Episode 4 Landward

This week on Landward we're heading north.

In fact, we're going as north as you can go on the British mainland.

-This is it, isn't it?

-I think it is.

-It looks awfully like it.

The road's about to stop, I reckon.

From the most northerly point of mainland Britain, Dunnet Head,

all the way along to Duncansby Head,

the Pentland Firth creates its own unique habitat.

The North Sea meets the Atlantic here and they battle it out,

and that's what gives this place

a fearsome reputation amongst mariners.

For centuries, the people living here have been hugely

influenced by the sea and the rugged coastline.

The Pentland Firth spans 70 miles.

As we explore this coastline and its dangerous waters,

I'll be hitting the waves with the crew of the Thurso Lifeboat.

Incredibly exciting. Goodness me!

Five miles east at Castletown Harbour, Sarah will be

discovering the story of how Caithness flagstone paved the world.

From here it went all over the British Empire and beyond that.

And just north of the mainland on the island of Stroma, Euan explores

this abandoned community and talks to the only man still farming here.

When I was a younger man probably I didn't enjoy it too much, I was

maybe wanting to go out, but now that I'm married,

I'm quite happy to come over here for a wee while.

In January this year,

the unrelenting power of these waters hit

the headlines as a passenger ferry came across the upturned

hull of a cargo vessel, the Cemfjord,

before it sank with the loss of eight crew.

The meeting of the Atlantic Ocean

and the North Sea in this narrow channel makes the Pentland Firth

one of the most unpredictable and treacherous passages in the world.

'The first thing I want to do is find out what

'it's like for the lifeboatmen who have to go out in all

'weathers to try and help those in danger.'

The Thurso Lifeboat took part in the search for the Cemfjord's missing crew,

just one of the many callouts these volunteers attend each year.

Today, I'm joining them on a training run out in the western

edge of the Pentland Firth.

This is a Severn-class lifeboat,

the biggest vessel of its type in the RNLI fleet.

It has 2,500 horsepower and a top speed of 25 knots.

It is incredibly powerful and noisy,

but it has to be to deal with these ferocious waters.

'Coxswain Wayne Munroe has been in the RNLI for 45 years.

'He is the longest-serving member in Scotland.

'He knows exactly why these waters are so notorious.'

Very strong tides.

8, 10, 12 knots a tide.

On the east side there, at Duncansby, it runs north and south.

Here with us on the north coast, it runs east and west,

and there's areas and there's different swirls coming round

the islands in the Firth and some of the shore ground...

The shore juts out. St John's Point,

it's notorious, tide rips around that

and, I mean, it's just not a place to be.

Over the years, these vicious tidal currents have been given names.

The Merry Men of Mey is said to boil like a cauldron

and The Swilkie, a whirlpool, is Norse for "The Swallower".

I guess that's the thing about the lifeboat, isn't it?

You know, all the time when you shouldn't be going out, you guys have to go out.

Yeah, it doesn't matter what way the tide is,

if there's somebody in distress in the firth,

we can't hold back, we've got to go and it can be very,

very uncomfortable and, at times, you wish you were somewhere else.

I bet. Absolutely.

Now, currently, we're just sitting still in the water,

bobbing up and down by about 15-20 feet.

Now, this is a very, very benign day, there's no wind,

the sun's shining,

there's three people trying to hold on to Colin, our cameraman,

that shows how wild it is,

but the sense of the elements here is all around us. It's just...

potentially ferocious. Incredibly exciting.

Goodness me!

I want to stay here for a while, but I can't imagine being here

at a time of emergency.

It would be different altogether.

It's said that no-one can really know

the waters of the Pentland Firth.

Crew mechanic Andy Pearson witnessed its unpredictable nature

earlier this year when searching for the Cemfjord's missing crew.

That was quite eerie because when we actually got to it, it was in

the darkness, quite rough weather and just the bow of the boat

sticking up out of the water, about ten metres' worth of it.

That's quite an eerie place to be, in pitch-black.

