0:00:02 > 0:00:04Well, autumn is well and truly upon us, but you would never know.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05The weather's glorious!
0:00:05 > 0:00:08And we'll be enjoying that and much more in the next 30 minutes.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Hello, and a very warm welcome to Landward.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32In a moment, I'll be starting off a fantastic four-week journey
0:00:32 > 0:00:34through the Small Isles,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36but first, here's what else is coming up on the programme.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Euan visits a nature reserve with big plans.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41This is just the start of it.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44We're going to have 10,000 here on the reserve.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's a great sight of Scotland at the start of autumn, isn't it?
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Absolutely fantastic.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53The salmon industry prepares for a global challenge.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55We are going to need to feed the planet with food
0:00:55 > 0:00:57that comes out of these seas.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00And we reveal Scotland's best beach.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02- Oh, that's it! - That's like the Caribbean!
0:01:10 > 0:01:13But before all that, Sarah is in Lairg in Sutherland.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16It's a wee place, but on three days in the year,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19the population, both human and animal,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22swells dramatically, when it's sheep sale time.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28About 12,000 sheep are expected to be sold here today, at Lairg.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And I've come to lend a hand to one of the sellers.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33A farmer I met earlier in the year.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Back in April, I travelled to Armadale, on the north coast,
0:01:37 > 0:01:39to help Joyce Campbell with her lambing.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43- How's it looking?- Looking good. And he's got a lovely black foot.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46He's just a wee gurgly, so we'll just give him a wee upside-down
0:01:46 > 0:01:49to get some fluid out of his lungs.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It's all fairly immediate, isn't it?
0:01:51 > 0:01:55And six months on, I'm meeting up with Joyce again.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59She's bringing tups and yows to sell here, at the Lairg sales.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00- Hello!- Good morning.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04- Good morning.- How are you doing? - Long time no see.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07- It's lovely to see you again. - How are you?- Good. How are you?
0:02:07 > 0:02:11- Bit nervous.- Are you?- Yes.- Not about telly, the show?- About the sheep.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14- The sheep, the sheep! - THEY LAUGH
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Right, what can I do to help?
0:02:16 > 0:02:18We're going to just unload these sheep and wash their faces.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19You can help with that.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24These are her prize tups.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28The 180 yows are following behind in another trailer.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- Did you get up early?- Yes, 5:00.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- Not too bad.- That's just a normal lie-in for you, isn't it?
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I haven't got any make-up on yet.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40And it doesn't look like she'll have a chance any time soon.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The tups' faces are the priority at the moment.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The way she's washing their faces is a bit like what I do to my kids
0:02:46 > 0:02:49before they head off to school in the morning. A good scrub.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54Top breeders from across the country come to buy and sell here,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58so it's no wonder Joyce wants her tups looking their best.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Is there a competitive edge?
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- Hellish!- Today? Is it? - Oh, you've no idea.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- People are sussing you out? - Oh, the whole time, yeah.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06- They're standing back, because you're here. It's fine.- OK.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09They'd usually be in, mulling around in our pens, but they're
0:03:09 > 0:03:10standing back, which is fine,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14we're getting a good chance to get this done without them here.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- But, no, a very competitive edge. - And do you feel it...?- Oh, yes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- Is that not right? - Definitely, yes.- Oh, yeah.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It's been building up for weeks. My sister says it starts
0:03:23 > 0:03:25about November and it goes on until October.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29That's the tups titivated, but where are the yows?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32You wouldn't think Lairg would be the type of place that would
0:03:32 > 0:03:38have bad congestion, but on a sale day, it's all going on.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42There's lorries, there's trailers, there's trucks everywhere.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And one of those lorries has Joyce's yows.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51180 of them, all ready to be sold.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53And, hopefully, ready to get a good price.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And they certainly seem keen to try.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02They've already been sorted into lots,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04so the best will be sold together.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08- So, these are my top-drawer yows coming now.- These...?- Aye.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12So, there's 98 of them. If we would just stand to the side a bit...
