Episode 4 Landward

Landward. This week we are in Assynt for a special programme, 20 years

after the first community land buy-out in Scotland. I'll be finding

out what community ownership has meant for this stunning part of the

world. And what are you two up to? Well, I will be meeting the people

working on one of the biggest ecological restoration projects in

Britain. I will be seeking out one of this area's most spectacular

local residents. The golden eagle. will be hearing how this landscape

and its people inspired literary genius Norman MacCaig. But first,

let us take a step back in time. 20 years ago, history was made here in

Assynt, where crofters took possession of their land in the

first community land buy-out in Scotland. And back in 1993, Landward

transmitted a special programme to mark the occasion. It captured the

lives of the crofters, just as the buy-out was realised. Romance and

awe and greed have moulded our vision of the Highlands of Scotland.

In the spring of 1992, the North Lochinver Estate was put on the

market, echoing history. The sales brochure suggested that man himself

is perhaps the alien element in this landscape. The 120 crofters on the

estate at last rebelled. It is up to us to begin with. Allan MacRae was

then and still is the charismatic chairman of the Assynt Crofters

Trust. He headed up the campaign that made history. We must show that

we mean business. It is not going to happen, we have got to make it

happen and it starts with us. December, the crofters won their

campaign and in February of this year they celebrated their ownership

of the 21,000 acre North Lochinver Estate. It was very much a victory

for ordinary people and I am sure that there are many people like

myself who will count themselves do you think it was absolutely the

right thing to do? Oh, yes, it was something that was waiting to

happen. If it had not happened in happen. If it had not happened in

Assynt, it would have probably happen. If it had not happened in

Assynt, it would have The circumstances arose and... If they

say we made history, maybe that is the way that history is a bit. It is

something that triggers it. I think it was pretty important that it was

the people on the ground that actually initiated something like

that and there is no doubt events in Assynt here were a kind of catalyst

for land reform, there is no doubt about it. I think crofters do not

get excited, they are not that kind of people, but I think there is a

strong sense of satisfaction at what we did. Another of the driving

forces behind the buy-out was John MacKenzie. Landward filmed him

shortly after the buy-out, exploring the possibility of a hydroelectric

scheme for the area. It began as an almost impossible prospect that we

would take possession of this estate, upon which our forefathers

had lost and worked over generations. But to have actually

accomplished the enterprise was really quite remarkable. It really

was an emotional experience. But, of course, that was ultimately replaced

by reality. After the glare of publicity had faded, the crofters

had to set about making the estate financially viable. 20 years on, is

the estate clear of debt and generating an income? We have

developed the fishing and shooting on the estate. We have built a hydro

scheme as well. We have just recently built a new office with

solar panels and we have three part-time people working for the

Trust, carrying out the administration, and very good they

are too. There are various incomes from other sources as well -

landfills and... In fact, on the estate here are a huge number of new

houses that have been built over the last 20 years. The Trust is

financially viable, we stand on our own feet. That is very important. We

community buy-out were felt throughout Scotland as a series of

land buy-outs followed. One of these was the neighbouring Glencanisp and

Drumrunie Estates in 2005. The Land Reform Act 2003 allowed us to make

the purchase, so it was 44,000 acres of land, including beautiful

mountains, lochs...the lodge, which is a big asset. The Assynt crofters

buy-out was the major buy-out that brought forward the land

legislation. It gave us the courage and the momentum to take it forward

in the belief that we could actually do it as a community. It affected

everyone and it was a call for getting local people back on the

response we had from the public. So many people put their hands in their

pockets and gave us their money. We were not conscious of making history

and we clearly were, and the wider public clearly believed that there

was a bigger issue here than just the Assynt crofters. We claimed our

birthright - the land and the right Scotland, I've travelled from the

Cairngorm National Park to the Isle of Skye, in search of Scotland's big

five iconic species. This week, I'm in a secret location in Assynt, in

search of one of the most magnificent... The golden eagle.

