:00:28. > :00:32.Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward, your weekly guide to the
:00:33. > :00:35.working world of the Scottish countryside. In a moment we'll be
:00:36. > :00:39.finding out why Scotland punches above its weight in the potato
:00:40. > :00:44.industry. But first here's what else is coming up on the programme: Sarah
:00:45. > :00:49.explores the culture of the Highland travellers. It was fine when the
:00:50. > :00:53.weather was good, but when the weather was bad it was a pretty
:00:54. > :00:56.tough life. Nick begins a new series on foods
:00:57. > :01:00.linked to specific locations. Apparently this is where the real
:01:01. > :01:04.Bridies come from? That's right. The Forfar Bridies. The real Forfar
:01:05. > :01:09.Bridies. And I complete my journey down the
:01:10. > :01:13.River Clyde. The last of a long line and many folk have generations of
:01:14. > :01:14.memories sailing down the water to the resorts on the Clyde in their
:01:15. > :01:27.heyday. Every autumn there is a flurry of
:01:28. > :01:31.activity in our fields as the potato crop is gathered. It is a hugely
:01:32. > :01:38.important industry for Scottish farmers who grow potatoes for seed
:01:39. > :01:41.and consumption. For hundreds of years, the humble tattie was the
:01:42. > :01:46.staple of the Scottish nation, feeding everybody from crofters to
:01:47. > :01:50.factory workers. In recent years, our love affair has diminished as
:01:51. > :02:00.consumers went in search of low carb alternatives. But the potato
:02:01. > :02:03.industry is fighting back. I met up with Scotland's potato ambassador,
:02:04. > :02:06.Peter Grewer, the man who's charged with promoting potatoes across the
:02:07. > :02:12.nation and who needs them every single day. Potatoes are a massively
:02:13. > :02:17.important crop the Scottish agriculture. We are growing - in old
:02:18. > :02:23.money - about 66,000 acres, 26, 27,000 hectares. That is over a
:02:24. > :02:28.million tonnes of spuds. We are growing about 22% on average of the
:02:29. > :02:32.growing crop in Britain. When you figure we've only got about 10% of
:02:33. > :02:37.the population, we are punching above our weight. Why is that? Why
:02:38. > :02:40.is Scotland so good at growing potatoes? A lot of it is climate,
:02:41. > :02:43.our landscape and soil suits it. We have a very temperate climate, our
:02:44. > :02:50.summers aren't too hot and we have ample rainfall. We have long, summer
:02:51. > :02:55.days. We have harder winters which stops the spread of disease and
:02:56. > :03:04.viruses. We're well suited in Scotland to producing high quality
:03:05. > :03:08.potatoes. The Scots connection with potatoes went beyond the dinner
:03:09. > :03:11.plate. As up until not so long ago, generations of schoolchildren took
:03:12. > :03:13.to the field every October in the tattie holidays to take part in
:03:14. > :03:26.howking. It's changed a lot since I was
:03:27. > :03:29.howking tatties when I was young. I've got harvesters now, self
:03:30. > :03:34.propelled harvesters that can lift 20 acres in one day, which is four
:03:35. > :03:37.or 500 tonnes of potatoes in one day from one harvester. They come into
:03:38. > :03:40.cold storage, so we have stores that will hold 3000 tonnes in wooden
:03:41. > :03:49.boxes and crates and keep them temperature controlled through the
:03:50. > :03:55.winter. Held in a big fridge basically, at three degrees. We can
:03:56. > :03:58.supply the market for 12 months of the year with Scottish potatoes.
