Episode 6 Landward

What do you get when you combine breathtaking scenery

with enterprising farmers, spectacular wildlife

and mouthwatering food?

Landward.

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward.

Later, I'll be on Mull to find out how hill sheep farmers

will need to be supported in the future, but, first,

here's what else is coming up in the programme.

This is going to be really jam-packed with flavour.

MasterChef champion Gary Maclean cuts the mustard on Arran...

Oh, that's wonderful!

..Arlene's in Fife getting a lift from a car share club...

-It's like being chauffeur driven, isn't it?

-It is.

Don't tell Rolf that.

..and Kelsey Bennett's back to showcase

the real voices of the north-east.

Ach, if you're out speaking to farmers,

there's no point in speaking fancy because...

That's fancy with a U as opposed to an A.

But first, for bird-watchers, May is a great time of year.

The summer migrants have arrived and breeding has begun,

but what if there's no decent habitat or reserve near you?

Euan's hit the north to meet a man who's constructed his own.

When one man returned to his native Caithness in 1989,

he had a grand plan

and that plan involved creating a haven,

a place where wild fowl, waders and migrant birds

could come and safely breed.

'It's 6.30 in the morning and I've come to St John's Pool Reserve

'to meet Julian Smith, the man who carved this bird haven

'out of the Caithness landscape

'and hopefully we're going to catch sight of some amazing birds.

-So, what was here before you created this?

-Just a big park, a field.

-Just like this?

-Rough grass, aye, yep, not much else.

How would you go about creating a haven for wildlife?

You've got this pretty scabby land here. What do you have to do?

I didn't have a real plan,

but I thought the principle is water brings birds in

so if you dig a big hole, take one field and just add water,

you're going to get some birds coming in quite quickly.

'And that's what he did.

'Most people spend time trying to get water OUT of fields,

'but Julian took the opposite approach.'

We're at the hide, obviously. Do you get that...

I always get that, maybe you've got used to it,

that sense of excitement of you can't see anything,

-but you can hear it.

-MULTIPLE BIRD CALLS

-It is good.

-You can hear it, you know...

You know it's going to be good. There's a lot of noise,

a lot of activity in the breeding season,

but there's always that little frisson just in case,

there's that little bit of extra, you know, the scarce migrant...

It doesn't disappoint, does it?

-Shall we just grab a seat?

-Yeah, sure. There's an oystercatcher...

Where do you start?

'Where indeed?

'Julian's intention at the reserve is to get the visitor

'as near as possible to the birds.

'Binoculars aren't needed to see the incredible variety of breeds.'

Well, in the scrape just in front of the photographic hide,

you can see a shoveller duck,

a very scarce breeding bird in the north of Scotland.

-And masses of gulls.

-In themselves, they're becoming very scarce.

I mean, Caithness used to have many colonies of black-headed gulls.

This is probably the only big colony in the whole county.

What about the terns? Cos they are special. Were they your favourite?

It's very difficult to have favourites.

Favourite children, I don't know. It's a difficult question.

They're certainly iconic and the displays are spectacular,

so I get a lot of pleasure out of watching them.

It must be incredibly satisfying 30-odd years on, you know.

Here we are, 6.30 in the morning, jut coming down and seeing that.

-Do you still get a kick out of it?

-Absolutely, yeah.

I mean, I'm addicted.

I think the phrase is terminal ornithology, and I've got it.

Even when you think there's nothing going on,

if you spend a bit of time, you'll find lots of activity.

The reserve is dotted with smaller hides,

all designed to let the visitor get close to all that activity.'

Wow!

Right beside the nest.

Yeah. Yeah, they get close.

The reserve attracts loads of different species of birds,

but also attracts another species - the lesser spotted cameraman,

guys like wildlife photographer Dave Devonport.

-Dave, hi.

-Hi, Euan, nice to see you.

-So, what are you seeing?

-Lots and lots of sandwich terns.

-How special is it here? Because I've been blown away by it.

-It's unique.

I mean, just for the sounds alone,

it's fantastic, and the sights - I can't believe it.

Anything could turn up at all.

-What's it like being able to get so close?

-It's fantastic.

It makes all the difference to a photographer.

Even if you've got a monster lens?

Even better if you've got a monster lens.

This has been truly amazing.

