0:00:05 > 0:00:06If white, sandy beaches,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09clear blue water, lochs and hills are your thing,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12then you and I have come to the right place.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is the stunning Outer Hebrides.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Hello, and a very warm welcome to Landward from the Outer Hebrides.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Over the next half an hour,
0:00:40 > 0:00:45we'll be island-hopping between Barra, Eriskay, South and North Uist.
0:00:45 > 0:00:46Here's a taste of what you'll see.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Sarah tries a cockle.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54- Take a bite out of it.- I've had worse. That's actually nice!
0:00:54 > 0:00:59I take shelter from a storm in Lochmaddy's new marina.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Listen to that wind! Unbelievable.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05We had a gust of 41 knots earlier on.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13And we meet the punk rocker who's fallen in love with abandoned crofts.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19This is a tale of two journeys.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I'll be travelling around North Uist
0:01:22 > 0:01:26while Sarah begins her trip on the islands on Barra and Eriskay.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29And she also strikes it lucky by getting to experience the best
0:01:29 > 0:01:31possible way of arriving here.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Yeah, that's right, Dougie, I've got a bit of catching up to do.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I'm actually starting here at Glasgow Airport.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I feel very privileged working on Landward, not just because of
0:01:46 > 0:01:48the people that I get to meet who share their stories,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51but also because of some of the places I get to visit.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And today I'm pretty excited because I'm taking what's considered
0:01:54 > 0:01:58to be one of THE most special flights in the world.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02I'm on my way to the island of Barra.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10The flight lasts around an hour,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13passing over some of the west coast's most stunning scenery.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18And, at the end of it all, we land on a beach...obviously!
0:02:40 > 0:02:43This is amazing.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47How smooth was that?
0:02:53 > 0:02:57That flight, that experience, is so famous that, look,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01people have just come down to watch the plane land.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05And look at that view when you arrive. That is amazing.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Just 20 minutes after landing,
0:03:16 > 0:03:20and the beach is returned to its normal tranquillity.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22I'm still buzzing from that landing.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It was absolutely fabulous to come in on the beach.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I suppose, in terms of airport jobs, is yours
0:03:27 > 0:03:28one of the best in the world?
0:03:28 > 0:03:33Well, I would say it is. When you look at the place around you here...
0:03:33 > 0:03:35when it's like this, it's a lovely office.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Neil Maclean is one of the handful of full-time staff
0:03:38 > 0:03:40who run the airport.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43What are the biggest challenges with this job?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The single biggest challenge in effect is keeping
0:03:46 > 0:03:49people off the beach when the Aerodrome's open.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Because the beach itself isn't fenced off,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55people can access it from any direction.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58So, you've got to be quite wary of people coming on.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01What are the challenges with flying a plane onto a beach?
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Well, at the end of the day, what we've got to do is make
0:04:04 > 0:04:07sure that the surface is appropriate for the aircraft.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08Basically, we check the beach twice a day
0:04:08 > 0:04:12so, when the tide's coming in, the tide will drop off flotsam,
0:04:12 > 0:04:17jetsam, the occasional dead bird, barrels and what have you.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Basically, we ensure that none of that stuff's left lying about
0:04:21 > 0:04:23because, of course, if that hits the aircraft,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25it could cause quite a bit of mischief.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27We came in one morning and, just up there,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29somebody had built a beautiful sandcastle.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- Oh, don't say that you ruined the sandcastle!- I'm afraid so.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38So, sandcastle-free,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43this beach provides a vital link to the mainland for goods and visitors.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But there's another way it contributes to the local economy.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- Donald? Hello, how are you doing? Sarah.- Hello.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- You're hard at work.- Yes, aye.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58This is one of the best cockle beaches around.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Donald Maclean runs Barratlantic,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03a company that exports the little delicacies.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- Yeah, there's quite a few people dotted about.- Yes, aye.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08How many people are working on the beach today?
