Episode 19 Landward

From the serenity of Lamlash Bay to the rugged heights of Goatfell,

this is one of my favourite places in Scotland - the Isle of Arran.

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Landward.

This week, I'll be spending time on Arran, where, in a minute,

I'll be looking at moves to protect our marine environment

and the impact that is having on fishermen.

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

Sarah helps out a stallholder at Edinburgh's farmers' market...

What has selling at the farmers' market done for your business?

Without this farmers' market, I wouldn't have a business.

..I go in search of a rare white deer...

It's just a freak gene that throws up this...

It's not an albino, it's just got white hair.

..and Nick cooks creel-caught langoustine

for the good people of Ayr.

Is that as good as the frozen ones?

Much better.

Scotland's shellfish is the envy of the world.

People are willing to pay a fortune for the langoustines,

scallops and lobsters caught in our pristine waters.

The Government wants to ensure our waters maintain that reputation,

so they have set up a network of Marine Protected Areas,

and one of them is right here in the south end of Arran.

Marine Protected Areas are designed to protect various species

and habitats in our seas.

Lamlash Bay is an important location

in the history of marine protection.

The Community of Arran Seabed Trust - COAST -

was set up in 1995 as a reaction to declining fish stocks

and the lack of biodiversity on the seabed.

I'm taking a trip out in Lamlash Bay with Andrew Binnie,

the executive director of the Community of Arran Seabed Trust.

What's that?

Andrew, why would you say COAST has been so successful?

COAST was set up by a couple of local divers

and they were able to explain to the local community

what was going on on the seabed, the sealife that was being lost.

After 13 years of campaigning,

a small part of Lamlash Bay was declared a No Take Zone,

an area where no fish or shellfish can be harvested.

Since the No Take Zone was established in 2008,

we have been doing scientific surveys

inside the zone and outside the zone

and what we're seeing is

the complexity of the seabed inside the zone

is about twice as complex as the area outside the No Take Zone.

Now the sea off the south coast

of Arran has been declared

one of 30 Marine Protected Areas

around the Scottish coast.

Each one will be

managed differently.

The measures that the Government is planning to bring in for South Arran

with the Marine Conservation Order

will mean that there is no scallop dredging

in the whole of the South Arran Marine Protected Area.

It will also restrict bottom trawling

to outer areas of the Marine Protected Area.

Won't that have an impact on jobs, though?

We believe that our Marine Protected Area

and the other Marine Protected Areas will have a net benefit on jobs.

The area will be much more open to creeling, for instance,

and to scallop divers.

Tim James is the owner of the creel boat Julie-Anne.

He has also got a seafood restaurant on the island.

Today, he's catching langoustine.

What are the langoustine like today that you're catching?

There's a good number of them. The size is middle.

No huge ones today as yet.

'Despite running a creel boat,

'Tim has sympathy for the trawlers and dredgers

'and feels his type of fishing can be just as detrimental.'

There's never a day when no-one's not fishing.

If it's not the trawlers out there, it's the creel men at weekends.

Do you think the trawlers and the dredgers

are seen as the bad guys in this? Do they get a hard time?

I think they do get a hard time.

I think some of it is justified, in the sense that it is inevitable

that, by dredging along the seabed, you must be damaging the seabed.

I don't think necessarily that the amount of prawns they are catching

is any worse than the creelers.

The mobile fishing fleet - the trawlers and the dredgers -

is outraged at the prospect of being banned from fishing

in some of the MPAs.

The Scottish Fishermen's Federation

and its local body, the Clyde Fishermen's Association,

claim jobs will be lost and lives will be put at risk

by the Government's policy of banning trawling in the MPAs.

I'm meeting James Jack, skipper of the prawn trawler Ocean Hunter.

It's cutting off a very large chunk of ground that is profitable,

viable and has been so for 40-50 years in this area.

It will probably be more than 50% of the earnings for boats

that they will lose.

But it's not just the boats that lose the earnings,

you've got net makers, engineers, welders, shipyards.

-The list is endless.

-Tell me about, specifically, the South Arran MPA.

If a ban is introduced there, how will that impact on you directly?

Instead of the individual skipper choosing his own area to go and fish

depending on weather, depending on tides,

it will then pigeonhole everybody into fishing a smaller area.

It is not a conservation measure.

It will just be disruptive to the industry.

Since we filmed with the fishermen of Arran and the Clyde coast,

there has been another development.

