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Landward episode 17 2025
Transcript
00:00This time we're celebrating the crofters. Welcome to Lampard.
00:08A very warm welcome from the Melness Crofting Estate in the north of Sutherland.
00:33Like many areas across the Highlands and Islands, this is an historic crofting community where the people who live here are carrying on a tradition that's uniquely Scottish.
00:46There are over 20,000 crofts across the country, small units of land that provide a way for more than 30,000 crofters to rear livestock and produce food.
00:57It's a way of life bound to the history and culture of the Highlands and Islands.
01:04Later I'll be finding out how the crofters here at Melness took charge of their own destiny. Here's what's coming up.
01:11They're bringing in the sheep in Harris for the next generation of crofters.
01:18Anne discovers the unique environment that needs these cows as much as they need it.
01:24It's the way it's been managed for the centuries. It all goes hand in hand.
01:29And Arlene meets the couple who didn't know what crofting meant, but now they're living the dream.
01:34We drove over the hill and saw this view and it was just kind of like, wow, that's it.
01:45But first, have you ever wondered what a croft is? Well, I can tell you it's much more than just a wee white house.
01:52Anne's gone home to Lewis to fill us in.
01:59Just a few miles from here in the village of High Borv, my grandparents worked a croft,
02:05wearing livestock and growing food alongside the rest of the community.
02:10Their crofting way of life is how many in Lewis and other parts of the Highlands and Islands worked for hundreds of years and still do today.
02:19But if you haven't lived it, it can be hard to get your head around exactly what this type of farming is.
02:29Crofts were originally tenancies with a small piece of land for producing food and rearing livestock, about five hectares in size.
02:39Today, some crofts have homes on them, some don't, some crofts are owned outright, but most are still tenanted.
02:45This system of subsistence farming is unique to Scotland.
02:52Spreading during the 18th century as landowners, keen to make more money, adopted new ways of agriculture and land management.
03:00This was the time of the Highland Clearances.
03:07Entire communities across the country who worked on the land were forcibly evicted in favour of sheep farms, which were more lucrative.
03:15And one community that was in the firing line was Goulson, in the north west of Lewis, as Agnes Rennie, who crofts here today, can explain.
03:25This village, this village that we're in, of over 2,000 acres, was cleared, entirely cleared in 1863.
03:35And the only houses where people were living was the farmhouse, where the tenant farmer lived, continued to live, and two shepherd's cottages. And that was it.
03:49Some of those evicted went to work in the cities, some emigrated, sometimes forcibly, and some were resettled on small plots of often marginal land.
04:04But these crofters were still at the mercy of their landlord, and high rents and insecure tenancies led to organised protests.
04:12Eventually, Parliament passed the Crofters Holdings Act.
04:17Since 1886, we've had legislation which has protected the rights of crofters.
04:24And that law is why crofting still endures today.
04:28Security of tenure, fair rents, and the right to pass crofts down through the family are all in place because of the Act.
04:36And further legislation allowed Agnes' family to settle 100 years ago.
04:40As a result of the, you know, the Land Settlement Act, people were resettled in 1924, and 53 crofts were created.
04:54And both my sets of grandparents came to the village then, and this croft we're walking on was one of the crofts created.
05:02Amazing. And what was it like growing up on the land here on the croft?
05:06Well, growing up in the 60s, it was still very busy, even for a wee girl, you know, we all had our work to do, because every croft was being used, well used.
05:18But also when certain work was being done, you know, taking home the peats, lifting potatoes, planting potatoes particularly, people would have helped each other.
05:30And in Goulson, they're holding on to that sense of community.
05:36Crofting is an opportunity for people to live here, to live in a community where there's a rich cultural heritage.
05:43But it's also a potential for families to have a house, to have a place, to have a home, an opportunity for people maybe to base an enterprise on.
05:55It can range from small-scale agriculture, horticulture, tourism.
06:02There are 101 things that people can do on the land, but the important thing is that the land is used.
06:08And where, as people living together, albeit communities changing, people come, people go, still we have the fabric of the community.
06:17And that's what we need to work at keeping.
