0:00:01 > 0:00:01and it's home to Scotland's newest and largest solar-energy farm.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm in one of the remotest places in mainland Scotland.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10There's barely a road here and you need a boat to get to the pub.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Welcome to Knoydart.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This week, I'm on the Knoydart Peninsula and, in a moment,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39I'll be investigating a controversy that's been raging for months.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42First, here's what else is coming up on the programme.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47We head to the hills for one of nature's most amazing spectacles...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I can never tire of watching black grouse at the lek.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53..Euan is on the hunt for the sun...
0:00:53 > 0:00:56There must be sunnier places to build a solar station.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00It's not all about direct sun, it's about sunlight.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03..and Sarah discovers the pleasures to be had in a hut.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06All that picture-book stuff that everybody looks
0:01:06 > 0:01:09back on, their idyllic childhood, it happens here.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15But, first, I'm on the Knoydart Peninsula,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18one of Scotland's great wildernesses, to investigate
0:01:18 > 0:01:22the controversy raging over one of our most majestic animals.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Knoydart is such a beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place
0:01:27 > 0:01:30but there is an argument rumbling between conservationists and
0:01:30 > 0:01:34shooting estates, which is causing deep divisions within the community.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37And it's posing wider questions about the best way to manage
0:01:37 > 0:01:39deer numbers across Scotland.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43At the centre of the controversy is
0:01:43 > 0:01:46the Li and Coire Dhorrcail Woodland.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Only accessible by boat, I'm being taken there by Lester Standen,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54who manages the land for the owner, the John Muir Trust.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59It's the trust's intention to bring the woodland back to life
0:01:59 > 0:02:03after decades of deforestation and overgrazing.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Not that you can see much today in this spring snowfall.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13The John Muir Trust want to turn this land into a thriving
0:02:13 > 0:02:14piece of the Caledonian Forest.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17The problem is, deer eat young trees
0:02:17 > 0:02:19and their numbers have to be controlled.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Last year, the trust shot 86 stags and left them
0:02:22 > 0:02:24on the hill to rot where they fell
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and this infuriated neighbouring sporting estates.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30The estates saw the cull as a waste
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and would rather the deer were used for stalking or other
0:02:33 > 0:02:36forms of tourism that would bring money into the area.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40It's an argument that has run and run
0:02:40 > 0:02:43since emotive headlines began appearing in the press.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Regardless, Lester still has to deal with the damage
0:02:48 > 0:02:49to the woodland he has to protect.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54This young tree has been thrashed about and they've pulled it
0:02:54 > 0:02:55and broken it off.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59A lot of the trees are actually doing quite well here
0:02:59 > 0:03:01because we're actually controlling the deer numbers,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05so we can live with that level of damage but we've only been
0:03:05 > 0:03:08doing the culling here since 2008.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11If you went back to 2008, none of these seedlings would be here
0:03:11 > 0:03:14because every time a seedling comes up...
0:03:14 > 0:03:17you get two or three inches of growth
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and then the tops being nipped off.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The trust maintain that leaving the carcasses on the hill
0:03:23 > 0:03:27encourages a variety of other animals, such as golden eagles
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and badgers, as well as providing essential nutrients for the soil.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36But there are also practical reasons for leaving the deer on the hill.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40We always leave some carcasses
0:03:40 > 0:03:42and it depends on how hard they are to extract.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Some of them you just can't get them out because of where they're shot.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47They're away up on the hills
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and it takes a hell of a long time to get up there, get the deer culled
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and then it is impossible to get them out from that area.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58SNH did a helicopter survey of this area
0:03:58 > 0:04:04and found 14 stags yet you culled 86 last summer. Isn't that excessive?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06It's not excessive in the whole area.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I mean, it might sound excessive in terms of the 14
0:04:09 > 0:04:12they counted but then it depends what day they count.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15They can come and count 14 on this area one day
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and the next day they might come in
0:04:17 > 0:04:19and find there's 300 here or something.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Come on, come on.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28One of those who objected to the trust's control methods is
0:04:28 > 0:04:30fellow Knoydart landowner
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and chair of the Knoydart Deer Management group, Sir Patrick Grant.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I'm joining him as he feeds wild deer.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41We feed the stags in the winter time
0:04:41 > 0:04:44because they are the main product.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46This is a farming exercise.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So we don't want them dying unnecessarily in winter
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and we don't want them wandering onto crofts or into neighbouring
0:04:53 > 0:04:56forestry or other areas where they shouldn't be.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00The John Muir Trust killed 86 stags and left them on the hill.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03What's your opinion about the way they went about that?