Ranger Andy Summers is the man who knows where to find them. Are they

out there, Andy? Well, I hope so. I have been monitoring these golden

eagles for 12 years and there are six pairs that I monitor, this is

one of them. Hopefully we will see somewhere up there there are some

eagles? I hope so. We are right in their territory now. At this time of

year they will be on their nest. Today it is wet but then suddenly

the sun clears and hopefully they will come out and wemight see them.

So if we see them it is going to be dramatic? I hope so. They are

dramatic birds! There are around 440 breeding pairs of golden eagles in

the UK, most of which are in the Scottish Highlands. It is the

country's second largest bird of prey after the white-tailed sea

eagle. What we will do is perhaps have a little stop here and we will

wait and keep scanning the horizon. Why here? This is a good vantage

point. We can see 180 degrees here and if they break the skyline we

see our first eagle and it really is a spectacular sight. We have just

got lucky because we have got not just one bird but two birds,

possibly three. There it goes again. They are fantastic birds when you

see them in that kind of element. They are cruising along that ridge.

They disappear into the stonework, lift off and that two-metre wingspan

opens up and they hardly flap at all, they glide along. Is this ideal

golden eagle territory? Yes, we are quite remote, away from habitation.

When they are hunting they look as if they are trying to spook some

grouse. The fact that they are both flying means they are not incubating

at the moment. They are getting close to egg-laying time. They are

getting closer to the nest site. We are lucky that the people around

here are quite proud of having the eagles and I think if you have

golden eagles, they are the top predator, it is a sign that

everything below is well. It is a healthy environment. Do you think

they deserve to be on the list? think so. They should be Scotland's

emblem bird. Top of the list? Yeah, I think so. What an incredible bird.

It is so easy to see why it made it onto the big five list. But which

animal is your favourite? Over the last three weeks we have been asking

you to send in your wildlife photographs to Landward and we have

footsteps of Norman MacCaig... Landscape to me is my substitute for

the religion and politics and such trifles. When I'm in a landscape I

feel extraordinary at home. And Euan takes to the road with the mobile

library. I saw the job advertised on the council website, applied for it,

and got the interview. They insisted the most rugged and spectacular

scenery in Scotland. The mountains, famed for their strange shapes, rise

out of moorland full of lochans and peaty hollows. But it is a landscape

that noticeably lacks trees with just a few remnants of ancient

woodland dotted across this vast area. There would have been a

certain amount of native deciduous woodland on the lower slopes where

it is quite well-drained ground. didn't they survive? It has been a

long process. Basically it is down to overgrazing over centuries. And

also changes in climate have had a big effect to, the climate got

wetter and that has a negative affect on tree growth in this part

of the world. Woodlands like this one here are very rare in Assynt.

But now a scheme has been launched which will see thousands of trees

being planted. The hope is that it will restore precious habitats.

Coigach Living Landscape Project has a 40-year vision, so it is a

long-term thing. It is one of the largest living landscape projects in

Europe and extends to over 60,000 hectares. It is a huge chunk of land

moment? The idea is to grow a stock of trees from native, genetic stock,

if you like. We are collecting tree seeds from local woodlands and

planting them. They will eventually be used to fulfil some of the

planting schemes around the area. The native trees of the woodlands

around here are primarily birch, hazel, rowan. There's also oak, elm,

juniper is quite a toughie, sometimes, holly, Scots pine. It's

still early spring, so we don't want to jump the gun, but things are

sprouting already so we have a few seeds of birch and alder and some

other things. How many trees do you hope to plant? In full production we

should be producing more than 100,000 each year. It sounds a lot

but it does not go very far in the size of landscape you see behind me.

Exciting to be in at the beginning and to be able to provide some of

the stock to regenerate the Part of the forest here at Culag

Woods on the edge of Lochinver is ancient woodland, and it's very

precious to the local community. the woodland here, there's pine

marten, badgers, otters down by the shore, we have herons nest in the

woodland, tawny owls here but it's also important for other smaller

species as well, lichens are particularly important to this

woodland. They in turn support smaller creatures which provide food

for birdlife. It has education purposes, the school is just across

the road so we use it a lot for outdoor learning and put on events.

