Episode 2 Landward

Landward - the weekly magazine keeping you in touch with the

Scottish countryside. In a moment I'll have the second of

my two films marking fifty years since the Beeching report that cut

Scotland's rail network in half. But first here's what else is coming up

on the programme... Discovering the scale of lead

poisoning in swans. These birds have high lead levels in their blood.

There is nothing naturally in the environment that could get it there

so it stands to reason that it is most likely from picking up lead

shot. The livestock parasite thriving in

our wet climate. It has a very complicated life-cycle

most of which is spent out on pasture so it is very much affected

by the climate and weather patterns. And the Red Squirrel is one of our

top five most iconic species. They could be resting up in the

squirrel drays behind us here. They could be curled up listening to

us at the moment. This year marks the fiftieth

anniversary since the publication of the infamous Beeching report, the

document that sealed the fate of hundreds of rural railways across

the nation. I went to the Borders to find out about the single biggest

closure and the plans to bring it back to life.

The Beeching report led to the closure of 5,000 miles of railway

track and 2,000 stations across the UK. This viaduct just south of

Galashiels once carried trains linking Edinburgh in the North with

Carlisle in the south. It was known as the Waverley line. When the

Beeching axe fell, it became one of the most protested closures in the

country. The railway was seen as vital to the local economic

prosperity of the Borders. Lord David Steele who later became MP for

Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles campaigned against the closure of

the Waverley line. At the time of the Beeching report I

wasn't even the MP. It became one of the big issues in the by-election in

March 1965. What were your concerns about the Waverley line going? The

impact locally of creating probably the largest part of Scotland without

any railway. At least in the Highlands they had railways. Here in

the Borders we would be left with nothing between Berwick and

Carlisle. Despite the best efforts of campaigners, the line closed in

January 1969. Not before protesters made one last stand right here at

Newcastleton level crossing. On that night sleeper, the last train out,

we saw it off at Galashields. There was a big demonstration at Howick

where they loaded a coffin onto the tracks dressed as the minister of

transport. The press all left and we thought that is it finished. I went

to bed in the train then stopped outside Newcastleton. One of the

guards came along the line shouting my name saying, can you come back

because they are blocking the line. I got dressed and came down and

discovered this huge, most of them people from the village and

elsewhere, were standing on the level crossing with the gates shut

so the train could not go through. They arrested the parish minister.

That really inflamed things! Eventually I did a deal that if I

could go to the police and get him released would they agree? This was

about two o'clock in the morning. They agreed that and eventually

people dispersed and allowed the train to go. It arrived in St

Pancras in London about two and half hours late.

When the Waverley line finally closed, stations like this lay

dormant and the Borders became the first region in the UK without a

rail link. Now, after years of campaigning, work has begun on

re-establishing part of that line between Edinburgh and Tweedbank.

have got lots of challenges, particularly where the original

railway was breached by roadworks over the years, most notably just

south of where we are standing, we have the Edinburgh city bypass.

Later on this year we will put a bridge under the Edinburgh city

bypass, one of the busiest roads in Scotland, so that is a terrific

challenge. Beyond that there is a viaduct across a roundabout. We have

hundreds of thousands of tons of earthworks to move. Stations to

build and finally the track to lay. There's a huge amount of work and

that will cost a huge amount of money. What is the final figure?The

cost of construction is about �295 million.

If everything goes to plan the new Borders railway will be up and

running in 2015 but for the first time in over 40 years passengers

will be able to travel from Edinburgh to Tweedbank directly by

train. I was on the last train out and my

ambition has always been to be on the first train back in again and it

looks as though that is going to happen.

This is the Year of Natural Scotland and to celebrate it Scottish Natural

heritage are highlighting the nation's top five iconic animals.

This week Euan is on the trail of the Red squirrel.

Red squirrels are woodland creatures. In fact their preferred

environment is pine forest like this one on the South Side of Loch Ness.

This wood contains all the key ingredients that make it a perfect

habitat for red squirrels. Acting as my guide today is squirrel expert

Ian Collier. We are looking for signs that red squirrels are living

in this woodland and a sure sign is some of the Scottish pine cones

being eaten on the floor. So they are here? Yes, they are it is ideal

habitat. Just seeing them is the difficulty. Yeah, that is a

difficult thing, there are signs but we haven't seen one this morning.