0:05:03 > 0:05:08First of all, it was a shocking waste of a community resource.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11The herd is a community resource.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16I estimate that an individual stag, if you look at the downstream
0:05:16 > 0:05:22tourist-value chain, it's between ?1,000 and ?2,000 to the local area.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28The main driver of the local economy here is the deer-stalking industry.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31What do you want the John Muir Trust to do, then?
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I would like them to stop fighting with local communities
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and work with us.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40They can achieve their objectives by doing that.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43It's perfectly possible to achieve their laudable objectives.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Nobody is objecting to conservation, we just need to work together.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The John Muir Trust say they do consult with the community and other
0:05:53 > 0:05:56groups but there are some landowners who refuse to speak to them.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Scotland's wild deer belong to no-one.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Landowners - be they individuals, public bodies or charities -
0:06:05 > 0:06:08work together to look after them and control numbers.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10This is largely a voluntary arrangement
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and when there are disagreements, they can be difficult to resolve.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17What's happened here on Knoydart, where the two sides are poles apart,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20have led some to question whether the voluntary set-up is
0:06:20 > 0:06:25actually working and whether new legal powers need to be introduced.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27You can give us your thoughts by heading to our Facebook page
0:06:27 > 0:06:28or e-mail...
0:06:31 > 0:06:34And, later in the programme, we'll be on
0:06:34 > 0:06:37the Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire with their year-round
0:06:37 > 0:06:40ecologist to see what happens at the black grouse lek.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Meanwhile, Sarah is heading into the hills herself.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48With the help of some schoolchildren, she's about
0:06:48 > 0:06:53to uncover what remains of a piece of farming life from a bygone age.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Today, with the spring sunshine on my back, I'm visiting
0:06:59 > 0:07:03the Shieling Project near Beauly where ancient farming practices
0:07:03 > 0:07:06are being brought back to life for the first time in generations.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I've come to meet the man behind the project and find out why
0:07:10 > 0:07:13these lost traditions are still so relevant today.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Sam? Hello.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Hi, good morning. Sarah. How are you doing? Good, thanks.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Sam Harrison is the director of the Shieling Project.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26The shieling is a really beautiful cultural system that was
0:07:26 > 0:07:27based in the Highlands,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29where people would.... This time of year, they would gather
0:07:29 > 0:07:32everything up. Summer? Summertime, yeah, start of summer
0:07:32 > 0:07:35and they would take all their livestock and walk up to
0:07:35 > 0:07:37the hill and live up there in little bothies for the summer.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39So why are we here?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42Well, this is the kind of winter town, so this is where everybody
0:07:42 > 0:07:43would have been living and
0:07:43 > 0:07:45the cereal crops would have been growing.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Can I have a look around the site? Absolutely. Come with me.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Now, as a kid, I always remember a shieling as somewhere
0:07:51 > 0:07:54in the Cairngorms I was taken for, like, a hot chocolate and a biscuit.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57I mean, how old are they? Well, they're really old.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59We haven't got a good date about how far they go back
0:07:59 > 0:08:01but they're at least medieval.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04This is a reconstruction of what they think shieling huts
0:08:04 > 0:08:06would have looked like from the Highland Folk Museum.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Pretty basic. Very basic.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It's basically just a shelter for you to sleep in.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13No windows, pretty much no doors. And everything else you're doing
0:08:13 > 0:08:15outside. Despite the Scottish weather. Absolutely.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Right, OK, it's part of my job remit to get my hands dirty,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21so can I do something? Absolutely. It's a really practical project,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24so come over here and we'll get you started. Right, OK.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25Right, what are we going to do?