:03:59. > :04:02.What's going on here as it still looks quite labour-intensive? These
:04:03. > :04:09.are your tattie graders doing a sizing job. We can spread them into
:04:10. > :04:13.three or four different sizes. The pickers are picking out any obvious
:04:14. > :04:17.defects they can see, any stones or earth that has got through the
:04:18. > :04:21.harvesting process. When is the big uptake in demand for Scottish
:04:22. > :04:25.potatoes? It is weather-related. If you get a cold snap, and we have had
:04:26. > :04:32.a couple of hard winters, we see demand going up. People want a nice,
:04:33. > :04:35.warm baked tattie and a hearty soup. And at Christmas time everyone likes
:04:36. > :04:44.roast tatties for their Christmas dinner. We have got some
:04:45. > :04:50.newly-lifted tatties in front of us. Peter, what have we got? We have
:04:51. > :04:54.three different varieties. This is the King Edward. Perfect for baking,
:04:55. > :04:59.lifted out the fields two or three weeks ago. A wee bit of butter,
:05:00. > :05:02.that's all you need. Look at that, lovely. Ambassador, what does that
:05:03. > :05:09.mean? It's through the Potato Council. There are ten ambassadors
:05:10. > :05:12.across Great Britain. Of which I am the sole one for Scotland. It is to
:05:13. > :05:18.provide the link between potato grower and the consumer, the
:05:19. > :05:21.purchaser of potatoes. Has the tattie suffered heavily because of
:05:22. > :05:30.things like the Atkins diet, carbohydrate was the difficult one?
:05:31. > :05:35.It's not just diet, over the last 40 to 50 years, people's diets in
:05:36. > :05:40.general have changed. The potato is not the villain of the piece, it has
:05:41. > :05:43.the ability to be the saviour. It is a complex starch and carbohydrate
:05:44. > :05:50.which is what the body needs for its energy. Even without the skin, they
:05:51. > :05:54.are still very nutrient dense. More potassium than bananas, rich in
:05:55. > :06:04.folic acid. Lots of fibre. Naturally fat-free. What is this one? This is
:06:05. > :06:08.the rooster. The red-skinned rooster. This is a great variety of
:06:09. > :06:12.spud. A fluffy interior, but the flavour with this one really comes
:06:13. > :06:16.out. As a nation hopefully we are starting to eat more potatoes again
:06:17. > :06:22.and recognise the health benefits of the potato. We are eating them on
:06:23. > :06:27.their own with a wee bit of butter. You can't do that with a plate of
:06:28. > :06:32.pasta or a bowl of rice. But you can do it with a tattie. That is the
:06:33. > :06:36.beauty of it. And there's not a lot you can argue with that. And, we've
:06:37. > :06:39.had lunch with the ambassador. Fantastic.
:06:40. > :06:43.Scottish cuisine has seen something of a revival in recent years and
:06:44. > :06:45.recipes have travelled far and wide. But some traditional dishes have
:06:46. > :06:49.never left and have become synonymous with the place they were
:06:50. > :06:52.invented. Over the next few weeks Nick will be going in search of
:06:53. > :06:59.Scottish towns that give their name to a type of food. This week he's in
:07:00. > :07:02.Forfar. Arbroath has its smokies, Selkirk
:07:03. > :07:08.has its bannocks and Aberdeen has its rowies. The mention of some
:07:09. > :07:13.towns in Scotland brings to mind particular foodstuff. But, have you
:07:14. > :07:19.ever thought why? Well, I am about to find out. The Angus town of
:07:20. > :07:26.Forfar, Royal borough and traditional market town, serving
:07:27. > :07:32.surrounding farmland. When you mention Forfar, you think bridie.
:07:33. > :07:36.With its origins surrounded in mystery, I have come to one of the
:07:37. > :07:40.two rival bakeries in Forfar who still produce authentic bridies.
:07:41. > :07:44.Hello. Karen. Nick, how are you? I'm very good, very good. Pleased to
:07:45. > :07:51.meet you. Apparently this is where the real bridies come from? That's
:07:52. > :07:54.right. The Forfar bridie? The real Forfar bridies. What makes a real
:07:55. > :07:58.Forfar bridie? Do you want to come through to the bake house and I'll
:07:59. > :08:04.show you how they are made. Fantastic. No problem, this way.
:08:05. > :08:08.Obviously we make the dough first. The dough is made here. They bring
:08:09. > :08:17.it up here. So it is a beef filling? Yes, stake. Where is that made? Up
:08:18. > :08:21.at the table here. And this is all hand done? All hand done here. And
:08:22. > :08:24.this has been going on for how long? Since 1893. And has the recipe
:08:25. > :08:28.changed? No, not at all. They said it was made for the bride's meal, so
:08:29. > :08:31.hence the horseshoe shape. So obviously, a meat bridie would
:08:32. > :08:35.probably more expensive in those days and it's for good luck, and
:08:36. > :08:40.that would be why they only had it at weddings. Karen, how many bridies
:08:41. > :08:44.would you sell of a day? Probably between four and 500. And then on
:08:45. > :08:48.Saturday, may be over 1000. It is a lot busier the Saturdays, the Forfar
:08:49. > :08:51.day for the bridie. ??WHIT What a fantastic old oven. How old is it?