0:05:08 > 0:05:11There'll be about five or six on today for this tide.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15And will you always come to the same beach or do you change about?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17No, you change different areas of the beach, you know,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19they're not in the same area every day
0:05:19 > 0:05:21because, no, you've got to give it a rest.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24- What is the technique of cockling? - Just...
0:05:25 > 0:05:27- Normal rake and...- Yeah.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- And some hard work. - And some hard work, yeah.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Right, will I have a go?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33- Yeah, you can.- Yeah, I should, really, shouldn't I?- Yeah, yeah.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37How much would you pick a day?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Well, it varies, you know - some days, you'll get a few,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44other days, you might only get 20, 30 kilos
0:05:44 > 0:05:48cos everything down here is done by rake, by hand.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- A lot of elbow grease...- A lot of elbow grease.- ..and hard work.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Hard work and sore backs.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And what do you get, I mean, price-wise,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58what do you get per kilo?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00The price per kilo is round about the £2 a kilo mark.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- And, I mean, where do you sell them? - All over the place.
0:06:04 > 0:06:10Go to the continent - France, Italy, Spain, UK.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11- All over.- All over - down south.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- Oh!- There you are.- I've got one! - You've got one.- I've got one.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I was thinking, there, I was never going to find one,
0:06:16 > 0:06:17but we've got one.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19There we go - is that a goody?
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Yeah, that's a nice-sized one.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Look, look behind Donald, one of the cocklers -
0:06:24 > 0:06:26- is that right, "cocklers", are they called?- Yeah.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29- He just thought he'd bring his bike onto the beach.- Yeah.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Is that an easy... I don't think it's got any back tyre.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34- I don't think so! - THEY CHUCKLE
0:06:34 > 0:06:38- Do you think the salt might have eroded his tyre away?- Must have.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Yeah, I think that's quite a novel way of getting around, isn't it?
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Yeah, yeah, it's a handy way for him to get around,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45and he's got his cockles on his back there.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- And he's quite happy. - And he's quite happy.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50It's easier to push the bicycle than to carry the bag!
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Right, I've got another one. Oh, that's quite a biggy!
0:06:55 > 0:06:56Yeah, that's a nice one now. Yeah.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59So how do you actually prepare them?
0:06:59 > 0:07:00Well, you just put them into a pot -
0:07:00 > 0:07:02you don't have to put any water into it,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04there's enough water in themselves,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and just bring 'em to the boil and, as soon as they open,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09that's them ready for whatever you want to do with them.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12That's very nice. How often do you eat them?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- Maybe once every two or three weeks. - Once every two or three weeks?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17- You sometimes have your fill of them.- Yeah.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- Right I'll pop it in the bucket, will I?- Yeah.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- PATTERING - Oh, that's a good sound!
0:07:21 > 0:07:23There you are, Sarah - do you want to taste one?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Oh, really? Donald's going to make me eat one.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- He's going to make me eat a raw cockle.- See the size of that one?
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Yeah.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32Why is it they always look so...funny?
0:07:32 > 0:07:34HE CHUCKLES
0:07:34 > 0:07:36- All right, what do I do? Just... - Oh, just put it into your mouth.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Grab that.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Take a bite out of it.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Nice salty taste.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Oh, actually, that's quite nice. - Oh, they're beautiful.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49- I've had worse. That's actually nice!- It is, it's nice.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51What do I owe you for that cockle, then?
0:07:51 > 0:07:53- HE LAUGHS:- 20 pence!
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I've enjoyed my cockling experience,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but I think I'll leave the hard work to the professionals.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Unfortunately, though,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06some of these island beaches are under threat from coastal erosion.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Later in the programme, I'll find out more...
0:08:10 > 0:08:13..but first, the secrets of the abandoned houses
0:08:13 > 0:08:15of the Outer Hebrides.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22As you travel through this landscape,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26it becomes apparent that many of the houses are uninhabited...
