Episode 19 Landward

Hello and welcome to Landward. Celebration of all of his grip in

the Scottish landscape. In a minute or two, we will see the first of

three films that Dougie Vipond made on the Isle of Rhum. Bills were, I

will sample the first clue to pint they'll in Scotland. We picked

amazing local barley and produce some local Wales. -- ales. And the

landscape that shaped the Lovat scouts. They were used to seeing

the landscape and seeing things that were invisible to other people.

Dougie, on the other hand, took the easy option, and he took the ferry

to Rhum. This week he has been looking at plans to boost the

economy and regenerate the island. But beneath the Isle of Skye, Rhum

is the largest of the Small Isles. It was once home to hundreds of

people but now the population is only 30. In the early nineteenth-

century, 300 people were clear from the island. From then until the

1950s there Ireland was in private ownership, used mainly as a

sporting estate. For much of that time, the island was owned by one

family, who built this, Kinloch Castle, the most distinctive

landmark on the island. Clearly, George was a man who liked to make

a grand statement. After his death, his wife sold the island, to the

Nature Conservancy Council, the 4 runner of Scottish Natural Heritage.

For years, the island was home only to conservation staff, and

researchers. If people lost their job would Scottish Natural Heritage,

they had to leave the ironing. Into those and indeed, community party

trust was set up and community ownership and land and most of the

loans on the island were transferred to the trust. -- homes.

Why was the decision may to transfer assets to the community?

It was a growing aspiration for the community to develop its own

momentum and take charge of his own destiny. 100 he tears of land had

been transferred, most of the properties in the village, so there

and assets for the community to manage, the roads, the water supply,

and some land in Kinloch Glen which has been used for cropping.

trust means that people can live on the island, even if they do not

work for Scottish Natural Heritage, but they have to find another way

to make a living, and that is one of the big names -- aims of the

trust, to create jobs. We hope to have an office in this part, here,

and a shop here. Redeveloping this old farmstead is one project that

will achieve this goal. The trust plans to make their and

unsustainable for a local community. The idea is that this farming

project will have a tea room, gift shop, meeting room and hostel

accommodation and housing. All of which are vital to make the

community tick. Community housing is a big problem. You cannot bring

people in and told you have got housing, under until you bridge

that gap we will be running behind, but we will get there. It is hoped

that the transfer of ownership will lead to a new, vibrant island

community were residents can put their energy into new projects,

safe in the knowledge that they will not be asked to leave, if

their job with Scottish Natural Heritage ceases to exist. This

dilapidated building might not look much, but it is an example of this

new, dynamic community at work. It has been Sol Cook Ian, to develop

as a bread and breakfast. I have got a mingy in my eye. Unbelievable

midges. The midges at the moment are horrendous. Are you regretting

it at all? If it wasn't the midges, the West Coast to be a reserve

place, so it keeps that element of wilderness out here. Many visitors

are day-trippers. Those are great for the key shock and things like

that, but we need to attract people were going to stay here for two or

three nights, or maybe a week, to get appeal of the police and go

away and tell their friends and family to come here. I think it is

the best place in the world. Fantastic. But the midges are

driving the mental! Less get into the can't! -- let us get into the

car. It makes you cringe, looking at it, but here, in Braemar, the

images seem to have gone for the winter. This week were visiting an

auction house, where some very expensive and rare malt whisky is

going under the hammer. The Scottish sale at Bonhams auction

house sells all manner of rare, interesting things, from art and

jewellery, at a furniture and books. I am here to find out about the

selection of whisky which will be sold later today. For a whisky

connoisseur like myself, this is a little bit of heaven. There are up

old and rare bottles of Bowmore, Ardbeg and Springbank. I am

unlikely to get a taste these unless I part with a significant

amount of cash. Who do you find is buying this old, expensive whisky?

It is bought by private individuals, by dealers who will hold on to them

and sell them on again, and investors. As we have seen over the

last two or three years, we have been getting a good return on

whisky. If you are going to buy something, laying something down

now, buying a new bottling from a distillery, that is being produced

in today's market and keeping it for another 20 years, I think you

could do very handsomely. I would like to start the bidding at �260.

We urge bottled do you think will fetch the most? -- which bottle do

you think? Dalmore Candela. What makes it so expensive? It is partly

the packaging, but the rarity of the whisky that is in the vatting

from various years. And it is so rare, because it is still drinkable.

