Episode 7 Landward

In a moment, of Britain's declining

But first, here's what else is coming up on the programme.

Harris gets a new lifeboat station.

It's absolutely vital, because ofthe gap between Barra and Stornoway.

If you're needing help in a hurry,

having the lifeboat here will cut that time dramatically.

Sharing memories of bothy nights.

"A warm shelter from the rain.

"A place of stillness in the shifting world.

"But the floor was hard."

And Nick aims to bring some refinement to wild food.

So I could add some of those andtoast them along with the chicken?

Throw them in, give them a good roasting.

Over the past 20 years,

there's been a decline in the worldwide population of bees.

Two of the main reasons are disease and habitat loss.

But recent research suggests

a new generation of pesticides may also be to blame.

Imagine a world without bees.

Crops would disappear, flowers would go unpollinated

and honey would be a thing of the past.

No, this isn't science fiction, it's rapidly becoming science fact.

In recent years, disease and loss of habitat

has decimated bee populations.

But the latest threat to their survival

is a new breed of pesticides.

Neonicotinoids -

they are systemic insecticides. Nerve toxins related to nicotine.

They're used as a seed dressing on lots of crop cereals,

on oilseed rape and sunflower and so-on. So when the farmer buys the seed,

it's covered in a little coating of neonicotinoid.

He sows the seed in the ground, and as the plant grows,

it absorbs the chemical, which spreads through all the leaves

of the plant and it protects it, so if nay pest insect comes along

and eats the leaves or sucks on the sap, it kills it.

The disadvantage is you get tiny amounts of these chemicals

in the pollen and the nectar of the flowers,

if it's a crop that flowers, like oilseed rape.

So the real worry is that when bees or other pollinating insects

feed on the flowers, they're going to be poisoned.

To help further the study of bee mortality,

members of the Scottish Beekeepers Association are using new technology

to gather data from their hives.

The monitors in the hives themselves- send pulses out to this unit here

and once it receives the information,it then sends that out automatically,

once every 24 hours to Newcastle University.

And from there, that information

then gets sent out to Chris Connelly- at Dundee University.

I understand how the bees are doing what they're doing here,

but I don't know the science behind it all.

And this is one way of collecting the data.

Once the data is gathered from the hives,

it's fed into scientific studies,

funded by the Insect Pollinators Initiative,

and used by places like this.

What we're hoping to collect is a range of acoustic recordings

that may indicate activity of bees.

And so it's going to provide us a finger on the pulse

across Scotland in Scottish beekeepers' hives.

And this will help us

inform what we should be doing in our labs,

in terms of what potentially might be the problems.

What specifically are you finding here in the lab?

Because we're a neuroscience department in a medical school,

we're experienced at looking at brains

with respect of human diseases.

Doing the same techniques on the bee, we can see how the bee brain works.

And we can see how the pesticides

perturb the ability for information transfer in the brain.

And what we are seeing, as we'd expect,

pesticides have a major effect on the bee brain.

And there are major learning deficits.

It's not just honeybees that are affected.

Prof David Goulson recently published a study of the effects

of a neonicotinoid pesticide on bumblebees.

We compared treated nests exposed to- neonicotinoid with control nests

that just had healthy nectar and pollen to feed on.

And the treated nests... grew more slowly,

something was going wrong with them.

At the end of the season, they produced 85% fewer queens,

if they'd been treated with neonicotinoid, which is obviously a pretty dramatic reduction.

The potential harm these pesticides- could be causing populations

of both bumblebees and honeybees is so significant

that some European countries have already banned them.

So is this something we in the UK can afford to ignore?

It's said that in the world in general, for every five mouthfuls

of food you eat, two mouthfuls are generated

by bees pollinating the fruit, the vegetables, whatever it might be.

So if you imagine taking out all the nice things,

the fruit, the soft fruit, various other things, avocados, all these

other nice fruits that we quite njoy- eating, you would be left with...

porridge.

