0:00:31 > 0:00:34Hello, and a very warm welcome to the final programme in this
0:00:34 > 0:00:37series of Landward, brought to you from the Orkney islands.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Tomorrow is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and that means here in the Northern Isles,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48there's less than six hours of daylight.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51I'm going to be sampling a food that's been illegal to
0:00:51 > 0:00:53buy in a restaurant for decades.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I'll be finding out about the island's Yule traditions
0:00:56 > 0:01:00and cooking up an old Orcadian recipe.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03But before all that, I'll be visiting a Neolithic site
0:01:03 > 0:01:06which has special significance at midwinter.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13The heart of Neolithic Orkney is a World Heritage Site.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17The prehistoric monuments that can be found all over the islands
0:01:17 > 0:01:21give us a unique insight into the lives of our Stone Age
0:01:21 > 0:01:24ancestors and how they perceived their place in the cosmos.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29But it's the 5,000-year-old chambered tomb
0:01:29 > 0:01:31at Maeshowe that has special meaning
0:01:31 > 0:01:33around the winter solstice.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36So, not the easiest entrance?
0:01:36 > 0:01:38No and watch your head as you go under the lintel.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44- And here it is...oh, my goodness. - It's quite impressive, isn't it?
0:01:44 > 0:01:47It's amazing! Absolutely incredible!
0:01:47 > 0:01:49So, what is Maeshowe, what do we know about it?
0:01:49 > 0:01:53It is, well, it's a chambered tomb and we know this partly because
0:01:53 > 0:01:57it looks like one and we know that it is about 5,000 years old.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01It's a huge construction inside and it's a monumental construction.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04There are lots of other tombs even in Orkney that you can visit
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and many of them are built with corbelling effect like this
0:02:07 > 0:02:10but none of them are built with stones this size.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16This enormous structure, with these huge stones, has been very,
0:02:16 > 0:02:17very precisely laid out.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21It's been built with great skill and great attention to detail.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Not just in the stonework
0:02:22 > 0:02:25but you can see how beautifully it's fitted together.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28It also aligns on the midwinter solstice sunset where the sun
0:02:28 > 0:02:30goes down on the shortest day of the year.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33The hinge of the year, when the really long,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36dark winter nights slowly start to get shorter,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39the days get a little bit longer and as it sets, the sun actually
0:02:39 > 0:02:42- penetrates all the way down this ten metres of passageway.- Wow!
0:02:42 > 0:02:46And, of course, inside in the Neolithic this would have
0:02:46 > 0:02:48- been dark, perhaps some little flickering lights.- Sure.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And it strikes the back wall of the chamber.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53It moves across the back wall of the chamber
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and we have this extraordinary effect.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08If you are a farming society that point in the year where you
0:03:08 > 0:03:12go from the dark in the winter, even though the worst weather is still to come,
0:03:12 > 0:03:17this is the turning point, the days start getting longer, summer is coming back, the sun is coming back.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You know, and one day you'll have crops ripe in the fields
0:03:20 > 0:03:22and you'll know that you're going to survive.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Not just you personally but people are going to survive.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Was this just used 5,000 years ago by late Stone Age people or do
0:03:29 > 0:03:32we have evidence of other people using the space?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35We do have, we have very hard evidence
0:03:35 > 0:03:37of later use of this monument.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Erm, and it's in the form of graffiti, Viking graffiti.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43There are more runes here in one place, I think,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45than anywhere else outside Scandinavia itself.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47What sort of things are they writing on the wall?