You can be out there and it can be maybe like this right now,

but within five minutes, it can be totally different

and it's just the way the tide runs, the currents, the wind hitting

the tide, tide against wind,

can just alter the waves dramatically within seconds.

Tragically, there was nothing that

the lifeboat could do for the crew of the Cemfjord,

but, last year, they made 14 launches and nine rescues.

I hadn't really realised about the ferocity and the danger in the water

of the Pentland Firth,

so hats off to these guys and the heroic work they do.

Later in the programme, I'll be looking into an ambitious

project to harness that power, generating tidal energy.

These waters may be dangerous but, for the people who live here,

they're their only way to get to and from the islands.

Euan is also breaking the waves, en route to a rather special place.

We're going out to the island of Stroma.

I've sailed past it a few times, both north and south,

and it is a scary experience.

When you get past the point, the sea suddenly starts boiling

and there's dragons underneath the water,

there's giants rocking the boat,

the tiller gets torn out of your hand.

It is an amazing experience, but luckily the skipper of this

boat knows more about these waters than anybody else around.

William Simpson's family own Stroma

and he uses it for grazing his sheep.

He comes over to the island every spring for lambing,

joined by his son, Jamie. This is the first visit this year.

My father was born on the island.

He did all his schooling on Stroma.

My grandfather and grandma came from Stroma.

Stroma is the most southerly of the islands in the Pentland Firth.

It's Norse name means "island in the tidal stream".

The ferocious tides and wild weather make it a difficult place to get to.

We've just come off a dark blue, coming into this lighter blue,

as they touch, they turn the tides,

you can actually see different colours.

-This is where the giant octopus live as well.

-Not seen one yet.

So, how often do you go out to the island, because you don't live there permanently?

We don't go over very much in the winter time.

I'm afraid our sheep very much have to take care of themselves.

I don't know if you're seeing this, but every now and again the boat

suddenly goes whoosh as we enter one of these whirlpools.

It's quite exciting, the big change in the height of the tide.

Is it just me? Do you get excited at this point as well?

Well, it makes me hang on sometimes, but I can't say I'm getting excited.

THEY LAUGH

You don't know what the boat's going to do because it depends...

It's not predictable so you've got to just hang on.

I hang on tightly and in 20 minutes, we've made our bumpy crossing

and moor in the picturesque Stroma Harbour.

Here we are in Stroma. Great place.

We'll go and check up on the sheep, see if everything's in order.

-See if they survived the winter OK, then?

-Well, we will see. Hopefully they have, yes.

While William goes to round up his sheep,

I want to have a look round this fascinating island.

There's nobody else here now, but it was once a thriving community.

People have lived here since the Stone Age.

Low-lying and flat, it's blessed with fertile soil making it

ideal for farming.

But there was another way of making a living which

drew on their unrivalled skills as seamen.

The men were expert fishermen, catching cod, herring,

lobster and crab.

The catch would be divided equally between the crew

and the surplus would be sold to merchants in Wick.

But the spoils of the turbulent seas went far beyond fish.

This is the north side of the island

and this is where the Atlantic meets the North Sea.

As you can see, they're really not getting on very well

together and over the decades,

many ships have been wrecked just off this coast and the goods

from the wrecks would have been a welcome windfall for the islanders.

Anything that could be transported by boat could

end up in the hands of the islanders.

This photograph shows a consignment of apples.

With 60 known shipwrecks recorded around Stroma,

the lighthouse was built in 1896.

It's said some islanders opposed the building of it as it would end

the supply of salvaged goods.

But it was built and continues to warn ships of danger to this day.

So, fishing, farming and salvage earned the islanders their living.

But what was life actually like?

This would have been the reality of living on Stroma.

You've got the traditional box bed really close to the fire -

it would have been quite cosy.

All the cooking done here...

but still a pretty harsh life.

The population peaked in 1901 at 375.

They had their own school and own church.

After the First World War, the fishing deteriorated

and it became increasingly difficult to make a living.

Adding to the economic problems, in 1944, the 11-plus exam meant that

all children over 12 had to finish their education on the mainland.

