Episode 19 Landward

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward, taking you to parts of

Scotland other programs don't visit. In a moment, I will be visiting the

Angus fruit farmer growing late season blueberries to fill a gap in

the market. But first, here else is what is coming up on the program.

The Perthshire tourist businesses who have set up their own bus

service. We have seen tour buses passing by our businesses with lots

of visitors on board and we were frustrated at the lack of public

transport. Euan takes a creole boat on a seafood safari. We are not

inundated with employment up here. The fish have traditionally been an

employer up here. Let's hope it will be in the future has well.

the riverboat band bring the curtain down on their tour. As a

musician you play music because you love music. It is a chance to play

and they are fun gigs as well. It is not like doing anything

Now, you wouldn't expect Scotland's climate to lend itself to growing

late season fruit. But one entrepreneurial Angus farmer is

successfully growing blueberries in the late summer and early autumn to

satisfy demand from supermarkets. His produce means blueberries do

not have to be imported from abroad part of the year. Blueberries. They

are such a versatile fruit. You can add them to your breakfast muesli.

You can make tasty muffins with them. Or, you can just grab a

handful for a snack. Blueberries are high in antioxidants and a

recent survey suggested just 100 grams a day could aid the growth of

new brain cells. I think I'm going to need quite a few more. Little

wonder that demand for blueberries is at an all-time high. Delicious

One farmer taking advantage of that appetite is Ross Mitchell from

Castleton Farm. I visited him back in September, when picking was in

full swing. These are believed to be the most northerly commercial

blueberries growing in the world. So, these are some of the

blueberries we are picking for the supermarkets today. Tell me, how

did you end up growing blueberries, because you are quite far north?

are. Basically we saw a market opportunity, we are very much

market-led. We realised with what we were doing with strawberries and

raspberries and blueberries, we are a late-season site being this far

north and there was a window of opportunity for blueberries. Poland

is a big European producer. Poland will finish in the middle of August

and put fruit into a controlled atmosphere store. England will

produce until the end of August and the southern hemisphere doesn't

really start producing until the beginning of October. So there is

this gap in the market where there was only stored Polish fruit

available on the shelves. There is nothing fresh being produced. So we

realised where this gap was and thought we could fill it with our

location here and did it, succeeded. And growing this far north actually

makes the fruit all the tastier. The longer the fruit takes to ripen,

the more sugar is produced in the fruit, so it should be sweeter.

you are considering growing blueberries, it is not a way to

make a fast buck. Start with a plant like this, wait for three

years for it to bear fruit and another three years before you get

a return on your investment. All the more reason to get the variety

of choices just right. At the James Hutton Institute near Dundee,

scientists are testing different blueberry varieties to find out

What we don't know at the moment is which blueberry varieties are going

which blueberry varieties are going to do well. At the moment there is

a lot of nervousness in the industry because people are

bringing in lots of different varieties and planting them in

different places and getting What we are trying to do is plant

the same varieties and replicate trials across the UK so we can then

recommend which varieties should be grown where. Back at Castleton Farm,

the blueberries are being packed up, ready to go to supermarket. But

Ross is also trialling another fruit you might not expect to be

Not content with blueberries, you've also got into cherries.

Basically we are trying to replicate what we have done with

blueberries with cherries. We are producing out of season so when the

English season finishes we try to extend that by three weeks by

producing cherries up here in this location. Is it commercially

viable? We are not sure yet. This is the first crop year and I think

this year has been exceptional and we have not had the yield on the

numbers we hoped for. It is still early days but we are trialling to

see if it is commercially viable but we hope so. Can we have a

taste? Of course you can. Thank you very much. Oh, that's very very

sweet, isn't it? Beautiful. Oh, magic. Scottish blueberries,

Scottish cherries, what's next? Scottish pineapples? Not right now.