0:04:12 > 0:04:15So it's important that they've had extra space so they're quite clean.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19So we washed their faces on Friday and trimmed their eyelashes,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21made them look pretty.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26- And when did you choose them?- This week.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28This week.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30That's mixed.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32Why did they mix the lorry?
0:04:36 > 0:04:37Right.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40- Yeah, you carry on.- Ian?
0:04:40 > 0:04:45So I think these were supposed to be Joyce's sort of top-drawer yows,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47but they've been mixed in the lorry and...
0:04:48 > 0:04:52She's not that happy about it, which is fair enough.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56- No. You just don't let any past here.- Sure, sure.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Stand clear, stand clear.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01One, one.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Two, two. There you go, that's it, that's it. Right, shut the gate!
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- Quite a hectic morning.- It has been. - And now, the calm before the sale.
0:05:12 > 0:05:13That's right.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16I'm now waiting my turn to go through with these girls
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and the tups are, hopefully, going to go through later on.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23So, everyone else is looking after them and I'll look after this end.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- I always stay with the yows, and...- Because?
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Because I would have spent my whole...
0:05:28 > 0:05:30They've spend every day of their lives with me.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I would have lambed them, I'll have looked after them.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35And same with the tups, but I would have more of an affinity
0:05:35 > 0:05:38to my females, maybe being a woman.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Joyce is hoping for at least £150 for her best yows.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48AUCTIONEER: They are 100%. What a pen of yows!
0:05:48 > 0:05:50The moment of truth has come.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Right. 300, 250, 200.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57150. 120 bid. 120 bid.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59The price escalates quickly.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02170 called there now.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05At 170 bidding.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07170, 170.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Last chance, 170!
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Last year's buyer.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Thank you very much. I'm off to sell tups.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15She's going to sell her tups now.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20It's a great price for the yows, but the day's not over yet.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It just so happens that the tup sale coincides with the yow sale,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28which has just finished, and Joyce is heading off to the other sale,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30so I'd better go and catch her up.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39We arrive to find out the top tup sold for £5,000.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43A price that earns a picture in the paper.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- Final thoughts. Good day?- Tremendous day. Absolutely delighted.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- Chuffed to bits.- Price-wise?
0:06:49 > 0:06:53£170 for five-year-old cast yows and my sale tup there,
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- £5,000 for the top and a very good average.- Good price.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Very, very good price, yes.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01It's just so lovely to see you smile after the stress of this morning.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03It was quite hard. A lot of pressure.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06You invest a lot of time and a lot of effort
0:07:06 > 0:07:10and a lot of emotion into it and, when it works, it's lovely.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20And now, I'm off to sea.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26You know, working on Landward is a real privilege.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30It's given me the opportunity to explore more parts
0:07:30 > 0:07:32of our stunning country than I ever would've imagined.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36And over four weeks, I'm going to be visiting the Small Isles.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44The Small Isles sit off the south-western tip of Skye.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48They are Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna.
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Over the next four programmes,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55I'll be exploring the ancient settlements of Rum
0:07:55 > 0:07:58and finding out about the depopulation of the island
0:07:58 > 0:08:00during the Highland Clearances.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03On Eigg, I'm going to meet the very modern residents
0:08:03 > 0:08:08who bought the island and turned it into a haven of renewable energy.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11I'll be meeting the farming family from Muck,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14the only privately-owned island in the archipelago.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18And I'll visit Canna, where the residents are battling to control
0:08:18 > 0:08:20a population explosion.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Not of humans, but rabbits.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30My Small Isles odyssey begins on the largest of the four, Rum.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33The island we know most about.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37The four-legged population contains
0:08:37 > 0:08:39the most pure-bred red deer in Scotland.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42And has been studied for generations.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Rum is also home to Kinloch Castle,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48a rather ostentatious display
0:08:48 > 0:08:51of the 19th-century wealth of the Bullough family.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53I'm told if you were to build this from scratch today,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56you wouldn't get much change out of £15 million.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59But today, I'm here to find out about some of the less
0:08:59 > 0:09:02salubrious dwellings left on Rum.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It's believed some of the earliest human inhabitants
0:09:05 > 0:09:07of Scotland lived here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And Sylvia Beaton, curator of the Isle of Rum Heritage Centre,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12is going to tell me more.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17So, Sylvia, what do we know about the earliest residents of Rum?
