0:00:19 > 0:00:22This week on Landward, we are exploring the beautiful
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and strikingly different islands of Islay and Jura,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30and the tempestuous waters that surround them.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I'm out at sea to find out what the latest research tells us
0:00:33 > 0:00:36about this notorious passage of water,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40the Gulf of Corryvreckan, which lies just to the north of Jura.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45On Islay, Euan is looking for its rarest resident
0:00:45 > 0:00:47and getting his hands dirty.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51- Not a great participation sport! - No, not the best, no.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55And on Jura, Sarah meets the families who make a living there.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59- Tell me if I'm doing it wrong. - Yeah, you're doing it wrong!
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Islay is known as the Queen of the Hebrides
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and is part of Argyll & Bute.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19It takes just over two hours to get here by ferry from the mainland.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Of course, Islay is famous for its distilleries
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and that distinctive, peaty quality that they bring to their malts.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32And the eight distilleries on the island attract
0:01:32 > 0:01:34tourists from all over the world.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44This land is a fertile land, dotted with farms and villages.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47The lush pasture sustains cattle and sheep,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50as well as the thousands of geese that descend on the island
0:01:50 > 0:01:54every year, much to many farmers' annoyance.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59It is Scotland's fifth largest island,
0:01:59 > 0:02:04at 239 square miles, and home to more than 3,000 people.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This is the main metropolis, Bowmore,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12home to the distillery which is named after it.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16And the villages and the soft, farmed landscape of Islay are in stark
0:02:16 > 0:02:20contrast to its neighbour, Jura, which is very different!
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Sarah is on her way to Jura now.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33The two islands are separated by a tiny stretch of water.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39It's only a five-minute crossing from Islay to Jura,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43but this short journey transports you to a different landscape.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Jura is much wilder than Islay,
0:02:50 > 0:02:55and dominated by the striking hills, known as the Paps.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Jura means "deer" in Old Norse, which is quite appropriate,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07because there is thought to be 5,500 of them on the island.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It also means if you are an islander,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12you're outnumbered 25 to one.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Just under 200 people live here.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19In Jura, there is one public road and one village,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and this is it, the village of Craighouse.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28And in Craighouse, there is one hotel, one school, one shop,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30and of course, one distillery.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38In the mid '90s, the already tiny population of Jura was falling,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41but in recent years, things have turned around
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and more young people have returned to the island.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52One of the reasons for this is that crofting law allows family plots
0:03:52 > 0:03:55to be divided, which means that the younger generation
0:03:55 > 0:03:58can stay and make a living on the island.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06The special legal status of crofts allows families to split them
0:04:06 > 0:04:09into two and build a second home on the new croft.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15That's what Maggie did when her son, Martin, returned to the island.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Martin grew up here and then lived on the mainland for a few years,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23first attending college, then working.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Now, he's back and as well as keeping cattle on his croft,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31he runs a plant hire business, which employs five people.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36And he is not the only one rejuvenating Jura.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Some of my friends had moved back, a very similar time to me,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and with the same thing, with a family subdivision,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45they were able to build their houses as well, and otherwise,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47they certainly wouldn't have.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50I can see the future generation playing over there.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54And it's quite a big step to bring your partner and your son to Jura.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55How have they found it?
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Well, Debs was living in Paisley when I met her,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and I convinced her to come this way.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03I told her there was palm trees growing on Jura,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06which she didn't believe, so she had to come for a look.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09I've seen them myself, there are palm trees growing on Jura!
0:05:09 > 0:05:13- So, there is some nice, hot wind coming through.- Yes, very much so.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15And I couldn't have done it without Debs as well.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18It was a lot of work getting the croft and the house built
0:05:18 > 0:05:20and all that. You've got to have a good working relationship.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23It's great to see these young families
0:05:23 > 0:05:27making their homes on this beautiful island.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29'And later in the programme,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34'I'll be meeting another family with a very different farm business.'
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Oh, they're running away from the camera! Hi.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41'But first, Dougie is even further north,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45'investigating an incredible natural phenomenon.'
0:05:46 > 0:05:49This is the Gulf of Corryvreckan,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54a narrow channel of water between the islands of Jura and Scarba.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58It was once classed as unnavigable by the Royal Navy.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Nowadays, its fearsome reputation still scares off many yachtsmen.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05When the tide is at full flow,
0:06:05 > 0:06:10250,000 tonnes of water per second squeeze through this channel,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and when conditions are right,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16a series of whirlpools and standing waves form.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19In other words, it can get pretty wild!