0:08:26 > 0:08:29but they're not all empty, as you might expect.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36When you take a closer look,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40you realise they've been abandoned complete with furnishings.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45These intriguing houses have become a source of fascination
0:08:45 > 0:08:47for John Maher.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50John's life has changed a lot since the 1970s,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53when he was drummer for the punk rock band The Buzzcocks.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55# Ever fallen in love?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57# In love with someone? Ever fallen in love?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59# In love with someone
0:08:59 > 0:09:02# You shouldn't have fallen in love with? #
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Oh, it's just ruined, you know,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07compared to a couple of years ago.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09The roof was still up then and...
0:09:09 > 0:09:12John first visited the Western Isles on a holiday,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15but he fell in love with the place
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and in 2002 he moved here with his wife.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21When I first moved up here, I always had this notion
0:09:21 > 0:09:24that I'd be able to go out and take lots of photographs.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26One of the nights that I was out photographing
0:09:26 > 0:09:29somewhere like this, I actually went inside
0:09:29 > 0:09:33cos I wanted to put some...you know, illuminate the building from inside,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and that's when I noticed that there were quite a lot
0:09:36 > 0:09:38of personal belongings still in the house,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42and so I came back the following day, during daylight hours,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and started taking pictures of those,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and that became an addiction -
0:09:46 > 0:09:48I went out searching for houses like that.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52As I started posting those photos on my site
0:09:52 > 0:09:57and on the internet and so on, there seemed to be, er...
0:09:57 > 0:09:59there was a genuine interest from people in them,
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and I got contacted by another photographer based in Fife
0:10:04 > 0:10:06who was doing a similar kind of thing,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and he suggested that maybe we ought to try
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and get an exhibition of these abandoned homes together.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17And so the Leaving Home exhibition was born.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23These photos offer a high resolution glimpse
0:10:23 > 0:10:25into lives left behind...
0:10:25 > 0:10:27folk who seem to have just walked out
0:10:27 > 0:10:28and never come back.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33So many of the photographs that you see of the Hebrides
0:10:33 > 0:10:36are of, you know, the amazing beaches
0:10:36 > 0:10:41and, you know, maybe a sunset or whatever
0:10:41 > 0:10:43but, to me, those pictures don't have a connection
0:10:43 > 0:10:45between the people and the place.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48When I started going into some of these houses
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and seeing the personal effects and so on, it suddenly...
0:10:50 > 0:10:54although there weren't people in the pictures directly,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58but the evidence of those people was there.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01And just something magical about the fact
0:11:01 > 0:11:03that maybe some of these places had been, you know -
0:11:03 > 0:11:08last time they were inhabited could be 30 years ago - maybe longer.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12But there were still traces of them there, and that is...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15I just find that way more interesting than, you know,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18I could go to an old castle or ruin or something,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21but it's just walls - there's no personal effects in there.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31My favourite image from the Leaving Home series
0:11:31 > 0:11:34is the shot that I actually got in this house.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43There was so much detail -
0:11:43 > 0:11:46the dead sheep, that had obviously been in there for probably years
0:11:46 > 0:11:48cos it was just a skeleton,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51and next to that was one brown leather shoe on the floor.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56There were old 12-inch vinyl records in their sleeves
0:11:56 > 0:11:58scattered on the floor as well.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Now it's gone - nobody can achieve that picture again now.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10In a way, I suppose,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15that proves the importance of documenting this stuff.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19The photos offer a poignant glimpse
0:12:19 > 0:12:22into the lives of some of those who've left the island
0:12:22 > 0:12:25but, later on, I'll be meeting one of the many people
0:12:25 > 0:12:26who still live here...