0:08:25 > 0:08:29So we're going to make a new peat-spade handle today.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Fantastic. So this is a piece of local ash. Any tips?
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Yup, so we just want to be careful.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36We've got a sharp knife there but just shave gently.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37Keep it nice and smooth.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Keep it nice and smooth, just shaving off little bits.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42You can't put it back on again once you've taken it off.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Yeah, so just explain a little bit about your Shieling Project.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48So the Shieling Project is about traditional skills,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50about children coming to learn the history of what
0:08:50 > 0:08:52they would have been doing 300 years ago.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55But it's also about what that means now.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59So where they get their food from, going and living in the hills
0:08:59 > 0:09:03and things like traditional building and sustainability as well.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06How they relate to and understand their landscape around them.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08In today's society and our modern world, where we're
0:09:08 > 0:09:10so worried about letting kids do anything,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12what do they get out of it when they come?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14They have a great time, you know.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16They might not know what they're getting into at the start
0:09:16 > 0:09:19but this is a great example of what we might do.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21So they might come and learn about the old peat spades
0:09:21 > 0:09:23and they might actually take part in making one
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and then they'd go up to the hill to the old peat moss,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28cut peats and then another school might bring them down and put them
0:09:28 > 0:09:30on the fire and make a cup of tea with them.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Do you think it's still relevant, then? Absolutely, yes.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It's those kinds of experiences that are going to stick with the kids
0:09:35 > 0:09:37when they grow up and make their choices about
0:09:37 > 0:09:41how they live in the future. So it's really relevant.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43OK, so I just want to tell you a bit about the shieling that
0:09:43 > 0:09:45we're going to go and find.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47'Sam and I are taking these schoolchildren
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'from the Black Isle two miles up the hill.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54'The same journey their ancestors last made 150 years ago.'
0:09:58 > 0:09:59It obviously beats the classroom
0:09:59 > 0:10:01because these guys are powering on ahead.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10He's setting quite a good pace, isn't he?
0:10:10 > 0:10:12They're doing fantastically well.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Whoohoo! Yeah! We're here!
0:10:17 > 0:10:19We made it!
0:10:20 > 0:10:23I just wanted to say a really big "well done"
0:10:23 > 0:10:25and we need to put our archaeology hats on.
0:10:25 > 0:10:26Put your archaeology hat on.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31We need to start looking around for some evidence of shieling life.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32There's not much left of it.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38'While Sam and the kids do that, I catch up with teacher Kirst Edgar.'
0:10:38 > 0:10:42Kirst, the kids seem completely immersed in what Sam's saying.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44How do you think they've enjoyed this experience today?
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I think they've had a whale of a time.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47They're just really enjoying getting out
0:10:47 > 0:10:50and about and finding out things from real people,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53not just the teacher telling them about things in the classroom.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Would you subscribe to more of this type of classroom environment?
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Yes, please, but maybe a...less steep hill next time.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04But what do these budding historians think?
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Did you find that tough - the walk? Yeah, but it was well worth it.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Was it? So what did you think when you got to the top?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13"Yes, finally! Now I can have lunch."
