Episode 18 Landward

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward, showcasing the food,

wildlife and habitats of our great countryside. In a moment I will be

looking at a campaign to use small parcels of publicly-owned land for

community orchards. But first, here's what else is coming up on

Euan is on Tam o'Shanter's trail. It was here in the graveyard that

he came face to face with the witches.

Sarah gets a front seat at the annual deer rut.

If they can settle it by roaring, then they don't need to go and

fight, because if they do, they can injure themselves quite badly.

And we continue our journey down the Spey with the Whiskey Riverboat

Band. One of the canals is at the bridge.

I think it is Joe that has gone We all know about the right of

access to land. But what about the right to grow? A campaign has been

launched to persuade public agencies to give over small parts

of land to allow communities to create their own orchards or

gardens. It is picking time at the It is maintained by the community,

This is the first of three community harvest days, and as you

can see, it is a bit of a do. As well as the harvesting, they have

children's activities and a picnic, complete with my favourite - home

Have to have a shot at this. Oh! It is harder than it looks, honestly.

I have never been so disappointed. The orchard was planted with the

help of an organisation called The Children's Orchard Project. And it

is now managed by a few local residents.

What we have is 180 trees, 30 varieties of apple, four varieties

of pears, a couple of cherries, some greengages, plums... Victoria

plums last year, they were excellent. A lady came in earlier

and she admired our brambles. We have also got a soft fruit cage. I

said, they are community brambles. You can pick them. She said, I

don't do anything in the orchard. I said that is not the point. We want

the community to come in and pick the apples and eat the gooseberries.

The site the orchard grows on belongs to Atholl Estates. They

were happy to allow the community to use it.

The land was residue to the development which was built about

10 years ago. There were no foreseeable opportunities for

development or the furthering of development or the furthering of

development or the furthering of commercial use. It was just an open

field. That was until we were approached for this orchard.

The school that now uses the orchard quite a lot. It's fantastic

to see the children here. So, Atholl Estates, a private

landowner, have given all this over for community growing. But should

the government or public agencies be doing more?

John Hancox certainly thinks so. He is petitioning the Scottish

Parliament to urge the government to make more land available for

community growing. There's a wide range of spaces.

There's land which is owned by local authorities, the city council.

There's Housing Association, back courts, there's parkland, which is

often under used and not really very much looked after. We are not

talking about taking over ground that is clearly already being

better used for some purpose. What we are talking about is publicly

available and that is currently not being used properly. The Scottish

government has established a Grow Your Own working group.

One member of the group is the charity Greenspace. They work with

communities to develop projects. Here, the end of this rugby pitch

is going to be transformed into a community garden. Before long, an

over-enthusiastic sprint to the try-line could end up in the veggie

There are people here who might not even consider growing as an option

for them. They need more support, more guidance, more information,

some training in how to grow fruit and vegetables. That is where

public sector organisations can There's no doubt this community

certainly enjoy their orchard. But do you think the government needs

to do more, what should communities just work it out for themselves? As

always, we welcome your comments. Last week, Euan was meeting three

businesses keen to protect the unique natural larder of their

The western lochs are true fjords. The unique water here makes it an

ideal habitat for a wide range of marine species, and a rich fishing

area. Historically, salmon netting was important here. But catches

have declined, and they became non- viable in the 1980s.

As the wild salmon fishery dwindled, farmed salmon moved in. Now they

support a large and often controversial industry.

Even in the 1970s, there was been concern over the sustainability of

fish farms, and the worry is that escaping fish arecontributing to

What do you do here that is different from some of the big

competitors? We try to get a niche for ourselves.

Something our customers ask for is transparency about what our salmon

are fed on. We feed them on trimmings of fish that have already

been caught. So this is mackerel?

Absolutely. I will trim it up. This is what goes into the food chain.

This is what is left? It is what is left.

This is 50 per cent, depending on how good it is filleted. This goes

into fish meal, which is then used to create our dry fish diet. What

about escaped salmon? How many have you had?

As a business, I can't remember when we had an escape. But we do

things differently. We know that each of our salmon are worth �20.

We remind people of that on a regular basis. It is a fragile

ecosystem. How do you ensure it survives?

It may be fragile, but we have got one of the strictest policemen out

there, namely, the Environment Agency. Ultimately, farming fish

and farming the sea is similar to farming the land. It is all about

good husbandry, and adjusting your technique in line with changing

conditions. It is something the we just prioritise.

Fish-farming plays an important part in the economy. Small

operations like this are labour intensive. But that allows them to

One such market is halal. Today, this man has come all the way from

Manchester to bless the fish. Halal is good for us. We were

surprised. I thought one of my friends was having a joke when he

said, come and bless our fish. I had not appreciated that this part

of the Muslim community, when they mean blessing, they mean blessing

every salmon. Demand is there because we can't

get this blessed fish. We can get the trout nearby, but salmon, we

can't get them. I have been for looking for quite a while. Then I

found the people here, who accommodated me.