0:12:27 > 0:12:30..but first, Sarah is taking the short ferry trip
0:12:30 > 0:12:32from Barra to Eriskay.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34WOMAN SINGS
0:12:38 > 0:12:41The island was first captured on film in 1934
0:12:41 > 0:12:45by German ethnographer Werner Kissling.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49The film gives a vivid picture of what life was like for the crofters
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and how reliant they were on the work of their sturdy native ponies.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Their numbers have fallen to dangerously low levels,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01so I'm heading over the Sound of Barra to meet a man
0:13:01 > 0:13:03who is battling to save them from extinction.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- Donald.- Hi.- Hi, how are you doing? - I'm good, yourself?
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- So, these are yours?- They are, yeah, yeah.- They're lovely.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17- Lovely looking beasts. - Come in and have a look at them?
0:13:17 > 0:13:18Yeah, I'd love to come in.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Can we just go over?- Yeah, yeah. - It's not on?- No, it's not, no.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I don't think it is, anyway.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Donald John Macinnes has lived in Eriskay all his life
0:13:26 > 0:13:31and he is a stalwart of the island's Eriskay Pony Society.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34The family have been keeping ponies all our lives, really -
0:13:34 > 0:13:37we were born and brought up with ponies around the house.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- So, it's in the blood, to keep ponies?- Well, if you like, yeah.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Tell me a little bit about the history.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45What did they used to be used for?
0:13:45 > 0:13:49As you can see, the island is a very rocky and very hilly area
0:13:49 > 0:13:51and, back in the olden days, if you like,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54they were used to carry peat from the hills,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56taking them down to the houses.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Again, they'll be taking the seaweed off the shore
0:13:59 > 0:14:02to use on their crops
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and maybe even taking hay home, that kind of thing.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- So, islanders would have depended on them.- Oh, yes, definitely.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Yeah, yeah.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Donald John has had one new recent arrival
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and another foal is expected any time soon.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18So, just explain who we've got here.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22- OK, this one here is Rosie...- Rosie.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24..and she is the mother of this new-born foal.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26- Mm-hm. Good-looking beasts. - They are, yeah, yeah.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28- Are you happy with them? - Yeah, yeah. Mm-hm.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29So, what's the foal called?
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- We haven't named the foal yet, he's only a couple of weeks old.- Ah, OK.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- So yet to be named. - Yet to name him, yeah.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36And who's this one here?
0:14:36 > 0:14:39This one here is Molly, and she's...
0:14:39 > 0:14:42we're expecting her to have a foal
0:14:42 > 0:14:44within the next few days, I would say,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46and this is her last year's foal,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48a young filly.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Very nice, though. Very nice pony.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51- So you're happy with that one. - Yeah, I am.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53But these ones that you've got aren't purebreeds?
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- They aren't purebreed, no. - They aren't purebreeds.- No, no.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00I mean, how many purebreeds do you think would be left on the island?
0:15:00 > 0:15:01- On this island?- Yes.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04- None.- None?- None.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09The ponies on the island today are all crosses.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13No-one really knows how many purebreds are left in the world.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14I would say...
0:15:14 > 0:15:18I wouldn't even think there would be 100 of them.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- That be so?- I would say so.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Maybe even half that. I'm not sure, to be honest. I'm really not.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Do you think enough has been done to save them?
0:15:26 > 0:15:28I don't really think so, to be honest, no.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32The way we feel here, we are really being left to our own devices.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35In a way, I feel that
0:15:35 > 0:15:39they could very easily become extinct, if you like.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44These ponies are so at home in this landscape.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47I mean, bred precisely to cope with this island climate.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51We can only hope that their numbers recover, can't we?
0:15:56 > 0:15:57As we travel around Scotland,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00we like to stop and ask the folk we meet on the street
0:16:00 > 0:16:03what they love about their local area.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07So, I want to find out what's the best thing about Lochmaddy.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09But I can tell you this. It's named after...
0:16:09 > 0:16:12The two rocks out there are known as the "Maddies",
0:16:12 > 0:16:15and they guard the entrance to this bay.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20But there's no-one about.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Surely, these hardy folks aren't scared of a 40-knot gale?