The Scottish Government has announced that it is suspending plans

to ban trawling or dredging in four of the MPAs,

including South Arran,

until concerns expressed by fishermens' organisations can be

considered by the Rural Affairs Committee of the Scottish Parliament.

Later in the programme,

Nick and the Landward food van will be cooking langoustine in Ayr.

Meanwhile, Sarah has been exploring the boom in farmers' markets

and the craft food producers who sell at them.

She's been to the Borders to meet an artisan producer of charcuterie.

Is that a new thingy in the woods there?

All great charcuterie starts at the source.

So it's not surprising to find Rachel Hammond is down on the farm.

She works seasonally with what's on her doorstep,

so she has come to local rare breed pig farmer Stephen Lowdon

at Ord Mains Farm

to check the blackies Steve has picked out for her.

Who's that bruiser at the back there, the really broad-looking one?

Which little piggy goes to the farmers' market?

Hello, Rachel. Steve, how are you doing? Is this on? Can I come in?

Right, a big step.

What is it you are actually looking for in your pigs?

I'm looking for a lovely curve, nice sort of rounded curve

and nice, big hams.

And on the blackies, you get beautiful big hams.

It's a really, really good pig for making air-dried ham with,

so I'm very pleased with these guys.

-You want the high fat content.

-Yes.

-Why is that?

The fat is really where the flavour is. We've lost sight of this.

Europeans have known this since for ever.

Cos the fat has all those beautiful tastes

and the melting and the texture and everything.

When I make my hams, for me, the fat is the product

and the lean is like the seasoning on the outside of it.

Steve, how unusual is it for somebody to want that high level of fat?

I would say it's very unusual.

Your typical commercial pig...

the quest is to have as little fat as possible.

Whereas, Rachel would like something like two inches of back fat,

which is...it's attainable.

PIG SQUEALS AND GRUNTS

From hoof to ham, it takes a wee while in the smokery.

-I think I've chosen what we're going to take to market tomorrow.

-OK.

It's going to be this one. This is a year and a couple of months old now.

-He's ready.

-Ready for cutting?

-Ready for cutting.

-Let's go.

There we go. I'll let you get on.

-Thank you very much. Lovely.

-Carry on.

That's the first bit of the fat being revealed there.

Underneath here,

you'll see that marvellous, well-cared for, well-nurtured fat

that Steve has been working on.

-Wow.

-There we are.

Just see it nice and pearly in the depth.

This is where the smoke has gone in. That will be lovely oaky, smoky.

And that will be more porky in the middle there.

People coming to the farmers' market,

they just want something a little bit different?

They want something different. They also want something of this area.

So this oak smoke is definitely part of the east coast of Scotland.

The final preparation is under way.

The last of the cured meat is sliced and packaged. Ready.

-Squeeze the salamis.

-Squeeze the salami. Mm-hm.

-In the bag?

-Yes, please.

Rachel is all packed up and ready for a very early start tomorrow.

BELL CHIMES

At the crack of dawn,

us early birds head for the Edinburgh farmers' market...

on the bus.

253 to Edinburgh.

To be honest, I didn't expect to be taking the bus...

No, this is a more interesting way of getting about.

-And also reduces the food miles.

-And you get a nice view on the way.

Absolutely. Time to think.

Or have a snooze

on the two-and-a-half hour journey from Eyemouth to Edinburgh.

Hiya!

Morning.

Brilliant. I get a cap.

-How important are farmers' markets?

-Absolutely key.

This is my shop, this is where I do my business.

I don't sell anywhere else.

Farmers' markets are absolutely essential.

For me, it's people coming and tasting my stuff -

are they going to like it, are they not going to like it?

-That moment of truth.

-That moment of truth.

-Can we offer you a taste?

-You certainly can.

We've got venison, salami and pork. Would you like to try a little bit?

-It's really good.

-Thank you.

-And I'll try the venison as well.

That's great.

What has selling at the farmers' market done for your business?

Without the farmers' market, I wouldn't have a business.

I started here about eight or nine months ago

and since then I've become a viable business.

Thank you, see you later.

It's absolutely key to my business

that I have this arena to sell in

and that people know to come here to buy things like this.

-How much of your business is sold here?

-100%.

Rachel is doing well so I want to see

how the other farmers and producers are faring today.

-Good morning.

-How are you?

-How has business been this morning?

-Good, yeah. Not too bad.

How much does your business rely on a farmer's market?

Heavily dependent on a farmer's market.