Next week, in the final part of my journey in the waters of Western

Ross, I will be going on a shellfish safari.

Still to come, Sarah goes in search of rutting stags.

He is keeping his hinds together and trying to find those guys. He

is doing a good job of it. And the Whiskey Riverboat Band

continue their tour down the Spey. Phil is upside down in the water.

With Hallowe'en just around the corner, Euan has been to Ayrshire

to follow the trail of Scotland's spookiest poem.

These are the opening lines from Robert Burns's epic supernatural

poem, Tam o'Shanter. When chapman billies leave the street. And

drouthy neibors, neibors, meet; As market days are wearing late, And

folk begin to tak the gate, While we sit bousing at the nappy, An'

getting fou and unco happy, We think na on the lang Scots miles,

This cottage is where he was born and where the seeds of Tam

This is Burns's cottage. It's the cottage where Robert Burns was born.

His father built it. He would have listened to his mother and his aunt

telling spooky stories to entertain the children while they were

working in the kitchen here. It was here that he also learnt to

love the area, and also got to know the place down the road.

The poem follows the hero, Tam, on a drunken jaunt through the

Ayrshire countryside, where he meets a whole series of

supernatural creatures worthy of any good Hallowe'en tale. But like

many a tall tale, it begins here, in the pub. This truth fand honest

Tam o' Shanter, As he frae Ayr ae night did canter: (Auld Ayr, wham

ne'er a town surpasses, For honest men and bonie lasses).$$NEWLINE He

comes in here to celebrate his winnings.

He gets drunk with his friends, flirts with the landlady. The

landlord went, on your way. He just gets on the horse, and it is a

terrible night outside. That is the start of it. A long way to go,

though. 50 miles to the farm.

A fair bit to go. OK, let's go to church... And brave

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds

This the old church where it all happened. He is here, sitting at

the back. He is kicking in the window. There is a bunker in the

He has had too much to drink and he is hallucinating. They're all these

young witches with short skirts. It is a short skirt. He shouts, well

done! As soon as he's done that, they turn around. Somebody has

stolen it. He says, get the hell So Mackie runs. Tam, they'll get

We this is it. This is the brigadier. Which is cannot cross

the water. So we are safe. $:/STARTFEED. For Nannie, far

before the rest. Hard upon noble Maggie prest.

And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle. But little wist she Maggie's

mettle! Ae spring brought off her master

hale. But left behind her ain grey tail.

The carlin claught her by the rump. And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.

So Maggie's tail-less. Maggie's safe. A-ha. Tam's safe. A-ha.

If you have a comment about anything you see on that programme

or have a wonderful story to share with us, please drop us an e-mail

Now, the weather here is absolutely fantastic but what about the

prospects for this weekend and beyond? To find out, here's

Christopher Blanchett with the Good evening. We are in the middle

of a cold is not at a moment but you did not need me to tell you

that! A cold frosty night ahead and tomorrow it will be a cold, frosty

start. Generally clear but there is another weather system working its

way in, bringing a change. Tomorrow, generally dry and bright. They will

be showers across the north and north-east and then cloud filling

in across the North West Highlands. The further south and east you are,

generally holding on to brighter conditions for longer. The cloud is

spreading in. Still a cold day, perhaps four or five, degrees

across the inland parts. Across the Hebrides, eight or nine as the

daytime high. If you are out and about her walking or climbing, it

will start cold but generally, the snow showers will turn to rain.

Over across the eastern ranges, generally dry and bright but it

will be cold. The cloud starts to work its way into any snow showers

will tend to rain. The Border hills generally have a fine afternoon. If

you are out and about across the inshore waters, Roth sees with

moderate visibility. -- will. Generally set fair but clouding

over later with moderate visibility. Across Shetland, generally a force

5247. Visibility at times occasionally poor. -- forced five

it, it took force seven. Most places no worse than around five

but some colder spots in mind. Towards Sunday, the low pressure

working its way in tomorrow bringing the rain continues to move

south. It will be a wet end to the weekend. Temperatures starting to

creep up - nothing like as cold as today. For Monday, to stop any

working week, it is a bright start with a ridge of high pressure. --

group to start the new. Some sunshine for Monday. Monday is not

looking too bad. Generally dry and bright. Some outbreaks of rain

working in towards the North West. Towards Tuesday, the low pressure

is nearby and we will see some outbreaks of rain in the flow.

Looking at the detail for Tuesday, generally dry and bright the

further north and east you are at cloud and rain does spill in.