0:16:24 > 0:16:28What would you say, all in all, is the best thing about Lochmaddy?
0:16:28 > 0:16:30I think we've got two qualities of life here.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32You've got the sort of busy summer months.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38The beaches, machair life, are absolutely... They're amazing here.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40They are beautiful. Worth seeing.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43And then you've got your wintertime,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46when it's very quiet and you can actually sit down and think.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49And the best thing in all about Lochmaddy and North Uist,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51would you say?
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Sense of community, the people.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55For sure. People make places.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00On a previous adventure many years ago, wearing a wet suit,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02I jumped off that pier.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Very refreshing it was, too.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05But nowadays, there's another way
0:17:05 > 0:17:07of exploring the denizens of the deep,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and you don't even have to get wet.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12A community project in Lochmaddy
0:17:12 > 0:17:15is putting a network of underwater cameras in the bay
0:17:15 > 0:17:18to allow people to explore the seabed
0:17:18 > 0:17:21from the comfort of the shore, or this boat.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24It's not open to the public yet, but I'm getting a preview.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Let's see what's on the bottom, shall we?
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Now, that is amazing.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It's just like watching the telly.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Yeah, some crabs down there.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Fish going through.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44That's actually really amazing. It's really bizarre.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48That's incredible.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50You can see lots of things, you're not getting wet
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and, if you come to Lochmaddy from next spring onwards,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56you'll be able to experience the same thing yourself.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04For me, that's certainly one of the best things about Lochmaddy.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11But while I'm here on this wet and very windy summer's day,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15I want to revisit a project we first looked at a couple of years ago.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19The ferry from Uig in Skye
0:18:19 > 0:18:22is the way most visitors arrive in this port.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27But there are plenty of potential visitors
0:18:27 > 0:18:29who pass by in their own boats.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33In 2013, we heard about plans to build a marina
0:18:33 > 0:18:36to entice these tourists onto the island.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40We're creating a 26-berth pontoon system there.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42We can do this at the moment
0:18:42 > 0:18:46because of this new local management agreement with The Crown Estate,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49which gives a smaller organisation like us
0:18:49 > 0:18:53the chance to realise a project such as this.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- How are you, Gus? - How are you, Dougie?
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- Shall we have a wander down to the beach, get out of this wind?- Aye.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03'Gus Macaulay, chairman of Comann Na Mara, the Society Of The Sea,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06'has continued to be the driving force behind this project.'
0:19:06 > 0:19:11Gus, just how difficult was it to get the marina up and running?
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Strangely enough, it wasn't all that difficult.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16At the beginning, it was getting the initial agreement,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20as you know, with The Crown Estate, which we eventually...
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We went in partnership with them, and here we are.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27- And are you pleased with the results?- This is our second season.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30In actual fact, that's one calendar year.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Last year, we had 350 berth bookings.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36This year, we're 30% up on that.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40And it's been a shorter season this year, just by nature of the weather.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43And a lot of them have come from south of England,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45south of France, Scandinavia.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47So, it's a challenge for them to come here,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and we accommodate them when they come.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53What about locals? How have they reacted to the fact
0:19:53 > 0:19:55they've got the marina in the harbour here now?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58It's working very well for them. People are very pleased indeed.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00- The economic impact was immediate. - Excellent.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Thanks very much. Glad it's all up and running.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05- I'm going to try and speak to some sailors and see what they think. - Aye.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08- Hi, how are you doing? - Hello, how are you?- Very well.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13- Can I come on board for a chat?- Of course you can.- Thank you very much.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Oh.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19'Russell Tribe is from Southampton and has been touring the isles.'
0:20:19 > 0:20:21It's a wild old day today, so where have you come from?
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Well, we came down from Stornoway two days ago
0:20:24 > 0:20:27and we're trying to get south as far as we can.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29But this is a great facility.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32It was just what we needed on the way down from Stornoway.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34- On a day like today.- Definitely.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36What about the facilities compared to other places?