They could be resting up in the squirrel drays. They could well be

listening to us at the moment. This is a squirrel's dray. I said it was

the shape of a large football. It is flat because we opened it out. It is

held into the tree and inside they would bring in moss and stripped

bark and they would take mouthfuls of this bark into the dray. There

are bits of feathers, sheep's wool. There is some string here to keep it

all nice and cosy for the squirrels inside. How many squirrels do you

get in that? You would probably get two or three young squirrels tucked

up inside there, nice and cosy inside the twigs and the moss.

day we filmed it was sunny but rather chilly. And the squirrels

were staying put in the treetop drays. However, over the years

Landward have captured them on film. The red squirrels were once common

across the whole country but in the last century we have seen a rapid

decline in numbers. Today there are an estimated 120,000 red squirrels

left in Britain and at least three quarters of them live in Scotland.

The future success of the red squirrel is dependent on the

management of pine forests. Forestry Commission Scotland are looking at

ways of designing and managing their woodlands for the benefit of the red

squirrel. Throughout Scotland we are aiming to establish 19 stronghold

woodlands and they would give continuous seeds for us and very

good habitat management for red squirrels. That is an awful lot of

management and time and money for one wee animal? It is although it

benefits other species as well. red squirrel is a priority but other

species will benefit. The red squirrel is one of my

favourite animals and for me fully deserves to be on the big five list.

But what is your favourite wild animal? Last week we asked you to

send in your own wildlife week we will be showcasing some more

of your pictures on the programme. So keep sending them in. More

details on the website bbc.co.uk/landward.

Still to come. Euan helps scientists assess the level of lead poisoning

in swans. In birds we see symptoms of lead poisoning manifest itself.

They are trembling, they have low slung necks.

And Nick meets another Artisan baker. The convention is it takes a

lot of kneading to make bread and I'm going to disprove that now.

The last couple of years have been particularly tough on farmers with

sustained spells of wet weather causing havoc with crops. But the

incessant rain is also causing problems for livestock farmers as

the conditions have helped the spread of a nasty parasite.

This is the liver of a cow that has been infected with the Liver Fluke

parasite. It is a problem which is becoming more and more common across

Scotland. Liver Fluke is thriving after a number of particularly wet

years created the ideal conditions for the parasite. In fact, the

number of cases of Liver Fluke have increased tenfold in the last three

months. Liver Fluke is a flatworm parasite that inflicts sheep and

cattle and has a complicated life cycle, most of which is spent out in

pasture so it is affected by the climate and weather patterns. It

sheds lots of eggs. They hatch and go in search of a mud snail. The

parasite grows in the snail. It sheds in the pasture as cysts and

the unfortunate sheep and cattle get those. The cysts hatch and they chew

their way through the wall in the intestines. That is when they cause

disease. It is a very severe disease. It can reduce weight gain,

poor conception rates, reduced milk yield and affects the farmers

pocket. Alan Ross farms cattle and sheep across the north-east. 2010 we

lost two of our own homebred calves. We got the vet involved and did a

post-mortem and found they had Liver Fluke. The calves had never moved

off the farm they were born in so that told us that there was Liver

Fluke in the north-east of Scotland. There were no symptoms? No, none

whatsoever. Very surprising. That is one of the key things, it is very

difficult to detect. The problem is so acute that

companies are now keeping records of the cattle and sheep infected with

Liver Fluke as they pass through the abattoir. This is providing the

first concrete evidence of the impact Liver Fluke is having on the

industry. We did a lot of abattoir testing. We previously saw that the

impact of Liver Fluke was running in about 19% of cattle, that was three

or four years ago. Recently we studied over 1,500 cattle and 38%

showed signs of having Liver Fluke at some stage in their lives. Can

you give us an idea of how much this costs the industry? In a recent

abattoir study it was shown that cattle had at least 15 kilograms

carcass weight less, that's roue0 pounds an animal. -- roughly.

