Episode 23 Landward

-It's time to look back...

-Take stock...

And enjoy the Landward Christmas special.

As we approach Christmas and New Year,

we're going to be looking back at the last 12 months of Landward

and picking out some of our personal highlights.

We're back where we started this year in Ballater, one of the places

that was devastated by the flooding that happened last Christmas.

Later in the programme, I'll be revisiting some of those

who were worst hit

and finding out how things are going 12 months on.

It's been a year of political surprise and uncertainty.

And here's just a brief flavour of what's coming up in our review

of the Landward year.

This is wild!

It feels really good. Whoo! Whoo!

It just felt part of being something really special.

But before all that,

we're going to find out about Ballater's year of recovery.

December 30th, 2015.

Nonstop rainfall coupled with snowmelt from the hills

caused the River Dee to burst its banks.

The deluge destroyed bridges and roads,

and left a trail of destruction the length of the river.

The town of Ballater was devastated.

The River Dee is calm and quiet today,

but just under a year ago, it left its mark on the village.

Along Bridge Street, which is the main street in Ballater,

cafes, shops, houses, hotels were overwhelmed by a torrent of water.

Although many shops are still empty,

the village's recovery is well underway.

-Hello.

-Hello, Sarah. How are you?

-How are you doing?

-Welcome.

-Good.

-Wow!

-Bit of a difference.

-This looks fantastic.

Big, big difference from the last time you were here.

John Sinclair runs the village butcher shop.

It was badly damaged in the floods, as he told me

when I visited just days after.

£50,000 of stock we've binned.

Total devastation throughout the shop.

There's nothing left at all.

John got the business back up and running as quickly as he could

and today, the shop is looking immaculate.

We're 90% back to what we should be.

We opened 13 weeks after the flood,

so I think it was about the 3rd or 4th of April.

-So it was pretty spit spot, the turnaround.

-It was indeed, aye.

A lot of people work here.

We've got about 15-20 people working here and their jobs...

It was one of the most worrying things, will they still have jobs?

And then, of course, you've got your customers.

You don't want to let your customers down.

I know the business was severely damaged,

-but you had quite a few other premises that were affected.

-Yes.

My own house and I was president of the golf club at the time

so I had three things to get sorted and it kept me busy.

But at the same time, the village came closer together, I think.

It's been a bad thing, but a good thing in a way as well.

It's brought the community closer together.

For the hundreds of people who were displaced from their homes,

it's been a difficult year.

Some had problems with insurance claims,

with delays and even claims being refused.

Many families are still out of their homes.

-Hello.

-Sarah, how are you doing?

-Hi.

-This looks great.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Compared to the last time I saw it anyway.

Back in January, Gordon Duff was just realising

the impact of the flood.

-You can see from the watermark...

-So the water was about waist high?

-Yeah, yeah.

-And then just everything...

-Everything inside was ruined.

-Total. Everything's gone.

How has the year been? Tell me what you've been doing?

Oh, it's just been... It's been an absolute nightmare really.

I mean, OK, it's good now, now we're back.

We've probably got a better house now than we had before the flood.

-What have the biggest challenges been?

-Probably, erm...

Probably our negotiations with the insurers.

They looked at material things and not at our personal feelings.

You know, the suffering that we'd have to go through.

We really did have sleepless nights after it, thinking about it.

-I'm not surprised.

-I mean, we lost...

We lost all our possessions.

We got out with just the stuff on our back, really. That was it.

-It's very fancy. Can I see the rest of it?

-Yeah, sure.

-It looks great.

-Yeah.

Because I remember the pans in there

and emptying out the pans of water.

Well, I'm glad to see that you're back on your feet.

It looks absolutely fantastic. You've done a great job.

Yeah, well... It's down to my wife, really.

HE LAUGHS

Perhaps the most dramatic scene in Ballater

was the community-run caravan park.

I think it was very important.