And where could end up? It could go anywhere. It might end up in the

Far East. Very interesting bottle of Dalmore. We can start the

bidding at 5,000, 5500, �6,000. At 6 doesn't bounce, and selling. I

will take 6500? At �6,000. Still with me, with the auctioneer, going

By the end of the week most of the whisky that was sold at the auction

will be laid down in cellars across the globe. But for me, it is all

about the drinking - slainte! Still to come, from plough to pine, the

tale of a farming brewer. It was a slow process, but looking at what

we have got now, it was worth it. The Lovat Scouts. And their

relationship with the Highland landscape. They provided, if you

like, the eyes and ears of the Light Infantry. Caning and

potholing are dangerous pursuits and the risk of getting stranded by

flood water is ever present. Cave rescue teams are drained to deal

with every possible Under ground scenario and Sarah are joined them

on a training exercise. What Underground enthusiasts, caving is

exciting and rewarding. But, like most outdoor sports, there is an

element of danger. I am on exercise with the Scottish Cave rescue

Organisation. We are, hopefully, on their way! A person has gone into

the cave and not come out, so the first thing we do is go in and

searched to locate this caver. Whilst I am on the ground in the

key were broken expectations, the Cave rescue Organisation is above

ground preparing to rescue me. will divide into two teams,

although this cave is quite easy, there are some difficult bits in it.

We are here in Argyll because we have won outcrop of caves in this

area, and where there are caves there are going to be able to

explore them and when they do that, there is the chance that someone

might come to grief, either because of stupidity -- sheer stupidity, or

factors beyond their control. And it is an awkward territory to carry

an injured person out of, so we need specialists who can do the job.

Conditions are crammed, and does there is uncomfortable, but it does

not take the team long to find me. I Amir from the Cave rescue team,

are you OK? I am a little bit sore. But not everything goes according

to plan. I cannot hear you, over? Can I get a runner? With the radio

at of action, a runner is needed to tell the team on the surface that I

have been found. Were going to require a stretcher. The equipment

is sent down, and the tricky job of It is incredible how they can get

the equipment into this space, and hopefully, get me out of here. I

have only been here for about an hour, but already I am cold and wet.

I cannot imagine if I was really ill. Attention please, prepare to

get moving the casualty. OK, guys, are you ready? Ready? With -- lift.

A human being is a heavy object in a stretcher. It is an awkward thing

to carry around. If you have right angled corners and key passages,

the territory is so of work, it is more difficult to extract somebody

from a cave, so a broken ankle on the surface might mean putting

yourself in a car and driving to a hospital, but not in a cave. We

need specialists who can do the job. The only specialists are cavers

themselves, so we are the best people to Duke -- to do the job.

Making up out of the dark is a relief, but the rescue is not over,

yet. The underground team hand me to mountain rescue, who were

charged with getting me over the river, and unfortunately, the wet

war there -- wet weather has turned it into a raging torrent of white

water, and the only way over in the stretcher is in a sling, over the

We are lucky if we get called out twice a year and they are often

searches for missing people. These incidents are few and far between.

But we still have to train just in case. Wow. That is incredible. I am

in awe of what these guys do. That If you would like to comment on

anything you have seen on today's programme... It is a lovely day

here. But what about the weather It is a lovely weekend in store for

the whole of the country, thanks to high pressure building tomorrow. We

can see it is building a cross Ireland and Scotland. Plenty of dry

conditions. A cold start tomorrow. A bit of mist and fog but Clearing

quickly. Showers in the West as well but generally bright with

sunshine. By the middle of the afternoon, temperatures between 10

and 12, about average for this time of year. Broken cloud and blue sky

is. Plenty of sunshine and not a bad start to the weekend. Top

temperatures of 12 degrees and light wind. We could get some

showers in the North West. Particularly in the Highlands.

Elsewhere, dry, fine and bright. Elsewhere in the east, plenty of

sunshine again. Moderate wind at about 15 mph but lighter further

south. Across the South West, these are the conditions. Good disability

and plenty of sunshine. Similar conditions here as well. Good

visibility and plenty of sunshine. Into the evening, the clear skies

continue but it will be a cold night to come. Temperatures down to

three degrees but rural spots colder with frost and fog are

developing. We can see this high pressure is building further. This

is sitting overhead all of Sunday and it will bring bright conditions.

Perhaps up to the North West, these conditions. More cloud and mild.

