Episode 18 Landward

Good evening and welcome to Landward. In a moorland, Cyril find

out why deer farming is a booming We will find out what is happening

at the Scottish Ploughing Championships. It is a very high

level. Euan meets the new generation of Muck owners keeping

alive and island tradition. wanted our children to go to school

on the island. And we explore the relationship between Scottish

regiments and the landscape. Each of the companies would have been

Ackland in its own right by the company commander. The head of the

clan was a colonel who was in charge of the Regiment.

As a nation, we have a growing appetite for Venice and. So much so

there is not enough deer in the country to satisfy demand.

Thousands of tons are imported from New Zealand every year. The

solution is to encourage more landowners to take up your forming.

Sarah Mack has been to investigate. -- deer farming.

Deer had been an integral part of the Scottish countryside or

centuries. The word Dennison comes from the Latin for hunting. -- the

word, then nothing. Deer meat is regarded as one of the healthiest

that you can get you're hands-on. What was once seen as a top end

food for special occasions is now more popular than ever before. So

popular that one of the UK's biggest suppliers cannot get his

hands on enough. I have never seen anything like it. Over the last

five years, it has gone from strength to strength. I have never

seen a situation like this, were hit we have someone begging for a

raw material and not being able to find it. Almost all Scottish

venison meat comes from deer shot in the wild. Only 2% comes from

farmed deer. Experts say that there is demand for up to 500 new forms.

This year, there has been a big boost to encourage more landowners

to go into deer farming. So far, a few have risen to the challenge. At

this farm in Caithness, the final sections of fencing are going up at

Scotland's newest deer farm. The man behind this initiative is a

successful businessman who is keen to invest in this growing market.

We have been working on this for a long time. Finally all of the

fences are going up. Four kilometres were. We have gone

through it all of the various stages of bringing the pasture land

up to the right quality. I think it is the first time this land has

been used for commercial reasons for a very long time. His plans are

to raise the animals, slaughter them locally and market his own

brand. It will not be easy. It will take a couple of years to get there.

As I am fairly confident that this will produce more money than

anything else that I could have done with this land. Today, a new

delivery of animals arrive after a long journey from Dundee. These

newcomers put the total number at around 200 animals. They will

become the core breeding stock for the next 14 years. These young

animals have been supplied by one of the pioneers of deer farming

worldwide. The first commercial deer farming stock and began in the

1970s. It is still going strong today. But it has not always been

easy. Times have not always been as profitable as they are now. Various

things have happened. Demand has increased. We have been marketing

this very hard. It is a good story to tell and it is a good product. I

am delighted. That makes the whole thing worthwhile. Wild venison

numbers are declining as well so there has less coming in. We now

know how to farm these animals in Scotland, thanks to technology.

day-to-day management of this heard is the responsibility of the stock

man. An experienced cattle breeder who is well up for this new

challenge. They are really a wild animal. You have to respect them as

well as get the respect from them. The handling system will have to be

top notch. Exciting times ahead? Very much so, I guess! Deer farming

has proved a massive success in New Zealand. With a booming venison

market worldwide, it looks like Scottish Deer farming be finally

have come of age. -- may finally have.

Last week, Nick Nairn spent a pleasurable time in the company of

one of the top whisky blenders. This week, he finds out about the

craft in finding the perfect place for whisky to mature.

In a heart of Scotland's Highland glens lies the Speyside Cooperage.

A business that has been producing and mending casks for the Scottish

whisking -- whisky industry since 1947. Today, they still use the

same materials and skills that have endured for generations. We have a

couple of hydraulic machines which help the craftsmen, but we still

use the hand tools. We repair barrels by cleaning them to

increase their life span. We burner the inside of the barrel -- Lee

Byrne the inside of barrels to give This is a highly skilled

traditional craft. It takes years to get to industry standards. They

do not use nails or glue. They are going to let me have a goal. -- go.

Noisy as this? -- is it has always -- always as noisy as this? This is

American white oak. The winter is straight. How do you occur fared?

We used steam -- how do you make it curved? We used steam. You have to

make sure that both ends are the same size. We use different colours

and flavours for different finishes. It is just planks of wood and some

metal hooks? That is right. What an amazing shake. It is such an

important part of the whole whisky process. These casks play a pivotal

role in the making of whisky. They help give it its flavour and colour.

To see a traditional industry like this still thriving in the

Highlands is as refreshing as the drink itself. Well, maybe not!

Still to come: Euan takes the short crossing from Eigg to Muck. It

looks quite straightforward, but some of the locals have said that

this is a very tricky entrance. And the fighting spirit is honed on our

rugged landscape. The Highland identity was crucial. They were not

part of the main mode of warfare disciplined throughout Europe.