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Well, the earliest ones, around about 8,500 years ago,
0:09:19 > 0:09:20were the Mesolithic people.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23So, what is this here we've just stumbled upon?
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Well, what you've got here is an early example of blackhouses.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28This one would have been one building at one point,
0:09:28 > 0:09:29but they've split it into two.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32More than likely to put livestock in it,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34rather than keeping the livestock in your house, as was the custom.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38These dwellings only date from the 1500s.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And, on a day like today,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44one can see why Rum was described by a 19th-century visitor as,
0:09:44 > 0:09:50"a heap of rude land, scarcely possessing an acre of level land.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53"And it's the wildest and most repulsive of all the islands."
0:09:53 > 0:09:56But the island must have had something going for it,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00because back in the late 18th century, the population was 443.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02And we're going to head over to see where they lived.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Well, this part of the island is called Harris, Harris Bay.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15And it had the highest concentration of residents. Over 70 at one point.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18So, these were all blackhouses and people actually lived in these?
0:10:18 > 0:10:19There weren't any windows.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23It was a heather-thatched roof with a wee hole in the ceiling
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and a fire in the middle.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29And the smoke must have been, you know, really thick, black,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31hence the name blackhouses, apart from the fact they don't
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- have any windows.- Sure. So, how did they actually live?
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I guess they were all farmers, were they?
0:10:35 > 0:10:39They were all farmers, yes. Crofters. It's dug by hand.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41You didn't need a plough.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43So, you had to do everything by hand.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48- And you rotated your patch with your neighbour.- A-huh.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Some patches were better, more fertile than others.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54So it was a fairer system to say, "Next year, you can have that one
0:10:54 > 0:10:56"and you can have the not-so-good one".
0:10:56 > 0:10:58- So, this was a vibrant community here?- Very.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- Lots of people living here? - Yeah. It must have been bustling.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04But it wasn't to last.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08In the early 19th century, Harris and other thriving settlements
0:11:08 > 0:11:12on the island were cleared of people, to make way for sheep.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Nowadays, Rum is a national nature reserve,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17run by Scottish Natural Heritage.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- How are you? It's good to see you. - How are you? Good to see you.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- Yeah, lovely day, isn't it(?)- Yeah, it's... It could be better.- Yeah.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27The man charged with taking care of it is Mike Ingram.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29I'm meeting him in Harris,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32at the mausoleum erected by the Bullough family.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36How do you go about managing the landscape here, so that people
0:11:36 > 0:11:38can experience the history and heritage of this area in particular?