And could you survive on porridge?

Yes, you could. But it would be quite nice to have plums and strawberries

and all these other things.

Last year, Nick spent some time learning to cook

in the great outdoors from bushcraft expert Patrick McGlinchy.

This year, we've brought them back together, but this time around,

it's on Nick's home patch.

I earned a Michelin star cooking with the very best of Scotland's produce.

Patrick McGlinchey is a bushcraft and wild food expert

and knows just where to forage out some fantastic wild tastes.

I want to combine our passions,

blending the kind of farm produce that I'm used to cooking with

with some of Patrick's altogether unusual foraged ingredients,

to create dishes that will make your taste buds sing.

Aren't we? I hope so, Nick.

But if it doesn't, I'll give you a song instead.

Thank you for the faith you have in my cooking(!)

Today we're making a salad of wild foraged leaves

with crispy chicken thigh and pig nuts.

You won't find pignuts in any supermarket aisle,

so Patrick foraged for them earlier.

Here we have the pignut -

a fantastic little springtime snack. But first of all,

we've got to dig it out.

In amongst this ball of soil, we have the nut.

And you can see the flesh when I just scrape the skin back.

It tastes like a fresh hazelnut.

They can be cooked in a number of ways,

and I'm sure Nick will have a surprise in store for us.

Well, before I start on the nuts, we have to get the chicken on.

I've boned this out

and I'm just going to fry it in a warm pan, skin side down

for about 30 minutes until the skin becomes really beautiful and crispy

like crackling. Sounds delicious.

It IS delicious.

So a bit of salt on here before it goes into the pan.

SIZZLES

Oh, that's a lovely sound. Just get that lovely sizzle.

Really quite a low heat, and the fat starts to melt,

and then it renders out.

We'll use that fat as the dressing for the salad.

Sounds delicious, Nick, I'm drooling already.

The base for the salad will be wild leaves foraged by Patrick.

Lime leaves? Lime leaves, yeah.

Young and tender at this time of the year.

Absolutely at their best.

What's this fella here? This is Jack-By-The-Hedge - another- garlic that's out in springtime.

It's not overpowering.

That's where it's going - in the salad. Lime leaves,

hawthorn - is that hawthorn? Some hawthorn, slightly nutty.

And all this stuff is good for you.

So not only is it going to be delicious and tickle your taste buds,

it'll be healthy as well. Good for the soul.

That's the base for the salad, but I'm going to add

a few of these sweetlittle baby gem leaves. Not too many.

I'll break them up. That gives you a textural contrast.

So that's the leaves. Put those to one side.

Brings us to the earthnuts or the pignuts.

This is not how they appear, though,- is it? No, no, Nick.

It took me three hours.

I can imagine it's quite a long, laborious task.

But they'll be worth it.

So I could add some of those and toast them with the chicken?

Throw them in, give them a good roasting. When this is cooked,

do I have to share it with you?

Yeah! That's the deal!

So I'm not left to just clean the kitchen up? You can do that as well.

After the chicken is cooked and resting,

it's time to make the dressing.

First add a little white wine vinegar into the chicken pan.

This goo on the bottom, we'll justdissolve that to make this dressing.

And it has all the richness of the chicken fat,

but with that caramelised deposit.

It's almost like a gravy. Mmm!

Finish with a little mustard and honey,

then mix the leaves, nuts and chicken together

with the delicious dressing, and it's time to try.

Tuck in. Tell me...

You got enough there, Nick(?)

Wonderful.

It's kind of complex from all those different flavours,

and I loved those pignuts!

Really crunchy, and they've absorbed- the flavour of the chicken. Yeah.

I think this is the perfect fusion between farmed and foraged.

Still to come, the images that reveal

the changing face of rural life.

This is about 1900.

It shows a car leaving John O'Groats for a trip to Land's End.

Quite an incredible journey when you see the machine involved.

And capturing memories of bothy nights.