Not just yet. These are gorgeous Over the past couple of weeks, we

have been in Western Ross to meet the seafood businesses battling to

protect the natural larder of their coast. In the final part of the

series, Euan takes a trip on a creole boat to see for himself what

is to be found beneath the waves. As well as being stunningly

beautiful, the Atlantic coast of Western Ross can boast some of the

best and most diverse fishing grounds in Europe. But successive

fisheries have proved in the past it is a fragile environment

As the fishermen pursued different species, the stocks dwindled. They

move onto the next one. But nowadays many fishermen are keen to

fish sustainably and they want to Ian comes from a family that has

fished in these waters for centuries and he's continuing the

tradition at his boat. Hello. Please to meet you. Come on board.

Thank you very much. We have got fish all round here. In the high

waters we fished for langoustines and in the shallow water in the

summertime, crabs, velvet crabs and lobsters. We have got a lot of

farmer markets and things like that. Otherwise, all of my catch ends up

either in London or on the Continent. As well as earning a

living from his catch he also runs the boat for shellfish safaris,

taking visitors to see the shell of fish and sea life. We have got a

hydraulic all were here. Quite exciting. Do not know what we are

going to get. This is a catch of crabs. What we are going to do...

What is wrong with that one? It is too small. Anything too small or

has cast its shell is thrown back still alive. They can do damage?

yes, especially these big ones. how important is it to put the

small ones back? A very important. They must get a chance to grow into

nice sizes. We have got a langoustine. This one here, I will

pass that to you and we can see that it has got what we call

berries on it. In it is maybe. Presumably this is trawling?

Unfortunately a lot of places will take these as well. You get a much

bigger premium? Controlled staff, yes. It is very important for the

taste. It has to be crushed and dumped on the deck for a couple of

hours. Because we can get five times the amount paid for these

things, if I got four or five of those that would be enough, yes?

Sustainability is part of the safari. Definitely, yes. This is

for the future here. We are not inundated with employment appeared.

Fishing has traditionally been an employer and we hope it can be in

the future as well. We will put the Back at the port and it is time to

enjoy some of the catch. Isn't that incredible? Of fact we caught this

this morning makes it so much better. And Wester Ross really can

boast having some of the finest seafood in the world. The challenge

is to insure that cycle of overfishing does not repeat itself

and existing fishes can operate Coming up, we head for the Orkney

Islands in search for the cell keys. They might abandon it. And we

conclude the musical journey. the excitement are putting yourself

in a bit of risk in life. It gets Rural Scotland has got lots to

offer tourists, from a beautiful scenery to attractions like Blair

Castle. But if you do not drive or do not want to drive, exploring can

be difficult. In one area, a group of businesses took matters into

their own hands, as Sarah has found out. Today, I am on an adventure.

The plan is to go canoeing, mountain biking and because I am

leaving the car behind, I can have a drink as well. And here, I think,

is my transport. Good morning. One This is the exploration route which

winds its way across some of the most scenic parts of per share. As

one goes clockwise, another goes anti-clockwise. At the moment, this

service is just a pilot scheme. But the hope is to make it permanent.