Eventually, the 20th century caught up with life on Stroma.

Opportunities on the mainland drew people away,

mainly to work at the nuclear power station in Dounreay.

By 1957, only 16 people were left on the island

until the last family left in 1962.

The people may have gone, but the island remains a rich

habitat for seals...

birds...

and, of course, William's sheep.

I wonder how he's getting on?

-They're obviously a bit nervous.

-Yeah. Well, they're nervous just now

because they've not seen anybody for most of the winter.

They've not been fed, but now when we come out

and put them in feeders and start patrolling them for lambing,

they'll settle down then and we'll get closer to them then.

So, how long will you spend on the island now that you're out?

We'll probably spend about four to five weeks on the island.

Yeah, it's...

Hopefully that will take care of most of the busy part of the lambing.

Do you look forward to that or do you dread it?

-Do you escape? How do you see it?

-I quite look forward to it now.

When I was a younger man, probably I didn't enjoy it too much,

I was maybe wanting to go out, but now that I'm married, I'm quite

happy to come over here for a wee while.

And you do get to live in the manse, of course.

Yes, as I say, we stay in the manse.

I don't know if the Minister would approve of some of our activities,

-but that's where we live.

-So, you just picked the best house, did you?

-Well, yes, probably.

-So, is it hard living?

-It's different, yeah.

It's challenging.

And, strangely, you're the only guy farming it, where at one point

-there was hundreds of people farming.

-Yeah, there'd be a lot of them

take their living from the sea as well,

crofting would be just a secondary.

So, do you see it as romantic or is it just me?

It's a beautiful day, it's kind of isolation.

Is it a million miles from romantic?

Yeah, I'm not so sure about romanticness but...

quite a challenge, yeah,

but I don't think there's much romance.

Well, this charming place certainly feels romantic to me.

And while I wander towards my own personal rainbow,

Sarah is back on the mainland with her feet firmly on the ground.

That's right. I'm staying on terra firma.

This area has a unique geology that gave rise to a prosperous

19th century industry.

An industry that is, literally, resurfacing today.

This is Castletown Harbour

and it's made entirely from Caithness flagstone,

and it is stone like this that was sent from here by boat

to pave the streets around the world, from New York to Sydney.

It's been used in Caithness for centuries - for flooring,

roofing, walls and fences.

It splits easily, it's hard-wearing and it looks great

and in the early 1800s, local landowner James Traill

decided to turn it into big business.

He saw that he could make something big out of exporting it.

'Muriel Murray of the Castlehill Heritage Society explains more.'

It was a huge employer and it attracted people from the west

because it was at a time when some people were being driven out

of their homes in the west, in the glens,

and Caithness was a good place to come.

In this small village alone,

nearly 1,000 men were employed as quarriers and cutters.

At its height, output rose to 35,000 tonnes a year.

So, from this small part of Scotland, the stone enjoyed global success.

Yes, from here it went on small ships to main bases

like Edinburgh and Newcastle and London. From there it was put onto

larger ships and it went all over the British Empire and beyond that.

This remarkable history is now being celebrated with a flagstone trail

here in the old Castlehill quarry.

So, Muriel, what is this beautiful-looking structure?

This is the base of a wind pump, and the wind pump took the water

out of the workings and helped the process of the cutting.

So, what happened to the industry? Why did it waste away?

It was Portland cement that sounded the death knell

of the stone industry, because it was much more convenient.

It was on site when you needed it, you didn't have to transport it.

There was also subsidised stone of a similar nature

coming from Norway, which the Norwegian government was

supporting, so this was sort of priced out of the market.

But if you thought that was the end of the story then you'd be wrong,

because Caithness flagstone has a new lease of life

and is enjoying huge demand.

I've come to the Spittal Quarry, near Watten, where business is booming.

So much so, in the last six months they've doubled the workforce

and are now working 24-hours a day.

And for all the modern technology,

the flagstone is still split by hand the old-fashioned way.

'Maybe it's a new career for me.'

-Follow this line here.