06:22There have been many changes over the years. What do you think our ancestors would make of crofting as it is today?
06:31I take my grandmother as my yardstick for this. I think she'd be happy that we're here.
06:37I think she'd be very happy to see that we still have a vibrant community here.
06:41Back here in Melness, many of the crofters can trace their ancestry back to those that were cleared from the land.
06:57But 30 years ago, some of those families had the chance to write their own history.
07:01Because back in 1995, the crofters received one incredible opportunity.
07:11The current Laird owns 32,000 of these rugged acres around Melness on the north coast of Sutherland.
07:18His offer to hand over a third of that, the part under crofting tenure to his tenants, was first greeted with disbelief and then growing enthusiasm.
07:27Perhaps some of the older people, they didn't even really believe it at first because it was something unique in the history of this place that this could happen.
07:40And since then, this land by the Kyle of Tongue has been managed for the crofters by the crofters.
07:48Alan, how's it going? Nice to see you.
07:50Alan Mackay is one of them.
07:52I have to say, of all the front doors I've ever gone to in my life, this must be one of the most spectacular.
07:58It's a good view.
08:03Well, let's have a closer look down there, shall we?
08:05Let's go.
08:06What a day it is, my goodness me.
08:08So, Alan, tell me about the estate now. What is it made up of?
08:18It's 11,000 acres, roughly, and there's probably about 50 to 60 crofts, individual crofts on it.
08:27They're all used more or less now, but there's just a few crofters working it now.
08:31So, a pretty substantial... It's a big lump of land, really.
08:34Yes, yes.
08:36Alan wasn't born here, but he's no incomer.
08:41That's proper crofters gate, that. No bail of twine on that.
08:44Exactly. This is modern technology.
08:46Bit of wire.
08:48Bit of wire.
08:50And taking on a croft in Melnus was like coming home.
08:54So, take me through your connection to this land and the crofts.
09:00My family originally came from Melnus.
09:04My ancestors were cleared off the Kyle side during the clearances.
09:09I was brought up, down, just outside Oban.
09:13And I moved back here in 1984 for a job.
09:17Tell me how the crofters came to be the owners of this land.
09:23Ascent Crofters Estate had just happened.
09:26And that was a bit of a fight, wasn't it?
09:28That was a fight. They had to raise money for that.
09:31Very fortunate Melnus didn't.
09:33They had talked about this for a while, I believe, about putting the land over to the crofters.
09:38They felt that they were the custodians of the land and they should actually have it.
09:41So, it's a limited company and the crofters can be a member.
09:47And we still run it as it would have been run before.
09:51There's the board of directors, which are the estate, and we still have the grazing committee.
09:56So, can we go and have a look at some of the changes that's happened since you took over?
10:00Yeah, no problem.
10:02Melnus Crofters Estate have launched a number of projects to regenerate the area since they took ownership 30 years ago.
10:12The houses up the top here, the Albing housing, that was community housing, they got that done.
10:19And there's more, hopefully, to go up.
10:22That's the old school, which is now the community centre.
10:26And they have managed to put some money into that.
10:29We put in a new play park for the kids.
10:33And then at this moment in time, we're now looking at purchasing the church from the Church of Scotland.
10:38So, like, proper benefits to the community?
10:41Yeah, all benefits to the community.
10:42Yeah.
10:46On a beautiful day like today, it's easy to imagine making a life here.
10:50And Alan's confident Melnus can buck the trend in crofting communities and provide the opportunities that will keep the population stable.
10:59There is a lack of young people here.
11:03It is an old ageing population, really.
11:07We're hoping we'll turn that round.
11:09We do have one or two young couples now doing crofting and hopefully that will continue.
11:15So, how do you see the future here?
11:18I think the future's quite positive.
11:21It's got to be positive to make it work.
11:24It's just looking around to find developments, new developments.
11:27It's a challenge, but definitely it's the crofter's land.
11:32And I think that's quite a poignant thing.
11:38That would be the right phrase I would use for it, I think.
11:41It's not the ownership, I think it's the fact that you've got control of it.
