Episode 1 Landward

Hello and a very warm welcome to a brand new series of Landward.

You sit there in your comfy chair and we'll bring the glorious

Scottish countryside right into your living room.

SHEEP BLEAT

'Throughout Scotland, signs of spring are emerging.

'It's felt like a long winter.

'But don't worry because we've put the time to good use and have been

'out and about to bring you the best stories from the countryside.'

Shortly I'll be taking to the skies

with the researchers counting our largest native mammal, the red deer.

'Also on the programme this week...

'Ewan meets the big cats

'that may be returning to roam the Scottish countryside.'

Well, that was incredible.

'Nick and I tempt the folk of Inverness with a little offal.'

-A little bit of, er, animal.

-No.

-You wouldn't?

Right, OK, maybe I didn't sell that particularly well.

'And Sarah shampoos what may be the cutest sheep in the world.'

He's enjoying this.

'Roaming over our mountains, moors and woodland,

'red deer are one of Scotland's most iconic species.

'Impressive as they are, they are an animal that divides opinion.

'Environmentalists say there are too many

'and numbers need to be controlled,

'while those who run sporting estates say

'they're controlled too much.'

It's an argument that's rumbled on for decades.

So in order to balance the needs of sporting estates

with environmental interests,

authorities need to know just how many deer there actually are,

and once they work that out, they can decide how best to control them.

So I've come to Fortingall in Perthshire to take part in

the annual deer survey.

First up, briefing time.

I didn't get the email about the green jackets, though.

'Every year, Scottish Natural Heritage

'count deer in 42 different areas of the country.

'They enlist the help of local stalkers and gamekeepers,

'who provide invaluable knowledge of the terrain.

'It's an enormous task.

'The section we're looking at today alone covers 90,000 hectares.

'To cover that sort of ground requires one of these.'

'This is one of three helicopters covering over 30 estates today.

'I'm joining survey coordinator Jamie Hammond

'over the Glen Lyon Estate.'

How do you go about actually, you know, counting the deer?

Because I would imagine that they get fairly skittish

when they see or hear the helicopters coming.

There's some there.

Right, Ally, photo 10 plus 11.

'The navigator in the front spots the deer,

'which are photographed by Jamie.

'Logging the sightings is head stalker of the Glen Lyon estate,

'Alasdair McNaughton.'

How important, Ally, is it that you've got a bit of local

knowledge of this area when you're up here doing this survey?

Erm, we just probably ground at the...

Maybe heading from the helicopter to the camp.

-Uh-huh.

-You know, just hidden bits, shelter.

The deer like to be in shelter, especially on a windy day like this.

Yeah. And how much has the information helped

in terms of managing this area?

Well, it lets us know how many we need to cull

to keep the figures level or reduce them if we have to,

which we've had to be doing over the last few years.

'Over the next three days, the entire 90,000 hectares will be

'surveyed until every deer has been accounted for.

'It's time for me to jump out, though,

'at one of their regular refuelling stops.'

Well, that was quite an experience.

I hadn't realised just how complicated it would be

to count all the deer in Scotland.

It's a gargantuan task, an almost impossible task.

Without a helicopter you'd have no chance.

Need a cup of tea.

'While the team continue operations in Perthshire,

'I'm heading to Inverness, and the headquarters of SNH,

'to crunch some numbers with Jamie.'

We've got, you know, clearly all the high tech, erm, equipment,

but then when it comes to the kind of data crunching bit,

we download the photos, that goes onto a program,

and you really have to go through each photo, zooming in and out,

count the number of deer, put dots on them, and then try and classify them.

So that's the bit that does take a fair amount of time.

So what do you do with this information once you've gathered it?

Essentially we produce a report, we produce a map.

That gives the areas of the estates, total number of stags, total number

of hinds, total number of calves, and then a density by landholding.

And that then goes to those individual landholdings and that will

help them find a way forward in terms of their management decisions

and how many deer they want to cull, what their aspirations are,

what their objectives are for the estate,

and that's kind of, you know,

that data's stored in the mixer for them to kind of work through.

Potential conflicts may arise in terms of deer numbers,

depending on whether it's a sporting estate next to a grouse moor, or...

-Sure.

-..you know, next to an area of woodland

where regeneration is a priority.

So I think we see ourselves as kind of fitting in the middle there

to kind of coordinate amongst different groups of individuals

and use that data effectively to kind of inform decisions.

'The data that Jamie and his team collect is

'invaluable in informing the debate over deer management in Scotland.