Brought a lot of tourists and they spent money in the shops,

the restaurants and everything, you know.

If we didn't open this next year, it's a disaster, really.

That was volunteer Gordon Bruce speaking to us in January.

Although the park haven't managed to replace their static caravans,

they have made some progress as Alistair Cassie explains.

The touring site has been a very, very successful season.

In fact, everyone has said it's better than it was before.

The toilets have been done up and the playpark was reinstated

and a lot of money had to be spent on the place.

The park hope to get their static caravan business

started again next year

which will help other tourist businesses

such as local shops and restaurants.

This is a village which is still very much dealing

with the events of nearly a year ago.

There's a lot of work still to be done to get back to where they were,

but I've been so inspired by the people that we've revisited.

They're determined to pick up the pieces and create

a thriving community once again.

And we'll be back in Ballater later in the programme as the town

begins its Christmas celebration.

On Landward, I'm always amazed at the special access we get into

people's lives across the country.

This year, I travelled to some far-flung islands

and was witness to some unique ways of life.

On each and every one, I was struck by the hard work and determination

of the people who live there.

On North Ronaldsay, I got the chance to take part rounding up their

famous seaweed-eating sheep.

The tups are going to market, so I'm going to give them a hand

punding, which means driving the sheep into these punds behind me.

While we put a guide fence into position,

the sheep are driven along the shore.

Here they come.

So after half an hour chasing along the beach in this direction,

we've now put out this wire fence, and here they come back.

CLAPPING

Octogenarian Sinclair Scott is more concerned about one of the sheep

being past its best.

He's getting on a bit. That's the trouble, you see.

You look in here, I would guess that he's in his...

-He'd be around about five now.

-Right.

And, erm, that's really the limit.

-Once it six years old, it's...

-Right.

It needs to be cooked today for tomorrow.

If you cook them properly, it's very, very tender indeed.

-It doesn't matter how old it is.

-Right.

But once they get to six year old,

-it's about time to maybe pension them off then.

-Right.

Reached the same age that I have.

And it has to be cooked very slowly indeed if you want to save

your teeth for the future.

DOUGIE LAUGHS

That was great fun, but unfortunately,

not every tale has a happy ending.

In June, I covered a story on the future of the dairy industry

on the Isle of Bute and felt I was witnessing an entire way of life

that's hanging by a thread.

We reckon maybe 150, 200 years,

there've been dairy cows in Drumachloy.

Duncan Lyon still has 50 cows, but last year, he had 220.

Soon, he'll be giving up dairy farming for good.

It was probably the hardest decision ever to make.

But you've got to be realistic in business and not be, erm...

What's the word? Thinking of...

Thinking of sentimentality.

Do away with sentimentality and think of your business

and that's what I've had to do.

-Tough, though.

-Awful.

Absolutely awful.

Making the decision was just... unbelievable.

Actually having to unemploy my employees was worse.

It's pretty tough, isn't it?

I mean, it's clearly in your blood and...

It's in my blood and that's what I've lived for, is work.

That was my drive in life, working.

It's been...

The farm has been my hobby, my business and my life.

It's very difficult to give it up.

Later in the year, I had one of the best trips of my life -

a summer tour of the Small Isles.

On privately-owned Muck, I was particularly inspired by

the dedication of the family to make the island a viable operation.

Muck has been in the ownership of the MacEwen family

since the 19th century, and they're pretty hands-on.

Lawrence MacEwen is the current laird

and his son Colin runs the island farm with his wife Ruth.

Colin's sister Mary runs the shooting lodge

with her husband Toby, who manages shoots on both Muck and Rum.

Gallanach Lodge has, I think,

one of the most spectacular views in the world.

Mary and her family returned to the island to build and run it.

I would imagine during the summer months lots of people come here,

but how do you keep things going,

keep things viable during the winter months?

We started running a shoot here when we moved back home

and we built up from that, so we now...

