Episode 15 Landward

Rugged cliffs and caves and stunning sandy bays.

This week's Landward is clinging to the coastline.

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward.

I'm in Lunan Bay, where in a moment I'll be finding out

why traditional salmon netting on the coast has been halted...

perhaps forever.

But first, here's what else is coming up on the programme.

Euan meets the residents of Portsoy on the brink of stardom.

Today Portsoy, tomorrow Hollywood.

CATTLE BELLOW

Sarah follows Orkney cattle destined for market.

Ooh, 13 degrees,

very little wind.

-It's a goer.

-Happy with that?

-Oh, delighted.

-Ferry will go?

-Ferry will go.

-Right, what happens next?

-Let's get them loaded.

And I continue my motorbiking journey around the top of Scotland

with a visit to an underground river.

There's a ten-square-mile catchment area up there,

and every drop of rain that falls there comes down this waterfall.

-NEWSREEL:

-This is the fishing fleet.

He is watching and waiting for the salmon to jump.

One end of the net is left ashore,

and as soon as the salmon is spotted, he rows on,

paying the net out behind...

Coastal netting is one of the oldest methods

of harvesting fish from the sea.

For centuries, salmon travelling to their river of birth to spawn

have been trapped by nets along the coast.

But over the last 50 years,

the number of coastal netting stations has dwindled

as more and more businesses have been bought out by angling associations.

One of the last remaining businesses in Scotland is Usan Fisheries,

based just south of Montrose since the 1960s.

They run three salmon netting operations -

here, Dunnet Bay in Caithness, and Banffshire.

On average, they catch around 8,000 salmon per year,

but this year could be the very last for salmon netting ever.

No-one knows how many salmon are out at sea,

but, for many years, anglers have lobbied government,

claiming netters take too many salmon.

It's the end of the 2015 netting season,

and David Puller of Usan Fisheries

doesn't expect to get his nets back in the water any time soon.

Why has this ban been introduced?

Well, basically, the Scottish government

has been told by the European government

to measure the stocks

and basically to stop fishing until they can measure the stocks.

What does it make you feel, the fact that this is being introduced?

Well, it's a very sad day,

but we've been assured on numerous occasions that it's only temporary

until they can find out what the stock status is.

Could take ten years.

Nobody knows how long it'll take to gather the data.

I know that must be worrying for you,

because it's impossible to plan as a business if...

Well, we can't grow our business,

our customer base,

they'll look elsewhere, so we could lose all that.

Our employees'll have to look for a job elsewhere.

Do you envisage -

given the fact that this research is open-ended at the minute -

do you envisage at any point putting the nets

back in the water for commercial reasons?

Definitely we'll mothball all the gear that we don't require,

store it away and be ready.

We'll have to be in a position, ready to restart again,

because this year in particular,

the amount of new customers that have been coming on to us -

Fortnum & Mason, into Dubai, they've been looking for salmon,

all over the world, they're looking, because it's an iconic product

and it's the healthiest product you can eat.

And do you think you've been treated fairly?

Well, to be honest,

I think the Scottish government's hands are tied.

They've been under immense pressure from Europe

to be able to manage the stocks,

and the only way they can manage them sustainably

is to know the numbers.

Nobody knows how many fish are coming back to the coast,

how many fish are going up the rivers.

There are so many questions, so once these questions are answered,

then we can all start fishing again.

There are many theories as to why salmon numbers fluctuate.

It's not necessarily just netting.

Usan Fisheries hope to be employed during the ban,

assisting scientists to find answers.

In any controversy, there are winners and losers.

Usan Fisheries might be about to lose their business of 50 years,

but the prospect of a ban on coastal netting

is being celebrated by landowners and angling bodies.

I'm meeting up with

Mark Bilsby of the Dee District Salmon Fisheries Board

to see what his views are on the netting ban.

-Hi, Mark. How are you doing?

-Ah, good.

-Good to see you.

-Good to see you.

It would have been nice to go on the river today, wouldn't it?

-But this is a wee bit heavy and not very nice.

-No, far better inside.

Absolutely.