0:06:19 > 0:06:22The tide isn't really moving either way at the moment,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24that's why it's fairly calm.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29I've come to the Gulf with a team of scientists to find out what
0:06:29 > 0:06:32cutting-edge research tells us about this turbulent
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and potentially dangerous channel.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37'Andy Dale from the Scottish Association for Marine Science
0:06:37 > 0:06:39'starts with the basics.'
0:06:39 > 0:06:42So, really, what's going on here is that the Firth of Lorne is
0:06:42 > 0:06:44moving up and down with the tide,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and the Sound of Jura is also moving up and down with the tide.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50But the Firth of Lorne is actually moving up and down a lot more
0:06:50 > 0:06:54than the Sound of Jura, so we get quite a steep slope between the two
0:06:54 > 0:06:57when we get towards high tide and low tide.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59And it's really that slope, the water is going downhill,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03so it comes flooding through the narrow gap from the much wider
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Sound of Jura, straight through the Gulf of Corryvreckan.
0:07:06 > 0:07:12It's believed that dramatic flood of water hitting the rocky sides
0:07:12 > 0:07:14of the channel creates the largest whirlpool,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18often said to be the third biggest in the world.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21The Scottish Association for Marine Science has recently
0:07:21 > 0:07:25completed the most detailed survey of the Gulf ever done.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Dr John Howe is showing it to me.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33So, this is the first modern survey of the area around the whirlpool.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36These rocks are some of the oldest rocks in Scotland,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40between 500 and 800 million years old.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42And it's how the flow of water, we think,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46is interrupted by these rock walls that produces the whirlpool.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48You can see the famous one here
0:07:48 > 0:07:51is a rock wall that sticks out more than the others.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54But it's one of a series of rock walls that stick
0:07:54 > 0:07:56out into the Corryvreckan.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I was always of the impression that there was a pinnacle sticking
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- right up, and everyone thought that the water spun round it.- Exactly.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03But that's clearly not the case.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07It's incredible, we hunted for this, when we were doing this survey,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10we hunted around for the famous pinnacle, and we thought, maybe there
0:08:10 > 0:08:13is something wrong, we can't really find a very pronounced pinnacle.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19'So, instead of the towering pinnacle of legend,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23'it looks like the whirlpool swirls round a lump of rock.'
0:08:23 > 0:08:27So, how important is it to have, you know, something like this,
0:08:27 > 0:08:28as detailed as this?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Because presumably, this has never been seen before.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33What sort of things is it going to be used for now?
0:08:33 > 0:08:37This will go forward to the UK Hydrographic Office
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and it will make new charts for safety at sea.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42You can imagine, somewhere like the Corryvreckan,
0:08:42 > 0:08:46it's a pretty interesting place to go boating.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50So, it will be invaluable to make a new set of safer charts
0:08:50 > 0:08:51for people at sea.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00'Later in the programme, I'll be boarding a smaller boat and braving
0:09:00 > 0:09:04'the full force of the Corryvreckan, all in the name of science.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08'40 miles to the south,
0:09:08 > 0:09:13'back on Islay, Euan is in search of the island's most elusive resident.'
0:09:15 > 0:09:19They're cheeky, full of character and incredibly rare.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Meet the chough.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The chough is a type of Crow.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28In Scotland, they are only found on Islay and the nearby islands.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32These pictures, filmed a few years ago, show the playfulness
0:09:32 > 0:09:35and clever acrobatics these birds are famous for.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40And I'm really hoping to see some, right here today, in their homeland.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48There are only around 60 pairs of chough in Scotland,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50so I'll need some luck.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55But hopefully, I've got a good chance here. This is the RSPB's Oa Estate.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The farm is run as a commercial venture, but with
0:09:58 > 0:10:02the additional aim of creating a great habitat for the chough.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'RSPB Estate Manager Dave Wood is going to show me how it all works.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11'And, curiously, the tale begins with a herd of Highland cattle.'
0:10:13 > 0:10:18- So, these are your Highland cows? - Yeah, these are our Highlanders. - How many have you got?