From every weekend from the beginning of October to the end

of January we have shooting parties, and midweek in October as well.

The summer season out here is too short to make a living.

And do you think that in 100 years' time

Muck will still be within your family?

Yeah, I'd certainly like to think so. With three sons,

I'd like to hope that one of them would like to come back here.

I think there's nowhere better in the world, I would say.

So, yeah, it's home.

For me, 2016 has been a really big year

and an incredible roller-coaster as far as emotions are concerned.

On a real high, I was up close, really close, with a golden eagle.

This is Stanley and he is beautiful.

Look at that beak, look at the eyes, look at the feathers.

'And I got the chance to feel Stanley's awesome power

'as he was released to take some bait from my hand.'

This is exciting.

He's coming in quite fast, isn't he?

-Here he comes. Good boy.

-There you go.

Well, he comes in quite fast. Very, very different.

Much, much faster.

-Whoa! And he's off again.

-That's enough of that.

Quite right, too.

From the eagles soaring in the skies above the Cairngorms

to actually getting in a glider and joining them.

Now, this may look like I'm having a ball,

but trust me, I'm terrified of flying.

I was seriously nervous.

Right, I've come off tow. There's going to be a big clunk...

-Whoa!

-..when I put the undercarriage on.

CLUNK Like that.

So now we're gliding.

Put the undercarriage up so it's a little bit quieter.

-So now we're on our own?

-Now we're on our own.

As someone who is afraid of heights and flying,

it was a heady mix of pleasure and terror.

A truly exhilarating experience, but I was relieved to be heading home.

Safely back on the ground,

I stepped back in time for what was truly an emotional experience.

2016 marked the 40th anniversary of Landward.

Flick through this edition of the Radio Times, April 1976,

the one with the cast of Angels on the front,

and you'll find the first-ever listing...

..for the programme.

The anniversary gave me the opportunity to delve into

a rich archive for a trip down memory lane.

Over the last 40 years, we've met the characters,

explored the issues and travelled across the country to bring you

the viewer a unique insight into rural Scotland.

And, as well as a look back at how Landward

has examined the changes in our rural life,

I made a poignant return to the scene of one of the most

challenging stories we've ever covered -

foot and mouth.

Dumfriesshire was where I met up with farmer Robin Spence

15 years after the disease wiped out his herd of cattle.

At the time, because of bio-security restrictions,

we couldn't film on Robin's farm.

We gave him a camera to record what happened.

And we could talk to him at the end of his road.

Two places confirmed next to us on Sunday and it's all around about us.

And we've sort of, you know...

You hope and pray, but...

We knew it was coming.

This is the first time Robin has seen the footage

since the programme was broadcast.

-Does it bring back memories or is it kind of...?

-It does, it does.

I'm just swallowing there.

It's quite surprising, how it takes you back.

We rear livestock and look after them as best we can.

But it's one of the most moving bits for me...

I'm getting choked up at the moment thinking about it -

It must have been horrendous for you.

This is the cattle-burning.

Well, it was one of...

We had a fantastic squad here for everything,

and they came and said,

"Would you like to light the fire?" and I sort of went, "Well..."

And then I thought, "Well, no, it's my duty, the final act.

"I've looked after them till now. You know...

"You're there to the end and you do everything that's needed."

But there was a huge degree of poignancy to it.

On a lighter note, the reflection of 40 years of the programme

took me back to my very first Landward appearance.

Many farmers are taking conservation increasingly seriously these days,

but perhaps none quite as seriously...

'For one thing, my dress code was certainly of its time.'

Few trees, and even fewer hedges.

But now, a series of 14 ponds stretches across the entire farm.

A lot has changed. So young! So innocent!

Another assignment that brought back my youthful exuberance

was a nostalgic trip on one of the icons of the age of steam -

the Flying Scotsman.

The Flying Scotsman may have been the first locomotive to break

the 100mph barrier, but today the old girl is limited to 75mph.