0:11:38 > 0:11:41We've got grazing animals on the whole island here,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45so we've got red deer, wild red deer here, we've got Highland ponies,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48we've got Highland cows and we've also got the wild goats here.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52And what they do is they graze these areas
0:11:52 > 0:11:54and keep the open-ground habitats,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57which are part of the features of the island, open.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59And what that does, it enables people
0:11:59 > 0:12:02to actually see the historical heritage, as well.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05We've relatively recently made tracks down to Harris here
0:12:05 > 0:12:08and to Kilmory in the north of the island.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11They're great for cycling and obviously, for walking, as well,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13and for people to get down here.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15So, it's a really key part of it,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18that people see the wider part of the island, rather than just
0:12:18 > 0:12:21what's the immediate part when they get off the ferry.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Sadly, my time on Rum has come to an end.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Next week, I'll be on the very modern island of Eigg,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35which is community-owned and full of energy.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Now, staying on the west coast, we head to Poolewe,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48for a privileged glimpse into one of Scotland's best-kept secrets.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53The gardens at Inverewe are a spectacular legacy of Mairi Sawyer.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57But until this month, visitors have not been able to go inside
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Inverewe House, which dates back to the 1930s.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Guest presenter Kelsey Bennet has had a private tour.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Perched on the edge of the Atlantic,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14this garden is a plant-collector's paradise.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17It's been attracting visitors to this far-flung area
0:13:17 > 0:13:21since it opened to the public in the 1940s.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26It was the vision of a father and daughter, who battled against
0:13:26 > 0:13:31the weather and wilderness, to create this incredible garden.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34And at the heart of it is Inverewe House,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38which has just opened to the public for the very first time.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43There have been gardens here since Osgood Mackenzie became owner
0:13:43 > 0:13:46of the estate in 1862.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50But this house wasn't completed until 1937.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- Hello.- Hi, Kevin. How are you?- Very well.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54- Pleased to meet you.- You, too.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- Welcome to Inverewe House. - Thank you.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Giving me the tour is property manager Kevin Frediani,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and it's immediately obvious
0:14:02 > 0:14:04that this is a house that's all about its owner.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09This is the home of Mairi Sawyer.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Mairi Sawyer was the daughter of Osgood McKenzie.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13So, she inherited it from her father?
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Yes, she was their only daughter that survived Osgood.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22- What kind of a lady was she?- Mairi was really a lady of two halves.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25On one side she was of the Highlands,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29she was born and brought up in these Highland environments,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32she spoke Gaelic as a first language.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- She was hunting at the age of seven, shooting...- Wow.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38..the rabbits out of the windows on this estate.
0:14:38 > 0:14:39KELSEY LAUGHS
0:14:39 > 0:14:43On the other side, she was someone who grew up and married
0:14:43 > 0:14:45into society, enjoyed her life in Europe.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47That was part of the influence,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51her travels and her enjoyment of that wider society helped
0:14:51 > 0:14:53influence the design of the garden, that she carried on.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58In fact, we can go and see that next door, in the smoking room,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- which was the heart, really, of this house.- Brilliant, let's go.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05This is where Mairi would have spent a lot of her time,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08planning the garden, but also relaxing and enjoying listening
0:15:08 > 0:15:12to music, corresponding with people around the world about the plants.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And thinking about what she would do next.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I've been at a couple of National Trust properties before
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and you have to look, but don't touch. This feels different.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25That's exactly what we're setting out to do here,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29rather than a white rope and lots of black and white text in a guidebook
0:15:29 > 0:15:31that you'd have to go around, this one's about
0:15:31 > 0:15:33you pick it up, feel it, smell it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36So, in the other room, you could smell the flower displays,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39bringing, subliminally, that garden into the house.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Here, it's the planning and music where she would have been
0:15:42 > 0:15:45reflecting and relaxing as well as planning.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48'But it's in the kitchen that
0:15:48 > 0:15:51'the fruits of the garden are most abundant.'
0:15:52 > 0:15:55This is a very impressive kitchen.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Absolutely, it's very different, as well, than the other spaces.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02This is where Mairi Sawyer really designed the layout for
0:16:02 > 0:16:06the house, around the kitchen, the pantry - which are in there -
0:16:06 > 0:16:08- and the dining room. - And when I came in,
0:16:08 > 0:16:12I saw that there's some delicious-looking jams in here.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14Yes, they are, and what you're doing now
0:16:14 > 0:16:16is uncovering layers of the story.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21The fact she used to enjoy cooking, the fact she collected recipes
0:16:21 > 0:16:24from around the world and then using substitution - local plants.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28For us, what we're now enjoying is celebrating the fact that
0:16:28 > 0:16:31she was a lady before her time.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34And it's her story in this house that we can tell today.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38SWING MUSIC
0:16:38 > 0:16:41After you walk through the rooms here and you catch the scent
0:16:41 > 0:16:44of the flowers, it's not hard to imagine Mairi
0:16:44 > 0:16:46once going about her day here.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50She nurtured and developed this incredible garden in the wilderness
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and, luckily, she left it for all of us to enjoy.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06This summer, and over the past few programmes, we've been
0:17:06 > 0:17:09asking you to tell us - what is the best beach in Scotland?