So what do you reckon to this ban on coastal netting,

a victory for common sense, do you think?

No, I think what it is is recognition of the need

that there's not enough fish coming back to the waters.

And that we have to look after those that do survive the journey at sea

and come back into the rivers to spawn to start the next generation.

Some might suggest that, you know, Usan Fisheries, for example,

it's a small company, it's small companies that are doing this

and the people who own the land perhaps have little more sway

in terms of influencing things.

Is that a fair comment?

Well, over the last 20 years, we've been...

The Dee's become catch and release,

so all the fish that have been caught here are put back.

And we've also been working with the netting industry

in our district on a willing buyer, willing seller,

so when people have come to retire,

quite often we've gone along and bought out those nets.

We've now bought out all of the nets within our district.

But still fish were being caught from elsewhere

that were destined for the Dee.

On the Dee, there's over 500 jobs involved

in the rod and line fishery.

And this is not just the ghillies

and the people that work on the river,

but it's the pubs and the B&Bs and the hotels.

And quite often the fishery makes the difference

between surviving or not surviving as a thriving rural business.

Potentially this is a good day for the mighty salmon then?

I think if it means more of them

will go through to spawn to start the next generation.

That has to be really good thing for Scotland as a whole.

It may take years, but eventually the research should show

if a permanent end to coastal netting

ensures a healthier future for Scotland's salmon rivers.

The government is consulting on its plans until the end of the month.

It's then expected that a ban on netting will be in place

from the start of the 2016 season

and last initially for a period of three years.

You can have your say on the salmon consultation

by visiting the Scottish Government website.

If you want to have your say about Landward,

you can get in touch via our Facebook page, or e-mail us.

Now, we all know that 2015 was an especially poor summer,

but farmers in northern Scotland have had a particularly bad time.

In Orkney, they experienced the wettest May and June on record

in over 100 years.

And that has meant a shortage of grass for livestock.

Sarah's been to meet an island beef farmer

trying to overcome the problems caused by the weather.

I've come to Howan Farm to meet Raymond Flett...

Come on, then. Come on, boy.

..who produces prime Aberdeen Angus cattle.

I'm helping him give his cattle a last feed

before they travel over 200 miles

to get to the Aberdeen Angus show and sale in four days' time.

Come on, boys.

The extreme wet weather over the summer has meant that many farmers

on the islands have had to send their animals to market early,

at knock-down prices.

But Raymond has managed to hold on to his cattle for the sale.

It's the best chance he has of getting a good price for his animals.

The cattle have been in a lot longer than normal,

so obviously that's a side-effect that they haven't been on the grass,

they haven't put on the same weight as normal.

They're going to be lighter when they're sold,

so it means less cash, basically.

What are the main challenges of getting them

to market on the mainland?

Well, hopefully there'll be no problem shipping-wise,

but that is obviously a worry.

And what happens if the boat doesn't go?

If the boat doesn't go, the animals won't get there to be sold, so...

They'll just have to either be sold locally or we try and keep them

and put them to another sale in Aberdeen.

The reason for going is that it is a show and a sale.

That's the attraction.

This particular sale, you want to show off your beasts.

-That's right, yeah.

-And you hope to get more money for them?

Hopefully, if we get in the prizes we will get more money, yeah.

The cattle are booked on the last ferry

that will get them to the show on time.

But the ferry won't sail if the weather turns bad.

What's the forecast looking like?

Ooh, 13 degrees, very little wind. It's a goer. Yeah, no problem.

-Happy with that?

-Oh, delighted, yeah.

-Ferry will go?

-Ferry will go.

-Right, what happens next?

-Let's get them loaded.

COW BELLOWS

So that's them all loaded. 200 miles over land and sea to get to market.

-A long way to go.

-A long way to go.

-You've got hopes for them?

We always live in hope, as I keep saying, yeah.

Premium cows there. What do you hope to get for them, price-wise?

Hopefully between 1,100 and 1,200 I'll be happy with.

The situation in Orkney has been so desperate this year,

that local ferry operator NorthLink has stepped in

to offer additional ferry services to farmers

trying to get their cattle to market.