What we're also finding is people

communicate amongst each other in bothy books,

which is something really interesting.

For the next 12 months,

a new lifeboat will be stationed at Leverburgh in Harris.

At the moment, there's a boat in Stornoway

and another 135 miles away in Barra. So this new boat will increase

lifeboat cover in the Outer Hebrides.

Guest presenter Cat Cubie went to meet the crew in training.

The RNLI is a charity that's really close to my heart.

I've been shaking a tin for them

to raise money ever since I can remember.

So I was really excited when I found- out I was going to be doing

a training exercise with the brand new Leverburgh lifeboat.

This was not quite what I expected.

Lifeboat crews train continuously to-prepare for the toughest situations,

and it's exercises like these that make sure

they're ready and able to save lives.

I've been a keen sailor all my life,- so I know what it's like

to be capsized, sitting on top of an upside-down boat.

I've never had to be rescued though, from the open water.

This is quite an experience. I do hope they hurry up!

The people of Harris were out in force to greet the lifeboat

as it arrived in Leverburgh Harbour for the first time.

This is a very small community -

there's only about 200 people in this community.

But immediately 17 people came forward - plenty to man the boat.

I know there are more people bursting to come forward.

Once we've got it going, we'll introduce them, too.

What do you think the lifeboat station means to the people,

to the community in Leverburgh?

We had a wonderful reception today by the community.

It's a really big deal for everyone.

You need that. The community really- has to pull together, so they can

all volunteer and support the guys who go out on the lifeboat.

Finding the right crew from local volunteers is essential to the success of a new lifeboat.

And the RNLI have pretty high standards.

Husband-and-wife team

Angus and Nicola Morrison are two of the new crew.

How important do you think it is to have this service

here in Leverburgh?

Absolutely vital, because the gap between Barra and Stornoway,

it's a fair gap.

If you're needing help in a hurry,

obviously having the lifeboat here will cut that time dramatically.

As you know,sometimes time really matters at sea.

It's a matter of life or death in a way, because

if you don't get there quickly, you- don't know what's going to happen.

So you need to get there as fast as you can, as safely as possible.

Angus has a very personal reason for joining the RNLI.

I wouldn't actually have knownmy father if it wasn't for the RNLI.

In 1970, the ship was lost off the Isle of Man, and unfortunately,

two crew were lost, but he was one of the two that were saved.

They were in a life raft for about seven hours,

until picked up by the lifeboat and taken ashore.

If it wasn't for them, he wouldn't be here.

Seven hours is a long time. Absolutely, long, long time.

Any longer, they wouldn't have been here.

They were unable to help themselves out of the life raft,

when they did finally get to them.

Both their lives are indebted to the-lifeboat crew, horrendous conditions.

Back then, when they didn't have the fancy all-weather lifeboats

we have nowadays.

Since RNLI began back in 1824, they have saved over 139,000 lives.

It's all thanks to the bravery of the volunteers.

You know the dangers of being involved with the RNLI.

How do you feel about that? doesn't really come into my mind.

I know what an essential serviceit is, what difference it can make

and has made in the past.

Hiya! Quite pleased to see you. Try and relax.

Guide your legs into it.

There we go.

That's you. It's pretty chilly in there.

You can totally understand,

it would be awful to spend any longer in there.

That's why the lifeboats need to be able to get to

someone as quickly as possible.

The Leverburgh lifeboat will be fully operational from 11 May,

and the crew will be on call 24 hours a day to help save lives.

Take it from me, they're pretty good at it.

If you have a comment about anything you see in the programme

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

The weather here at Glendoick gardens is absolutely chucking it

down, but what about the prospects for this weekend and beyond?

To find out, here's Christopher Blanchett with the Landward weather forecast.

Hello.