-Follow this line. OK. I'm putting that bit in?

-Yes, like this.

-Uh-huh.

-Tap, then move along.

-OK.

-Try and make it as even as possible?

-Yes.

-Right. OK. Jeez!

SHE LAUGHS

Right.

Move along.

-I tell you what, I don't think you need to worry about your job.

-OK.

I'm not very good. Can I go and find the boss?

I'll go find the boss.

Stone as far as the eye can see.

How popular is Caithness slab at the moment?

It's starting to get a lot more popular.

We're starting to get back into the markets where we can export

outside of Scotland...

'Quarry director Mark Mancini runs this operation.

'He explains what sparked this revival.'

It's the ideal product for using on streetscapes and there's not a lot

of products that you can get in Britain

that have the characteristics of the flagstone, that's as durable,

as hard-wearing and has the same kind of aesthetics,

and we're starting to get enquiries now from places like Boston who want

to start using the material again from the heritage point of view.

They want to redo the docks, those kind of things.

-So, it's sort of gone full circle then.

-It has, yeah.

Hundreds of years ago, it came from here and they're now coming back to this quarry.

They're coming back to the same place to get the same stuff, yeah.

So, have you got a big enough quarry?

Yeah, we've got plenty of land.

I'm hoping we've got enough to see me through at least.

-All I can see is stone.

-Stone everywhere.

-Stone everywhere!

I'm looking for a bit of stone for the garden.

-Can we come to an agreement?

-Yeah. I'll see if I can do a deal for you.

-OK. I like that bit over there.

-OK.

-Right.

So, next time you're walking through any city centre in Scotland,

be it Edinburgh's Royal Mile or the city square in Dundee,

chances are you'll be standing on Caithness flagstone.

Here on Landward, we travel the length and breadth of the country.

While we're out and about, we like to discover what the best thing

is about the places we visit.

And as we are all in Caithness this week, I thought I'd

pop into the county seat and ask what is the best thing about Wick?

-Nice place.

-Yeah?

-It's a brilliant place.

They're so friendly. That's the reason I moved up here.

-It's a nice place to live. Everybody's dead friendly.

-Quiet. Reasonable.

-Are they welcoming?

-Yeah, as long as you've got enough money.

-Well, it's lovely living next to the sea.

-People will stop and give me directions.

-Well, I've only been here for about an hour.

-The best thing about Wick?

-HE BLUSTERS

One of the town's claims to fame is this, Ebenezer Place,

recognised by the Guinness Book of records as the shortest

street in the world - two metres six centimetres or one short leap.

It's a difficult question. It's tough. It's tough.

Well, I think the best place about Wick is if you go round to Trinkie.

-Do you know where it is?

-Is that the pool?

-Yeah, the pool.

Which way to the Trinkie pool?

You just go straight up here, right up the cliff road, keep going,

take the second left...

Probably that place there, De Vita's.

-Is that right? De Vita's Pizza?

-Yeah.

So, that's what the good folk of Wick think is best about their town,

but I reckon this here should get a special mention.

The Black Stairs, so pretty that back in the 1930s,

Salford artist LS Lowry committed them to canvas.

Or cardboard or whatever he was working on at the time.

As I discovered earlier in the programme,

the powerful tidal streams of the Pentland Firth makes it notoriously

difficult and dangerous for shipping, but all that power

has been described as the greatest untapped source of energy in Scotland.

So, how do you harness that power and turn it into electricity?

To find out, I headed to a windswept construction site on the shore

of the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, at Ness of Quoys in Canisbay.

An ambitious scheme has just started, hoping to exploit

the immense energy from these powerful tides.

The waters ebb and flood almost constantly through the firth.

The plan is to install turbine generators on the seabed.

As the tide turns, the generators rotate

so they're always able to take advantage of the flow.

They hope to install around 60 turbines in total,

but they will be introduced in stages, with just four to begin with.

Dan Pearson is the project's Chief Executive.

What has the reaction been from locals to you doing this here?

Well, at first, I think they thought we were slightly mad.