It's good because it cuts out the middle man

and also the money comes straight to you

instead of having to wait for months.

There's a real buzz about this farmers' market

and for most of the stallholders here,

it's a huge part of their business.

Does it keep the wolf from the door?

For small producers like Rachel, yes, it certainly does.

We do love our food on Landward,

so if you've any suggestions for great tasting experiences

or some unusual Scottish produce,

get in touch via our Facebook page,

or e-mail...

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?

This week we are in Arran,

so I've come to the throbbing metropolis that is Brodick

to ask what is the best thing about this lovely island?

What's one of the things that you need to come and do or go and see

if you've got one day on Arran, the thing you cannot miss?

Brodick Castle. The view from the top of the String.

It's gorgeous looking down into Brodick.

I think if you were coming to Arran,

one of your musts would be to try and go up that hill up there.

Climb Goatfell. We've climbed that a couple of times.

And go to the Auchrannie and sample some of the food, the cheese shop,

Arran Aromatics.

Yeah, we love it.

You step off the ferry

and you just feel all your troubles have gone.

Out of all the holidays I've had, Europe, abroad, USA,

it's always Arran that is the exciting one.

Our favourite thing to do is just the beach.

Go down the beach all weathers, hot, wet, cold

and you just find loads of treasures.

The island is getting busier every year,

so there must be something good here.

Well, we always must go and play golf at Corrie

because that's our course

and we've gone there for years and years and years.

For me, one of the best things about Arran is its food and drink.

For a small island, it really packs a gastronomic punch.

Cheese, jams, oatcake, ice cream,

smoked mackerel, beer, whisky.

Even the pork pies from The Arran Butcher are absolutely delicious.

Now, from Arran across the country to Speyside, where Euan has joined

some youngsters to learn a bit more about filming wildlife.

The Scottish wildcat -

beautiful, endangered and elusive.

The wildcat is rare, but at the moment

we have no idea just how rare, and estimates vary wildly

from as low as 30, to as much as 400.

We all have camera traps at the ready.

SHE LAUGHS

This winter, a group called Scottish Wildcat Action is attempting

to gain a more accurate picture of the population.

So, we're going to have to use our imagination a little bit, guys.

We're in the woods somewhere out the back of Aberlour here.

Across six key regions of Scotland,

they're going to conduct a survey of cat numbers, using camera traps.

And it is hoped these teenagers might be able to help.

This lot are from the local wildlife watch group

and they're learning how to set up a motion-activated camera.

And then they're going to learn how to bring a cat into the trap.

While the children are off practising,

Emma Rawlings from Scottish Wildcat Action is giving me a lesson.

Right, that's my camera set up.

To maximise our chances, we can use two tools really.

One is food bait and the other is scent.

So we've got a glamorously modelled food bait here, but in reality,

we would probably use a pheasant wing or a bit of a partridge...

So where does that go, up on a low-hanging branch?

We find it's best if you hang it from a branch, you're quite right.

Remember we talked about a sweet spot for the camera?

About two to five metres from the camera.

-You going to be able to reach?

-No!

-SHE LAUGHS

This is where you come in, Euan, thank you very much.

-The idea...

-Not often I get protracted

because I'm the tall person!

What we want is it to hang about three feet from the ground.

Now, the reason being, if we put it on the ground,

foxes and badgers and dogs would just steal the bait.

So what else can you do to bring them in?

We know that cats have incredibly keen senses,

and smell is one of the keenest.

So what we are experimenting with is using other scents, as well as

the food bait, to attract a cat, and for that we have trusty old catnip.

And most cats seem to be attracted to catnip and its relatives,

and this is one of the relatives.

It's valerian tincture.

-So, does it work?

-It seems to, yes. With most cats, not all cats.

-Goodness knows why.

-SHE LAUGHS

It's not the most pleasant, is it?

What we have designed is a very simple device

that we call a hairpost.

And you will see on this, we have a little sponge,

inserted into the post.

-OK. Apply said potion?

-Yeah. Apply said potion to the sponge.

And the idea is that the cat will be attracted to the scent,

and the way all cats react to catnip is being slightly aroused,

if I can put it bluntly, and they will rub against the post.

This Velcro-ey stuff?

Exactly, and this is our ingenious device

for collecting hairs from said cat.

The team will DNA test the collected hair to work out

how pure the wildcats are,

because inbreeding with domestic cats is their biggest threat.

The more hair samples the survey can collect, the better,

and that's why training up these children can help.