0:03:47 > 0:03:50They were very fond of writing "I carved this high up"
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and boasting about how good they were about carving runes.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And this is actually a really good example, this is just one.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59This is one inscription but uses two alphabets, lovely clear letters.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02This is the futhark, this is the standard alphabet down here.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Some of them might look like letters you would recognise.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08These are twig runes and these are almost like a code.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11They are using the same language but they're kind of a step away.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14You would have to be very well educated and clever
0:04:14 > 0:04:16and this is basically a boast, saying that these runes were
0:04:16 > 0:04:19carved by the greatest rune carver in the western ocean.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22In the same way that a graffiti artist would, these days,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25put their mark on the wall, that's exactly what's going on here.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I am the greatest rune carver in the western ocean.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Some all kinds of rune, you can see them,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33if you look around, you'll begin to see them everywhere. And here as well.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35And they look so fresh as well, that's the extraordinary thing.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Well, this is one of the extraordinary things about Maeshowe is the preservation inside
0:04:39 > 0:04:41because it seems to have been filled in at some point.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43So, it's all beautifully preserved inside
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and it's just an extraordinary space.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Maeshowe is an incredible piece of ancient architecture
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and it demonstrates that the people who built it understood
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and celebrated midwinter and just like us
0:04:59 > 0:05:01they hoped for a prosperous new year.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10With Christmas only five days away, most of us
0:05:10 > 0:05:13will have ordered our turkey or our rib of beef but if you live here
0:05:13 > 0:05:18on Orkney, you could well be dining out on one of these, Greylag Goose.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Over the past few years, Orkney has seen a dramatic increase in the
0:05:23 > 0:05:28resident goose population, which is causing major problems for farmers.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32There's an increase in the population of resident geese up here,
0:05:32 > 0:05:33they just never leave.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38They're hitting growing barley crops in the spring,
0:05:38 > 0:05:39once they come up through the ground
0:05:39 > 0:05:43they're in on them and then back end of the year
0:05:43 > 0:05:46before you get them harvested, if they get a flat area,
0:05:46 > 0:05:48they'll come in, land there, eat what they can
0:05:48 > 0:05:50and just work their way into the crop, eating away.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53If we don't do something about it they're just going to keep going up.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56There's no natural predators, they've got feed and water
0:05:56 > 0:05:58and roosting sites here,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02there's nothing to stop the numbers going exponentially up.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- Potentially, that has pretty serious economic implications.- Oh, yeah.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Up here you need barley to furnish your cattle.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10You need the straw, that's more important for bedding your cattle,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and there's only a limited area of arable ground up here.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Last year, at the back end, was a disaster for harvest.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19We had to import.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22I don't know many artic loads of straw came into Orkney last year
0:06:22 > 0:06:23but we couldn't get it.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25So, you try to grow your own
0:06:25 > 0:06:26but the geese are just going to destroy that,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30it's just increasing cost and it's already an expensive place to live.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34Early this year,
0:06:34 > 0:06:40SNH licensed a cull of up to 5,500 Graylag Geese to help reduce numbers.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Initially, we're trying to make a big impact on reducing
0:06:45 > 0:06:47the population fairly quickly.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50For the resident Greylag Goose population, we've got
0:06:50 > 0:06:53about just over 20,000 from the count from this year
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and that compares in 2008, where there were 10,000.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58So, it's been quite a dramatic increase over the years.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02So, our target has been for the last couple of years, 5,500 geese.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04However, we've not been able to achieve that
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and this year we've probably reached 2,500.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Up until this year it's been illegal to sell wild goose
0:07:12 > 0:07:13anywhere in Scotland
0:07:13 > 0:07:15but here in Orkney,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18licences have been issued to market the culled birds.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The reason it was made illegal before was
0:07:21 > 0:07:24because there was so much pressure on the Greylag Goose population
0:07:24 > 0:07:25and they were actually declining.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The legal situation hasn't actually changed,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31it's still illegal to sell Greylag Goose carcasses.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35What we've been able to do is to produce licences for a very
0:07:35 > 0:07:38restricted sale, as part of this pilot project.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Craigie Butchers is one of the outlets licensed to process the birds.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50What's the difference between the goose that you're processing
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and maybe the one we'd buy in a supermarket over Christmas.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Well, the ones here, they have a far more gamey flavour.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58They're obviously wild and have a far stronger taste cos they're
0:07:58 > 0:08:01feeding on seaweed, grass and barley, things like that.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03So they have a far stronger taste.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05So, what kind of volumes are you going through?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Well, so it's all cull meat that we're using,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10so we collect all the stuff, basically in August
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and September and we have got 1,100 birds worth of meat here.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16We've probably gone through 400 birds already
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and we've now 700 in the freezer to use now for Christmas time.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22We're doing a lot of sausages as well.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25The caramelized red onion sausages have gone down a storm too.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27- So, you've been surprised? - Very. Very, very surprised.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Pretty overwhelmed actually, the response we got was fantastic.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33The general public were coming back to say how good they were
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and coming back for more, which is great.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43So what was your reaction
0:08:43 > 0:08:45when you first heard that goose was going to be available?