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Does this beat sitting in a classroom all day? Er, yeah.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20How much better is it? Erm, quite a lot, yeah.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24What better way is there of teaching kids about the history
0:11:24 > 0:11:27of the landscape than by bringing them out into this environment
0:11:27 > 0:11:29and giving them a hands-on experience?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Have you enjoyed it, kids? Yeah!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35OK, last one down the hill is a hairy kipper.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42It looks a bit chilly up that hill near Beauly.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Further south, Euan's hoping for some brighter weather as he is
0:11:46 > 0:11:50finding out why Tayside is an ideal location for Scotland's
0:11:50 > 0:11:52latest renewable-energy project.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58The sun, the source of light and energy to grow the food we eat.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03You know, it's amazing.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05I can feel the heat on my back
0:12:05 > 0:12:10from a ball of fire that's 150 million kilometres away.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But when you consider that you can fit the entire earth
0:12:13 > 0:12:181.3 million times into the sun, then it's not quite
0:12:18 > 0:12:21so surprising that it's a great source of energy.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28Unfortunately, us Scots don't see as much of the sun as we would like.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33We get a fraction of the sunshine hours of our Continental neighbours.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35For example, through the summer months,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Barcelona has twice the number of hours of sunshine as Edinburgh.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Hence the Scottish speciality tan, now in peely-wally.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50But while we like sunshine hours and high temperatures,
0:12:50 > 0:12:55we've no shortage of light. Especially in the summer months,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58when there can be as much as 18 hours of daylight
0:12:58 > 0:13:00in a 24-hour period.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04And that's what these gadgets are designed to gather - light!
0:13:09 > 0:13:13This is Errol Estate between Perth and Dundee
0:13:13 > 0:13:18and it's home to Scotland's newest and largest solar-energy farm.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24There are 55,000 panels covering 70 acres of land.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28To find out more about this unusual farm,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I'm meeting Thomas McMillan of Savills, who manage the estate.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The landowner, who is renting the land out to Canadian Solar,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39this site was developed by Elgin Energy
0:13:39 > 0:13:42and they then worked with Canadian Solar to build it out.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44This is a really obvious question
0:13:44 > 0:13:46but why would a Canadian company want to invest in Scotland?
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Look at it, it's not the sunniest day in the world, there must be
0:13:50 > 0:13:52sunnier places to build a solar station?
0:13:52 > 0:13:55It's not all about direct sun, it's about sunlight.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59So in Scotland we have incredibly long summer days.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03And it's cool, which actually helps the panels perform better.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07In simplistic terms, how do these actually work?
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Because people will have seen them on the top of houses
0:14:09 > 0:14:13but how do you get the electricity out of the sun?
0:14:13 > 0:14:14So the light comes on, hits the panel,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16the panel splits the positive
0:14:16 > 0:14:20and the negative charge and that goes off to produce the electricity.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22So you kind of collect it all together.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24It just keeps on collecting, collecting,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27goes down these lines here and then goes off
0:14:27 > 0:14:30towards the substation. So how much are you going to produce?
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The scheme is sized at 40 megawatts.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36It will produce that in the best day of the summer, really.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40But it's about 3,500 houses worth of electricity on average.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Now, the Scottish Government have really ambitious plans to
0:14:43 > 0:14:46have 2,000 megawatts from renewables.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48What percentage is this going to supply?
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Solar at the moment is a very low proportion.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53We've had a lot more wind development in Scotland,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57historically, hydro... So, at the moment, solar is about 1%.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00But we are expecting that to increase vastly over the next
0:15:00 > 0:15:03few years because solar is becoming the cheapest form
0:15:03 > 0:15:04of renewable electricity.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06What about conventional agriculture?
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Because this is prime farmland here in Perthshire.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12You're covering the whole field with these panels.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Can traditional farming and this system coexist?