is a big deal? It is a big deal. There is not much farmers can do

about the weather but they can dose their livestock with Flukazoids but

it is not as simple as just administering a drug. Drugs don't

kill it at all stages. There will be times of the year when for example

juveniles are coming through the liver and treatment at that time

would be useless. We always advise farmers to talk to their vets and

get an understanding of the life cycle of the parasite and also the

treatment options. It is abrave step for you to speak

out given that a lot of farmers might not want to publicise the fact

they have Liver Fluke? Yes, but you don't cure anything with your head

in the sand. If there is a problem, you try and take best advice

available and deal with it. That's you see on the programme or have a

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

please drop us an email. Now, the weather here at Strathearn is still

a bit fresh for this time of year, I reckon. What about the prospects for

this weekend and beyond? To find out, here's Christopher Blanchett

wonderful story to share with us, Much milder this weekend. On

Saturday, the wind will be light. There will be light outbreaks of

rain in the north-east. Good spells of sunshine elsewhere. It could feel

quite pleasant. Decent temperatures. More stubborn cloud in parts of the

East. They will be some light rain mainly over the hills. Colour in the

East Coast -- viewing colour. The best conditions will be over the

north-west Highlands. The winds will be light. Stronger by the end of the

day. Cloudier skies for the Angus hills. Here is the inshore waters

forecast. Moderate visibility, but who are in the East. -- per in the

East. --poor. For Saturday afternoon and into the evening, the rain works

its way in. There will be deal force winds. --gail force. As we head

through towards Sunday, you can see the tight isobars. The rain is still

with us for central and southern parts. 15 degrees could be possible

around the Moray Firth in the sunshine. Next week, low-pressure

works its way away from us towards the North. Monday is a transition

day. Try and bright for many. Not quite as dry and writers the

weekend. On Tuesday, another system is above us. Not quite as cold. It

will be windy, particularly over the central lowlands. Midweek, still

rather dusty conditions. Brain around that time is. Highs of ten or

Last week, Nick met an artisan baker who specialised in game pies. This

week, he's off to meet a man who is passionate about getting back to

basics with bread. It's known as the staff of life. It's considered to be

one of the most important foods we one of the most important foods we

eat. But the bread we have become used to is mainly factory made with

lots of yeast and additives to make large quantities in a short space of

time. So I've come in search of the perfect Scottish loaf. And who

better to talk to than Andrew Whitley, one of Scotland's top

artisan bakers? OK, well, here we've got some Scottish wheat grown here

in East Lothian. Scotland is quite capable of feeding itself with bread

from the fields around. So we've got flour, salt and some water. And we

just pour all that in and then mix it with one hand until all the flour

is wet and no more. This is not kneading, this is just dispersing

the water into the flour. The conventional wisdom is that it takes

a lot of kneading to make bread. And I'm going to disprove that now.

fascinated! If you just take a piece and pull it, it just breaks. There

is no structure, it's just like a paste. The gluten has not started to

develop. So we've got our first stage done. We're going to leave

this for 15 or 20 minutes and then we'll come back and see what it

looks like. OK, Nick, this has had 20 minutes

sitting with nothing happening to it. Take the cover off, just wet

your hands on a little bit of water and then pick up some dough. And

look at the difference now. Look at that. It's elastic.Do you see that

gluten pan? That's what we call a window-pane of gluten and that has

formed from the paste that we had a minute ago, that is formed without

any kneading at all. --that has formed. So for all these years of my

muscle power... You've been ploughing away on the dough for no

purpose at all. Extraordinary!So this is a beautifully soft, stretchy

dough and that's really as much as we need to do. We've just brought it

together. And now we need to add our raising agent, which is the leaven.

The sourdough that's been rising for the best part of 12 hours.

having a moment because this all makes sense. Just work that in. I'll

do the same here. So you see that's really all I need to do. I'm going

to dip it in the rice flour here. Just so that it gets a coating on

the edge. And just shoogle it around like that. And then pick it up and

put it into the proving basket which, as you can see, is made out

of bent cane. And the really important thing is that it supports

the dough. By itself it would be so soft and wet that it would flow into

a pancake. Right, Nick, this has been rising

for about four hours and you can see that it has more than doubled in

size and if you press very gently on it you can feel that a little bit of

oomph left, but not much. So we know it's ready to go into the oven.

come up as high as it's going to go. Exactly. And then we tip it out very

gently. Just shape it like that and then straight into the oven. And

slide it in onto the oven bottom like that. And it's in slow and out

fast. How long would you bake it for? Probably about 30 minutes in

this oven, maybe even less. Because it's very hot. It's at 280 degrees.