0:17:11 > 0:17:15We have been inundated with nominations on e-mail and Facebook.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Some of the most popular suggestions
0:17:17 > 0:17:19were St Ninian's Isle, on Shetland,
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Luskentyre on Harris
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and Sandend on the Banffshire coast.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27But the winner, using the most unscientific method
0:17:27 > 0:17:30and no independent scrutineers,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34with more votes than any other, is Achmelvich.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Achmelvich is on the north-west coast, near Lochinver.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40The place gets its name from the Gaelic for "meadow"
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and "sandy dunes".
0:17:42 > 0:17:45From the white sands, you can look across the machair
0:17:45 > 0:17:47to the distant hills of Canisp and Suilven.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51So let's see if visitors agree with you, the Landward viewer,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53that this is the best beach in the country.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59- It's absolutely beautiful, really, really nice.- Fantastic.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01It's amazing, there's not many places better to be.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03The purity of the sand,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06it's just like the golden sand that you don't get anywhere else.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11This is just really secluded, and really a one-off.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15- You wouldn't expect it when you go to Scotland.- Oh, it's amazing.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17It's like the Caribbean.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Wow, compliments don't get better than that.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Next week, we'll start the hunt for Scotland's weirdest place name.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29We'll be in Maggieknockater, but you can make your suggestions
0:18:29 > 0:18:32on the Landward Facebook page or e-mail...
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Now, to the Solway Firth,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44where Euan is finding out how a farm was converted to a wildlife haven.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51About 40 minutes drive south-west of Dumfries
0:18:51 > 0:18:53is the RSPB's Mersehead reserve.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00The reserve lies right on the Solway Firth and is a mosaic
0:19:00 > 0:19:02of pools, reedbeds and ditches.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05A perfect habitat for wildfowl, like geese.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10But it wasn't always like this.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Up until 1993, when the RSPB bought the reserve,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18all of this land was part of a working dairy farm.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20So, what was it you did on the farm?
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Well, when I first came here, I was the, sort of, captain of the farm.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26'Eric Neilson has worked here for 50 years,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29'on the farm and at the reserve.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31'He's seen some changes.'
0:19:34 > 0:19:36So, where were the cattle when you were here?
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The cattle would be out in these fields here. It's all wet now.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42- They'd graze out here. - So, was it good grazing?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Yes, best of grazing, aye.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Eric was part of the team that created this reserve
0:19:48 > 0:19:52and the land that was once carefully drained for farming
0:19:52 > 0:19:55now has sluices, to maintain the wetland habitat
0:19:55 > 0:19:57essential to attract wildfowl.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59So, what's it like now seeing all these geese and ducks?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Oh, it's fantastic. It's brilliant.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06The work has been a terrific success.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Mersehead is now the winter home to 10,000 Svalbard barnacle geese.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13That's quarter of the world's total population.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19But the RSPB plan to do more.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24Area manager Andrew Bielinski is showing me 300 acres of land
0:20:24 > 0:20:25that they want to buy.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29It currently splits the existing reserve into two.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33So, why do you want to own it? You've got a big reserve already.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36It gives us the ability to manage, obviously,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40a much larger area, and there are things we'd like to do on what
0:20:40 > 0:20:44we call West Preston that we can't do at the moment, cos we don't have
0:20:44 > 0:20:46the control of any water going onto there.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48It also gives us the ability to...
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Well, we'll be more resilient, in terms of future climate change.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57'But the land comes with a hefty price tag.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:00The asking price is 285,000.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Is that a big ask for the RSPB? It's a big organisation.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07It's quite a lot of money, but our members are very generous
0:21:07 > 0:21:12and we're pretty confident that we'll raise that with their help.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15We've got something like 25,000 at the moment,
0:21:15 > 0:21:16when I looked this morning.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18That includes my donation, as well.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21'I'm keen to see, at close hand, what all the work
0:21:21 > 0:21:23'has been about - the birds.'