0:10:18 > 0:10:21We've got about 30 Highlanders in amongst about 100 cows in total.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Now, they're all very pretty and they look great here,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- but why have you got them? - We've got them here because they're a hardy breed
0:10:27 > 0:10:29and we can leave them out for the majority of the year.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- And they're doing the job for the chough mainly. - You say a job, what are they doing?
0:10:33 > 0:10:37So, they're grazing the grass down, making it nice and short
0:10:37 > 0:10:40so the birds can get at the insects in the grass and soil.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43So, if it's long, they physically wouldn't be able to get there?
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Exactly, yeah. The chough will only look for insects in that short turf.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50You know, sometimes the glamour goes out of this job because
0:10:50 > 0:10:55down here is another reason that cattle are put on this land.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58This being a cowpat, why is this special?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01In cowpats, you get things like dung beetles
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and other beetles that will get in there and lay their larvae.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- You can see there's a bit. And here.- Oh, yeah.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11The ideal situation would be that the adults have
0:11:11 > 0:11:15been in there for a while. There's loads of really fat larvae in there.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- A cowpat full of larvae would be a real good meal.- It's tiny!
0:11:18 > 0:11:20That's one of the small ones. But some of the dung beetles
0:11:20 > 0:11:23get quite big. They're quite sizeable, and the larvae
0:11:23 > 0:11:26can be a centimetre long. And a good meal for a small bird.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31So, this is a real five-star Michelin restaurant for chough, isn't it?
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Yeah, it can be when the cowpat's full of beetle larvae,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38it can be a really good meal for them. Yeah.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42- Not a great participation sport. - Not the best, no.- Onwards.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47'The RSPB have created an ideal habitat for the chough
0:11:47 > 0:11:51'but despite their best efforts, only one pair have been spotted
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'on the estate this year. Let's hope we can find them.'
0:12:00 > 0:12:03What a fantastic landscape, this area. It's windy as anything.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- But it's dramatic, isn't it?- Yeah, it's a beautiful stretch of coast.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10They're nesting in the caves, so, around the island, they might nest
0:12:10 > 0:12:13in old buildings and things, but on this bit of reserve...
0:12:13 > 0:12:15- Is that one there?- ..we've got lots of natural caves.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18No, that's a hooded crow. They're very rare birds.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- And they like it here because it's a bit warmer...- You think?
0:12:21 > 0:12:25..West Coast facing. Yeah, normally! We don't get too many winter frosts
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and snow and things like that that affect them badly.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- How are they doing on the island? - Well, they're not doing great.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Even though it's the only place in Scotland where you can come
0:12:32 > 0:12:35and see them, and there's a reasonable population here,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38the actual population's been in decline for a number of years.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39OK, let's go do it.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'With the chough population on the island in decline,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'I'm beginning to lose hope of ever finding them.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47'And, then, suddenly, we get a glimpse.'
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Now, I'm not going to pretend we saw them for very long
0:12:57 > 0:12:59because they took off after a couple of minutes.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01They went off around that headland.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04But we're pretty pleased with ourselves here on Islay.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And over on Jura, Sarah's off to meet a young family who live
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and work on the island all year round.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26'Jura is 142 square miles and, apart from a few crofts,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30'it's basically made up of seven different estates,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33'including one owned by the Prime Minister's in-laws,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37'which is why David Cameron often holidays here.'
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Out of all the estates, only one, Ardlussa,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44is actually occupied full-time by its owners.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I'm off to meet the Fletcher family.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51I was at school with Andrew Fletcher but I haven't seen him for 20 years.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57'I want to find out how the Fletchers make this
0:13:57 > 0:14:00'remote estate in the north of the island work.'
0:14:00 > 0:14:06- Hello. Hi!- Hi!- Do you remember me? - I do!
0:14:06 > 0:14:11'Andrew and Claire Fletcher moved back to Jura seven years ago,
0:14:11 > 0:14:16'the fifth generation to take on the 18,000 acre family estate.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21'Like most estates, it's had to diversify to survive.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24'But cattle farming is still at the heart of the business.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28'Andrew and I are going to feed the cows.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32'Andrew had a knee operation last week, so I'm driving.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34'And that's not all, it seems.'
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- Are you quite happy to carry the bag of feed?- Of course I am.- Good.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40I can carry it no problem. Right.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- I can see there's a few mums with calves.- A little bit of interest.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47- There will be plenty of interest. - We'll be OK going in amongst them, will we?