11:46Now, Anne's heading across the Sound of Harris to meet one crofter working with nature to raise livestock.
12:05North Uist, it's rugged and hilly on the east side.
12:10But this is an island of two halves.
12:12I'm on my way to the west coast of the island, facing the Atlantic wind, where we'll see one of Europe's rarest habitats, Machir.
12:29Machir is a fertile low-line plain, covered with grass that grows on sand blown in from the Atlantic.
12:36You can only find it on the exposed western coasts of Scotland and Ireland.
12:40And this island has a lot of it.
12:44The Uist has about 70% of the UK's Machir.
12:47It's botanically rich in flowers and we have so much biodiversity.
12:52Donald MacDonald is a crofter here, working 75 hectares of the Machir by Clachon Sands.
12:58Through the spring and summer months, these plains are carpeted with wildflowers like harebells, orchids and clover, providing a home to insects and ground nesting birds.
13:11But right now, Donald needs to harvest something for his cattle to eat over the coming months.
13:17We make enough silage for the cattle for the winter time and we're starting making silage today, so we'll head off there just now.
13:28Ah, perfect.
13:29The grass behind the sandy coastline is ideal fodder for Donald's cattle.
13:37It has an almost neutral pH of 6, a perfect score when it comes to how good the grass is at absorbing nutrients from the soil.
13:48Higher up in the croft where the heathery ground is, it is about 4.5, 5.
13:52And then once you come all the way down to the Sandimacher sand dunes, it's about 8.
13:58So the bit in the middle is the most fertile ground that we have.
14:03The weather is fine and it's all go to get the grass cut.
14:07But Donald has been waiting until now so as not to disturb the birds who nest in the long grass during breeding season.
14:14The grass is cut from the middle out so the birds can escape and go away into taller grasses.
14:23That allows the birds to have their young and fledge and move out.
14:31And working alongside nature is important to Donald.
14:35The birds are an essential part of the habitat here, just as Donald's cattle are.
14:41So this is the cows, they're mostly home bred, they have a mixture of simmental and lemons and charlie crosses.
14:49They stay outside all year round, spending the summer on this pasture and moving on to the Macher in the autumn.
14:56Feeding on the silage and whatever they can forage.
14:59They'll stay there until the spring.
15:02They calf outside on the Macher.
15:04It provides them with shelter and a place to sit down and calf in the sand dunes.
15:10They come off the Macher in May and then the whole process starts all over again.
15:15It's sustainable and it's a fantastic lifestyle for them.
15:20And they have their own part to play in the maintenance of the Macher.
15:24Fertilising the soil and keeping the grass in check.
15:27If we didn't have the cows to take away the grazing, the habitat would change.
15:34The grazing would go rank and all the flowers wouldn't be able to seed and then that also wouldn't provide a feeding area for all the waders and all the birds we have.
15:44So it would have a huge impact.
15:47All the habitats that we have are all because of the cows.
15:50And for Donald, that makes it a very satisfying way to work.
15:59It's a sustainable, low input type of crofting.
16:03It's the way it's been managed for the centuries.
16:05It all goes hand in hand with the biodiversity and the flora, fauna.
16:11It's just all linked.
16:14It really seems that the Macher benefits from crofting and crofting benefits the Macher.
16:20Here in North Uist, you couldn't have one without the other.
16:23One of the biggest barriers to crofting is getting access to land.
16:36Vacant and underutilised crofts represent a huge missed opportunity.
16:42Arlene's in Lewis now, meeting a couple who persevered to bring a croft back to life.
16:47There are 33 crofts in the village of Lemraway.
16:56And working here on number 17 are David Bartle Smith and Izzy DeSantis.
17:03When David and Izzy arrived in the Western Isles three years ago,
17:07they dreamt of having this small scale subsistence farming lifestyle.
17:11Coming from Northern England, they didn't know at the time it was called crofting.
17:17But they certainly know what the word means now.
17:20Hiya, come on in.
17:21Hello there, come in.
17:22Delighted to be here. What have we got going on today then?
17:24Oh, lots.