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Delight, I mean, absolute delight
0:08:47 > 0:08:50because for so many years there's been thousands of geese
0:08:50 > 0:08:53flying around here and in Orkney you've got all the shellfish,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56the beef, the North Ronaldsay mutton and this wonderful product
0:08:56 > 0:09:02that was illegal, that you couldn't make use of
0:09:02 > 0:09:07because they were becoming a pest and, you know, beyond any sense
0:09:07 > 0:09:12in numbers that it seemed ridiculous that they couldn't be on the menu.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Well, here we are, the moment of truth.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20The goose, as you can see, is well and truly cooked.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Let's have a wee gander, see what we've got.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Some bacon wrapped around the breast to give it a bit more fat
0:09:25 > 0:09:27and a bit more flavour, some clapshot,
0:09:27 > 0:09:28neeps and tatties mixed together,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33and some cranberry and leek relish, so let's see what it's like.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39You know, I was expecting that to be really gamey
0:09:39 > 0:09:42but it's a bit more like roast beef but I'll telly you what,
0:09:42 > 0:09:46it's really good and you cannot buy this anywhere else apart from Orkney.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49So, the lucky folk here will be having a really tasty
0:09:49 > 0:09:51goose for Christmas.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Since time began,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12humanity has celebrated the rebirth of the sun on winter solstice.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Although the worst of the weather may be still to come,
0:10:15 > 0:10:20the nights will slowly get shorter as the days get longer.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Today, midwinter celebrations are dominated by the Christmas
0:10:29 > 0:10:33traditions we know and love but here in the Northern Isles,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38Christmas replaced the Norse festival of the Yules.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41What was the festival of the Yules?
0:10:41 > 0:10:46The way that we know it, we understand it is a Viking thing.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49This would have been the old Nordic beliefs.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52As you rightly called it, the Yules, in the plural.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Traditionally it started on the 20th of December,
0:10:56 > 0:11:00which was the Tammassmass E'en, it was called.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03E'en for the feast day of St Thomas.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05That night when the sun went down,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09you put away any work and you didn't do any work
0:11:09 > 0:11:14again until after the whole Yules were finished.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18It was a chance for the communities to come together and celebrate.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22It included feasting and fire, light,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25encouraging the sun to come back.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29So, there was a whole lot to it in this darkest period in winter.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43You traditionally had to have a piece of meat to eat on Yule.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Erm, people didn't eat that much meat
0:11:47 > 0:11:49because they couldn't afford to
0:11:49 > 0:11:54and they would traditionally kill a sheep on Christmas Eve,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58on the 24th and that would provide some meat for the following day.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Animals were fed slightly more than usual.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05There was also tradition that the last sheaf that you
0:12:05 > 0:12:07brought in from the harvest was laid up
0:12:07 > 0:12:12safely on the top of the wall head and unthrashed,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14so it still had the grain on it
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and that was given to the horse on Yule morning as a treat.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26There was a strange one that I'm not sure when it came in,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29but it was weighing the children at Christmas.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31So, you weighed the bairns.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36There was a balance beam at the mill called the pundler
0:12:36 > 0:12:38and that was used for weighing grains.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41So, you would take the bairns in there and weighed them
0:12:41 > 0:12:42on the pundler.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45It was to see how much weight you'd put on during the year.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47And I suppose if they were a healthy weight then it was
0:12:47 > 0:12:50good to see them through the, sort of, lean times of winter.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Absolutely, yeah, it was seen as being a good thing.
0:12:54 > 0:12:59There was a danger, though, in that these dark nights at midwinter
0:12:59 > 0:13:02was when the trows had the most power.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07So, the supernatural creatures, trows are like fairies in
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Scotland but not the wee, gossamer winged, wish-granting things.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15These were nasty, wee creatures that would carry off your bairns
0:13:15 > 0:13:19and leave changelings in their place and carry off animals as well.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23So, they...you had to protect yourself from them.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27So, during the Christian period, the signs of the cross was used
0:13:27 > 0:13:32but before that it was iron, which they had a fear of.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36I mean, today we see Christmas as a time for celebration,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40for feasting, for sharing, for giving. Was it the same?
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Yeah, erm, people feasted, gifts were given
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and there is that celebration of being by the fire, telling
0:13:48 > 0:13:54stories and families coming together and communities coming together.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03This is our final programme of 2013 but we will be back in the spring.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06So, if you have a story you'd like to share with us,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08then send us an e-mail to...