I've been here just half an hour and I've seen gulls,

I've seen terns, oystercatchers,

moor hens - just a whole flock of black-headed gulls there.

It's terrific! In fact, over 200 species of birds

have been recorded here and what is incredible

is to think that it started as wasteland

and is now a very, very special place for wildlife.

As the moor hen sails off into the distance,

we are continuing our series on keeping Scotland connected.

Arlene Stuart is in Anstruther

to discover how some proactive Fifers

are overcoming the lack of decent transport links.

It's a stunning place to live - gorgeous views, bracing weather

and world-famous fish and chips, and all this only 20 miles from Dundee.

However, by public transport, that 20 miles can be a bit of a hassle.

There's no railway station in Anstruther

so if you want to get to work in Dundee, you have to take the bus.

It's not direct, you have to change in St Andrews, and it's slow -

an hour and ten minutes to travel 20 miles.

So, for the commuters of Anstruther who need to be in Dundee

for nine o'clock, the answer was simple - buy their own bus.

-Hello!

-Hello!

-How are you, Alistair?

'Alistair Macleod is one of the locals

'who set up the Anstruther Car Club.'

How did this car scheme come about?

-Was it in the pub over a couple of pints?

-No, it didn't, no.

It was in the car.

We had an informal car share and we thought,

'We're seeing the same cars driving into Dundee every day,'

and we were wondering if there was a better way to do it.

There must be some way we can encourage more people

to car share simply, affordably.

We'll see if we can get savings at both ends,

especially if you've got a vehicle that's not being used

for 95% of the time, sitting at the tarmac

either in Dundee or in Anstruther.

'The scheme works like this - at eight o'clock every weekday morning,

'Alistair and fellow member Rolf

'pick up their car and begin the commute.

'The vehicle is collectively owned by the club members

'and they pay each time they use it.

'On the way, two other members, Sarah and Lucas,

'are picked up for the ten-minute journey to St Andrews.

'The Anstruther set-up allows non-drivers

'to take advantage of the scheme.'

Sarah, this is a lovely way to travel.

-It's like being chauffeur driven, isn't it?

-It is.

Don't tell Rolf that!

-Do you take your share of driving?

-No, actually I don't drive.

-Ah!

Yeah, so I live out in the middle of the countryside

and I'm afraid I don't drive. I should take my driving test.

The guys in car share are very keen for me to pass my test

so that I can do more of the driving.

'20 past eight,

'Alistair and Lucas are dropped off in St Andrews

'and there's time to grab a coffee

'before Sarah and Rolf head on to the final destination - Dundee.'

'Sarah gets off in the city centre

'and Rolf heads on to the university to arrive for nine o'clock.

'Cost of his return journey - £5.'

I pay about £100 travelling into Dundee per month

and if you look at cars, that's probably more than double

than what I would spend if I had my own car

that I would need to use for that.

So, it's cheaper and quicker. There's also another benefit.

For the next eight hours,

this sturdy, reliable vehicle is now available for hire

to anyone in the car club,

as long as you have it back by five o'clock.

'Because that's when Rolf finishes work.

'He collects Sarah, heads back across the Tay

'for a pit stop at my behest,

'before picking up Alistair and Lucas..."

Hello!

'..and returning everyone to Anstruther.'

The car share's to meet nice people -

talk to these people in the morning, in the evening -

to save money and, yeah, it's quite flexible and it's good.

'So, the Anstruther Car Club is multinational,

'environmentally friendly, cost effective and sociable.

'Just don't put the CD player on.'

People have brought in their own music,

but that didn't quite work out

because the tastes were quite a bit too different in terms of...

I think my taste was called "eclectic",

so I had to stop eventually.

No such transport problems for me now.

I'm in Mull to conclude my series on Scottish farming post-Brexit.

These are uncertain times in our history

and perhaps that uncertainty is felt greatest

in the agricultural industry, and that should concern us all.

Currently, the European Union provides over £530 million

of subsidy every year to Scottish farmers.

Without that subsidy,

the average Scottish farm loses around £17,000 per year.

So, how does farming have to change for us leaving the EU

and the Common Agricultural Policy?

Over the last two weeks,

we've looked at how the beef and arable sectors are supported

and how these sectors might change in the future.

This week, we're focusing on sheep.

There are over 2.5 million ewes in Scotland,

producing lamb worth £175 million a year.