Their group is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Donna Mathieson from the trust thinks this training

is good for the children as well as for the cats.

I think it's really important to get kids engaged with

nature at all sorts of different ages.

That's easy to say, it's not easy to do, is it?

No, not at all,

it takes quite a lot to get a group like this established,

to run it, to think up ideas and get these kids, and keep them engaged,

coming back week after week,

especially at the age group they are in.

So why did you want to get involved in this?

Erm, because it was really fun and I really wanted

to learn how to use

the camera trap, maybe so I could do it again.

I think that it's just a good thing to help with the wildcats.

So you're confident you're going to get a picture of a wildcat?

-Yeah, hopefully...

-Maybe not today, but...

-Well, not here. Well, who knows?!

-Yeah!

Probably not, because they are really shy.

So how competitive is it?

Pretty competitive, yeah, we all want to see a wildcat, but...

-You want to see it first, presumably?

-Yeah.

If all goes well,

this is the type of footage they might be able to collect.

And there is a chance for other folk to get involved as well.

The wildcat survey begins in December and will run

until the start of March,

and the team are still looking for volunteers in some areas,

and you'll get more information on that on our website.

And now, over to Dougie,

who's been doing some wildlife spotting of his own.

BIRDSONG

There is an old story that one day, King David of Scotland was

out hunting when he spotted a pure white deer.

He chased it and caught up with it,

then tried to grab its antlers, but was left holding a golden cross.

And the deer vanished.

On that very spot, he decided to found an abbey

and called it Holyrood, the seat of Scotland's kings and queens.

Tales of white deer go far back through Scotland's history,

creatures of myth and legend.

What are they? Here on the Isle of Arran,

there's been various reported sightings of a mysterious white deer.

It's even been celebrated as something of a local emblem,

and I'm off to see if I can catch a glimpse.

To better my chances, I've enlisted expert help.

-Rab, how you doing? Nice to see you.

-How you doing, Dougie?

-Not too bad at all.

-Good to see you.

'Forest ranger Robert Logan has seen the white deer many times before.'

I'm trying to pick out the white hind

that's up on that face up there.

Normally hangs about up in this woodland here.

So it's not a mythical creature then?

-No, no.

-It actually exists?

I have seen it earlier on, but it's disappeared into the jungle.

-Uh-huh.

-Hopefully it will show itself again.

Shall we go up there, shall we have a look?

-We'll give it a bash.

-OK, lead on, I'll let you go on.

We head up the hill to an area where Rab spotted the deer hind earlier.

That open land there, it was quite a fierce breeze, but it's...

Yeah, it's died away.

You wouldn't want to stand around in here, the midges would get you.

Starting to work their magic already.

'Using the wind direction to our advantage,

'we climb above the area where Rab thinks the deer is hiding.'

So is this the high point, as high as we're going to be?

Yeah, probably this will do us.

We'll just work our way in and hopefully we'll be able

to look down onto her from above. The wind is perfect.

Wind's come good and it's great.

In the meantime, head down. Down the way...

'Then, it's a matter of sitting and waiting.'

So tell me a bit about the white deer on Arran.

There is another stag on the other side of the island,

it's only one-year-old, this hind is three years old now.

And she will stay in this location.

Then she'll be hefted to this area, she'll know where to go

in the different weather

and where the best feeding is at different times of the year.

They tend to very much just stay in that pad for the rest of their life.

-And will they actually mate with other red deer then?

-Yeah.

Oh, yeah, it doesn't know it's a white deer,

it just thinks it's a red deer.

And its offspring, it could have generations of offspring

and they will just be normal red deer.

It's just a freak gene that throws off... It's not an albino, it's...

It's just got white hair.

(That's it there?)

Only about 50, 60 metres away, see the head in the bracken?

(My goodness, look at that.)

(Right there, right there!)

-It knows we're here.

-It does know, straight at us.

-..Very close to it.

-That's so white, that's amazingly white.

-Yes.

-It's heading off now.

It'll probably move off around,

-it will move off around into the bracken.

-Yeah.

Might pull away up,

I would think it will just find somewhere out of the way.

-That's amazing.

-Bit camera-shy.

Sitting here, walked up, sitting here for five minutes...

Obviously you know exactly what you are doing, took us 40 yards away,

and then suddenly - "Wow!"

LAUGHING: Yes!

I can't tell you how thrilled I am having just seen that.