'However, a cull may not be the only threat to deer

'if some conservationists get their way.

'We sent Ewan to investigate the latest animal that has been

'recommended for reintroduction to the Scottish countryside.'

'This beautiful creature is a lynx.

'Roughly the size of a Labrador,

'they vanished from our landscape more than a thousand years ago.

'But back in March,

'the idea of reintroducing the lynx to Britain hit the headlines.'

An organisation called Lynx UK Trust

proposed releasing lynx at three separate locations

across the country,

including the north-east of Scotland.

And that, as they say, firmly set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Any release of lynx would have to be licensed by the government

after careful consultation with all the interested parties,

and that's a process that wouldn't happen quickly.

'Many well respected conservation bodies back

'the idea of reintroducing the lynx.'

This is Dundreggan, it's a conservation estate

owned by my charity, Trees For Life.

10,000 acres of land in Glenmoriston...

'Alan Watson Featherstone works to restore Scotland's Caledonian Forest.

'He believes bringing back the lynx could help achieve his aim.'

And we can see the issue

that is typical of so much of the Highlands of Scotland today.

-Because the trees suddenly stop.

-They do. The trees stop...

And it's just a line in the heather, isn't it? Whoosh, end of trees.

Yes, well, we've got lots of little trees here.

Er, lots of young seedlings, and you can see

when we get out here a bit further they're getting smaller and smaller.

And they're being held in check. These should all be able to grow.

But if you look closely you'll see they're all being nibbled off here.

-And this is deer, yeah?

-Yes, this is deer.

How's a lynx going to stop that happening?

Well, lynx, as a carnivore,

help to control the population of herbivores,

and you've got a food pyramid in nature,

with vegetation at the bottom, herbivores that eat the vegetation,

and carnivores that eat the herbivores,

and we've taken away that top tier completely here,

and herbivore numbers are out of balance with

the diminished amount of forest,

the greatly reduced forest that we've got left in Scotland.

'A few lynx wouldn't make much of an impact on Scotland's deer

'population, but they would change where the deer graze.

'With no threat, deer will happily stay feeding in one place.

'Add a predator into the mix and they will instinctively move around,

'spreading their impact.'

That's part of the broader understanding that needs to be

communicated to people about the role of predators, that they don't

just kill their prey, they actually change the behaviour of their prey.

'But of course lynx prey on animals other than deer.'

A lamb, for example,

is a much easier meal for a lynx than a fleet-footed roe deer.

And we've spoken to a few farmers, none of whom were prepared to be

interviewed on camera, but what they are saying to us is that the prospect

of a large cat being released in the Scottish countryside is not

something that they'd welcome.

'In Scotland, the only way to see lynx at the moment is in captivity.

'It's feeding time here at Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore.

'Una and Douglas Richardson are taking me inside the enclosure

'to see their two adult lynx and two cubs.'

So they're all keeping an eye on us.

OK.

Is it just me or are they just incredibly beautiful animals?

They really are, they really are, and I think, as well, you know,

because they are a cold climate creature,

you've got that lovely thick fur, and...

-Seem to be a bit of excitement.

-Yeah!

They get quite excited when the food's coming in.

Right, we'll just walk back towards the door.

-Oh! Where did that one come from?

-Sneak!

Well, that was incredible.

Beautiful animals -

much, much bigger than I thought.

And just to see them face-to-face, I don't know, it's quite moving.

'From the pure emotion of a close encounter,

'it's back to the complex realities of reintroduction.

'Ecologist Dr David Hetherington from Cairngorm National Park

'has studied lynx reintroductions around Europe.'

-Could it happen?

-I think...

-Never mind the shoulds, could it happen?

-It could happen, yeah.

Biologically, it's entirely feasible. We know there's enough habitat

and food in Scotland to support a lynx population.

But nature conservation's about 20% biology and 80% dealing with people.

People who live and work in the countryside are likely to

have concerns, quite legitimately, about lynx reintroduction,

and unless they're addressed, lynx reintroduction will either

not happen, or, if it does, it will ultimately fail.

They need to be addressed, those concerns.

We've seen that in other countries, in Bavaria, in Austria,

where the conservation movement

reintroduced lynx without any consultation, without the dialogue,

and ultimately those reintroductions failed.

Your job is just to provide advice,

but how exciting would it be just to see a lynx come along that track?

I think for a lot of people

that would be something that would be very exciting.

It would be a very difficult thing to see.

I mean, let's not pretend that these animals are easy to spot -

they're incredibly shy and elusive, and they're very low density.