It is the brainchild of a group of tourist businesses. If you look at

a map, we have got a big white space in the middle of the county

and that is here. We need to bring people here. We have identified

quite a number of tourism issues in quite a number of tourism issues in

the area. One is the area itself, its name, what is it and how do you

pronounce it and all of these things. Marketing the area is one

things. Marketing the area is one issue but one of the problems is in

the summer, when the tourists are here, the transport stops because

it is school buses. We see them passing by with visitors on board

and we were frustrated at the lack of public transport for the

visitors and 40 people living in the area. It was a combination of

these things at we tried to address. Thank you very much. Goodbye. See

you later. This is my first This is a reconstruction. An Iron

Age family would recall this as a home. But it is not just houses we

created here. You can get a look at to transport its as well. --

transportation as well. This is basically a tree which has been dug

out. I hope it looks hard to manoeuvre, because it is! After all

that effort, I think I deserve a treat. I am on my way to this

I am sorry to say I am a disgrace because I do not like whisky. I

will give it to the cameraman and I will stick to gin but not too much

because I am on the bike next. Bottoms up. I just had a sip,

honestly! As far as we know it is actually the first time in Scotland

that a circular bus route has been initiated by a group of private

businesses. Councillors have tried to do it but without the support of

local businesses, these things have failed in the past. The difference

is the initiative has come from . We all know it is bringing people

in and it is also, really, giving people a whole lot more options on

what they can do with their day when they are here. The added value

it bring, we are surveying people to fiend out how much money they

are spending, which they wouldn't otherwise have spent in the area,

and we are noting a good multiplication of the funding going

in coming out into the local economy. Is it going to succeed

financially? I don't think any service like that is self-

sustaining anywhere in Britain, they all have some sort of public

support. What we have to do this year, is to prove that it is viable,

with a modicum of public support. But the numbers already, I think in

the first four weeks we had close to 800 people using the service, we

hope that the numbers are building up. If funding can be secured for

next year, the service should be back up and running next summer. I

might even try the anticlockwise route, then who knows what

adventures that could bring snvings. --. If you have a comment about

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

us with, drop us an e-mail. Now, the weather here at Blair Castle is

warm, sunny a well but what ant the prospect for this weekend and

beyond? Here is Christopher with the Landward weather forecast. Both

tonight it will be dry, clear and cold, with a widespread frost. If

we take a look at the pressure chart we can see we have an area of

low pressure nearby. That will feed low pressure nearby. That will feed

in showers across the Hebrides. As they fall on to the cold ground we

will see an ice risk. In the west, starting cloudy with showers in the

east, starting dry fine and bright but the showers transfer to the

east as we head through to the afternoon w drier brighter

conditions working into the west. By mid afternoon in the mainland

dry and bright, sunshine in the east, that legacy of cloud, but the

showers should push through. In the Hebrides more showers starting to

work in. Across parts of Angus, Aberdeenshire, the legacy of cloud

here, but dry and bright in the high land. Perhaps a passing shower.

If you are out and about, across western range, starting with some

sleet or snow across the tops but improving by the afternoon, with

sunshine. The north-west high land having the best conditions. Wind

generally from the south-west. Across the eastern range, it's a

role reversal, starting with fine, dry bright conditions but we could

see sleet or snow showers later on on the hills and mountains. If you

are out and about on the waters it is force five to seven. There will

be rain showers in the morning. And, over in the east, round the Firth

of Forth starting off dry and bright but rain later on, and it

will be a southerly forth four to five. Across towards Shetland we

expect a westerly force five. Occasionally gale eight. Into the

evening and overnight on Saturday, generally dry, fine and clear once

again, with a pretty low temperatures. Temperatures in

Aberdeenshire down to minus five, maybe minus six. Then, if we take a

look at the low pressure for Sunday, it started to sing further south,

so that means good news for us. The second half of the weekend dry,

fine, bright, not particularly warm but OK in the sunshine. Starting

next week, well, it's a north south split on Monday. If we look at the

pressure chart, there is that low again. We develop a north-easterly

breeze, and that will push one or two showers on to the north coast.

Particularly across parts of Aberdeenshire, and into Caithness

as well. Elsewhere, dry, fine and bright, temperatures up to eight

degrees to start the new working week. For Tuesday, it doesn't last,

cloud startsd to work in. It will be a milder airflow though, we will

start the see outbreaks of rain. Those in the north. If we take a

look at the map we can see them up there. Further south one or two

spits and spots but drier. Temperatures up to round ten

degrees or so for Wednesday, a cold front pushes through and it is

blustery showers in behind. At times strong to gales for wend in

times strong to gales for wend in the west. Over the past couple of

weeks Sarah has had to get up early to catch wild geese at dawn, and

witness the annual red deer rut. Now, in the final part of her

wildlife watching series, she is heading up morth to Orkney, to

hopefully catch a glimpse of a selkie. Legend has it the Orkney

Islands were once inhabited by a magical race called the selkie,

these seal people were so beautiful, that if anyone saw them, they would

instantly fall in love. The origins of the myth are lost in time, but

the seals that inspired the stories are out there. Where are we

heading? We are going to this small island of the main island. That is

a pretty good spot for grey seals pupping. So hopefully we will see

some down will. It's a fantastic place to see seal, but special le

this time of year, when you get huge numbers coming out in the

remote island, and they will pup over a period of a few weeks before

they head back out to see. -- sea. We are in the middle of the

breeding song, we should have an excellent chance of seeing some.