17:25A couple of little jobs to start with, if you're happy to give us a hand.
17:27Absolutely.
17:29Perhaps she should have asked if I minded getting my hands dirty.
17:33One in there, along with some chicken poo.
17:36Brave it.
17:37Oi, there we go.
17:39Oh, that's a nice one.
17:41The couple weren't complete newbies when they came here,
17:44having had a taste of rural life at home in County Durham.
17:48But they wanted something more.
17:51Do you know when you just know something?
17:52I feel it.
17:53Yeah, I think we drove over the hill and saw this view,
17:58and it was just kind of like, wow, that's it.
18:01In 2022, they got the tenancy and started work.
18:04The overgrown, derelict croft hadn't been lived on for some years,
18:09and bringing it back to life was a challenge.
18:12This was a bear land croft, so there was nothing here.
18:15So no house, no buildings, we couldn't even get off the road.
18:19How did you live?
18:21In a caravan.
18:23For two years, no electricity.
18:25For two years.
18:27A touring caravan as well, not a static caravan.
18:29It was quite small.
18:30Yeah.
18:31No electricity, no water.
18:32So we found a well which exists on our croft,
18:35and we dug that out, and that was our water supply.
18:38And our neighbours.
18:39We have kind neighbours who helped as well.
18:42It was really good fun.
18:43It was an adventure.
18:44It was a big adventure.
18:45Yeah.
18:46Even sometimes in some of the storms there, the caravan would be absolutely rocking like this.
18:50The caravan is gone, and Croft 17 has become a fully working one.
18:55The couple live next door in the house on Croft 18.
18:59They now have the tenancy on that too.
19:02But making a living means the work goes on.
19:06We have probably about ten different income streams.
19:09We have sheep, we sell eggs, we grow our own food.
19:13They're all tiny, but they all add up.
19:15But there's some resilience in that, because if one doesn't work, or it's slow,
19:20then it doesn't mean to say the whole thing's not working.
19:23And there are some new residents on the Croft.
19:28With the Croft, we have quite a significant share in the common grazings,
19:32and it's really important that we use that share and make use of it.
19:37And our plan is to develop a small fold of Highland cattle on that land.
19:43The land is perfect for them.
19:46They're a native breed, totally accustomed to being out there all year round.
19:50Cows have long been a part of the crofting story here.
19:55But Lemraway hasn't seen them for some time.
19:59David's delighted to be bringing them back.
20:02Every croft would have had a house cow.
20:04And local people in the village would talk of the day when they'd bring the cows in off the grazings into the village.
20:10Each cow would kind of peel off to each individual croft.
20:15Those days have gone sadly.
20:16And at the moment these are the only cows in the village.
20:19So we're really hopeful that in time we will build a really strong fold here of Highland cattle.
20:26Izzy and David have grasped the opportunity here in Lemraway with both hands.
20:35But the history of this place isn't lost in them.
20:38And they know they are part of something bigger.
20:41Something that will continue, they hope, long after they're gone.
20:45It's nice to be part of that story and to make sure that these crofts are here at the end of our small short tenure and someone else can pick it up.
21:01I think I already know the answer to this but any regrets?
21:05Not at all.
21:07Think about it, take your time.
21:08If there is a regret it is about maybe we should have done this many more years ago.
21:20Now to the future.
21:22Anne's in South Harris meeting the teenager learning all she can to carry on crofting.
21:28It's a big day in Strand in Harris.
21:39Just as they've done for generations here, the sheep are being gathered ready for shearing and among the crofters is 17 year old Christina Mackenzie.
21:49Now Christina might still be at secondary school but for her what she learns outside the classroom is just as important.
22:03Hi Christina, how are you doing?
22:04Good, yourself?
22:05I'm well thanks, there's a bit of a buzz going on here.
22:08What Christina is picking up from her dad Dolalek and all the other crofters here today will help her continue this way of life for years to come.
22:17Today we're shearing. We've got about maybe 80 to do here and a few more in another village just up the road.
22:28Well I'm not sure how much youths I would be but I'll chum you down and I'll get involved as much as I can.