0:21:24 > 0:21:27We can head back to the other bit of the reserve and hopefully
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- we'll see birds in bigger numbers there.- Guaranteed?
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Well, no, it's nature. Nothing's guaranteed.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Fingers crossed, these geese are about to take off to roost.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42So, is that them starting to go now, is it?
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Yeah, I can see they're starting to get... Oh, there they go.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47Oh, it's a great noise, isn't it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:49GEESE HONK
0:21:49 > 0:21:50Fantastic sight.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52And this is just the start of it,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55we're going to have 10,000 here on the reserve.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Great sight of Scotland at the start of autumn.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Absolutely, absolutely fantastic.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05'Yes, it's truly magnificent, and you can see these birds
0:22:05 > 0:22:08'here at Mersehead from now, right through the winter.'
0:22:09 > 0:22:14- The greatest free show in town. - Yeah. Yeah, doesn't cost a penny.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17- Unlike your appeal. I wish you luck.- Thank you very much.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18Fingers crossed.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30From wildfowl to farmed salmon.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I'm on Loch Fyne, to reveal the exciting findings
0:22:32 > 0:22:34of some new research.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37The Scottish salmon farming industry
0:22:37 > 0:22:40is worth £1 billion a year to the economy.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44It's Scotland's largest food export and, even at home,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48one million fresh salmon meals are consumed every week in the UK.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51It's a big business, with global demand on the rise.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56But it's an industry not without its problems.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59European aquaculture is stagnating -
0:22:59 > 0:23:02not growing fast enough to meet global demands.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03At the same time,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05there are environmental concerns about the impact
0:23:05 > 0:23:09farming has on the lochs and voes on which it's placed
0:23:09 > 0:23:12and, in wider terms, there are also worries about the effect
0:23:12 > 0:23:14it has on the wild salmon population.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- Good morning.- Good morning.- Good to see, how you doing?- Morning, Dougie.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22'I've come to Loch Fyne, to hear the results
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'of a unique research product that's aiming to help
0:23:25 > 0:23:27'the salmon farming industry grow,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30'while protecting the environment, at the same time.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32'My guides are Adam Hughes,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35'from the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38'and David Attwood, of the Scottish Salmon Company.'
0:23:41 > 0:23:44At first glance, this looks like any other salmon farm dotted across
0:23:44 > 0:23:48the west coast of Scotland, but this company is growing
0:23:48 > 0:23:51scallops, mussels and seaweed in close proximity to the salmon.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56This research project into the benefits of growing shellfish
0:23:56 > 0:23:58next to salmon cages is called
0:23:58 > 0:24:04integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, or IMTA for short.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Adam Hughes is marine biologist behind the research.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10So, the idea is, traditionally,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12fin fish has been grown in monoculture,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15so you're just growing fin fish on their own.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18The idea behind this project is to kind of create an ecosystem,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21or a food web, at the same site as you're growing the salmon
0:24:21 > 0:24:24or the fin fish and, therefore, you're getting a lot of benefits
0:24:24 > 0:24:26by increasing biodiversity,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28increasing the production at that site.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32So, you're putting mussels and scallops, seaweed, urchins,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34in and around the salmon. What are they actually doing?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Cos they're all filter feeders, aren't they?
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Well, they're all doing different things.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40They all have different roles in this sort of ecosystem
0:24:40 > 0:24:41that we're building.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45So, the seaweed, for instance, that's really good at absorbing
0:24:45 > 0:24:47dissolved nutrients from the water column.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50The mussels are superb filter feeders.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53They filter huge volumes of water and, so, they are really good
0:24:53 > 0:24:56at removing the particulates from the water column.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58- You're feeding salmon with pellets.- Yes.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00The pellets they don't get tend to go on to the seabed,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03so how is this project impacting on that?