But, you know, so what?

That simply gives myself and the rest of the passengers

more time to enjoy the golden age of steam.

Edinburgh and journey's end.

As we arrive at Waverley, the crowds are out in force,

as they have been throughout the trip,

to welcome back the Flying Scotsman.

What a trip.

It just felt part of being something really special.

Really special.

One of the great things about Landward is that you sometimes get

the chance to get stuck in and help and in 2016,

there was no shortage of incredible experiences for me.

And one of my favourites has to be when I met

sheep farmer Joyce Campbell.

In the spring, I went to help lamb some of her

800 North Country Cheviot Sheep on her farm on Sutherland coast.

What we've got is a back foot.

'Some emergency midwifery was needed.'

So, that's the tail there.

And I need to be quite quick because the umbilical cord will break.

OK, I'll just keep her...

-All right, how's it looking?

-Looking good.

And he's got a lovely black foot.

He's just a wee gurgly, so we'll just give him

a wee upside down to get some fluid out of his lungs.

It all fairly immediate, isn't it? It's hello, world, bish, bash, bosh.

Yes.

-Hello!

-Good morning.

'And in the autumn, I caught up with Joyce again

'at the Lairg sheep sales.

'The tups' faces are the priority at the moment.'

The way she's washing their faces is a bit like what I do

to my kids before they head off to school in the morning -

a good scrub.

'Top breeders from across the country come to buy and sell here,

'so it's no wonder Joyce wants her tups looking their best.'

-Is there a competitive edge today?

-Hellish.

-Is it?

-Oh, you've no idea.

-So people are sussing you out?

-The whole time, yeah.

-They're standing back because you're here. It's fine.

-OK.

Cos usually they'd be in milling around in our pens,

but they're standing back, which is fine,

so we're getting a good chance to get this done without them.

'Joyce is hoping for at least £150 for her best yows.'

They are 100%, and what a pen of yows.

'The moment of truth has come. The price escalates quickly.'

170, they go there at 170.

Last year's buyer.

Thank you very much. I'm off to sell tups.

Right, it just so happens that the tup sale coincides with

the yow sale, which has just finished,

and Joyce is heading off to the other sale,

so I'd better go and catch up.

We arrived to find out the top tup sold for £5,000,

a price that earns a picture in the paper.

Over the years, I've been to many shows and events

where there are rosettes aplenty.

But when I went to find out how they are made,

I was in for a bit of a shock.

We were thinking that since you were here,

you could make the first Royal Highland Rosette for 2017.

-No pressure then.

-None at all.

-OK, we'll give it a go.

I could pretend I'm doing something here, but I'm not.

The machine's doing everything.

'An experienced rosette maker can make up to 100 in an hour,

'but I'm not an experienced rosette maker.'

OK, not quite according to plan.

We can easily start again.

Oh!

Wrong bit. I'm going to be able to do this.

I made a jumpsuit in S6, I should be able to do a rosette.

It's not moving.

'Ah, it's faulty equipment.'

Does it work the same way?

'A change of machine and I'm off.'

Ta-da!

THEY CHEER

That was harder than giving birth!

But my standout experience has to be my trip to Lochan Uaine,

or the Green Lochan, with wild swimmer Calum Maclean.

I knew it was going to be cold,

but I wasn't prepared for just how cold it actually was.

But it's definitely something I won't forget in a hurry.

'Following Calum's advice, I eased myself gently into the chilly loch.

'But ultimately, we're not here to splash about.'

-You ready?

-'We're here to swim.'

THEY CHEER

-How does the water feel to you?

-I don't know, what would you say?

I would say it's no' bad.

-It's no' bad?

-It's better than expected.

It's no' Baltic, it's no' bad.

This is great. It feels really good, and I'm not just saying that.

-It feels good.

-It does feel good, yeah.

'And it doesn't just feel good, the Green Lochan is truly gorgeous.'