:08:52. > :08:56.1920 it went in. You still use it today? Everyday, yeah. Does it make
:08:57. > :09:02.a difference? Yes it does, you get good soul in the bridies. Perfect.
:09:03. > :09:08.Let's see the soul of the bridie. Yes. They look delicious. There you
:09:09. > :09:11.go. Thank you so much for giving me an insight into something that is
:09:12. > :09:14.ancient and still survives today. I'm sure more people need to know
:09:15. > :09:17.about this. Yes. According to the 1929 cookbook, A Scot's Kitchen, the
:09:18. > :09:21.bridie recipe concludes, "bake them in a quick oven for half an hour and
:09:22. > :09:33.out they come, golden, dappled beauties fit for a king's supper". I
:09:34. > :09:47.don't know about a king, but... More than fit for a chef.
:09:48. > :09:54.Still to come: I complete my journey down the Clyde where the river meets
:09:55. > :09:57.the sea. In my eyes it ends at the end of the river channel at
:09:58. > :10:05.Greenock, at what we call the number one bouy, which is the last or the
:10:06. > :10:08.first bouy of the river channel. Here in Scotland the proud culture
:10:09. > :10:13.of travellers is celebrated in story and song. Sarah has been to the
:10:14. > :10:16.Highland Folk Museum to meet a storyteller who spent her childhood
:10:17. > :10:29.summers on the road in Caithness and Sutherland.
:10:30. > :10:35.Up until the Second World War tents like this one at the Highland Folk
:10:36. > :10:44.Museum were a common sight. The travellers who lived in them made
:10:45. > :10:48.their living on the road. When the schools broke up at Easter time, we
:10:49. > :10:51.would be away and we did a circuit right round the coast of Sutherland
:10:52. > :11:02.and Caithness. As far west as Ullapool.
:11:03. > :11:08.The Stewart family travelled the Highlands for generations. Essie's
:11:09. > :11:16.grandfather was a tinsmith and her mother hawked goods door to door.
:11:17. > :11:22.Did you enjoy it as a child, the travelling lifestyle? I did, yeah.
:11:23. > :11:28.With hindsight, I did. It was hard, you know. I would be lying if I said
:11:29. > :11:32.otherwise. It was fine when the weather was good, but you know, when
:11:33. > :11:35.the weather was bad it was a pretty tough life. Although the traditional
:11:36. > :11:38.traveller way of life all but vanished with the motor car, their
:11:39. > :11:45.ancient storytelling tradition is still celebrated today.
:11:46. > :11:53.Essie's grandfather Ally Stewart, was one of the greatest Gaelic story
:11:54. > :11:56.tellers of the 20th century. His stories were recorded by the School
:11:57. > :12:15.of Scottish Studies shortly before his death in 1968.
:12:16. > :12:25.He learned his first story when he was seven. That was the Ocean story
:12:26. > :12:29.from his mum. That was the first story he recorded for the School of
:12:30. > :12:32.Scottish Studies and it was the first story I've ever told in
:12:33. > :12:41.public, you know. So, it's a story I'm particularly fond of.
:12:42. > :12:50.How important is where the stories? Were they told on a regular basis?
:12:51. > :12:53.Every day. Every day. When I was little I loved listening to my
:12:54. > :12:59.grandfather telling his stories. You know, the older I got, I realised
:13:00. > :13:03.how precious these stories were. He didn't know this value of the
:13:04. > :13:13.stories, he didn't know how precious they were. Or the legacy that he
:13:14. > :13:19.left behind. SHE TALKS IN GAELIC.
:13:20. > :13:22.Essie is now the custodian of her grandfather's stories and passes
:13:23. > :13:30.them on to the next generation in the original Gaelic as well as
:13:31. > :13:35.English. The children have absolutely loved working with Essie.