0:14:16 > 0:14:20One of the most eagerly anticipated winter events on Orkney is
0:14:20 > 0:14:22a battle of epic proportions,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25which takes place right here on the streets of Kirkwall.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I'm talking, of course, about an infamous event,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31simply known as The Ba.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33SHOUTING
0:14:35 > 0:14:39I guess The Ba is a residue of a huge range of traditional street
0:14:39 > 0:14:44games, that were played right across the country for centuries before
0:14:44 > 0:14:49and nobody really knows exactly when The Ba in this form started.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53There are two teams that take part in The Ba,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56the Uppies and the Doonies.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00In the old days everybody who was born or lived below the market cross,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03that's in front of the cathedral would have been
0:15:03 > 0:15:07a Doonie and everybody who lived above that would have been an Uppie.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11But then, the hospital was built in Uppie teritory and that meant
0:15:11 > 0:15:16obviously that everybody was born as an Uppie, if went along that line.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Nowadays, I would guess, mostly boys would play what their fathers played.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Before you take part in any contest it's important to know the rules.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Rule number one of The Ba,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30there are no rules and all these shop fronts
0:15:30 > 0:15:34at Albert Street will be boarded up before battle commences.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35Right now.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43It's like a rugby scrum with 300 men in the scrum, you know.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49You do get terrific pressure in it.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55And obviously you're playing against the walls of the town so that
0:15:55 > 0:15:59you need to wear clothing that will take a bit of wear and tear.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Inside the core you would usually get the best players and what you
0:16:05 > 0:16:09really want is for your team to have possession of the ball cos
0:16:09 > 0:16:13that means when the pressure comes on, you can turn the core
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and that means you can roll it out from a wall and get them
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- going the way you want to go.- Can you hide it?
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Oh, people put it up jerseys and, you know,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and put it down on the street and try and keep it between their heels and
0:16:25 > 0:16:29take it along because if you want to smuggle, you want the ba to disappear.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31That means, if you're positioned in the middle, you can
0:16:31 > 0:16:36start moving the ball back among your supporters and hope that nobody
0:16:36 > 0:16:39notices because people always look to the middle of the ba,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41where this core is and think "That's where the ba is".
0:16:41 > 0:16:45If you can get the ba out of that, then get it smuggled along towards
0:16:45 > 0:16:50the back of the supporters and somebody takes it and runs with it.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52SHOUTING
0:16:54 > 0:16:57For the Uppies to win, they have to get the ba to this rather
0:16:57 > 0:17:02nondescript gable wall, site of the old town gates.
0:17:02 > 0:17:03SHOUTING
0:17:05 > 0:17:07But for the Doonies to win to win,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09they have to get the ba into the harbour here
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and for the man or men who want to claim the ba as their own,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15well, they have to go in after it.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18In December or January it's freezing!
0:17:18 > 0:17:20You've got a ba in your hand here,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24how much of an honour is it to have that, to be awarded that?
0:17:24 > 0:17:29If you're interested in The Ba, it is a very, very significant honour.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32I mean, hundreds of people play in The Ba every year,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35so there's a tremendous number of good players,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38which as fortune doesn't favour them on the day
0:17:38 > 0:17:41because there are no rules with The Ba,
0:17:41 > 0:17:42so at the end of the game
0:17:42 > 0:17:45it's what you would call ultimate democracy. It's
0:17:45 > 0:17:50who can get off with the ba and get it home, that wins the ba, you see.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02When I stand at one o'clock on Broad Street,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05waiting for the ba to be thrown up, it really gives me
0:18:05 > 0:18:08a tremendous boost cos it means, you know, I'm an Orcadian, I'm
0:18:08 > 0:18:11a Kirkwallian and this is about the place I stay in.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13It really means something.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It's ancient blood, you know,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25it's what our ancestors did and I often think,
0:18:25 > 0:18:31you know, when we were gathering for a game, you had no idea who's
0:18:31 > 0:18:35going to turn up or whether you have a good side or a bad side.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Or you have any berserkers with you.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40And that's exactly the same as it was
0:18:40 > 0:18:43when we were gathering for the long ships, you know.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46If we were going off on a raid, that's the same kind.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48You were not quite sure who would turn up
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and who might have been fools the night before or whatever, you know.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00I mean, you're black and blue sometimes,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03especially if you're losing.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07You'll be black and blue from head to feet, you know, your shins.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11You do get a real battering, there's no doubt about that.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15But if you win you don't feel a thing.
0:19:15 > 0:19:16HE LAUGHS
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Farming has been a way of life in the Orkney Islands for more
0:19:31 > 0:19:33than 5,000 years.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Methods may have changed
0:19:34 > 0:19:38but there is one heritage crop which still remains the same.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Bere is a very ancient type of barley, which has probably
0:19:43 > 0:19:48been grown in the north of Scotland for at least 1,000 years.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53And it's probably one of the most important cereals that's been
0:19:53 > 0:19:57grown in this area for much of that time.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00So, just to give viewers of what it looks like, we have here,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- I suppose, traditional bere barley.- Yeah.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Compared to the modern variety I'm picking it all up there.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10- So, it's a huge difference.- It is, it's dramatically different.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14It has a bout twice the straw length of a modern type of barley
0:20:14 > 0:20:16and other differences is that if you look
0:20:16 > 0:20:18at the way in which the grains are
0:20:18 > 0:20:22arranged in the ear, in a modern variety they're
0:20:22 > 0:20:26arranged in two rows, whereas in bere they're arranged in six rows.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Bere has some very interesting characteristics which I think
0:20:30 > 0:20:32have contributed to its survival.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Erm, when you think of where we are in Britain, we're a long way north.