I think everyone who lives locally sees the power of the sea daily

and I think there's a degree of curiosity as well,

but everyone has been behind us - local fishermen, the yachtsmen

and all the sea users have been very helpful.

Even the fishermen? Because you wouldn't be able to stick

a net down there if you've got a turbines in there?

Well, actually, this area here, the fishermen don't throw nets here.

This is the last place they want to put any nets,

they lose them anyway to the flow.

There are places where they put their pots on the outer side here and

we've been in discussion with them about whether we would affect them

or not, and I think it's fair to say they've been very supportive.

They don't think we'd be involved

and we have people who are employed locally as well, so we get to

hear if there's any kind of concerns that people might have.

Well, it all sounds great in theory, but how on earth do you

actually get a turbine onto the bottom of that maelstrom out there?

Eddie Scott explains the process.

It's an absolutely fantastic day if not a little windy.

How do you get in there safely and efficiently to put turbines in?

Well, that's one of the key things that we've been

working on for quite some time and fundamentally we use

dynamically positioned ships with large cranes on them,

and right at periods of slack water, that gives us

our window of opportunity where we can come out and do some

of that work and placing the turbine support structures on the seabed.

The turbines have two main components -

a base support unit weighing a mighty 400 tonnes that

sits on the seabed, held in place by gravity,

and a turbine unit that locks onto the base.

And then we can bring the turbines out and install them

onto the turbine support structures that we have,

so very challenging and very time-consuming.

This is a bold and ambitious project

and with today's appetite for renewable energy, the formidable

forces of the Pentland Firth could become one of our greatest allies.

But the firth isn't just a resource for humans.

These waters have long been a valuable resource for a vast

range of wildlife.

Sarah is going to find out about a plan to monitor the effects of

the tidal wave project on one of the largest - the orca or killer whale.

-Hi, Colin. How are you doing?

-Hello. Nice to see you.

-And you.

-Have you spotted anything yet?

-No, not really.

I've been here for several hours and the sea is absolutely perfect.

'Here at Duncansby Head at the eastern end

'of the Pentland Firth,

'I'm meeting Colin Bird from the Sea Watch Foundation.'

We're looking for killer whales.

At this time of year, you could expect to see two or three pods

per week passing through the Pentland Firth.

They do in fact feed on our seals that are out there.

OK, so can we get excited about maybe seeing some today?

It's being in the right place at the right time.

Orcas, at this particular location, can be seen just below the cliffs.

Right. So, just below where we're standing?

Just below where we're standing.

They very often come across from Stroma

and actually go round the corner here,

within 50 metres of the cliffs.

-Can I have a wee look through here?

-Yes, by all means.

'It's not my lucky day.'

But these library pictures show a pod that regularly travels this route.

Every May for the last five years,

Colin has organised a volunteer watch here at Duncansby Head to

record orca sightings over a period of a week.

This has allowed him to build a picture of the whales' behaviour.

He can use this information to see

whether the tidal energy project affects them.

Well, the problem is nobody really knows

because there's no projects of this nature anywhere in the world,

so we're not 100% certain what's going to happen.

So, what are you hoping to prove with the watch then?

Well, what we're trying to find out is what dangers they face from this installation.

And are you looking for volunteers?

We are always looking for volunteers.

-The more eyes we have on the sea the better.

-Right.

-Well, I'll keep having a wee look.

-Yes, by all means.

-If you see a killer whale, please scream.

-I will shout, don't worry.

So, I have a few minutes to hope for a glimpse before I head off to

meet Dougie and Euan.

As the old saying goes, good things come to she who waits. And waits.

And waits.

-This has been fantastic. There she is there.

-Hello, Sarah.

-Hello, boys.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Good to see you. Great.

-Good to be here.

Stunning day, isn't it? Just brilliant.

-So the burning question is did you see any whales?

-Not this time.

-Because Dougie and I saw about 20 just over there.

-Oh, yeah(!)

It's always the way. Whatever.

In the meantime, from all of us here in glorious Caithness...

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.