0:20:36 > 0:20:40On a day like this, we'd much rather be in here than out at anchor.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42WIND WHISTLES Listen to that wind.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- You can hear it.- Unbelievable.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46We had a gust of 41 knots earlier on.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- So it really is very strong. - Good gracious.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Have you been round and used the hotel, used the restaurants?
0:20:51 > 0:20:53We have. We've used the hotel.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55We're going to another hotel tonight.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58We had a ride on the postbus today around the island.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00And, yeah, it's great.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Tonight is the night to batten down the hatches and get down in there!
0:21:03 > 0:21:06But I'm going to head for a safe haven as well
0:21:06 > 0:21:09while this wind batters around the place.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11- OK.- Thanks for speaking to me. - Not at all.- Cheers. Thank you.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17While I deal with the wind on the east coast of North Uist,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Sarah is on the other side of the island,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23investigating a much more devastating weather pattern.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30In January 2005, a massive storm hit the coast of The Uists.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Hurricane-force winds and giant waves
0:21:33 > 0:21:35battered the coast for 12 hours.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39When it was all over, a family of five were dead,
0:21:39 > 0:21:40drowned in the flooding
0:21:40 > 0:21:43as they tried to escape their low-lying home.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Ten years on, and the west coast and Ireland
0:21:46 > 0:21:50seem to have been under a constant barrage of Atlantic storms.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Although you wouldn't know it today.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58This is the machair.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01It's one of the rarest habitats in Europe,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05and it refers to this low-lying, fertile, grassy ground.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But with each Atlantic storm that hits these islands,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10a little bit of the coast is lost
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and the machair is destroyed by the salty water.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21This isn't just about the loss of a rich, wild habitat.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25This erosion can have a serious impact on nearby land-users.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28- Joanne, good morning.- Hi, Sarah.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- Are you admiring the view?- I am. What a gorgeous day.- It's magic.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33It's hard to imagine
0:22:33 > 0:22:35that these islands get sort of battered by storms,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38but how violent do they get?
0:22:38 > 0:22:39Oh, extremely.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41For instance, this last winter,
0:22:41 > 0:22:44we've had lots and lots of severe storms, force 12 and above.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47And it really hammers the coastline here.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50So you can lose, sometimes, up to ten metres in one storm.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55'Joanne Ferguson works for Scottish Natural Heritage,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57'one of the many agencies
0:22:57 > 0:23:00'trying to understand how the situation can be managed.'
0:23:00 > 0:23:04These islands have probably been battered by storms for centuries,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07you know, since the beginning of time.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09So why is it so pronounced now?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11You're quite right, it has been going on for a while.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15For instance, where we are today is the island of Baleshare,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and that, actually, means "eastern village".
0:23:18 > 0:23:20So, we're on the western point of that island
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and, if you look out to sea,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24somewhere out there was "western town".
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- So there was a village here... - There was a village back there.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29And it was "eastern town".
0:23:29 > 0:23:31And the "western village" is out there somewhere.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- And it's all gone. - It's all gone, yes.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37So, erosion has been happening for centuries, for a very long time.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41But now we have a combination of the Western Isles sinking
0:23:41 > 0:23:44and sea-level rise across the world increasing.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48So that's why we're suffering a bit more in the way of erosion now.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50And how does that affect the machair?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52What sort of impact does it have on it?
0:23:52 > 0:23:54There's quite a lot of different impacts.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56First of all, there's the direct erosion,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59so the crofters lose part of their ground for grazing.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02But also, it impacts on the management of the machair.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Sometimes, they can't plough until later
0:24:04 > 0:24:06because the land's still flooded.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Other times, they have to deal with their land being eroded away
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and are having to move the crops backwards all the time.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14They lose their fences,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17so they have to keep on replacing and repairing their fences.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Sometimes, you'll see a fence post way out on the beach
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and you wonder, what's this doing here?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24That's where the end of the land used to be.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28So what steps are being taken to stop the erosion?