With hi-tech computerised tractors and sophisticated GPS systems, the

job of planning fields in preparation for sowing is quite

straightforward. But some far -- some farmers like to keep their

hand in by using traditional planning methods.

-- ploughing a methods. The Plough has been around for

hundreds of years. A simple design which has only got bigger when

technology improves. And it has revolutionised agriculture. With

one saying -- with one simple action, the Plough replaces the

ground of old crops with new soil ready for our new crop. The

technology nowadays means that one man can do the work of many horses.

At the Scottish Ploughing Championships in the Black Isle,

men and machinery battle against the land with the aim of becoming a

champion plover. -- ploughman. have conventional methods of

ploughing up as well as the traditional, and also a competition

for juniors. We have 130 competitors. This year, one of our

competitors has come from New Zealand. At the present moment,

we're at the top in the world. We want to stay there. Andrew Mitchell

has dominated the Scottish planning seen since 2003. Winning every year

apart from one. He is three-times world champion. He will compete for

his 4th title at the World Championships in Croatia next year.

Not only that, he has a son who is also called Andrew. He is falling

fast in his father's furrows. the Scottish champion Andy came

back as the third place competitor in the world. -- and he came back.

This is precision staff measured to the last inch. We would not want to

lead India to speak to him. It is like a top golfer on the 18th green.

They are in their concentration zone. That is why both father and

son are so successful. It is a complicated piece of machinery?

Many controls for adjusting all of the individual things. They want to

try to maximise points at all the various aspects. They have little

ways of modifying the Plough. like Formula One. What is the

history of all of this? If you remove the tractors and consider

horses, has it changed much? first competitions began at the

start of the 1700s. Landowners were trying to improve their soil. The

thought that better plumbing could be encouraged through competition.

It is one thing to let other people do it for you, I am now going to

try it myself. Bob has driven one of these for a long time. What have

we got here? This machine is from 1939. It can handle lots of

different types of land. Is it Competition ploughing is now one of

the fastest-growing sports and I can tell you, it is a lot harder

than it looks. How am I doing, Bob? Very good.

Very good. That is quite impressive! If you like that, you

can see a lot more about next year at Coldstream for the 50th

anniversary of the Scottish If you have a comment about

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

please drop us an e-mail. The weather here is sunny and pretty

fresh. But what about the prospects for this weekend and be on? --

A mild, wet and windy weekend to come across most parts of the

country. Let's look at the Atlantic pressure charge. The associated

weather fronts with this area of low pressure are pushing rain in

across most of the country and then tomorrow, as well. Some of that

will be heavy in places, and accompanied by a strong wind. There

will be some shelter because of the mountains, particularly along the

Moray coast, but across the south, highs of 13 to 14 degrees. In a

north-east of the country, relatively dry and cloudy. The rain

is really focused in the west and north-west. Temperatures for most

around 13 degrees. If you are hill- walking or climbing, it will be wet

tomorrow. The winds will be strong from a head -- southerly direction.

In the east, the rain won't be as heavy but still a wet day. A strong

southerly breeze in the east, as well. If you are on the inshore

waters across the South West, here are the details. Further east, it

will be forced five per to force seven from a southerly direction.

Overnight, Saturday into Sunday, the rain eases away, leaving a dry

end of the night. Temperatures hold up at around nine it as the

overnight low. Into Sunday, another weather front pushers in from the

south-west, bringing rain to south- western parts of the country. That

will extend into eastern parts. The wind brew that will be strong from

a south or south-westerly direction. -- the winds will be strong. The

next few days it is a story of more rain. We can see this area of low

pressure towards Iceland and the trailing weather front behind it

brings a bit of uncertainty. We know the focus of the rain will be

on the north-west of the country and from Glasgow up to Aberdeen. If

you are south of that, it should be dry but cloudy. Into Tuesday, the

weather front pushes through bringing dry but showery conditions

through the north-west. Elsewhere, not too bad with temperatures where

they should be for the time of year. On Wednesday, it turns wet and

windy once again. A strong southerly wind up, thanks to this

area of low pressure. The rain pushes in from west to east as we

Over the next three weeks, we will be exploring how the Highland

landscape has helped shape the British Army, from Culloden to the

present day. This week it is the Fort George, present home to the

original Highland Regiment, the world's famous Black Watch. The

watch was originally recruited by the British government to help rid

the Highlands of Jacobite dissent. After the 1715 rebellion, the

officer who commanded the Army in Scotland at the time realised that

he had to do two things. First, open up communications into the

Highlands, by building his roads, and he needed a watch forced to

keep abreast of what was happening. People who spoke the language,

Gaelic, who knew the country and could live off the land. General

Wade raised his militia in 1725 but it was not long before he earned

the name -- before they enter the name, the Black Watch. Because they

had the job or watching the Highlands and because of the blue,

black and green tartan they wore after the watch had been formed,

they got a Gaelic nickname which meant the Black Watch. The Tartan

itself - if you had your played, it was very good camouflage of. It was

the deepest tartan to man of Fahd does have -- to manufacture because

it had less collars in. At the soldiers were defined by the kilts

they walk, but a Highland landscape and culture they came from would

create a unique regimental identity. There Highland identity was crucial.