Er, but of course, there is a chance you might see them,

and for a lot of people that will be a real thrill.

This is a really exciting debate,

with both sides drawn up firmly either side of the fence.

Now, I don't have livestock so I'm a bit biased,

but it's a tremendous thought to think that one day you could have

lynx out in these mountains, out in the trees,

where they used to be hundreds of years ago.

We'd love to know what you think about bringing back the lynx

or anything else you see on the programme.

Log in to our Facebook page and join in the debate.

Now, over the winter months,

many of you have been using it to tell us

what's happening in your neck of the woods,

and Sarah couldn't resist following up one recommendation.

I've come to see something of a first in Scotland,

and they're supposed to be the cutest sheep in the world -

and we love cute sheep on Landward.

-Morning, Raymond, Jenni, how are you?

-Not bad, Sarah.

What have we got here?

This is, er, Valais blacknose sheep from Switzerland.

I can honestly say I've never seen anything like them in my life.

-They're very cute, eh?

-They're very cute.

What are you doing with them, are you rounding them up?

-We're going to take them up and wash them.

-OK, I'll join you.

-Okey-dokey, let's go, boys, come on, hup-hup-hup.

-They follow?

Yeah, I hope so. Bah-bah-bah! Hup-hup-hup-hup! Bah-bah-bah!

'These Valais blacknose mountain sheep are the first in Scotland

'and have been brought here by Raymond Irvine

'and his partner Jenni McAllister.

'The animals are reared mainly for meat,

'but their wool is also valuable.'

So why d'you wash them?

We wash them because we clip them twice a year -

September and March.

We're going to take photographs of these sheep and we're going to sell

fleeces on our webpage, and people can see the sheep, buy that fleece.

We've sent out to America, Australia...

And you're getting good money for it?

-We are getting about £25-£30 a fleece.

-So, better than...?

Two fleeces a year, that's OK.

-I'm going to soak his head.

-Uh-huh.

-OK, and me?

-Soaked yourself, sorry.

It's fine, I'm glad I put my waterproof trousers on.

-What do we do?

-Some of that on here.

This is "full restore conditioning replenish spray."

-Nothing but the best.

-Nothing but the best, just like my own hair.

Yeah, well...

-You're a successful breeder.

-Charolais cattle, yeah.

I'm thinking, "Why these?"

Er, it's something different.

Everybody's talking about diversifying,

so maybe this is one of the ways.

Er, the other thing is, er,

it's something my girlfriend loved, so...

Oh, so it was out of love?

You could say that a little bit.

Over a year ago,

my girlfriend showed me a picture on the internet -

this crazy, white, fluffy thing, which I laughed at for a start.

She said, "Oh, we should get these." So we did a bit of research.

I take it it's not just a case of picking up the phone and saying,

-"I'll have five of those, please"?

-Oh, it was crazy. We actually...

It was difficult getting contacts for a start.

Then we said, "Right, what we'll do is get on that plane,

"get over there to one of the main shows and meet the people."

He's enjoying this.

So you did it out of love for your partner.

Was it love at first sight when you saw them?

Yeah, definitely.

We've just fallen in love with them.

They're great animals to work with.

When they first arrived, we were so nervous.

It was like meeting somebody for the first time. You never...

Like going on a date for the first time.

First date with these things, you know.

It's part of our life now.

These sheep are part of our life.

These Valais blacknose can cope with the high pastures of the Swiss Alps,

so the climate around Tomintoul shouldn't be a problem for them.

Ray and Jenny now have a flock of 35,

and they are keen to bring Swiss methods to Scotland

as well as the sheep.

The big ones are cute, but the little ones are even cuter.

-He's gorgeous?

-He's gorgeous, yeah.

Jen, I hear all this is your fault.

Well...

Not all my fault, but I might have had a wee part to play in it.

Just being here today, it's such a great atmosphere,

because everyone's helping, everyone's mucking in.

It really does seem like a family affair looking after them.

Yeah, this is what they do out in Switzerland.

Are you trying to replicate...?

Yeah, we want to carry on the same kind of traditions

that they do out there with the sheep,

but it is good getting everyone else involved in it

and just all mucking in and being a part of it.

Mum's not very happy about you holding lamb.

I know, I might just put him back down.

'A last rinse and I've washed my first Valais blacknose.'

-Rinsed?

-Yeah, that's good.

-Happy?

-I'm happy.

And with fleece as white as the show on the hilltops,

there's only one more thing to do.

-This is Swiss style.