They will go through to December. So we have a big group along here,

haven't we. Yes, there is a good number on the shoreline. This

little pup up there. They are born with a coat of white fur, soft

fluffy fur, and they retain that coat for two or three weeks. During

that time, they can't swim, they are helpless almost. Shore bound..

Shore bound. So, after two or three weeks they will shed that and

develop a proper waterproof coat and shortly after that, they are

pretty much left to their own device, and they have to look after

themselves. It It is not long. So they will be wary of us being

this close You don't want to get too close and the general advice if

you shouldn't really go close to a pup, especially, if you find one on

the shore. Just the hint of a scent that isn't right about the pup, the

mother might just abandon it. So generally, keep a safe distance

away. We don't want that. Are they protected? Yes, there is an act

called the conservation of seals act which puts special protection

on seal, particularly during the pupping seasons so they get a

fairly high level of protection. They come into conflict with

fishermen, so they do need a level of protection, certainly at this

time of year for the grai seals. has been amazing, to see them up

close and personal, and we have had a fantastic day. Wetter wise we

have been lucky. It has been fantastic. If you would like more

information about the wonderful wildlife watching opportunities

that are out there, then you can The aptly named Whisky River Boat

Band combine their musical talents with their passion for exploring

Scotland by canoe. Euan joins then on the final leg of their trip down

the River Spey. # If I had a boat... #

Over the last two programme, I have been travelling down the Spey, with

the Whisky River Boat Band. After a great couple of days of gigging and

canoeing, it had to leave them for a day to go back to Aberdeen where

I present Out Of Doors programme from the BBC car park, but I did

manage to get in a wee plug for the show. It's a free gig, anyone can

turn up. Are you taking your guitar. I thought I would take my banjo.

had no idea you play it. I don't! # Rain stay away

# Leave me alone # Come another day. #

Well, back on the river again, beautiful sunshine, we are near

Keith and I am waiting on the guys coming down the river so I can

rejoin them. # My love is gone

# Rain, please stay away. # Here we are in the boat again, in

brilliant sunshine It is beautiful. So was it an easy trip? There are a

few rapids on the way. Some potential for capsize. Toby has

been in already. They have been in. Freshen up. We will perform on the

beach with dolphins in the background. Let's go. Living in the

city, you are rushing round, drinking six cups coffee a day, and

on the comet. The first day you are not quite there, but by the second

day you start slowing down. By the third you can't believe how good it

is. Why do you want to play gigs every night? Are you not better

having a holiday, a break? This is, as a musician, you play music

because you love it, so your best holiday is a Hans the play. If I

want to go on holiday I would get in trouble because I play music on

holiday. This is the perfect holiday, getting to play. They are

fun gigs. It is not like they are stressful. I like doing outdoor

stuff. I like getting out on the water, and I really love the music

we play. I love the group of guys. They are pretty funny.

excitement of putting yourself in a bit of risk, in life, that gets

your blood going a bit, makes you go whoop-de-doo. You are happy,

that is contagious. They needed a bas player that was dumb enough to

think it was a good idea to bring his instrument into the river and

go canoeing for five days. I must have been the only one up for it. -

- bass. You have your last gig about two kilometres down the river.

How do you feel about that? I love it. When last year, just coming to

the end of the river, you started off in the Cairngorm, and then it

starts opening out, to Spey Bay, and when you get there, to the

north sea, and it is lovely to play a few tunes to celebrate. How you

doing? # Going where this river meets the

# Going where this river meets the # That's where I'll be #

Well done. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Good is having you with us. You are

welcome on the next one. Wait till you hear me play!6

# Going down this river feeling good

# Going down this rever feeling good

# Going down this river feeling good so good

# Going where the water tastes like whisky

# Going where the water tastes like whisky

# Going where the water tastes like whisky

# So feen # I have paddled with the band,

played with the band and now there is one more band tradition that I

What a great way to travel between gigs. Before we go here is details

of Landward's next tour venues. We go panning for goal and ask if

Scotland could be home to the next gold rush? How much gold do you

think is here in this? About four- and-a-half tonnes of gold. And Euan

joins Operation Shearwater Rescue.. There is another one right on the