0:15:16 > 0:15:17I believe they can.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21We do a lot in Scotland on land that is currently not for
0:15:21 > 0:15:24food production. So you've got malt and barley for whiskey,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26why not put some land to renewables?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29Here you are effectively double-cropping,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31so you've got the solar panels and then you can bring
0:15:31 > 0:15:34the sheep into graze the grass underneath and between the panels.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38And the clover will just help keep the nitrogen levels up over
0:15:38 > 0:15:40the 20 years that the panels will be here.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43So this is going to be quite a sheltered field, then, for sheep.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Yeah, very nice. They'll like it here.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Everyone will have a view on how these panels will look
0:15:49 > 0:15:52in the Scottish countryside,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54as they do with wind turbines.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57But, unlike wind turbines, when these panels reach the end
0:15:57 > 0:16:01of their useful life in 25 years' time, there's no concrete involved.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05All that has to happen is you pick them up and take them away.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11So, when the panels have gone, the energy from that
0:16:11 > 0:16:16great ball of fire millions of kilometres away will once again
0:16:16 > 0:16:20go back into the land and support a more conventional form of farming.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29From the skies of Tayside to the hills and woods of Stirlingshire
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and the spiritual home of the hutting movement.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35These basic wooden dwellings have provided a rural escape
0:16:35 > 0:16:40from the city for Scotland's working classes for decades.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44And Sarah's been down to the woods of Carbeth to find out if hutting
0:16:44 > 0:16:47can still offer an attractive lifestyle in the 21st century.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55When you think of summer holidays, busy airports,
0:16:55 > 0:16:59overcrowded beaches and long journeys spring to mind
0:16:59 > 0:17:02but there are those who like to escape to Scotland's forests
0:17:02 > 0:17:06each year for the peace and quiet of hutting.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09And it's a movement they're trying to revive.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16With over 140 huts, Carbeth is Scotland's biggest hutting village.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21At one time, it was a bustling holiday destination
0:17:21 > 0:17:23on the outskirts of Glasgow.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It all began after the First World War
0:17:27 > 0:17:29when local landowner Allan Barns-Graham
0:17:29 > 0:17:34granted returning soldiers permission to build huts.
0:17:34 > 0:17:35It grew in popularity
0:17:35 > 0:17:40and Carbeth soon became a haven for those wanting to escape city life.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Carbeth culture peaked in the decades after
0:17:45 > 0:17:48the Second World War but has since gone into decline.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Gerry? Good morning.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Good morning, Sarah, how are you doing?
0:17:54 > 0:17:55Good. Sorry, wet hands.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59These days the land is owned by the Carbeth Hutters Community.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Tenants rent a site but they own the hut built upon it.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Gerry Loose is secretary of the Carbeth Community
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and wants to see hutting revitalised.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Not just here at Carbeth but all over Scotland.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Carbeth went into a bit of a decline and so did other huts
0:18:19 > 0:18:22because people discovered cheap flights to Spain or wherever.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24So for the price of a cheap flight to Spain,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26you could have a fortnight's sunshine and why would you
0:18:26 > 0:18:30want to put up with an outside toilet and a lot of rain
0:18:30 > 0:18:33for a fortnight if that's the only holiday from your work that you get?
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Times have changed and Carbeth has become the sort of zeitgeist.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41People want to be in a hut in woodland with a small
0:18:41 > 0:18:44footprint, you know, not consuming lots of stuff.
0:18:44 > 0:18:45All of that is happening now
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and has been happening for the last 10, 15, 20 years.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51It's a movement. Is it a movement that's growing?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54It's definitely a movement that's growing in popularity.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57People are realising what they have in their own country
0:18:57 > 0:19:00and the ideal for many, many people would be to have a little
0:19:00 > 0:19:03hut in some pocket of the country somewhere.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07In a community like Carbeth or singly, perhaps,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09to enjoy the fun
0:19:09 > 0:19:14and the privilege just of being able to walk about in your own country.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16There is a big push on now to try
0:19:16 > 0:19:19and attract people to the hutting movement. There is.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20Are you wanting the younger generation to be
0:19:20 > 0:19:23attracted to this style of holiday?
0:19:23 > 0:19:24They already are because,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28since Carbeth Hunters Community Company bought the land,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30we've attracted in a lot of young
0:19:30 > 0:19:34families and you'll see young children running around in gangs
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and building dens and little huts, in some instances,
0:19:37 > 0:19:38and climbing trees.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Things that, you know, all that picture-book stuff that everybody
0:19:41 > 0:19:45looks back on, their idyllic childhood, it happens here.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Hutting here isn't for everybody.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51There's no running water or electricity
0:19:51 > 0:19:53and don't expect any broadband.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Tom, hi, how are you doing?
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Sarah, hello, how are you doing?
0:19:59 > 0:20:01'Tom McKendrick loves it, though.'