Could this be used as a blueprint for other areas in Assynt? It would

be lovely to think that over the next 40 or 50 years we could leave a

legacy of woodland pockets such as described as desolate and empty,

with its own rugged beauty. It is hoped that the restoration of native

woodland will greatly enhance this amazing place. It may take a long

time to be realised, but I'm sure it you see on the programme, or perhaps

you have an amazing story to share, in Assynt is pretty changeable -

earlier, crisp and clear, now pretty dreich. But what about the prospect

showers right across the country, but the ridge of high pressure is

building, bringing dry, light and settled conditions to start the

weekend. Some light showers through the north-east to start things off,

perhaps, most of us seeing blue skies for the morning. By the

afternoon, cloud building, coming and going at times, but not much

rain until much later. By mid-afternoon, nine, ten or maybe

even 11 degrees. Pretty low for this time of year. Some outbreaks of rain

towards the end of the afternoon, coding overhead of it & Shine

turning hazy. The Shetlands in the cold air could eat six degrees at

rest. If you are hillwalking or climbing it could be clouding over.

Staying as a north-westerly elsewhere, generally staying far.

Temperatures across the eastern Rangers are quite low. It looks like

there will be a couple of ski centres open this weekend. Saturday

is the better day, dry and bright, a number of showers on Sunday and

strengthening winds. If you want to enjoyed the waters in the

south-west, it is a moderate sea and good visibility. Around the Firth of

Forth in the east, fairly similar. Slight seas with good visibility.

The rest of the afternoon into the evening and overnight, the weather

gets its act together. The rain tends to ease as it does so and

fragments. The overnight lows are not as cold as this coming night,

but 4-macro or five as the overnight low.

In behind this front you will notice the tight isobars, still fairly

breezy for the second half of the weekend, which will bring in a

number of showers. A cloudy and damp start to Sunday, by the afternoon

there should be bright skies in between the showers, temperatures on

the low side for the time of year. Into Monday, the low pressure to the

North continues to stay with us. We will see a number of showers,

primarily across the west of the country, but the wind strength could

blow some of them further east. In between, bright or sunny skies,

temperatures nine to 10 Celsius. The rain moves away and the wind tends

to ease, but there is a never low coming our way on Wednesday. Tuesday

itself looks OK. Dash-macro there is another low coming our way on

Wednesday. Temperatures nine or 10 Celsius with some decent sunshine.

For Wednesday, we will get some showers and outbreaks of rain, some

snow over the higher ground but some bright and sunny skies in between.

Assynt's amazing range of stunning landscapes and scenery has inspired

classic Scottish writing through the ages. But in a remote area like

this, getting access to great literature really isn't that easy.

Or maybe it is?! Or maybe it is?!

I'm spending the day with relief mobile library van driver Howard

I'm spending the day with relief Assynt is his favourite patch, he

loves it so much that he wrote a song about it.

# I am the mobile library man. # I drive the mobile library van.

# And I bring you books whenever I can...# Well, I was a primary school

teacher in Sheffield and I retired from that job about seven years ago.

Moved up here and I saw the job advertised on the council website

and applied for it and got an interview, insisted I was the man

Goodness me. Oh, we've got a crowd. Good morning, how are you?

I've always had an interest in books. It's a combination of a

wonderful place to work and meet interesting people who really value

the service that you give them. a vital service, we couldn't really

do without it. We use it an awful lot and we look forward to it

coming. Especially in the winter. Especially in the winter.

# You'd think these places hard to reach.

# The library van, it must get through.

# To bring some sex and violence out to you. The highlight of the trip so

far, Mrs McKenzie's scones and pancakes feature in the song.