Hello. After

Hello. After the

Hello. After the last couple of days of fairly heavy rain and

strong winds, the weekend is not looking too bad. For Saturday dry

and bright conditions. Here's the reason why. A large area of high

pressure asserting itself overhead. A strong high as well, meaning dry,

bright and settled weather. Certainly for the start of the

weekend. The breeze, fresh at times, feeding

in across the Western Isles. At times into Argyll and the central

belt. The chance of a small shower here and there as well. 12-13

Celsius. Out of the wind, quite pleasant. Across further north we

could see highs of 14 Celsius, for Aberdeen.

Across the north-west though, particularly the Western Isles, the

Northern Isles a shower or two here. Temperatures down towards freezing

across many northern ranges. The chance of sleet across the north-

west Highlands. Winds will be fresh, from a west terly direction W the

fresh westerly we cannot rule out a wind-chill. Something to bear in

mind, because it is the middle of May. We can expect force three to

force four. The risk of a shower. Good visibility. Over in the east,

very similar. Probably drier here. Later on, for both areas we could

see that wind speed increasing, perhaps force five or seven later

on. As we go into the evening, we can see the rain working its way in.

That will signal a change for the second half of the weekend. Before

it arrives generally dry and not a chilly night. For Sunday - there's

that high pressure. There's the low pressure. Between the isobars are

squeezed and strong winds on the way. Accompanying the strong winds

heavy and persistent rain, particularly in the west, a yellow

weather warning. Not a pleasant day. Next week, it

will be a showery start, as the low pressure continue toss pull away.

The weather front has gone through and we will see -- continues to

pull away. The weather front has gone through and we will see this.

For the start of the week, there will be a number of showers around.

Between dry and bright conditions. Up to around 12 Celsius. A north-

westerly fresh breeze. Not as strong as Sunday, but something to

be aware of. By Tuesday we are in that low. We have cooler conditions.

Some showers will be wintry over the hills. In the south, the best

of the weather, highs of 10 Celsius. By Wednesday t high pressure we saw

in the Atlantic is starting to win out.

Highs of 13-14 Celsius.Th -- that's Landward set about re-photographing-

Although we saw lots of evidence of man's

influence on the landscape, we rarely saw man in the landscape.

But photographs can give us a real sense how rural life

has changed for those who live and work in the countryside,

as Sarah has been finding out.

As part of the landscape project in 2010,

we sent Colin Prior to some very unusual places, and they had

all seen incredible change since the original photograph was taken.

And Colin's photos are amazing, but- for me, there is one thing missing.

Where are all the people?

How much has life changed for them in the last century?

So I have come to the Wick Heritage- Museum to sniff out

some good pictures to re-photograph.

Hello. Hello, welcome.

Harry Grey is chairman of the Wick Heritage Society.

See some of our treasures.

He looks after the huge photographic archive.

How many photographs do you have here?

Well, we have a collection of 50,000 glass slides

and negatives from the Johnson collection.

The Johnsons were a family of photographers who began

work in Wick in 1863.

These photographs capture Wick society and life.

Yes, he captured the social scene, charabancs leaving from Thurso,

the early flights coming into Wick.

Dancers, balls, he photographed everything.

This is about 1900,

it shows a car leaving John O'Groats- for a trip to Land's End.

Quite an incredible journey

when you see the machine that is involved in this.

Unfortunately, this car never made it.

It caught fire before it could complete the 946 mile road trip.

John O'Groats is the most northern end of the longest distance between

two points on the British mainland,- Land's End being the other.

And I'm on the lookout for three cyclists about to embark on their epic journey.

But given the weather, I think they may be in the local cafe.

Ready for the off? Yup. Are you all prepared? No.

How long has this trip been in the planning?

We should have done this three or four years ago,

when we were a lot younger and fitter.

The reason we're doing it now is because we feel

if we leave any later it might be too late.

We will forget where Land's End is located!

Are you all keen cyclists? Members of a club? I'm not a keen cyclist.

I don't really like cycling. OK. don't know why I'm doing it, really.

I should know by now that if these two are sitting in a pub

having a drink, smiling at you, you should not go and join them.