Seeing something so rare is a real privilege,

proof that they are not just creatures of folklore

and mythology, but now and again, if you're really lucky and

take someone like Rab with you,

you can see them in the Scottish countryside.

Brilliant.

Now, earlier in the programme we saw creel-caught langoustine

being landed here on Arran.

They are truly one of the finest foods Scotland has to offer,

but you have to be able to cook them properly.

So who better to show us than Nick and the Landward street food van?

We've set up shop right here in the heart

of the historic town of Ayr.

Quality ingredients deserve quality cooking,

so let's get the pinnies on.

And as ever, joining me

here in the Landward food van is my own personal dishwasher, Dougie.

Delighted to be here.

Now, earlier this summer we had a Landward special called Prawn Wars

when we looked at the Scottish fishing industry.

One of the many things we discovered is the amount of langoustine

caught in Scotland that end up on the plates of continental Europe.

I know that's something that's been frustrating you

-for quite some time, Nick.

-A long time. I think there are two issues,

the first one is - where do you buy them from?

And the second one is - what do you do with them once you've got them?

We have taken the tails off, which is the bit

that everyone eats, and that's the tails here,

and we're just about to cook those.

But also, you get all of this - the head, the claws,

and normally that goes in the bin.

But this makes one of the most amazing flavours on the planet -

langoustine bisque.

So we're going to cook the tails in some boiling, salted water.

Two minutes, OK?

Medium-sized prawns, so they don't need very long.

Seasoned water as well, so plenty of salt in the water,

keep them on a nice high temperature,

bring it back up to the boil and cook them for two minutes.

With the shells...

-Big, hot pan.

-Yes.

-Olive oil, lots of olive oil.

And then, in go the shells.

And the oil has got to be...

NICK LAUGHS

-Quite hot.

-And the oil has got to be hot.

-OK.

And we're just going to fry these in the oil for about five minutes

until we get a bit of colour, on the outside.

That smells really nice, because you're getting the olive oil

coming through there, plus the kind of smell...

Shellfish-ey, bisque-ey kind of thing.

'While that's frying, Nick takes the prawns out of the boiling water

'and leaves them to cool.'

So, we need to take the prawns out of the shell,

and the way to do this is to put the prawn between your thumbs

and forefinger, and just squeeze

until you hear the crack at the back.

Open them out and then put your fingers in here,

and pull it apart until it snaps.

-OK?

-Yes.

-Like so. Just pull it and it comes out nice and cleanly.

The shells go in my bisque.

This is really colouring up now, you can smell

that roasted shellfish flavour.

-Ohh, look at that.

-Very satisfying, isn't it?

-And in there?

-In there.

-It's always nice throwing stuff into the pot.

So whilst you are peeling the prawns,

I'm going to start adding some layers of flavour to this.

Carrot, celery, onion, orange peel, garlic - in the whole lot goes.

'Nick seasons the pot with some chilli, coriander,

'fennel seeds and cumin.

'Oh, and some tomatoes.'

I'm not working to a recipe, I'm feeling this.

The ratios of the amount of vegetables,

the amount of tomatoes, the amount of spices, it's one of those things,

it has got to look right, it has got to feel right.

'Then, after a glug of Cognac, some white wine

'and Nick's secret ingredient - chicken stock -

'he lets it reduce down for around an hour.'

'It's then strained and ready to serve alongside the langoustine.'

So, Dougie, I'm sure the good citizens of Ayr are going

to love these prawns, but are they willing to pay

that little bit extra for locally-landed langoustines?

-The best prawns on the planet.

-Let's try, shall we?

OK, come with me, come with me.

Oh, that's lovely.

-Oh, that's lovely.

-Yeah?

-Really good.

-You like?

-Definitely, lovely.

Will I be safe to drive after this?

That's superb. Absolutely superb.

I could taste the Cognac in it as well.

Mmm.

-That as good as the frozen ones?

-Oh, much better.

-Would you pay a wee bit extra for something like that?

-Definitely.

I usually buy frozen,

but I think after that I will definitely be buying fresh.

-Would you be willing to pay double?

-I'd pay treble.

-NICK LAUGHS

-Can you make that for me?

-I'll try.

Thank you.

So, Doug, there you have it.

Absolutely clear evidence that people love these langoustines.

Instead of sending them to the continent,

surely we have got to get them into local shops.

Yes, so say all of us, Nick.

In the meantime, from all of us at the Landward food van, Nick?

-It's goodbye from me.

-Goodbye from me too! Bye for now.