# I'll stop for tea with cakes and scones and jam she's made for me.

# And then I'm off along the shore. # Take Mr Parker his books on war...

Howard's van is one of eight mobile library vans dish out show

chick-lit, gardening manuals and crime novels all across the

Highlands and the Islands. How often do you use the library? Whenever it

comes, all the time, it's good. It helps the children to learn about

looking after things that are not theirs. Good girl. Thank you very

much. The library service give you three or four boxes of books every

two weeks, and you have to swap some over. Bodice rippers?Plenty of

those, plenty of bodice rippers. I have to watch out for those and make

sure some of the more genteel old ladies don't end up with things they

should not be reading! What is it about Assynt? It is so

wild, it is a combination of the mountains and the sea. It couldn't

be better. Look around you, spectacular.

# I'm still a mobile library man. # I drive the mobile library van.

# And I bring you books whenever I Who owns this landscape? The

millionaire who bought it or the poacher staggering downhill in the

early morning with a deer on his back?

Who possesses this landscape? The man who bought it, or I, who am

possessed by it? Norman MacCaig was one of Scotland's

best known and respected poets of the 20th century. Although very much

an Edinburgh man, he also loved the land. It was during a cycle trip

round the Highlands as a young man that he first discovered Assynt.

I grew up to love the landscape of Scotland, and in my earlier days I

cycled all over the place with a tent. The most important thing, one

of the big important things in my life, in fact.

From 1947 onwards, MacCaig brought his family here for some holidays,

and he made many lifelong friends. I knew him through my uncle, who

lived in this house with Kitty, his wife. They were great friends, they

became great friends. They would mostly talk and drink and smoke.

Flighting was a thing that they would refer to, discussions,

anything under the sun. But they loved being out. Fishing was the

thing. It involved itself in everything.

Much of his poetry reflects his deep attachment to the particular

landscape here - the remarkable mountains, the glittering lochs and

coral beaches. The landscape, to me, is my

substitute for religion and politics and such trifles. What does it mean

to you, landscape? I can't explain it, except that I always feel that

landscapes - and the people who wander in and out of the cracks and

crevices of the landscape - I always feel there is some kind of web that

joins them together. And I've actually been accused of being

metaphysical about the landscape - an accusation, of course, which I

spurn and eschew. It seems to me that when I look at a rock, I don't

want to see anything more than that rock. Yet I know that when I'm in a

landscape, especially a wild-ish one, I feel extraordinarily at home.

MacCaig was also friends with Wilma MacKay and her family, who lived in

Inverkirkaig, and he rented a cottage here for many years. He just

liked the place, people got used to him going about. He wandered about

and fished, was at the bar, went to the Games helped. A very interesting

person to talk to. You couldn't help being interested when he was going

about. If I'm allowed to quote his son, he said he felt that it

permeated his dad, that the place, guillemot, sea trout, fox and

falcoln. The list winds through all the crooks and crannies of the

landscape, all the subtleties and shifts of its waters and the

prevarications of its air. Roofs fall in, walls crumble, gables

die last of all and man becomes, in this most beautiful corner of the

land, one of the rare animals. The impressions of this area that

made a mark on MacCaig were deep and would return to him later when he

was back in Edinburgh. He filled himself up like a camel's

hump, as he referred to it, with images, thoughts and memories of the

time spent here. I never think of poetry when I am out there. Never,

ever. I go to the Highlands as much as I can in the summer - six, seven,

eight, nine or ten weeks - and I never write a single word. I am not

interested, I'm too busy doing nothing. Fattening my camel's hump,

you know? It drains through the winter and I arrive in June or July

in time. It is not a conscious thing, I don't go around looking for

something to write poems about. MacCaig's longest poem, A Man In

Assynt, explores the landscape and the depopulation of the crofters,

but it also predicts that people will return to the land and reclaim

it as their own. And the mind behind the eye, within the pattern,

remembers with certainty that the tide will return and thinks with

hope... That that other ebb, that sad

withdrawal of people may too reverse itself and flood the bays and the

sheltered glens with new generations, replenishing the land

with its richest of riches and coming, at last, into their own

again. The genius of Norman MacCaig, with a