But even those big numbers don't mean the sheep sector,

and more particularly the hill sheep sector, is viable.

So, what does the future hold for sheep farmers like Donald McLean,

the third generation of his family

to raise sheep and cattle here on Mull?

I'm catching up with him on the slopes of Ben More

with my guide over the last few weeks, Jonnie Hall,

NFU Scotland's policy director.

Donald, this is a beautiful glen you've got here,

so how do you actually make your living here on Mull?

Well, it's more or less sheep and cattle.

1,800 ewes, there's about 100 suckler cows.

There's about 10,000 acres on the farm, so it's quite extensive.

-It's a vast area.

-Yeah.

-How reliant are you on EU subsidy, then?

More or less totally. You know, that's about the size of it.

We're totally reliant on these subsidies coming in.

Yes, we try to do the best job we can rearing stock,

but just the type of terrain and that, without these subsidies,

you'd just have to give up. That's about the size of it.

And I guess you'd be seeing as well, Jonnie,

the stress sort of across the country

-with other people in similar situations.

-Absolutely.

It's the sheer number of unknowns, I guess, are driving people

into making different decisions than perhaps they would otherwise.

The CAP's had its problems over the years,

but it has given folk a lot of certainty at the same time.

Now that certainty's about to go.

And on that very point,

free market economists might just say sink or swim

so if he can't make it work, he's got to stop.

I think that's true in that sort of hardcore reality

of the financial situation.

However, we really have to ask ourselves

what else does farming and crofting deliver for Scotland

and rural Scotland, in particular?

It's the landscape, it's the biodiversity, it's the communities.

I mean, this place is absolutely hoaching

with bird life, in particular,

all because of the farming,

particularly the cows and the sheep grazing in this part of the world,

so vital in terms of delivering on that landscape

that then the tourist sector enjoys and all the rest of it.

All these things are linked together and it's vitally important

that we don't just look at it in the cold reality of the finances,

but we look at it in everything else that Scottish agriculture delivers,

particularly in these remote and more disadvantaged areas.

It's not just about the sheep and the cows. It's about all of this.

It's vitally important cos we've got curlews, lapwings,

sea eagles and they're all here for people to see

and, without us, they wouldn't be there.

Do you see yourself as a landscape manager in some respects?

You more than likely don't think about that.

We're usually thinking of chasing after a sheep

or looking after a cow, but we are doing that job at the same time.

So, how would the new support structure look like

for supporting somebody like Donald in the future?

Well, I think probably the primary thing

for this part of the world is income stabilisation.

Thereafter, I think it's all about recognising the good things

that come out of managing this part of the world,

in terms of the grazing and the rest of it,

and actually it's recognising that all this biodiversity

is the responsibility of the farmer and the crofter.

Does it feel like it's a constant battle to do this?

You do want a future.

My nephew works here and you want him to have a future.

Hopefully we can get a system in place

that allows the younger generation to carry on.

So, if we want people on the land and a landscape to be proud of,

we need sheep. It's all about a change of mind-set.

Maybe in the future, we don't pay these farmers to produce lamb -

we pay them to be custodians of the landscape.

They're not subsidy junkies. They're land managers.

It's an interesting way of thinking.

From Mull, we head south now

for the last of Gary Maclean's trips across Scotland.

The winner of MasterChef: The Professionals

has travelled down the Clyde this week

and he's as keen as mustard.

I passionately believe that Scotland is home

to some of the best food found anywhere in the world.

I am here on the beautiful island of Arran

to meet the producers of one of my favourite ingredients.

In fact, I love it so much,

I used it in the dish that helped me win the MasterChef final.

He's also using a mustard that's from an island off Scotland.

It's an Arran mustard sauce.

I was concerned about the mustard with venison,

but, wow, does that work.

They have been making mustard on Arran for 40 years

and Charlie MacVicar is going to show me how they do it.

-Hello, you must be Charlie.

-Nice to meet you.

-You too.

-Come on in, I've got a job for you.

-Fantastic, fantastic.

-Wow!

-These are our mustard seeds for our mustard.

-This is it?

Arran mustard for me is really famous

for using both the black and the white seed.

Is there a difference in the flavour?

There's a slight difference in the flavour,

but the white seed cracks easier to take up the moisture

and the black gives much more of a texture in the product.

So, one of my favourite things about the mustard is the texture,

so how many jars of mustard will this batch make?