:13:36. > :13:37.She came in and she told them stories, told them how people use
:13:38. > :13:46.the environment and superstitions and things. Then she got them to
:13:47. > :13:49.tell their own story. They were all probably a bit apprehensive. They
:13:50. > :13:52.haven't done something possibly as creative as this before and using
:13:53. > :13:55.elements of stories from such a well-known storyteller. After
:13:56. > :13:58.writing their stories, they are now quite competent storytellers, and
:13:59. > :14:01.that is another technique Essie was sharing with them as well. That it's
:14:02. > :14:05.not just writing and creating your story, it's the way you tell people
:14:06. > :14:13.the stories and pass them on to future generations. The storytelling
:14:14. > :14:16.tradition of the Gaelic travellers in the Highlands stretches back
:14:17. > :14:19.hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. This makes it one of the
:14:20. > :14:23.oldest folk traditions in Europe and keeping it alive in the 21st century
:14:24. > :14:35.is a challenge. Is it a difficult job to do? To be a tradition bearer,
:14:36. > :14:39.yes it is. Because I try and tell my story is the way that I heard them,
:14:40. > :14:48.the way that I heard my grandfather tell them. But, he is a hard act to
:14:49. > :14:56.follow. He was the master, I'm still learning.
:14:57. > :15:00.Now if you have a comment you want to make about anything you see on
:15:01. > :15:07.the programme, or maybe you have an amazing story to tell, then drop us
:15:08. > :15:12.an e-mail. The weather here is a bit breezy - bracing, you might say. So
:15:13. > :15:14.to find out the prospects for the weekend and beyond, it's over to
:15:15. > :15:26.Christopher Blanchett for the Landward weather forecast.
:15:27. > :15:35.Many of us saw plenty of sunshine today. Further north it was cloudy.
:15:36. > :15:41.Tomorrow, high pressure continues to stay in charge but although it is
:15:42. > :15:46.largely dry, cloudy and a bit grey. They could be mist and fog patches
:15:47. > :15:50.to start through the central belt. The cloud will thin and break at
:15:51. > :15:56.times so brighter skies come through. They breeze across the far
:15:57. > :16:03.north of the country. Around five to seven Celsius. On the whole, it is
:16:04. > :16:07.dried, fairly cloudy. Across the far north-west into the Hebrides and
:16:08. > :16:13.Northern Isles, the chance for light rain and drizzle. If you are walking
:16:14. > :16:18.or climbing, across the western ranges it is dried. Winds from the
:16:19. > :16:26.north-west around 50 miles an hour. Writer skies in towards the
:16:27. > :16:31.south-west. -- 15. Fairly dry and cloudy, but across Angus and towards
:16:32. > :16:45.the border hills, a chance for some brighter skies. Good visibility and
:16:46. > :16:50.in the East, it is a west to north-westerly. The rest of the
:16:51. > :16:56.afternoon, evening and overnight, very little in the way of change. At
:16:57. > :16:59.times the cloud will thin and break to let patchy frost developed in
:17:00. > :17:05.places and mist and fog patches to form. A breeze across the far north
:17:06. > :17:09.of the country. Inland it will be chilly, down close to freezing.
:17:10. > :17:16.High-pressure stays with us as we had to Sunday. Things not really
:17:17. > :17:21.changing. Largely dry and settled and largely cloudy. The best of any
:17:22. > :17:25.brighter skies probably through the Southern highlands and towards the
:17:26. > :17:30.south-west. For Orkney and Shetland, brighter but cooler here. For many
:17:31. > :17:38.it is about the five to six Celsius mark. As we head towards Monday,
:17:39. > :17:45.very little in the way of change. Largely dry and cloudy. One to
:17:46. > :17:50.showers down western side of the country. A change as we head towards
:17:51. > :17:55.Tuesday. The centre of high pressure begins to pull away and this will
:17:56. > :17:59.let the weather front to work its way in and bring outbreaks of rain
:18:00. > :18:05.towards us. In the north-west of the country to the start of the day and
:18:06. > :18:13.heading towards the south of the country in the afternoon. Through
:18:14. > :18:17.towards the middle of the week, back to the same. Largely dry and cloudy.
:18:18. > :18:19.One or two showers in the West but temperatures perhaps into double
:18:20. > :18:46.digits for most of us. Today I am in the heart of Glasgow
:18:47. > :18:48.where the banks of the Clyde have been transformed from industrial
:18:49. > :19:04.heartland into a 21st-century urban landscape.