Staying unsettled as we head towards Wednesday. Outbreaks of

If you want to get up close to some of Scotland's greatest wildlife

sites, the best way is to join a ranger-led Safari. Last week, Sarah

went on a wild goose chase. This week, she is on the trail of the

It's the deer-rutting season and I'm joining Glyn from the Royal

Estate Ranger Service for a luxury Land Rover Safari, to try and

capture the sights and sounds of this amazing annual event. So, Glyn,

where are we off to? We're going to head south across Balmoral Estate

here. We can hear three or four rutting stags all around us just

now so, hopefully, we're going to get a bit closer to them. I'm

hoping this cloud is going to lift quite shortly, as well. So, shall

we get going? Yes, we'll hit the How big is the estate? It's about

50,000 acres, the area that we're in just now. Even on a cold, misty

morning, it still looks beautiful, What can you see, Glyn? There's

three stags - young stags - just below us. They're just moving

across the lot around here. They're definitely looking quite keen on

getting involved in the rut. I think the oldest stacks that are

rutting are up in the clouds. -- stags. These boys - I don't think

they're going to get much done this season but in the next few years,

they'll be joining in with the rut. Oh, listen. That's amazing, isn't

it? Now that we've climbed up onto the high ground, we're in the area

where these guys are going to be rutting so what these guys are

doing is having roaring competitions. So the stag that

roars the loudest and most often, he gets to hold and mate. Roaring

is enough? Roaring's enough. If they can settle it by roaring, they

don't need to go and fight. Because if they do fight, they can injure

themselves quite badly. So the roaring is the main way they try

and decide which is the dominant Just on the skyline there, there's

a group of young stags, and the reason they're there is because

there's a bigger, more dominant stag just below the skyline. He's

got a group of about 12 hinds in his harem. So those young lads on

the skyline there, they're trying to get in a bit on his action. But

he's keeping his hinds together and trying to find those guys off. He

seems to be doing quite a good job of it just now. Two, four... 10, 12

hinds? Yes, yeah. He's a big stag. He's a big stag and we can hear a

lot of roaring, but the deepest one is coming from him. Taking in the

stunning mountain scenery from the comfort of one of those is a

memorable experience. And witnessing the wildlife, up close

and personal, is a real treat. There are many places around

Scotland from which people can watch the Stags battle and display

for dominance. So this autumn, get The Whisky Riverboat Band is a

unique group of musicians who also have a passion for canoeing. Each

year, they combine these two activities with a musical tour down

the River Spey. Euan has become Right, we're just about to start

day two. Is it a bit more wild this time? Well, every day, the river

gets a bit wilder. So, yeah, we've got a few more obstacles. A few

more rapids and bigger waves today. So where's the gig today? It's at

the Cragganmore distillery. Outside or inside? Outside in the courtyard.

They don't let us go inside. They know better than that! We seem to

have run out of whisky last night, so... Hence the distillery further

down the road. There's a certain lull in the natural energy of the

Whisky Riverboat Band because there is a natural element missing until

# There's no whisky in my glass any more.

# There's no whisky in my glass any more.

# Going to walk out the door and try to find some more.

# Believe me, I'm going to try very hard

#. This way of touring is so much better than sweaty, smelly vans.

We're just having to dig in a bit here because one of the canoes has

cowped, just at the bridge. I think it's Joe that's gone over. We're

going to see if we can help. By the time we'd arrived, they'd made it

to the bank. We were trying to get into the side. As we approached the

bridge, we got a signal to kind of cut in. We sort of did that and

took a stump head on and then went side onto it. As soon as you go

side on to something, you're totally... I actually got trapped

under the boat and my foot got caught. I had to shake my shoe off

so I could actually get out. It was pretty scary. What about the

instruments? I got the mandolin out. The mandolin escaped! My fiddle and

Gav's two instruments are stuck, still. It's still in tune! # Rowed

down this river feeling good #. The mandolin might be OK but not

all the instruments are safe. What's really going on through all

this drama is the fiddle is upside down in the water. That's what the

pressures about. The guides from the filming wrapped up being

deployed. -- filming raft have been deploted. Joe's boat is freed and

Jed is waiting to latch onto it. We've managed to save the fiddle.

It's in this bag here and it looks like it's still shut, so,

hopefully... Hopefully that's all right. Beer... The beer's OK, so

everyone's happy. # Going down this river feeling

good. # Going down this river feeling

good. # Going down this river feeling

good, so good. # Always want to be treated this

#. Day two and it just gets better and better. We had deer running

along the side of the river. Just awesome. And now, the distillery.

Going where the fishes love to leap. # Going where the fishes love to

leap so high. After a quick sample of the produce, it's time to play.

# Hey, please stay away. # Leave me alone for another day.

# My love is gone, this time to stay.

# Hey, please stay away. # Rain, please stay away

After a successful gig, the band set up camp by the river. So, here

we are at the end of day two and almost halfway to the mouth of the

Spey. As you can hear in the background, the river is getting

faster and getting angrier. For me, this is what this trip is all about.

Stunning Scottish scenery, a campfire and a group of friends

Next week, the band conclude their journey where the Spey meets the

sea. Now, before I bring the curtain down on this week's gig,

here's what else is coming up on next week's programme.

supermarkets are looking for a constant supply on a daily basis so

to provide that, we need the covers. Sarah takes a new circular bus

route round Central Perthshire. This is my first stopping off point.

And we take a seafood safari in Wester Ross. This is a very big

crab. It is very white looking. This had just cast its shell. Once