It'll make about 3,000 jars.

Wow, so I'm going to be making 3,000 jars of mustard today?

-Yeah, you are.

-How exciting!

So, what is it that's going in there just now?

That's red wine vinegar for the start of the batch.

I actually thought it was white wine vinegar that went in.

No. It gives it that wee pink colour.

Yeah, yeah, it makes sense, it makes sense.

The black mustard seeds go in

and it's time for me to get hands on,

adding the rest of the ingredients.

-That's everything in now.

-So, how long are we mixing?

We'll mix it for about 15 minutes now and then check it

and make sure everything's OK.

-That's a lot of mustard.

-It is a lot of mustard.

And that's it ready.

Gary, I've showed you what we can do.

-I think it's time you showed us what you can do.

-Fantastic.

I've got a plan for this and I'm going to let you taste it later on.

And the plan is simple - take the best Arran has to offer

and rustle up a tasty meal on the shore at Lamlash.

The first thing we've got is we've got some ribeye steaks

that have been reared 100% on the island.

We've got kale tops

that have literally just been picked ten minutes ago.

We've got some local whisky and of course my very favourite mustard,

which is going to flavour my sauce.

But, first, chop some shallots.

We're looking for a relatively hot pan, but not too hot.

We don't really want any colour in the shallots.

We just really want to sweat them down and release all the flavour.

So, ribeyes - the secret of a good steak

is the pan needs to be roasting hot.

You really want to try and cook it, the whole thing,

about three minutes on one side, three minutes on the other

and that's really it.

You're looking for that kind of medium rare. So, steak goes in...

So our shallots have softened down.

To that, we just want to add a little bit of local whisky.

So we'll just let that reduce down. Meanwhile, the steak's cooking away.

I'm going to add just a little bit of unsalted butter

and a little bit of reduced beef stock

and we just want to bring that to the boil.

Our steak's about ready to turn.

From there, we're just going to cook our kale tops

just in there at the same time and what that's going to do

is it's going to lift all the flavours from the bottom of the pan.

We're going to add just a little bit of butter.

So, now we can finish our sauce.

We're just looking at adding just a little tiny spot of double cream,

some lovely chives that were just picked, grown on the island,

and last but not least is the mustard.

So, just a couple of spoonfuls in there

and this is going to be really jam-packed with flavour.

The steak is ready,

the sauce is ready and Charlie's just in time to give me the verdict.

Right, Charlie, I hope you like it.

I hope we've done your mustard justice,

but let's see what you think.

Thank you very much.

Get plenty of that sauce on.

-Oh, that's wonderful. You can come back any time you want.

-Thank you.

I might even give you a job.

Another winner from Gary there.

Now, we may only be on your screens for 30 minutes per week,

but you can keep the conversation going 24/7

on our Facebook page where, back in the spring, we posed the question,

"Tell us your favourite picnic spot and why,"

and we've had no shortage of suggestions.

Caroline Tachauer and her family love Saddle Bay, East Kintyre

and Peter Russell said Lendalfoot on the Ayrshire coast

was the place to go.

But the spot we are visiting today

was suggested by a tandem bike called Matilda who has her own blog.

I think Colin Calder and Diane Lockhart,

who usually power her,

might have had a hand in the post.

They said we should come to Loch Voil...

..which is exactly what I've done.

I've come to see this quirky structure,

which has been designed to enhance the visitor experience

by reflecting the glorious landscape all around here.

It's quite hard to see from a distance, isn't it?

This mirrored cabin is one of a series of different lookouts

that were commissioned to grace viewpoints

around Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

It was designed by Angus Ritchie and Daniel Tyler,

who at the time were final year architecture students

at Strathclyde University.

It's very strange - a mirrored box

with a lot of different angles and bits and bobs and... Goodness me!

Diane and Colin had a nice glass of fizz

when they visited Loch Voil on Matilda.

It's a healthy bowl of salad for me and what a view to accompany it.

Keep sending photographs of your suggestions

for a bit of al fresco dining.

Go to our Facebook page or e-mail [email protected].

Next week, we'll feature another great picnic spot.

Now, Scotland has a rich tapestry of dialects and language,

from Border Scots to Highland English, from Dundonian to Doric.

But are we in danger of losing this part of our cultural heritage?

Scottish rural dialects are as colourful as the landscape.