0:20:36 > 0:20:43We have lower temperatures, we have a very short growing season
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and then we also have a lot of exposure to wind and rain.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50One of its main characteristics is that in the spring it has a very
0:20:50 > 0:20:55quick growth and it can also come to harvest in a very short time.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Not just in Orkney but also in Shetland and the Western Isles.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01There are many small-scale,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05very dedicated farmers who still grow bere,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08although they may have no market for it but they love to keep it
0:21:08 > 0:21:11growing because it is such an important part of their heritage.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Until the 19th century, bere was an important Scottish crop,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21mainly used by breweries, millers and distillers.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Today, Barony Mills in Birsay is the only place where beremeal is
0:21:25 > 0:21:27still made.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- Good morning, how are you? - Fine, fine.- Wow!
0:21:32 > 0:21:35What a wonderful site! All the original equipment?
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Yeah, the original equipment. Yes, everything original here.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Except modern stuff, electric light.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44We're just taking the raw bere, it's been dried
0:21:44 > 0:21:49and taking the husk off and then part-grinding it for beremeal.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And is it the same process as milling say wheat...
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Just the same...same process. Exactly the same process.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59How much are you processing every year?
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Maybe 10 to 12 tonnes of bere.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05We normally just use it for beremeal for baking
0:22:05 > 0:22:09but it can be used for malting, for home brew or for whiskey.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13There's a market for it, a bigger market now than what used to be.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Some goes down to Edinburgh, we've got stuff going to
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Gleneagles, Perthshire, got some going to London restaurants.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22There's a very kind lady who has promised to show me how to
0:22:22 > 0:22:25make bere bannock, so would you mind if I take a bag away with me.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28No problem at all, I'll give you a bag.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32The beremeal ground at Barony Mills has been
0:22:32 > 0:22:36used by generations of Orcadians to make bere bannocks
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and where better to go for a demonstration than
0:22:39 > 0:22:43the Kirbuster Farm Museum just down the road.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Barbara, I've brought the meal but no skill
0:22:45 > 0:22:49and I hear you're the lady with the expertise, and to be quite
0:22:49 > 0:22:52honest now that I've met Barbara, I feel underdressed to say the least.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54BARBARA LAUGHS
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Anyway, carry on. How do you make a bannock?
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Well, this is two cups of beremeal, which I've sieved
0:23:02 > 0:23:04and a cup of plain flour.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- That's the baking soda. - Baking soda.- Cream or tartar...
0:23:08 > 0:23:11- Cream of tartar and salt. - ..then salt.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16I mean, they were obviously once a diet staple, are they still popular?
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Oh, yes, and I think maybe coming back more.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23It can be served in restaurants now with soup
0:23:23 > 0:23:27- and as part of the bread basket.- So, water next?
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Yes, I mix mine with water.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Well, it would have been done with butter milk long ago or ordinary milk.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- Just working in the dry ingredients.- And here we go.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40That's it coming together.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43And how many bannocks would you get out of this amount?
0:23:43 > 0:23:45- That should make three. - Make three?- Yes, uh-huh.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51- Get it to a kind of circle.- It's pretty perfect, I have to say.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54- Ready to go in the griddle now?- Yes, on the yetling.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Oh, on the yetling, come on then.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- So, this is a yetling? - A yetling, yes.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10- An Orcadian word for griddle? - That's right, yes.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15- And how long do they take to cook? - Three to five minutes on each side.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17So it's really quick.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Oh, yes, yes, yes.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Now, Barbara, shall we have a wee taste?
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Mmmm, very good.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's not a way of cooking that we're used to these days
0:24:29 > 0:24:32but sitting here with Barbara, you can imagine countless
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Orcadians in the past sitting around the fire, eating a bannock.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40I'm just not sure there's going to be much left for the boys.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Sorry, guys!
0:24:58 > 0:25:00I can't believe you never brought any for us!
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I'm sorry, I have to say they were very good though, sorry guys.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05- SHE WHISPERS:- In my tummy.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06Disappeared like hot cakes.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Now it's time for us to disappear off to disappear off your screens,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12at least until the next series of Landward.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Join us in March, when we'll be back with all the best
0:25:15 > 0:25:17stories from the Scottish countryside.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20So, from all of us here at the Ring of Brodgar, Merry Christmas!
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- Merry Christmas!- Merry Christmas!