:19:05. > :19:10.Despite the futuristic holdings on this part of the river, the Clyde's
:19:11. > :19:20.ship building heritage is never far away. Here at the site of the John
:19:21. > :19:24.Brown shipyard in Clydebank, the Titan crane has been transformed
:19:25. > :19:37.into an industrial monument. Imagine the view from the top? It's pretty
:19:38. > :19:41.good. The Titan crane is unique because it is the first of its type.
:19:42. > :19:44.It was the first electric crane to be built anywhere in the world.
:19:45. > :19:50.Ultimately, there were 11 of them build on the Clyde. 60 in total
:19:51. > :20:03.worldwide. But the one you are standing on is the first and is a
:20:04. > :20:07.magnificent piece of engineering. In 1913, believe it or not, three
:20:08. > :20:11.quarters of a million tonnes of ships left this river. That is an
:20:12. > :20:14.incredible figure which has never been equalled by any other
:20:15. > :20:24.shipbuilding river anywhere in the world. How important is it that the
:20:25. > :20:31.Titan crane on Clydebank has been retained? It is one of the very few
:20:32. > :20:36.things left of the old John Brown shipyard. The only other part of the
:20:37. > :20:40.yard that still survives is one of the slips where the ships were
:20:41. > :20:44.launched from. It is the most important one of the five the yard
:20:45. > :20:48.actually had. Because from that particular slipway the Queen Mary
:20:49. > :20:51.was launched in 1934. The Queen Elizabeth in 1938 and the QE2 in
:20:52. > :21:07.1967. For the next part of my journey and
:21:08. > :21:10.following in the footsteps of a generation of Clyde-siders I'm
:21:11. > :21:22.heading down the latter on board the Waverley, the last oceangoing paddle
:21:23. > :21:27.steamer in the world. These ships have ploughed these waters for many
:21:28. > :21:32.years and even the first steamships ploughed these waters in 1812. Do
:21:33. > :21:38.you think the Waverley has a special place in the heart of Glaswegians? I
:21:39. > :21:43.would like to think so, yes. It is the last in a long line and many
:21:44. > :21:46.folks, generations have memories of sailing down the water to the
:21:47. > :21:49.resorts of the Clyde in their heyday from Victorian times to more recent
:21:50. > :21:53.times, 50s, 60s and up through the 70s to now, which we try to carry on
:21:54. > :21:57.that tradition. How important was the trip down the water for people
:21:58. > :22:03.from Glasgow and the surrounding areas? It was very important. The
:22:04. > :22:07.traditional holiday if you like, what something the workers of the
:22:08. > :22:12.city looked forward to. It got them clear of the city smog and into the
:22:13. > :22:18.fresh air of the coast. What do you feel about the fact that the Clyde
:22:19. > :22:22.is no longer full of ships? There is obviously a nostalgia for an era
:22:23. > :22:29.past when there was a lot more ships here. But it's still a working
:22:30. > :22:32.river. Cargo still comes and goes, there's still shipyards building
:22:33. > :22:36.ships. Long may that continue because it is very important to the
:22:37. > :22:39.west of Scotland. Where does the river officially end. In my eyes it
:22:40. > :22:43.ends at the river channel at Greenock, at what we call number one
:22:44. > :22:47.buoy which is the last or the first buoy of the river channel and from
:22:48. > :22:49.there you're out into the more open waters of the estuary and the Firth
:22:50. > :22:55.beyond. SHIP'S HORN BLASTS.
:22:56. > :22:56.We have passed the number one boy and my epic journey down the mighty
:22:57. > :23:11.River Clyde now is sadly at an end. A thoroughly enjoyable, but at time
:23:12. > :23:17.energetic trip from source to sea down the River Clyde. And next week
:23:18. > :23:19.we'll continue out to sea as we all head for Mull for a special
:23:20. > :23:23.programme exploring the island's industries and wildlife as well as
:23:24. > :23:30.following the action on the Mull Rally. So join us for that at the
:23:31. > :23:33.same time next week, Friday night, 7.00pm on BBC Two Scotland. In the
:23:34. > :24:45.meantime, from all the team, thanks for your company. Bye for now.
:24:46. > :24:54.Friday night fright night, they are looking to avoid an upset. But Tonga
:24:55. > :24:56.beat Scotland last year, and France in the World Cup. This is a team