Temperatures at about 10 degrees. In the next few days, dry and

bright. This is the pressure chart for Monday. High pressure is still

with us but it is shifting away. But it is still in control, keeping

low pressure had a, meaning dry and bright conditions. -- away. Wind is

strengthening from the south. Through the week, on Tuesday, high

pressure moving away. We will get more cloud building. Temperatures

at 10 and 11. Wind getting stronger. The best of the sunshine will be in

the north, where temperatures will be up to 13 degrees. Shell was

building across the Western Isles. Elsewhere, dry and cloudy and top

Last week we had the story of the Black Watch shaped as a regiment by

the landscape in which it was created. This week we look at the

Scouts and how tactics changed at The military prowess of the

fighting Scots have long been the stuff of legend. But never has the

relationship between skills, land and demonstrations in battle been a

more closely linked than in the creation of the Scouts. Raised in

1899, they were recruited from the ranks of the gamekeeper's working

on the high land sporting estates. This heritage is enshrined in the

town centre at. These doubts were raised by Lord Lovat at the start

of the Boer War. He perceived that there was a need to have soldiers

that were as good as the enemy were at working in the countryside and

moving around and sniping. reckoned that on the estates, he

had sufficient stock in order to get together a contingent which was

in effect the regiment. After one year in training, they departed for

South Africa To complete their skills and put them to the test.

They were used to looking at landscape and seeing things that

were invisible to other people and that was exactly the scale needed

in South Africa for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. They

work against a very elusive and crafty enemy. They provided the

eyes and the years and they went ahead and scouted and provided

reconnaissance and intelligence. They were able to feed that back to

the main part of the army so they understood what was happening.

observation, field craft and skills developed by the scouts represented

a fundamental change in tactics for the British Army. But the key to

their success was their ability to blend into the landscape. Many of

the other regular army units wore red tunics which was not a good

idea if somebody is quite clever at sniping. The Scouts wore khaki and

drab brown. It was like a Carry On from Tweed. Today we have got

combat suits and even that is developed into, if you want in

Afghanistan it will blend in with the sound but the principle is the

same, disguised. The scouts do not exist as a unit any longer. But the

legacy continues. The resourcefulness and fighting spirit

forged in a deep glens were adopted by the mainstream Army and were

part of soldier trading. Through the Scouts and individual officers

at had connections to the Highlands like Lord Lovat himself, that was

like a training ground for these types of attributes of heartiness

and independence and using landscape and fuel craft,

reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. That has been absorbed

by the mainstream. Not just by the British Army but internationally.

These are all skills that they At the start of the year,

Scotland's first plough two point brewery produced ales. Producing

quality beer from Bali was the aim Some things are definitely brewing

just north of here. This is the Chester estate near Ancrum deep in

the heart of the Scottish Borders. 1,500 acres of arable land and home

to Scotland's first plough to pint The real ale industry is a booming

business. Take the finest Scottish barley and turn it into local ale.

A number of people are trying real ale for the first time and these

numbers are rising dramatically. We have got a whole new market in

which good beer can cried. This was the inspiration. -- thrive. It is

not a predictable business. It does not allowed to plan for the future

with the way the industry is. We wanted to add a revenue stream to

the farm. We are growing malt and barley and that is what we are

doing best and that makes beer. We thought we might be onto something.

How difficult was the process? was not easy. We do not have an

infrastructure in a rural area and it is easier in an industrial

warehouse in a city. We have spent five years planning and it was a

long slog but I think it was what it in the end. Despite the uphill

struggle, the turnover is very healthy. To help keep up with

demand, he employs the expert skills of thermal brewer, Peter

Sharpe, keeping an eye on the levels. What is happening? We are

putting in the malt and as it comes down, we mix with water and take

the sugar out. This is the under back. Have a little taste. It is

like sugary water. We put that in the cattle. It is a big home grew -

- Bru? Exactly. We are looking at this and that is where it is

fermented. That is where sugar water becomes alcoholic and beer.

We have got about 3000 pints are. It has only been in production for

nine months and it is proving to be a big success. John produces three

distinct beers and they are sold as far afield as St Andrews and

Newcastle. They are responding to that demand. The story behind the

product is almost as important as the product. Things are becoming

increasingly commercial and people are looking for more unique selling

points to the products. Perhaps we need more of these local micro

businesses doing what people did many years ago. The older model is

not necessarily bad. It would seem Scotland's only ploughed to pint

brewery has been a great success. But when it comes to bear, the

elite real judge of a good pint is the pub landlord. Can I have a pint,

please? Certainly. It is very good and it sells very well with the

locals. It is an easy real ale. You cannot complain about the sales we

have had. Just five miles away. How good is that? Cheers. If that has

left you wanting more, he is something to quench your thirst

next week. The importance of mackerel to the fishing industry in

Scotland. France, Germany, Holland, Spain. Not a country in the world

does not have Scottish products. Country sports for all. It is

different from what I expected and I have learned so much and it is