But that's just some of our personal highlights.

In 2016 we've covered every nook and cranny of Scotland.

Today I'm in Corran on the shores of Loch Hourn.

The issues facing Stranraer are complex.

So, what made you decide to bring a flock of Hebridean sheep

back home to Elie?

You need a boat to get to the pub.

Welcome to Knoydart.

Angus is the soft fruit capital of Scotland.

Carbeth soon became a haven for those wanting to escape city life.

But the winner is Achmelvich.

Now, of course, every year,

one of the biggest highlights is the Royal Highland Show.

And we used the opportunity to catch up with some of

the many presenters from Landward's long history.

I've come to the Highland Hall to meet Nancy Nicolson,

who is now farming editor of The Courier and probably one of

the busiest people in the whole showground.

That's true, Euan. Good to see you.

-Ken, sorry.

-Oh! Hello.

-Good to see you again.

-Having a good day?

-Yeah. How long were you on Landward?

-Ross Muir.

-Oh, Euan.

Landward's first-ever presenter.

That's it, that's me.

And they helped us celebrate our 40th anniversary.

-Some cake and some champagne.

-Sarah, would you like to cut the cake?

Simply because you've got the knife and you're the only one

we can actually trust with the cake.

-Here we go. Will I give it a go?

-Give it a go.

-This is amazing, isn't it?

-It's beautiful.

Highland Show week also brought the momentous result

of the UK Brexit vote.

After the dust had settled, we gathered reaction from farmers

as they worked to bring home the harvest.

Absolute surprise and horror.

I think I never expected that it would happen.

And three months on, how do you feel?

We have to manage it.

I mean, it's not going to be very easy.

If we lose the single market, I think it could be very disastrous.

And later in the year,

we spoke to Scottish fishermen who viewed the result very differently.

Skipper Jimmy Buchan was a vocal supporter of the Leave campaign.

The fish are swimming in our waters.

Brexit to me means a rebalance of a wrongdoing from 40 years ago.

But away from the political storms, we've seen all kinds of weather.

This is wild!

-What's your assessment?

-It's pretty minging, isn't it?

It's just pants.

And that's what these gadgets are designed to gather - light.

And we've seen all kinds of amazing things.

We've got a squirrel!

The European Reversible Ploughing Championships, to be precise.

Wow. What a view.

Now, as promised, we're back in Ballater,

which is getting into the festive spirit.

Now, don't the lights here in Ballater look absolutely fantastic?

-Brilliant.

-Our cameras were here a couple of weeks ago

when they switched them on.

The ceremony was played out to the tunes from

the Ballater And District Pipe Band.

It's helping the community to move on, as minister David Barr explains.

Oh, it's been a roller-coaster.

But one of the things that the flood,

the terrible thing of the flood came, we didn't think that

this little village, which is so tight, could be even tighter,

and it is. It's brought young and old together and people from

one end of village to the other.

And we had a focus, a focus that it wasn't going to beat us.

THEY PLAY SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

And local head teacher Louise Duckworth

has also seen the mood shift.

It's great for the community to come out.

It's lovely to see everything lit up and looking...

And everyone, you know, members of the community,

but also lots of visitors joining us tonight.

You know, it's been a pretty dark year in the village

for lots of reasons, but it's lovely to see everything lit up

and everybody out enjoying themselves

and looking to the future.

And it seems some of the younger residents have also adapted well.

Well, I got flooded,

but I used to live on Albert Road and...

But now I live somewhere else.

We're back into our house but it looks really different now

because we had different doors and stuff, so now it's...

And different carpets, so now it's very different.

We're in our old house but it looks new.

And that festive note brings us to the end of the Landward year 2016.

We'll be back in April, but we will start filming in the new year,

so keep your stories coming in.

So, from all the Landward team,

have a very merry Christmas and a great New Year.

ALL: Merry Christmas.