0:20:01 > 0:20:03One of the many.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06'His family have been coming to Carbeth for generations
0:20:06 > 0:20:10'and he's currently rebuilding one of the huts.'
0:20:10 > 0:20:13What is it about the place that brings you back, that attracts you?
0:20:13 > 0:20:16It's the magic of the place. It's just nature.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21It's life, it's trees, it's mud, it's rain. It's uncontrived.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23There is something very natural
0:20:23 > 0:20:25about belonging to a hutting community.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30A real feeling of being somewhere special when you're up here.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33And this new movement is trying to get more people into hutting,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37into the hutting lifestyle - do you think that will change things?
0:20:37 > 0:20:38I think it will. There is a kind of...
0:20:38 > 0:20:40I know there's a movement, it's a
0:20:40 > 0:20:43global movement for people that are into hutting, and it's this
0:20:43 > 0:20:47idea of getting out of the cities and touching nature again, touching
0:20:47 > 0:20:51the land, being part of something that you're not in total control of.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54You know, there are no roads here, there are no lampposts.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Everything has either got to be solar panels or lamps or
0:20:57 > 0:21:00torches or something like that.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01Things that you take for natural,
0:21:01 > 0:21:04you've got to address in a slightly different way.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Would you mind if Carbeth got busy?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12It's actually - very, very strangely - a very busy place
0:21:12 > 0:21:15because there's... You know, cyclists come up here, walkers come
0:21:15 > 0:21:19up here but they all seem to be attracted by the same thing.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22It's the peace, it's the nature, it's the wildlife.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24It's very real and you see that when children come up.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26They just disappear into the forest.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29You hear the screams and the shouts and the giggles of laughter.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31They come back with branches and twigs, you know?
0:21:31 > 0:21:34There's not an iPad or a piece of software seen anywhere
0:21:34 > 0:21:38and that makes it a happy place, even when it rains.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Put me on a waiting list now.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44With Carbeth as an example, there seems to be a genuine
0:21:44 > 0:21:49momentum to promote hutting across Scotland, and Gerry Loose agrees.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53What you need in order to place a hut, to build a hut,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56is the land but it's getting that requisite planning permission
0:21:56 > 0:22:01to build huts which has proved a bit thorny in the past.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04The planning regulations which have just gone through
0:22:04 > 0:22:07the Scottish Parliament and been signed off now, for the very
0:22:07 > 0:22:10first time, have a paragraph relating
0:22:10 > 0:22:11to huts as a separate entity.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15They are not caravans, they're not bothies, they're huts.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18It's a huge step forward. It's a significant thing.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19Is there demand for huts here?
0:22:19 > 0:22:22We have a waiting list of 150 people who would like to have
0:22:22 > 0:22:24a hut at Carbeth.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Imagine the demand for huts across Scotland.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31I hope Gerry is right and that the new planning regulations
0:22:31 > 0:22:36recognising huts make it easier to find sites and build on them,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40allowing new generations to experience the joys of hutting.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53As I travel thousands of miles crisscrossing
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Scotland for the series, I like to stop off now and again
0:22:56 > 0:22:58and share with you some of my favourite places.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02Now, it may be one of the most remote locations but, right here,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04this hot tub in Knoydart at The Gathering
0:23:04 > 0:23:07is one of my favourite. It's unbelievable.
0:23:07 > 0:23:08It may be freezing cold outside -
0:23:08 > 0:23:12and it is - but, in here, it's five-star luxury.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13Cheers.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26A decade on Landward and there's one sight I've never seen in person -
0:23:26 > 0:23:30the extraordinary courtship ritual that is the black grouse lek.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32HISSING
0:23:32 > 0:23:34But, deep in the heart of the Cairngorms, there is
0:23:34 > 0:23:37one woman who's keeping an eye on
0:23:37 > 0:23:40the battling males and admiring females.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Shaila Rao is the ecologist at the Mar Lodge Estate and,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48by tagging along with her, we're hoping to get a ringside seat.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55This is us now arrived at the black grouse lek.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57I know this is the lek site here
0:23:57 > 0:23:58because I can tell from the vegetation.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00It's all been trampled down.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04There's been lots of birds walking around in this area and also,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08if I look at the ground, I can find here lots of really fresh
0:24:08 > 0:24:10black-grouse pellets
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and this is a sure indication that the birds have been here
0:24:13 > 0:24:16and I can also see, in places, feathers scattered around that
0:24:16 > 0:24:21have been dropped from birds when they've been fighting and suchlike.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24So we can film the grouse lekking here,
0:24:24 > 0:24:25Shaila is setting up a hide.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28It has to be in place for a couple of days,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31so the birds can get used to it.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33But the weather isn't helping.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40I'm just thinking it's just looking pretty ropey in the wind, isn't it?