The way that they could be recruited, the way they are related

to their officers, the way that, in the beginning, they were bought and

trained, it was very distinct. They were not part of the mainstream

European, disciplined, regimented mode of warfare. They were coming

from a culture that had to a very long tradition of military service.

Each of the countries it would have been a clan in its own right. The

head of the clan was the colonel who was in charge of the regiment.

But Highland identity and ethos had been maintained right throughout

the regiment's history. After the Jacobite rebellion, the Black Watch

went on to be one of the most celebrated regiments in the British

Army, distinguishing itself in battles all over the empire.

think you could trace the history of the Black Watch and there, you

have the history of Great Britain and the British Empire. They fought

in most major campaigns. 8,000 men at on the Black Watch lost their

lives between 1914 and 1918, and 20,000 were wounded. This has

continued in World War II, in Korea, in Kenya and up to the present day,

where soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

nearly three centuries, Black Watch has been involved in conflicts

around the world. In 2006, they became three Scots, and it infantry

battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland's, and are currently on

operations in Afghanistan. In the summer, Euan McIlwraith set

out to sail to Peter, Muck and Canna and then back to the mainland

in five days. But the journey got off to race low-start and he ran

aground. This week, we catch up with him as he leads Peter, bound

for Muck. -- departs the Eigg. I am meeting be people who live on

these beautiful but tiny islands. Today, we are leaving the island of

Eigg and its community ownership for its amazing embracing of new

technology. Muck is very, very different. A population of 38

people. It has been under one family for generations. The wind

has dropped away to nothing, so we are having a gentle evening motor

With me on board his cameraman David and director Fiona. Two weeks

ago, they got a shock when we ran aground coming out. This is

Josephine, Josephine. I am hoping there will be no repeat of that

Hart is thumping a bit coming in here. It looks straightforward but

speaking to some of the locals on bread, he said it was eight really

scary entrance. -- on that Eigg. We make it on to the island in one

piece. Meeting as at the harbour is Mary. Her family have owned the

island since the 19th century. It is a scary entrance! Yes, it is.

Mary grew up on the island and then left to study. She moved back four

years ago with her partner, did take on the hotel. At the same time,

her brother Colin and his family moved back to take on the farm. Her

dad it was glad to see them home. thought it was wonderful. I had

done my bit and it was high time they got on and did their bit. So

many bombers' sons don't go into farming. In a way, they are a deep

disappointment. -- farmer's sons. I am incredibly lucky here, because

my work is being passed on. Do you feel privileged? I certainly do,

yes. When I get up in the morning and look out, I have been doing it

all my life and I still think it is wonderful. You can see why Mary

would one to come home. But it is not easy to make a living on an

island is small. As well as running the hotel, Mary and her partner

Toby have started a shoot to extend the tourist season. They have

partridge, pheasant and duck. is Bali for the docks and we'd all

the peasants. -- week for the pheasants. How important is the

shoot? Be it is essential for us, because the tourist season is good

here but it is very short. We needed something to elongate the

season and be shooting was it really what we had wanted to do. It

has been working really well. made you come back? Was that always

the plan? I had always hoped to. I was lucky enough to find a man that

wants to live this life with me, and we wanted our children to go to

school on the island. My family is all here so it is very much a part

of me. Do you ever walked over the island and pink, "This Is mine"?

I certainly don't. It belongs to everybody who works here and Lycia.

-- lives here. It it has been lovely to spend time on this little

island but unfortunately, this is where my voyage has to end. We had

hoped to make it on to another island but because of the drama at

the beginning about our trip and poor weather forecasts, we are

heading back to the mainland. But it has been a fantastic - if

eventful - drip. I am sure the harbour master and

the RNLI are pleased that Euan McIlwraith and Josephine are back

home safely! Next week, I am hearing ambitious

plans to develop an island. trust plans to make the island

sustainable for the local community. We visit Scotland's first plough or

two pint of brewery. Wheat grower malting barley. That is what we do

best. That makes beer and when we got the idea to make a brewery, we

thought it would be interesting. And Sarah takes part in a cave

rescue exercise. It is incredible how they can get equipment into the