-Swiss style.

They're looking pretty good. They're all cleaned up.

They're all dry and lovely in this wind as well.

You've obviously made a huge commitment to these sheep.

Are you glad at the way things are going?

Absolutely. Yeah, I think...

Yeah, I think this is probably one of the best things that we've done.

-Raymond?

-Yeah, yeah.

Until Jen sees something else on the internet for me to look at.

-So are they the cutest sheep in the world?

-By far.

-Yes.

OK, I agree with you, I agree with you.

Right, take them off into the Tomintoul Alps. See you later.

The Valais blacknose are known for their meat as well as their fleece,

but when it comes to cooking, there's more to sheep than lamb,

and more to cattle than just steak.

We sent Nick out on the hunt for offal.

It's a staple of restaurant menus,

but attempts are being made to put it back on our plates at home.

Now I'm one of the legion of foodies

who believe there is nothing awful about offal.

I'm talking about the tasty bits.

I'm talking about lambs' kidneys, I'm talking about ox cheeks,

I'm talking about sweetbread.

The so-called fifth quarter had once fallen from favour,

but now it's back.

These cuts of meat are known as the fifth quarter in the trade.

Traditionally, they've been very popular in Scotland,

but during the BSE crisis, they were withdrawn from sale.

Since they've come back to the meat counter with a clean bill of health,

sales have been slow to pick up, and that seems an awful shame to me.

I've come here to the Scotbeef Processing Plant

just outside Stirling

to have a look at the wide array of fifth quarter products

and how they're harvested.

-OK, Nick.

-Thank you very much, sir. Lead on.

'Gerard McCafferty is the factory manager

'here at the largest slaughter facility in the UK.'

So what's happening here?

The line has been built very much with the fifth quarter in mind.

It comes up here to be dressed. It then goes into a chiller.

We chill it down.

Wow.

This is not what I expected.

This is where we chill for chilling all our offals.

We've got a carousel movement that takes one hour ten minutes

to get the product down for packing.

'Fifth quarter product can account

'for up to half the weight of the carcass,

'so encouraging the use of cuts such as kidney, liver, cheeks

'and tongue reduces waste and it makes a tasty meal.'

Do you think that there is a general problem in public awareness

with what to do with this stuff?

Yes, I do. Yes, I do. It needs education.

People like yourself, Nick, can promote it better than anyone,

because you're the guy who can educate the consumer

how to cook a beef cheek, how to cook a kidney.

Let people know that it's not a poor cut, because it's not.

When I look at this array here, I see a beautiful daube of beef,

I see ox and kidney suet pudding.

This speaks to me of fabulous eating. Onglet.

I can't get this because the French know

that this is one of the best cuts of the whole animal.

So I absolutely agree with you.

I think we have a job to do to explain to people how good

these products are, but you need to know how to be able to cook them.

Yes.

'And you need to be able to buy it too.'

-Beaton.

-Hello, Nick. How you doing?

'Beaton Lindsay runs this butcher's shop in Perth

'and is trying to persuade us to return to cooking offal at home.'

Beaton, you're a traditional family butcher. Do you sell a lot of offal?

Well, with being traditional and buying live animals from the farm,

whole animals with everything, we have to sell it to make our way.

But you're finding liver, kidney, tripe,

that's more the older customer.

But through your celebrity chef type thing

and what they're using on the television,

you're getting the younger people that are using the likes

of cheek, skirt, oxtail, sweetbreads.

Are sales of offal increasing at the moment?

Well, we're working on it.

You're finding different cuts are more popular than others.

Your meatier cuts, like cheek, skirt, oxtail,

they're growing all the time because people are learning to cook again.

Beaton, if you were to take any one of these pieces

of the fifth quarter home to cook, which would you choose?

Oxtail every time. Favourite stew in the world.

When we were kids, my mum would cook two tails of stew, and as we were

eating them, we were building the tail up along the table.

-NICK LAUGHS

-Brilliant. Best stew.

Gravy so thick and rich you could put wallpaper on a wall with it.

Fantastic.

'Well, Nick's gravy might not be able to hold wallpaper up,

'but he'll need all his skill as I join him in the Landward food van.

'We're in Inverness to try and persuade the population that

'there's a tasty alternative to the other four quarters.'

This week, Doug, we are cooking one of the finest bits of sheep

that quite often gets chucked away.

Yeah, what's this?

These are sweetbreads - a gland from the pancreatic area.

The best way to cook them is to first blanch them in boiling water

for three minutes and then you can

take the skin off the outside.