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Look at it.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48If we leave this, we're going to come back to nothing.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53This is all in a day's work for Shaila.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Her job is to monitor all of the wildlife on the estate,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58come wind or foul weather.
0:25:04 > 0:25:0742 hours later and Shaila is back at the hide.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Any noise and the birds won't show up.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18HISSING
0:25:18 > 0:25:21But, at about half-past six, they start their display.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27The males raise their white tail feathers
0:25:27 > 0:25:30and face off against each other as they compete to
0:25:30 > 0:25:34show their strength and dominance to attract a female.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I would say, on average, the sort of number of birds that we
0:25:41 > 0:25:44get at those leks is about...between 10 and 15.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Although we do occasionally record very high numbers
0:25:47 > 0:25:50of birds at leks and, a few years ago,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53for example, we had 38 birds on one lek site.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Shaila has captured her own footage of the amazing scenes
0:25:58 > 0:25:59at black grouse leks.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05The results have been used on the National Trust for Scotland's
0:26:05 > 0:26:08own nature channel.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10In the Deeside, as a whole,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15black grouse numbers had declined in the late '90s
0:26:15 > 0:26:18but, more recently, in the last three or four years,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23we've seen the numbers increase again and, on Mar Lodge Estate,
0:26:23 > 0:26:27we're now sitting at around about 120 lekking males.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31But it's not just the males Shaila has managed to spot.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34She has seen the lek reach its ultimate conclusion.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38If you're really lucky, you will see the hen wander
0:26:38 > 0:26:42through a male's little patch and she'll kind of crouch down,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45almost indicating her willingness to be mated.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47At that point in time, you might see the male mount the female
0:26:47 > 0:26:51and it literally is over in a flash, just a couple of seconds.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54They will mate and then the male will scuttle off
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and the female will wander away from that male as well.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I could never tire of watching black grouse at the lek.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03They're absolutely stunning birds
0:27:03 > 0:27:07and display some really interesting behaviour.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Quite comical at times as well.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Comical it may be but there's no doubt that this is one of nature's
0:27:14 > 0:27:16greatest spectacles.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19And you can watch leks all year round
0:27:19 > 0:27:22but the peak time is from mid-March until the end of May.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28And, as Shaila makes her way home, we only have enough time left to
0:27:28 > 0:27:30tell you what's coming up on next week's Landward.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36We're back in Knoydart to discover how the residents manage life
0:27:36 > 0:27:38without mains electricity.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40I think sometimes we imagine that the Highlands
0:27:40 > 0:27:43and Islands in Scotland are kind of on the edges of Britain's
0:27:43 > 0:27:46energy revolution but here, in places like Knoydart, you can
0:27:46 > 0:27:48see that the kinds of experiments
0:27:48 > 0:27:51with new kinds of technical systems and infrastructures
0:27:51 > 0:27:54actually put people at the forefront or the cutting edge.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59And food banks - a modern-day reality in the Scottish countryside.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00It's absolutely desperate.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02You never expect when you have children
0:28:02 > 0:28:04that you're going to struggle to feed them.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Not in this day and age, not living somewhere in a country like this.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13So join us at the same time next week, Friday night, 7:30
0:28:13 > 0:28:14on BBC One Scotland.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17In the meantime, from all the Landward team here on Knoydart,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19thanks for your company. Bye for now.