0:25:03 > 0:25:07So, the salmon industry is actually really good at managing
0:25:07 > 0:25:10its feed, in terms of how much food goes into the cages
0:25:10 > 0:25:12and, so, most of the food that goes into the cages
0:25:12 > 0:25:15gets eaten by the salmon, but a lot of the fine particles
0:25:15 > 0:25:18blow away, if you like, in the water column,
0:25:18 > 0:25:19away from the salmon cages,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and that's what the mussels and the scallops can feed on.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25They intercept those particles and stop them
0:25:25 > 0:25:27going into the wider environment.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'One of the biggest issues facing salmon farming
0:25:30 > 0:25:33'is a parasite called sea lice.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36'This can cause considerable damage to the salmon in the pens,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40'but is also believed to affect wild salmon populations.'
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Sea lice is a big problem.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46What's the impact of this type of project on sea lice?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49We haven't managed to demonstrate it in this project that there's
0:25:49 > 0:25:52an impact on sea lice, but there's been a lot of experimental work
0:25:52 > 0:25:55to show that things like mussels and scallops are really good
0:25:55 > 0:25:57at filtering out the larvae of sea lice.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and so what they can do, they can break that life cycle
0:26:00 > 0:26:03of the sea lice, by removing the larvae from the water column.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06So really, what we would like to do in the future is to see
0:26:06 > 0:26:08whether we can take what's been shown in the lab
0:26:08 > 0:26:10and demonstrate it on a wider scale.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15The initial results might be good, but for fish farmers to adopt
0:26:15 > 0:26:19this approach, they'll want to see tangible environmental
0:26:19 > 0:26:24and economic benefits of growing shellfish next to salmon cages.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27David Attwood is optimistic.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30We're going to need to produce more seafood from our oceans,
0:26:30 > 0:26:36so if you can put growing integrated species together alongside salmon
0:26:36 > 0:26:38you're using the same aquaspace, the same bit of water,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41if you like, and there's a huge abundance of stuff out there.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44And so you've got opportunities to grow seaweed,
0:26:44 > 0:26:47mussels, scallops, oysters.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- And a huge market, as well. - Oh, the market is huge.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52In terms of mussel farming, in Scotland,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54mussel farming is about 7,500 tonnes.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57The vision is to get it to 22,000 tonnes
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and it's been worked out that there is the capacity to do that.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And the waters around Scotland are ideal for it -
0:27:03 > 0:27:06they're pristine, clean, abundant with plankton.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08We can do great things here.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10So, how long do you think it will be until all the salmon farms
0:27:10 > 0:27:13in Scotland adopt this kind of approach?
0:27:13 > 0:27:16We are going to need to feed the planet with food that comes
0:27:16 > 0:27:18out of these seas, so, yeah,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21I would hope that this will become more mainstream
0:27:21 > 0:27:22and we'll see it increase,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and that is what we have plans for in this company, is to build
0:27:25 > 0:27:29on the successes of what we've done here in this pilot project.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32As with any scientific research,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35it takes time to evaluate the results.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38But the initial findings seem encouraging and could help
0:27:38 > 0:27:41the industry grow to meet the ever-increasing demand
0:27:41 > 0:27:43for salmon across the globe.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47And that's all we've got time for this week.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50On next week's programme,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53the world-leading renewable energy grid on Eigg...
0:27:53 > 0:27:56We backed up the power generator with batteries.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00That way, we guarantee power all the time.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02..we hear plans to conserve the brochs of Caithness...
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Wow, look at this!
0:28:04 > 0:28:07What you see here is the scar of what remains of what could have been
0:28:07 > 0:28:09up to 40 feet high.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12..and Sarah braves the autumnal chill, to go wild swimming.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14It's better than expected.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It's no' Baltic, it's no' bad.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I do hope you can join me for that and much more at the same time
0:28:19 > 0:28:23next week - Friday night, 7.30 on BBC One Scotland.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25In the meantime, from all the Landward team
0:28:25 > 0:28:28here at Achmelvich Beach, thank you so much for your company.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Bye for now.