Cattle have been transported from the isles by ferry for decades.

It used to be an uncomfortable journey,

but today's prime beef cattle

travel in a much more luxurious version of cattle class.

NorthLink's freight manager, Kris Bevan, gave me a tour.

How state-of-the-art is this?

Well, everything in this container is to do with animal welfare

and making sure the animals travel as comfortably as possible,

so we've got the hay racks.

We've got nipple drinkers here which supplies them water.

I know it's been a particularly bad summer here in Orkney,

so what impact has that had on Orcadian farmers?

Up here in Orkney, there's not enough pasture and feed

to feed them all and fatten them up to the size that they need to be,

so they're all being shipped to Aberdeenshire

and all over Scotland to get finished.

So this ferry link is vital to Orcadian farmers?

Yeah, this is very much the lifeline service to the mainland

and, without it, they wouldn't be able to do that.

With the livestock on board at quarter to midnight, the ferry

slips out of Kirkwall harbour on the overnight crossing to Aberdeen.

Bridge, watch keeper. That's us entering the cattle deck now.

Throughout the night, the livestock are well looked after.

Sean Smith, the ship's chief officer is on cattle-sitting duty.

He inspects the animals every hour.

They seem happy enough.

My container - I mean CABIN - has all mod-cons.

Lights...

Oh, this is nice.

Drinks...

Running water, a loo.

But this is what I've been waiting for.

SHE SIGHS

Bed.

And crucially, a pillow, not sawdust, to lay my head.

I hope it's a smooth crossing.

That's us arriving in Aberdeen.

It was a pretty calm, straightforward crossing

but, despite this, I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't settle.

So I wonder how the cattle are doing.

As soon as the ship docks, the containers are taken

from the ferry and the cattle are loaded onto waiting lorries...

To take them on the last leg of their journey.

Destination, Thainstone Mart.

Well, that's them loaded and heading away, but the big question is,

will Raymond get what he wants for them at the mart?

This Orkney cattle's done very well today.

Things seem to be going well for Raymond,

despite their low weight and the dreadful summer of 2015.

We got first prize heifer, second prize pair

and third prize pen of four, so I'm delighted.

Oh, my goodness, that was an unbelievable trade at roughly,

I would guess, just over 1,300 each, so I'm over the moon.

And that's £200 a beast more than

he was hoping for before he left Orkney.

Scotland has some amazing roads.

And, in the summer months, they're choc-a-bloc with tourists

from all over the world

taking in the stunning landscapes, vistas and views.

This summer, we asked Landward viewers on Facebook

to suggest Scotland's best roads.

The ones you enjoy driving the most.

And we were inundated with ideas.

Based on your suggestions, we are travelling a route

around the very north of the Scottish mainland.

And I'm doing it all on this beauty, a Triumph Bonneville.

This week's journey takes us 90 miles from Thurso in Caithness

to Tongue, and then on to Achriesgill in Sutherland.

Along the way, I'll be stopping off in Durness

to explore the most magical caves in Scotland.

Initially, the landscape is bleak and windy.

The coast is dotted with wind turbines,

renewable energy going some way

to replacing the former nuclear power station I pass at Dounreay.

My journey today takes me on the A836,

which is the most northerly A-road in mainland Britain.

I'm just doing part of it but it goes from John O'Groats to Tarlogie.

It's quite pretty in places and I'm looking forward to it.

And then we go into the village of Tongue,

with a rather imposing structure, Castle Varrich, on the hill yonder.

It's the oldest stone building in the north and it looks over the...

Well, it guards the entrance, really, of Loch Hope.

With Ben Hope in the background,

which is the most northerly Munro in Scotland.

It's too long since I've been in this part of the country,

I'd forgotten just how absolutely beautiful it is.

No time to dawdle, though, as I'm meeting a man near Durness.

I'm heading down to Smoo,

a natural collection of caves with some impressive pools

that are situated right below me.

These caves are unique in the UK,

as the massive entrance chamber was formed by the sea,

but the inner caves have been carved

by the action of rainwater funnelling in.

Guide, Colin Coventry, is showing me around.