But in a brick oven with retained heat, because there is no flame or

elements throwing heat at it, it'll bake quicker because the heat is

more penetrating. A good knife is really important

You know, this is extraordinary bread. An amazing crumb. The crust,

the flavour, the acidity, the complexity of it. And the most

amazing thing is that we're not in France and we're not in Italy, we

are in Scotland and this is Scottish bread made with Scottish flour.

Extraordinary. Since 2005, it's been illegal in

Scotland to shoot birds over weltands using lead shot. But it's

believed some are ignoring the ban. Back in February, the Wildfowl and

Wetlands Trust captured, x-rayed and blood-tested a large number of

swans, ducks and geese to check for lead. And Euan was there to witness

Shotgun cartridges are full of small pellets. Now, traditionally, like

these ones, they were made of lead. And when the gun erupts, it sends a

spray of these pellets into the air. Now, not all of them will hit the

target. Inevitably, many will land on the ground. Birds can then

swallow these lead pellets, mistaking them for grit, which helps

digestion. High levels of lead are poisonous to birds, just as they are

for people. The pellets lodge in the birds' gizzard, killing them slowly.

This mallard is displaying the symptoms of lead poisoning. Lead

affects the nervous system, destroying balance and coordination.

For eight years, using lead shot has been illegal for wetlands. Instead,

shooters are supposed to use alternatives like this. Steel shot.

But birds are still dying from lead poisoning. And to find out how

widespread the problem is, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust are

testing these birds here. The birds, migratory whooper swans and resident

mute swans, are funnelled down a net-covered swan pipe towards a

narrow penning area. Once there, they are sorted and velcroed into

swan straitjackets and the fitted to its leg and this means we

can then track it thereafter. They also go through some health

screening processes, so one of those things as we are testing the blood

and that will be sent off to the laboratory and tested for levels of

lead in their bloodstream. What is the effect of lead in the

bloodstream? There is no safe levels of lead. In birds, we see symptoms

of lead poisoning manifest itself. So we see birds quite often

trembling, low-slung necks, they can't support their neck any more.

This is quite obvious with this one with their lovely long necks

usually. And there's a variety of other symptoms. They're often

emaciated and not feeding properly. It's a really nasty disease.

tests, year in year out, show elevated blood levels of lead. So of

these birds have got high lead levels in the blood, there is

nothing else naturally in the environment that can get it there.

Then it stands to reason the most likely place it is coming from is

from picking up those lead shots. And, as we get the x-ray machine and

look in their gizzards, what we are seeing year in year out is pieces of

shot in there. This box of steel cartridges cost me just over �5,

which is actually cheaper than the lead alternative, so why do people

continue to use lead? Steel is lighter, yet harder than lead and

there is a perception that steel shot can damage valuable shotguns.

Also that it's more difficult to kill clearly and there is a higher

risk of ricochet. Is there an issue with compliance? We don't know if

there is an issue in Scotland. I'm aware of one conviction since 2005,

that was just last year. And I'm also aware that Grampian Police are

looking closely at a number of weapon sites. There is a suspicion

that people may be continuing to use lead. But to date we've got no real

hard evidence that people are not complying with the regulation.

the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust staff were packing up at the end of

the day, a member of the teams opted by whooper swan displaying symptoms

of lead poisoning. It was so ill it had to be put down. A post-mortem

examination revealed the extent of the lead poisoning. The x-ray

revealed that there were 31 pellets in the desert, of which we have

discovered 28 so far. --in the gizzard. And that almost certainly

would have killed it if it hadn't been put to sleep. Whooper swans are

migratory, so it's not possible to prove whether the lead shot was

ingested in Scotland or abroad. want to see birds not have lead

poisoning. That means that there's going to have to be less lead shot

around the environment. How we get to that is for the shooting industry

to look at. Individual people who shoot, hopefully they'll see

evidence that we collect each year and they'll be able to consider that

evidence and decide for themselves what is more important, really, the

tradition of keeping lead as a good ballistic or the tradition of caring

for the wider countryside and the Euan and the impact of lead shot on

swans, ducks and geese. Now, before I fly off, I've just got time to

tell you what's coming up on next week's programme.

The future of Scotland's pig industry. Feed makes up

approximately 65% of the cost of finishing pigs. It has quite a big

impact on the profitability of the pig enterprise. And Sarah meets the

green action angels. I'm loving the pink high-vis. I've not seen these

before. These are uber cool. please join us for that and much