Speech and accent are part of who we are...

This week, Kelsey Bennett is in Aberdeenshire

to hear about one dialect which is thriving.

..and the linguistic traits we acquire along the way.

'I make my living from my voice.

'I started out in speech therapy

'and now work as a voiceover artist

'and I'm sure my Scottish accent was a big help

'getting work in this tough industry.'

'I'm heading to Thainstone.'

Two, four, six, eight...

'Recently featured in BBC Scotland's hit series The Mart,

'the programme featured lots of colourful characters

'speaking in their traditional Doric dialect.

Always expect the unexpected, eh?

They dinnae speak back and they're aye pleased to see ye.

-She's given him the go-ahead...

-Oh, given him the go-ahead to buy it!

'I want to find out the reaction

'to the Doric getting nationwide exposure.'

£2 quickly or we'll pass it by. Two bid.

'One of the stars of the show

'was head sheep auctioneer Colin Slessor.'

Bargain of the day.

So, The Mart documentary was filmed here recently.

-What was the reaction like to that?

-It would seem to be very positive.

There was a lot of people enjoyed it, you know,

for a number of reasons, and I think part of the reason

was the broad language that was used and the down to earth nature.

I think we all did our job and just got on with it,

but there's plenty fit like the days, that's for sure.

Are you needing tae wash him the noo or fit you saying?

I think James is needing to wash him.

Is it cold water or het water you're needing?

Do you think it's an accent that is disappearing?

I would say it is to a fair extent. It is changing a bit.

People travel further and spread a bit more

and I think the accents don't become so localised and so distinctive,

but if you're out on the farm and speaking to farmers,

there's no point in speaking fancy...

-That's fancy with a U as opposed to an A.

-I know!

I'm looking for someone with a really strong Aberdeen Doric accent.

-This is your man.

-You wouldn't understand a Doric accent, anyway.

I would!

HE ANNOUNCES THE PRODUCTS

'OK, I can't say I understand all of what's being said,

'but there is a beautiful lyrical quality to the voices here.'

I'm now going to meet a man who is so passionate about the Doric,

he has built an impressive archive

of north-east voices down the decades.

Oh, hello, come away in.

We'll hae a cup o' tea first 'afore we get started.

Oh, thank you very much, Don.

'Don Carney's going to show me some of his film collection.'

A wee look to see if you can mak' sense o' the blacksmith here.

Oh, excellent.

Let's have a listen.

He wis breakin' last leg, you see.

This was the result of me haein' to go intae hospital the day.

The horse goed wi' him, cos he was haudin' against him...

-He's talking about a horse.

-Yeah, a Clydesdale horse.

I've got that much.

Sweat fleein' aboot his face...

It used to be Monday was washing day

and then you'd be baking on Tuesday...

'Through what started as a hobby in 1986,

'Don has amassed over 700 hours of footage,

'reflecting the north-east rural life and Doric dialect.'

I sell fish.

So that was incredible to see some of that.

I really had to tune my ear in.

Do you think that the language is persisting?

It's persisting.

It's been here 'afore the Romans,

it's been here with the Americans fae the oil

so if we survived the Romans and Americans

and fowk like me are still speaking it,

ken, it'll survive, but in this area,

the north-east of Scotland, there's almost 120,000 folk speak it.

And how can we keep the next generation talking in Doric

and these regional accents?

Part of the Curriculum for Excellence says,

basically, it says every bairn in Scotland must know something

about the indigenous culture in which they live.

Him near greetin' over it, sweat fleein' over his face

and the horse laughing at him.

Having a point of view is all-important

and as I've found out here in the rural north-east,

having a distinctive voice makes us all culturally richer

and thankfully it's not showing any signs of disappearing any time soon.

And neither is Landward.

We'll be back next week, when Kelsey returns

to investigate why taking a walk in the countryside

could be the worst mistake of your life.

Do you think actually there is just a general lack of awareness?

I've been shocked how little information is actually out there.

That's not ravens there with the lambs, is it?

And Euan meets the farming family

fighting back against the scourge of ravens.

-Cos they're being quite bold there.

-It's just walking straight up to it.

Yeah. They're not scared.

It's quite chilling, actually, seeing it happen.

So, please join us for that and much more next week.

In the meantime, from all the Landward team here at Loch Voil,

thank you so much for your company. Bye for now.