An awful lot of water last night, so you are seeing it at its best,

-or its worst, whatever way you want to look.

-Can we go and have a look?

-Absolutely.

-After you.

-Oh, thank you, Dougie.

There is a ten-square-mile catchment area up there,

and every drop of rain that falls there comes down this waterfall.

So you've got the massive seawater cave out there,

the freshwater cave in here, is that Smoo Cave, as we know it?

I believe there is a large cave somewhere behind that wall there

-and I've spent the last three years trying to find it.

-OK...

-Another cave?

-Absolutely.

-Over here?

Yeah, well, this is the entrance here, Dougie,

and just behind here is a massive faultline.

Now, I can trace it above ground for a couple of miles,

so it's a serious faultline,

so I've dug a tunnel towards what I think is the cave,

and I've reached the faultline.

-So you've actually dug all of this yourself?

-Absolutely, Dougie.

And I believe I'm going to find a new cave.

Scotland's newest cave, somewhere behind this wall.

We've done some dye testing here,

and that tells us there's at least 400 metres of passageway,

somewhere behind this wall.

So, in a couple of years' time, I potentially could come back here

and there will be a completely new cave?

There's evidence of some charcoal coming out of the sand,

100 metres from us, behind us here.

Now charcoal means people.

The only reason for charcoal being there

is people went in there and made fires.

I believe there is a Neolithic chamber somewhere behind this wall

that no-one has been in for 6,000 years.

And I intend to find it.

This is no hobby, Dougie, this is obsession.

-Total obsession.

-Goodness me.

And if I find it, you'll have to come back here

and have a look at it.

I will come back, just make sure you make that hole a little bigger,

cos I'm not going through there!

We'll do that for you, Dougie, no problem, aye.

In the meantime, thanks for showing me around.

-Been a pleasure, Dougie.

-I'm hitting the road again.

-Absolutely.

-Good to see you. Cheers, Colin.

-Cheers, mate, all the best.

What a place. And what a guy.

I really hope he finds that chamber.

There's not much of the day left but I've only got 15 miles to go

to reach Achriesgill, and the West Coast.

Almost 90 miles done today

and it seemed that it got more and more spectacular

as every mile rolled by.

Next week, I'm heading south on one of my favourite roads in Scotland

as I head towards Gairloch.

As we travel about Scotland,

we like to stop and ask the folk we meet on the street

what they love about the local area.

Today, we've stopped off in the Royal Borough of Montrose,

which is known as the sculpture capital of Angus.

So what else can the locals tell us about the town?

What would you say is, like, you know,

-the iconic landmark of Montrose? What says, "This is it"?

-That's it.

-Yeah?

-The steeple.

-Montrose?

-Uh-huh.

-I would say your steeple.

Best landmark, for example, what would you reckon?

The steeple?

The 67-metre steeple on the Old and St Andrews Church

was designed by James Gillespie Graham in 1834.

The lighthouse. Scurdie Ness lighthouse.

Oh, right? And what's so special about that?

It's just iconic, it's Montrose.

What would you say is the most romantic thing about Montrose?

-The beach.

-Uh-huh.

-We've got a lovely beach in Montrose, yes.

What would you say is the thing you're most proud of,

coming from Montrose?

There are a lot of Montrosians in the past

that have done great things.

-Uh-huh.

-So the history of Montrose is wonderful.

But the town itself is beautiful.

It's such a nice area, I wouldn't move away from Montrose.

It's got a lot going for it.

It's a nice flavour and feel.

You don't feel threatened, you don't feel harm. You feel safe.

-That's enough, isn't it?

-Just a bonny place. A douce wee place!

So that's what the locals think

but I reckon this fella deserves a mention.

This is Bamse, a St Bernard that served here

on a ship during the Second World War,

but, in 2006, he was awarded the animal's George Cross,

posthumously, for gallantry and devotion to duty,

the only animal to receive such an award from World War II.

And that's what I think is one of the best things about Montrose.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

As Landward demonstrates every week,

Scotland is full of stunning locations.

These views regularly attract film-makers from around the world.