0:14:47 > 0:14:49We'll be OK with these ones.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51It's not something I'd like everyone to do.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- So, they've been outside all year? - They're always outside, yeah.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- We don't have a shed for them. - Right.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- And how do they cope with the winter outside?- Very well.
0:15:00 > 0:15:01These are all our own cows
0:15:01 > 0:15:04so they've been kept and bred from here. So they're
0:15:04 > 0:15:07half Highlanders, half Shorthorns, and they're a Luing breed.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11'The Luing cows are bred with a Limousin bull.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15'That mix provides the perfect calves to sell to the mainland
0:15:15 > 0:15:20'to fatten for beef. But the estate is a long way from their buyers.'
0:15:20 > 0:15:24How much does it cost to try and get these cows to market?
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Well, you've kind of... You've got it there. It is our big problem.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It's location. It's our best thing from some points of view, but the location of getting here...
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Two ferries to get here is an expensive business.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Two ferries, a long drive up the road,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40hauliers not wanting to come that far, yeah. It's expensive.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- You're up against it?- Yeah.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Now, you lived in a city for many, many years, although your family
0:15:46 > 0:15:50have had this estate in the family for many generations.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53You've come back. You've been here for seven years.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- How are things going? - Things are coming on.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58It's not easy running a Scottish estate.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00There's not many people who have...
0:16:02 > 0:16:05..the time and the ability to live on their estate rather than
0:16:05 > 0:16:09work in London to get enough money to pay for it. But it's been good.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13I mean, I never thought I'd be here this long. I love it here.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15We can make it work but, by Christ, it's hard work.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21'As well as the cattle, the estate does deerstalking,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24'and takes paying guests for dinner, bed and breakfast.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30'As much as possible,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33'Claire likes to serve them produce from the estate and the garden.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37'Which is why I'm giving her a hand to plant some beetroot.'
0:16:40 > 0:16:47- Right.- One inch deep, about four inches between.- So, just...pour?
0:16:47 > 0:16:50- Tell me if I'm doing it wrong. - Yeah, you're doing it wrong.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53One inch deep, four inches apart.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'Mm. While I'm working on my beetroot planting,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00'Claire explains how the Fletchers are developing the estate.'
0:17:00 > 0:17:04So, we've now diversified. We've built a hydroelectric scheme,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06so we're generating electricity and selling it to the grid.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10The next project may be a little bit of venison processing.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12- So, you have to keep... - Keep thinking ahead.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14And futureproofing everything.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16You know, the house itself, the wet and rain,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20you need new roof tiles, new windows, it's just constant.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'Claire used to run a radio station on the mainland.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'A far cry from her current lifestyle.'
0:17:26 > 0:17:30If someone had just said to me "This is what you're going to be doing in six or seven years' time,"
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I would have just laughed, fallen over backwards, complete disbelief.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36But, you know what, I love it now.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41I think I'd find it really hard to go back to the real world.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'It might not be the real world as most of us know it,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'but it's a great place for kids.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53'Which is good because Andrew and Claire have four. All girls.'
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- Hi.- Here's Molly.- Hi, Molly. How are you doing?
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Oh, they are running away from the camera. Hi.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- We're not that bad, we're quite nice.- You coming off, too, Pete?
0:18:02 > 0:18:05OK, we've got extras tonight as well. There we are, that's it.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07And they're all scared of us.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09They've all gone into the house for a snack.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12I'll get some milk as well so I can get a cup of tea.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- This is... This is what?- This is a shop as well.- This is a shop?
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- Milk and paper, essentials. - Newspapers and milk.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20I'm getting papers today and milk as well.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Oh! What else do you have in there?
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- I think she'd have to put an order in!- Thanks, see you later.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36'Straight off the school bus and into the field,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39'it's time for the girls to feed their Jacobs sheep.'
0:18:42 > 0:18:45It's obvious that your girls love living here.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Would you like one of them to eventually take on the estate,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50or perhaps all of them?
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Yeah, hopefully, Jura and especially Ardlussa will always be in them,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58but it's a difficult one. Yes, it's a hard life. It's a great life.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It would be brilliant if one of them wanted to do it.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04But, also, they've got to really want it, to be here, so we'll see.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06But, yeah, obviously,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08we'd love it for the Fletchers to go on for longer here.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Only time will tell, I suppose.- Yes. - Well, thanks for having us.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13- It's been great.- Thank you.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16'Now, over to Euan on the west of Islay,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21'where he's indulging in one of his favourite occupations.'