0:24:28 > 0:24:31So, what most people do is, they do soft coastal protection.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Things like sand fencing.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35Some people dump their leftover silage bales...
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Once they've taken the wrapper off,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39they dump them in the sand dunes and then sand comes over the top
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and the seaweed comes over the top of that and it helps to build it up.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The storms can be incredibly powerful,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52moving hundreds and thousands of tonnes of rock.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56So, here we are at the shingle bank,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59and the crofters have had to move this regularly over the years.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Every time there's a bad storm or whatever,
0:25:02 > 0:25:03it covers over their track
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and they have to come along with their tractors and move it again.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10That's an amazing volume of shingle that they have had to move.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12It is, yes, absolutely. It's a big effort.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15But if they want to carry on using their grazings over the winter,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17that's what they have to do.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21So what's your prognosis for the machair lands?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Well, I'm actually quite optimistic.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25That might seem a bit strange,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29but the system itself is designed to cope with bad weather.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32I mean, obviously, we've lost a lot of habitat over the years.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34But who knows what the future holds?
0:25:34 > 0:25:36I still think we'll be around in a few years to come.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It's good to know there are such bold levels of optimism
0:25:41 > 0:25:45that these havens of wildlife and biodiversity
0:25:45 > 0:25:48will survive well into the future.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And the magic of modern island life
0:25:54 > 0:25:56is very much the way new technology
0:25:56 > 0:26:00blends with the traditional roles and lifestyles.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- How are you doing? Good to see you. - Good to see you, too.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05- I'm grand.- Good, good.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- So, this is the croft, is it?- Well, this is one of the crofts, anyway.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11'John Allan Maclennan breeds prize-winning cattle.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15'He does this across several crofts dotted around this area.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:17I'm guessing it's pretty impossible
0:26:17 > 0:26:20to make a living from a single croft, is it?
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Yes, it seems to... it seems to get harder and harder.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26I think the day of the crofter, as they're called,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30a crofter with one single croft and a cow, one cow,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33I think these days are gone, I'm afraid.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35Throughout the generations,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39crofters have supplemented their incomes with other jobs -
0:26:39 > 0:26:42postie, fishermen, whatever needs done.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48And John Allan's filling a gap for construction and plant hire.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51- So, this was originally, Dougie, a thatched house.- Oh, right.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Yeah, and it was renovated...
0:26:54 > 0:26:59renovated in the '80s, I think, and now it's been renovated again.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03So it's going to be used as a holiday home.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06And if that wasn't enough, John Allan and his wife
0:27:06 > 0:27:08run a camping and caravan site.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11In the summer season, I mean, we open at the beginning of April
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and we're open through to October.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16So, peak time in May, June, July and August, and it's pretty full-on.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21You know, we're here every day, you know, morning, early, until late.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Just going to pop a bit of...
0:27:23 > 0:27:26- pop a bit of concentrates into this box here.- OK.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29'But the other businesses are means to an end.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34'Crofting and the cows are most definitely John's first love.'
0:27:34 > 0:27:36It's in your blood.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40We were always brought up with the cattle from an early, early age.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I couldn't see myself being without the cattle.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45It's just a cracking way of life.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Do you always see yourself as a crofter and always consider yourself a crofter?
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Yes. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't...
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Like I said before, I wouldn't want to be called a farmer.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Or a contractor.- Or a contractor!
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- Or someone who runs a campsite. - Yeah.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Just a crofter, yeah, I think that'll do.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Well, I've absolutely loved my time in North Uist
0:28:13 > 0:28:16and my island-hopping colleague, Sarah, has had a ball, too.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18I hope you've enjoyed what you've seen,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and maybe one day you'll come and visit these stunning islands.
0:28:21 > 0:28:22But that's it for now.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Thank you so much for your company. Bye for now.