22:34Coming in.
22:36But, crofting as an extracurricular activity raises a few eyebrows amongst Christina's friends at school.
22:43They probably think that I'm a bit daft sometimes going out and wind and rain are just horrible weathered to go to the sheep but I love doing it.
22:55What are your earliest memories of working on the crofts and getting involved?
22:59My mum and my dad were very keen to have me everywhere they go so I could just see and start to understand at a young age.
23:08But I was always just keen to try and do as much and just give a hand wherever I could.
23:13There's a real community feel to the day. The crofters working together to do something that would be much harder attempting on their own.
23:24This is only Christina's first season shearing but she looks like she's been doing it for years.
23:30Just watching my dad and how he does it, I've learnt the moves and what I'm meant to do.
23:39You're having to constantly move the sheep around to keep it comfortable so she doesn't try and kick out or move.
23:45And it's also important so it stops wrinkles from appearing which is how you would nick their skin and you don't want that to happen.
23:56So it's all about learning where to put your feet and how to control the sheep.
24:02You can see just how physically demanding the work is but you definitely couldn't do this work on your own.
24:11It's a real team effort and you can really feel the sense of community here.
24:16Community takes a big part in it because you need everybody to help or you wouldn't be able to do it.
24:24They might need everybody to help but I'm not sure that includes me.
24:32OK.
24:35For Dad Dolwalik, working alongside Christina means he's getting his sheep shorn and spending quality time with his daughter.
24:45That isn't yours.
24:48Who I think is a better pupil than me.
24:52She's had an interest since day one.
24:55I can tell her the job to do.
24:57It doesn't matter what job it is, whether it's shearing, dosing, she can do it.
25:02But what comes after school if Christina wants to continue crofting?
25:07Crofting nowadays, it's different to what it used to be.
25:12You could have more crofts for yourself to make it viable.
25:18Yeah.
25:19But then you've got to have another job as well, or a couple of other jobs.
25:22Mm-hmm.
25:23She's hoping to do something along veterinary.
25:27Well, that'd be handy for you.
25:28It will be.
25:30But then she's got to go away to mainland to do that.
25:32Yeah.
25:33So that'll be three, four years away.
25:35Yeah.
25:36I'd better let you get back to work.
25:37Yeah.
25:38I'm taking everybody away from their hard work today.
25:41I'm quite happy. Let them do it.
25:42Whether it's Harris or further afield, Christina will take her crofting experience with her.
25:52I'd hoped to have some livestock myself, but I'm not sure if it would be here or away in the mainland.
25:59Why is it important to you that this way of life continues here in Harris?
26:07I think it's because it's always been here and it's just something that has been happening for generations
26:15and it would be nice for that to carry on.
26:19And wouldn't it be good if Christina was able to be part of that in Harris?
26:29And that brings us to the end of this programme.
26:34If you'd like to watch it again or catch up with some of our previous episodes,
26:38go to the BBC iPlayer and search for Lambert.
26:42Now, here's what's coming up next time.
26:46Ready for action, Willie.
26:47I am coming.
26:48We meet AI Willie.
26:50He's been bringing new life to Cathis for over 50 years.
26:55285 days and we'll have the cab here.
26:58Shabazz is searching for a close-up.
27:01A very close-up.
27:03How does that look?
27:04Yeah, brilliant. For the first attempt, I think it looks amazing.
27:07And Anne has to fess up when she joins the oyster harvest.
27:11This is a bad time to tell you that I'm allergic.
27:13Oh, yeah, well, that's fine. I'll eat too.
27:17Please join us for that and much, much more if you can.
27:20In the meantime, from all the Lambert teams around the country
27:23and especially from me here in the stunning beach in Milnes,
27:26thank you so much for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:29Bye for now.
27:30Bye.
27:31Bye for now.
27:33I'll see you next time.
27:35See you next time.
27:37Bye for now.
27:39Bye.
27:43Bye.
27:45Bye.
27:47Bye.
27:48Bye.
27:50Bye.
27:52Bye.
27:54Bye.
27:56Bye.
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