Then we get left with these guys here.

What we're going to do is pane them,

that means coat them in breadcrumbs, and deep-fry them.

They are delicious. They've got this amazing creamy texture.

We need some seasoned flour. That's ordinary plain flour.

Salt and pepper, and a little bit of paprika.

Take the blanched sweetbread and just roll them round the flour

so they get coated in flour.

Then into the egg mix and then into these dry breadcrumbs.

The best way to do this is give them a wee shoogle

rather than touching them, cos then it all sticks to your fingers.

Sorry, I do beg your pardon.

Don't slitter. Look, look!

-No, no, it's fine. Don't worry.

-Mess. Mess, Doug. Too much flour.

Am I making a mess of it now?

You're making a bit of a mess.

-I'm sorry.

-Carry on. You were doing well.

So do you think that offal in general is far too overlooked?

Absolutely. I think one of the problems we have is that post-BSE

we got paranoid in the abattoirs about removing

the whole spinal cord and everything around about it.

Because offal traditionally wasn't a high-value part of the animal,

then it has been chopped away too much.

But, actually, there is some tremendous eating.

Sweetbreads is one of the most overlooked.

I think this is a treat right up there with langoustines,

scallops and beef fillets.

-Really?

-Oh, yeah.

-As beautiful as that?

-Yeah, yeah.

In other countries as well they would never think

about chucking away these really tasty little gems.

So the breadcrumbs are on the sweetbreads. What do we do now?

We're just going to deep-fry them for about two to three minutes

until they're pale golden.

So a crunch on the outside and then this lovely creamy texture.

That's really why sweetbreads are so prized, this creamy texture.

-I've also got a little bit of gremolata.

-Yeah, which is?

It's chopped up parsley with lemon and garlic.

We'll just sprinkle a little bit over.

-Oh, nice.

-Out they come.

Beautiful.

On to a little bit of kitchen roll.

We're just going to sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

-Now, in the meantime, I'm going to cook some kidneys.

-Here they are.

This is lambs' kidneys.

A bit of salt, fresh ground black pepper. Thank you.

Then straight over to the frying pan. Into the pan goes a bit of oil.

This is light-blended olive oil.

'After the kidneys have got a bit of colour,

'it's time to whip up a sauce.

'Using the same pan, add a splash of whisky, some stock

'and a little bit of cream,

'some chives and a teaspoon of mustard.

'Put the kidneys back in the pan and coat them with the sauce.'

That, my friend, are our sauteed lambs' kidneys...

Love that mustard smell.

..with whisky, chives and mustard.

-It's tasting time.

-Can't wait.

We've got the deep-fried sweetbreads and, of course,

the sauteed lambs' kidneys with mustard sauce.

OK.

Oh.

Really nice. The whisky and the cream, mustard - plus the texture.

The texture of the kidneys. So sweetbread...

Mm.

-Need a little bit of seasoning.

-Yeah, they do.

-But very crispy on the outside.

-Creamy.

-Lovely.

-Beautiful texture. Beautiful.

Let's find out what the great citizens of Inverness

make of your sweetbread and my kidneys.

OK.

-Take a wee one.

-Take a wee one.

-Aye.

-A little bit of animal.

-No.

-You wouldn't. Right.

OK, maybe I didn't sell that particularly well.

-Vegetarian, sorry.

-You're vegetarian.

-Thank you.

-OK. That's more like it, straight in there.

Cannot seem to find a taker for my kidneys.

-It's got a wee kick to it.

-Crunchy, spicy, soft. Oh, it's lovely.

-Kidney.

-I prefer the loin.

-Did you cook them?

-I cooked them myself.

-Part of the pancreas.

-Really?

-Really?

-Yeah, yeah.

Sweetbread sounds nicer.

Tell me what you think.

Very nicely seasoned, anyway.

Oh, lovely.

Should it be hot or cold?

I think I'm a wee bit of a cook myself.

-I've never tasted anything like it.

-Really?

I've just eaten pancreas?

-Thank you.

-Thank you. Fantastic.

I have to confess, Nick, I thought some people might baulk at the idea

of eating sweetbreads,

but my goodness, that was a resounding success.

It's extraordinary.

I think the citizens of Inverness are quietly gourmand in their outlook,

because I had 100% success rate with the kidneys.

-Yeah.

-Lightly cooked kidneys.

They were medium-rare, and people were absolutely loving them.

Yeah, they were delicious.

-In the meantime, from all of us here in Inverness...

-Goodbye!

-Bye.