate. -- critters. David in bushes and a long grass and wait

for possible prey to pass. In this case, an unsuspecting runner. The

tick has no eyes but has a highly developed sense in hits -- in its

legs. It is just a matter of waiting for the right time to

attack. Laura Taylor is a scientist

specialising in ticks and she has been researching the effectiveness

of sheep as pest control. She has been sweeping this Angus Campbell

land with her blanket, accounting tick numbers. We normally leave it

out for 10 metres and usually it is a slow walking pace to mimic a

sheep going through the heather. Just stop. Turn the blanket over

and have a look. We will see if we can find any ticks. We have got one

here. This is quite a small one. It is a middle-sized tick that you get.

We have got some examples of some other ticks. I can hardly even see

this! This is an adult female here. You can see that is a lot bigger.

Unfortunately, the tick not only sexual Blood but its saliva can

carry a range of diseases. -- socks your blood. When treated with

pesticides, they can help to kill these nasty beasts.

By gather these sheep are part of the tick solution. A Yes, we use

them as tick mops on the hill. We treat them with acaricide and treat

them on the hill and as they move around, the ticks jump on to them

and get killed by the acaricide. This has helped us cut the number

by approximately half in five years. Although the trials have shown that

sheep mopping can be effective, it depends on the local circumstances.

For victims like Jane, a solution to the tick problem could not come

too soon. So, 3, four years on, how are you

feeling? I would say 90% better. Still quite a week in my legs. I am

fine walking on flat surfaces but as soon as I go up hill, I have no

power at all. I am not sleeping so much and I have got more energy and

I can walk. I have done two sponsored walks this year, so I am

better than I was. As it stopped you from going out and enjoying the

outdoors and the countryside? just check myself very carefully

and night and make sure I have got no ticks. It should be noted that

not every tick bide will result in Lymes disease, but there are some

things you can do to reduce the risk. Wear trousers and tuck them

into socks. Avoid overhanging vegetation. Use a repellent. Carry

a bonny remover all very fine tweezers, gripping the tick at the

very top of its head. Do not squash or burn the tick, because this

could cause them to regurgitate back into your body. If you did

develop a rash and start to feel unwell, call your GP.

The ongoing battle against the dreaded tick. As the clock ticks

towards the end of the programme, I have time to tell you what is

coming up next week. A Sarah finds out about the

challenges of setting up a deer farm. Experts say we should be

producing an extra 100,000 tonnes a deer. If that was to come from the

farming sector, we would need about 500 new farms. And our reporter is

up against the clock on his sailing adventure. Hart is thumping a bit

coming in here! It is quite straightforward but some of the