I'd like to take a photo of you guys before you set off,

I've got this old photograph here, which I'd quite like to recreate.

This is a German car that made the same journey you were doing.

Would that be OK?

OK, gentlemen, smile!

Great. Remember, the Landscape Project is still online.

You can find old photographs to start you off on the website.

Click on the Landscape link.

Last week, I spent a night in a remote bothy.

It was certainly different from a night in a hotel

and it is an experience that will stay with me for quite some time.

Now the project has been set up to bring people together

to share their memories of bothy nights.

Scotland has some amazing areas for hiking and some terrific

long-distance footpaths like this one on the West Highland Way.

For many four, part of the attraction up are the bothies,

the small, simple structures dotted- over Scotland mainly for shelter

but also, perhaps more importantly,- a place for folk to meet.

Today, I'm on my way to a bothy in the company of Martyn Robertson,

a filmmaker and an artist.

We're going down the eastern side of Loch Lomond to Doune Bothy,

and were going there because I've been involved in a project

with National Theatre of Scotland which brings together

the great outdoors and walking with making theatre.

This is your bothy then? This is It's quite impressive, isn't it?it.

Yes. Why are we here? This is one of many that are pretty special.

Along with my colleagues, Matilda Brown and Martin Travers,

we've been placing bothy boxes in bothies across Scotland.

We've been trying to gather people's thoughts, feelings,

experiences when they've been staying over in different bothies.

Our idea is to take those ideas

and develop characters for a new piece of theatre.

So everybody has a special bothy story, thrown it in there,

see what you come up with.

Absolutely. You were here a month ago?

Yeah, about four weeks ago, we put a box in here,

so I'm looking forward to finding it.

A leap of faith. Yes.

This is your bothy. And the fire. Quite civilised. Where's your box?

Our box is just over here. Is it?Yes. That's it. Let's have a look.

Is this an exciting moment for you?- Yes.

People have been recording their memories of what has happened

to them in the bothy?

They have, they have been leaving thoughts and feelings,

which has really helped us with character.

Let's start.

There are some rolls in here, some tattie scones,

let's look in the book.

"We've got a haven of peace and loveliness.

"A warm shelter from the rain.

"A place of stillness in the shifting world, but the floor was hard."

So it really does bring out the emotions in people, a bit of poetry.

It does, and people go to bothies for different reasons,

that's what we're finding.

What were also finding as people communicate amongst each other

in bothy books, which is really interesting.

Here's another piece.

"I fantasised about drying out, warming up and doing laundry.

"No laundry, no hot shower, no dry boots, and in bed with a hat on.

"Still, we managed to make it to the- Drover's Inn for steak and ale pie.

What's the idea with this?

You have a disparate group of comments and stories.

We are hoping to create a new piece of theatre for Scotland.

We've been exploring the idea of the bothy in an urban situation,

what happens when you build a bothy

and place it right in the middle of a city like Glasgow?

What happens if you take a bothy on tour?

Maybe we will have a touring bothy that can go around Scotland

and across the world.

At this stage, we are still unsure,

still pitching ideas to National Theatre of Scotland.

Is the idea to take all the stories- and hope a story leaps

out at you, or are you going to weave a narrative through it?

We've started developing a veryearly narrative about two characters

both coming to the same bothy for different reasons.

People go to be on their own, to be in a place that is quiet.

People go to be with people,to play music, to celebrate culture,

so we think if we can begin to tease- out some of the stories,

there's something really exciting in there.

Euan and the bothy box project.

Before I get put back in my box,

just time to tell you what's coming- up on next week's programme.

The island abattoir, improving animal welfare.

Because we're small, every animal is individual, every person

and their relationship with that animal is individual.

And creating gourmet food from forest ingredients.

There are popping! That one just jumped out the pan.

Is that meant to happen? What's going on?!

So, please join us for that the same time next week,

Friday night at 7PM on BBC2 Scotland.

In the meantime, from all the team here,