0:19:22 > 0:19:24'Time for a dram, I think.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28'While Jura boasts just one distillery, Islay has eight,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30'and I'm heading to the newest.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36'The roll call of Islay malts is a list that brings joy
0:19:36 > 0:19:40'to folk like me who are fans of a good peaty dram.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46'The newest addition to that list is Kilchoman.'
0:19:48 > 0:19:53Kilchoman is the first new distillery on the island for 125 years.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57It may be the young pretender but I'm told that in many ways this
0:19:57 > 0:20:01distillery uses the most traditional methods of them all.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06I'm meeting distillery manager John MacLellan
0:20:06 > 0:20:09to find out more about the process.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13- John.- Hello.- How do you do? - Nice to meet you.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16- So, where do we start? - Well, you start here I think.
0:20:17 > 0:20:23- My rake.- And what we're going to do now is level this barley out.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Anywhere? 'The first step in the whisky-making process is the malting.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29'Barley is soaked in water before being spread
0:20:29 > 0:20:33'on the floor of the malting house to germinate.'
0:20:33 > 0:20:36As it grows, the barley's going to germinate here,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and it's going to transform this insoluble starch.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- Very starchy at the bottom. - It is, yeah.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43And that's going to turn into sugar?
0:20:43 > 0:20:46This is going to turn into insoluble starch, maltose sugar,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48which we will then use for making the alcohol.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50So this is quite a traditional process.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52This is absolutely traditional,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56this is barley grown here on Rockside Farm and used at the
0:20:56 > 0:21:01distillery next door, so it's how it would have been done 200 years ago.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06It's almost like a cottage distillery, or a croft distillery
0:21:06 > 0:21:11if you like, but everything is done here on the one site.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14After five days, the barley is transferred to a kiln,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16where aromatic peat smoke gives
0:21:16 > 0:21:20the "green malt", as it's called, the distinctive flavour.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25- This is your peat fire.- This is it, it's not a huge fire, but...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- Quite dinky, isn't it? - It's all we need.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Actually, in a year we would only consume, I would say,
0:21:31 > 0:21:36approximately four tonnes of peat. A tiny amount.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- And you've got wet peat here. - Put some on top.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43The wet peat is used purely just to raise the amount of smoke.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49So the flavour attaches itself to the damp or the green malt,
0:21:49 > 0:21:54flavour attaches itself to that, the actual drying of the barley will be
0:21:54 > 0:21:58done after the fire is put out, and that drying is done by hot air.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00- And you've got some of last week's. - Absolutely.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- This is last week's barley.- You can see the germination.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Yeah, you can see the roots and shoots.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12We tasted this earlier on, and it was really starchy.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16- This is toasty sweetness.- Yeah, yeah. - And that's the magic.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18That's the maltose, the sugar and the barley.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- I could eat that for breakfast. - Yeah, you could.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25I've seen people actually using grist from the
0:22:25 > 0:22:27distillery mills to make bread.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Or...you could use it to make whisky, which, to my mind,
0:22:31 > 0:22:32is the better option.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Put it to bed.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41'Anthony Wills is the owner of Kilchoman.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:43This is where we make our whisky
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and this is how important this place is, because it's the Holy Grail.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The whole traditional pot stills and everything as well.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52This is the final product, yeah?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Yeah, this is the 100% Islay,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57which is produced from barley
0:22:57 > 0:22:59that we grow, and malt, and distil here.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Purely in the interest of research...
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Not as peaty as I thought it would be.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12And it's got a bit of a...
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- floral note, am I wrong?- Yeah, I think you're absolutely right,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18this is quite lightly peated, probably more lightly peated
0:23:18 > 0:23:22than most of the Islay malts, apart from Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25But on the back of the palate you get the peat and the smoke
0:23:25 > 0:23:28coming through a bit more, and it lingers for a long time.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Unlike the whisky in this glass,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34which isn't going to linger very long at all.