This summer, Euan visited an historic Northeast port,

the location for a remake of a movie classic.

This is Portsoy.

The 17th-century fishing village on the northeast coast of Scotland.

And we're here for the remaking of a classic British film

and I'm really excited because the book that this is based on

has been an important part of my library for years.

I've got two copies, a paperback edition that I carry with me,

and this, a precious first edition of Whisky Galore.

The film, and Compton Mackenzie's novel,

was based on the true story of the SS Politician.

In 1941, the ship ran aground off the island of Eriskay,

laden with whisky.

And the islanders were quick, let's say, to liberate the booze.

In the film, the theft became a comic caper.

The SS Politician became the Cabinet Minister, and Eriskay became Todday.

The 1949 film was filmed on Barra,

but today it is the turn of Portsoy to become the legendary Todday.

And it's also an opportunity for the people of Portsoy

to share the screen with the movie leads,

Gregor Fisher and Eddie Izzard.

Well, I'm a member of the Portsoy Players,

and we got to hear that they were having auditions for a one-liner...

-"You should hand me back!"

-Haha!

So we went, a couple of us went along,

and in due course we heard that we were accepted, and that was it.

So what's it been like so far?

Absolutely brilliant, I've never experienced anything like this.

I mean, if you'd have told me a month ago that I'd be sitting in

make-up beside Eddie Izzard, I'd have thought you were a raving lunatic.

But...that's what happened!

As a lover of Compton Mackenzie's novel,

which is so inextricable linked with the people and places

of the Western Isles,

I'm surprised at the choice of Portsoy as a location.

Producer of the film is Ian McLean.

Portsoy fits a lot of the elements in terms of the story.

We've got a place here that hasn't changed much, I think, since 1940.

There was an element of cost involved in filming in the Western Isles,

it's hard enough making films today, never mind making them on an island.

Whisky Galore and Portsoy look as if

they're made for each other, to be quite honest.

Are you remaking the old black-and-white film,

or are you making a film about the original book?

We're making an adaptation of the story of Whisky Galore,

still sticking very much to the initial film,

but with a few new twists in it.

Bringing those twists to life is Gregor Fisher.

And he's also a fan of Portsoy.

I mean, look at it. Why would you go anywhere else?

It's fabulous.

I mean, I know there might be the odd spit of rain now and again,

but this, er...

We've got a, you know, part 16th-century harbour here.

I mean, you're filming right smack in the middle of history here.

It's terrific.

Were you apprehensive about getting involved in Whisky Galore?

Cos it's such an iconic piece of British film-making.

Or did you bite the hand off? "Yeah, give me a piece of that!"

No, um... Apprehension is never a very good thing in this business.

All you have to do is turn up, know the lines,

and do your very, very best.

I'm sure somebody will say, "It's terrific",

and somebody will say, "Oh, it wisnae as good as the original."

And that's the way it is, so why worry about it?

Well, the locals certainly aren't.

They've been queuing up for their chance in front of the cameras.

-What's your role?

-Eh, I'm a Todday man, yes.

Todday man, and thoroughly enjoying it. It's an experience.

Today, Portsoy. Tomorrow, Hollywood.

And you're starring, you've got two roles, apparently.

Well, I wouldn't call it starring, but...!

Yes, I'm one of the village people. I'm Village Man Number Four.

I stand around and look useful.

-What's your character?

-Eh, I'm one of the Todday men.

So I'll be rowing, I think, somewhere along the line.

How about the beard, how do you get that authentic beard?

You put salt, you rub salt in your beard at night.

And you put a glass of water at the side of the bed,

and the hairs get that dry, they start coming out.

That's the way it...

-And that's a true story?

-That's a true story!

A character Mackenzie himself might have invented.

We all know that a film can bring in tourists and money

into a rural location where a production is being staged.

But what's amazed me is the amount of fun and excitement

that's been generated locally.

And on a personal note, it's great to know

that the SS Politician, Todday, and Whisky Galore,

are in safe hands.

From all of us here

in a slightly damp but still absolutely stunning Lunan Bay,

thanks for your company. Bye for now.