0:23:34 > 0:23:35- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Poor Sarah has missed out on having a taste,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and I almost feel sorry for her.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50She's exploring the north end of Jura.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Five miles beyond the end of Jura's only public road
0:24:01 > 0:24:03and along a rutted private track,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07you will find a farmhouse called Barnhill.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14It was here in this beautifully remote spot that George Orwell
0:24:14 > 0:24:19wrote this - 1984, the classic dystopian novel.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22The book brought terms like Big Brother
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and Room 101 into everyday language.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31The book is a dark tale of an oppressive and violent regime.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Jura gave Orwell the peace he needed to write.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40He moved here in 1946, leaving London and its pressures behind.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46At the time, Orwell, who was working as a journalist,
0:24:46 > 0:24:47said that he felt smothered.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49He wanted to escape
0:24:49 > 0:24:52and write something that had an important message.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56What a place to come... and what a message.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03When Orwell wasn't writing, he'd often go fishing in a small dingy,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07sometimes braving the treacherous waters of the Corryvreckan.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11On one trip, he miscalculated the tides, capsized his boat
0:25:11 > 0:25:14and had to scramble to safety on a rocky island.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20To find out more about this story and watch Dougie's interview
0:25:20 > 0:25:24with George Orwell's son, head over to our website...
0:25:32 > 0:25:35'Now, I'm still here in the Gulf of Corryvreckan,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'the same waters that almost caught out George Orwell.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41'I'm with a team of scientists who are working to improve
0:25:41 > 0:25:45'our understanding of these complex and dangerous tides.'
0:25:48 > 0:25:52We're rendezvousing mid-water with the Celtic Voyager.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55The tide is building and things are getting pretty choppy.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Marine scientist Andy Dale is transferring to this
0:25:58 > 0:26:01little boat, and I'm going with him.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Excited.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12OK, thank you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13Thank you very much.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17All aboard, and on our way.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20The plan is to wait until the tide is running full force and then
0:26:20 > 0:26:25deploy a GPS drifter that will help Andy understand the
0:26:25 > 0:26:27complex dynamics of the Gulf.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30So we put the drifter in, what does that actually tell you then?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Well, we want to know the current speed,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and it's extremely difficult to put a current meter
0:26:35 > 0:26:39to directly measure speed at a point into an environment like this.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43So we have a GPS tracker up in the head of one of these
0:26:43 > 0:26:46and a satellite modem, and the satellite modem can
0:26:46 > 0:26:49directly transmit the position to us on the boat.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51And how long are you leaving them in the water at a time?
0:26:51 > 0:26:53We typically leave them in for a couple days,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56so they'll go through multiple tidal cycles, and sometimes
0:26:56 > 0:26:59they go back and forth through the Corryvreckan several times.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05While we wait for the perfect moment to deploy the drifters,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07the tide continues to build.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13The water is already VERY wild, and it's getting wilder.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29'The team decide this is the moment to put out the drifters,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32'and Andy's colleague Bernard is in charge.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:36OK, Bernard, on you go, deploy said drifter, if you would.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41And there it goes, first one out.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Looks like a little periscope sticking up there.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48'Andy has amalgamated the data from many drifters
0:27:48 > 0:27:49'and produced an animation.'
0:27:51 > 0:27:53When the tide's going this way there's a squirt of drifters,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57and they head out into this area of the Firth of Lorn,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59which is known as "The Great Race."
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And you'll see eddies form on the head of the squirt of water
0:28:02 > 0:28:04coming out the Corryvreckan.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06And you see how all that energy that was passing through
0:28:06 > 0:28:09the Corryvreckan plays out in open water out here.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14All this data will be used to create more accurate
0:28:14 > 0:28:17computer simulations of tidal flows.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20These will aid the development of the tidal energy industry.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Wildlife researchers will also use the data to understand
0:28:23 > 0:28:26how birds take advantage of the tides.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Well, that drifter there will be pushed and pummelled
0:28:32 > 0:28:34by the raw power of the Gulf of Corryvreckan
0:28:34 > 0:28:38over the next couple days. Sadly, we have to leave.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Join us next week at seven o'clock for a celebration of Scottish seafood.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45I'll be in Brussels,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48seeing how Scotland sells its wares to the world.
0:28:49 > 0:28:54In Kinlochbervie, Sarah gets a first look at the day's catch.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58And can Nick tempt the people of Glasgow with
0:28:58 > 0:28:59an unsung hero of the sea?
0:28:59 > 0:29:01Beautiful.