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Landward - Season 20 Episode 24
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00:00As this ancient fortress weathers the storm. Welcome to Landwirt.
00:25This time I've come to Doon Castle near Stirling.
00:30This magnificent medieval fortress has stood tall for hundreds of years, but now it's under attack again as our climate changes.
00:38More on that later, but first, guess what else is coming up.
00:44Oh wow, what an amazing space.
00:47Shabazz discovers how dry-stained diking inspired this incredible art.
00:53I'll cut this open so we can have a wee look inside.
00:56Rosie digs up some vibrant veg.
01:00Look at that, it's like a candy cane.
01:02And Cammy shows off his roping skills.
01:08Can you believe it?
01:09First up, the traditional image of a Highland estate is one of hunting, shooting and fishing.
01:19But these days, some new owners are putting the focus on restoration rather than recreation.
01:26Arlene's on an estate now, meeting people trying to make some money from rewilding.
01:30This is Dorbach, a former shooting estate covering 15,000 acres of the Cairngorms National Park.
01:41It was sold earlier this year to a company buying up large swathes of land across the country.
01:49Founded just four years ago, Exeter-based Oxygen Conservation has bought 12 estates across the UK, including five in Scotland.
01:59Excited about the project at Dorbach is Chris Winter.
02:04Over the hill, you can see Abernethy Forest, which is owned by the RSPB.
02:08You can imagine them connecting up from the Dorbach estate all the way and kind of joined up forest.
02:13He's Director of Natural Capital with Oxygen Conservation.
02:17They're one of several so-called green lairds, buying up land with the goal of rewilding for profit.
02:25How do you make money from conservation?
02:28So what we do is we raise private sector money.
02:31We invest in the restoration of nature and then deliver environmental and social impact first and profit as a result of what we do, not the purpose.
02:39And a key part of how we make money and how we make profit is through the sale of high-quality, impactful carbon credits.
02:46What does that actually mean? What is it?
02:49What we do is we restore nature.
02:51We measure how much carbon is removed from the atmosphere through the restoration of nature.
02:55Then sell that to organisations who are looking to reduce and offset their impact on the climate.
03:03Selling carbon credits has become big business in the last five years.
03:09Some think it's a quick fix for major companies looking to cancel out carbon emissions.
03:16Whatever you think, work has already begun here at Dorbach, restoring degraded peatland and planting trees.
03:27The trees are a wonderful solution to climate change.
03:30They take carbon out of the atmosphere and they store it in the trunks as they grow.
03:33And then alongside that, they are creating native woodlands, which provide homes for biodiversity.
03:38They're storing water, they're reducing flood risk.
03:41There is no better tool than restoring nature.
03:43But growing more trees means you want fewer deer grazing them.
03:49Today, Doris Kirk is counting the herds on the estate with the help of a drone.
03:55Doris, is it safe to approach?
03:56It is indeed, yes.
03:58That is some beast you have there.
04:00It is, yes. It's amazing.
04:03So you can see here on the left-hand side, I can see thermal imagery.
04:07So it's a little bit of a grey and white landscape.
04:10But those black spots there just on the horizon, they're actually warm bodies.
04:14Today, we've been able to visually confirm that they're deer by using, on the right-hand side here, the visual camera.
04:21Why is it important to have this data?
04:23It's important for us to make data-driven decisions when it comes to herbivore management.
04:29So when traditional survey methods are in place, what happens is folks will count deer in a small area and extrapolate that number to the acreage that they have.
04:40This enables us to survey the whole estate so we can get a better bird's eye view of every individual deer that's on the estate at that time.
04:45Knowing how many deer they're dealing with lets them decide if numbers need to be reduced by culling.
04:53But making these landscape scale changes can be at odds with other estates.
04:59For Chris, it's a necessary part of their work.
05:02It's a difficult thing to be, you know, a conservation company that's killing animals.
05:06It's not a comfortable place, but the reality of land management, particularly in Scotland, is deer need to be managed for our nature recovery.
05:14But that's going to be controversial and people are going to view things differently.
05:18We'll always take the time to listen and talk to people, but ultimately we're going to disagree on things and it's challenging.
05:24Whether you think the rewilding work at Dorbach is an investment in nature in the face of climate change or simple greenwashing, Chris is in no doubt his company has a future here.
05:38We're facing big challenges and we see this as a real exciting growth industry.
05:43Like, this is going to help tackle society's big challenges and that is going to create new jobs, new innovation and new sources of income to these rural environments,
05:51which is really going to, I mean, set Scotland apart in the world as a real hub of innovation.
05:57Managing the land for profit isn't new and in that sense, Chris's company is no different to what came before.
06:05Hunting, shooting and fishing, rewilding and all points in between, the debate on how we manage Scotland's land will continue as long as there's people to manage it.
06:21We are all aware of the impacts of climate change, extreme weather events and increased flooding.
06:30And many of our heritage sites are impacted too, like this, the mighty Doon Castle.
06:36Over its turbulent history, it's faced many threats, but I've come here to find out how it's been protected for the future.
06:43And leading that charge is Jessica Honeysett.
06:48Hi, Jessica.
06:49Welcome to Doon Castle.
06:51Thank you very much indeed.
06:52Jessica is a surveyor with Historic Environment Scotland, the public body who look after more than 300 of the country's built heritage sites.
07:03So tell me about this mighty place.
07:05Well, it was mostly built in the mid-14th century by the Dukes of Albany.
07:08It's essentially a roofed ruin, which means it has the appearance of a ruin, but it's got a roof on it and it's got important interiors from the 19th century as well.
07:17I would imagine that over the years, a place like this would have invaders and marauders climbing up the walls.
07:22But the challenge is these days.
07:24Yeah, we've got different challenges now.
07:27Because it was preserved as a ruin, it doesn't have some of the protective features and details that it would have had in the past.
07:33And with the changing climate, with increased rainfall, we're having to work a little bit harder to look after it.
07:38And the gatehouse tower is bearing the brunt of all that rain.
07:44Now this looks like a fair climb, is it?
07:46You might be a bit breathless when you get to the top.
07:49And at nearly 30 metres tall, Jessica's not kidding.
07:54On average, Scotland has 20% more winter rainfall than we had in the 1960s.
08:00And at the top of the tower, you can see for miles, a team of stonemasons are dealing with the impact of that wetter weather.
08:13The stonemasons are raking out the mortar that's decayed through exposure to the weather.
08:18We have to do that over the whole of the castle, so it's quite a big job we've got on our hands.
08:22This castle's been around for a long time. How is it different now from what it's been in the past?
08:28With increasing rainfall, we find that the masonry stays saturated for longer.
08:34That can cause vegetation to grow, which causes the stones to become dislodged.
08:39And when it's saturated and we have freezing weather, that causes expansion within the joints that can cause the masonry to become dislodged and decay as well.
08:47We've always had robust weather in Scotland, but it does seem as if we have increasing rainfall,
08:53and so we're getting more extreme weather events, more frequent wetting and drying cycles.
08:57We are seeing similarities in these issues across the country.
09:02But it can be fixed.
09:05Restoration work on the castle's kitchen tower is already complete.
09:10This was an area that was in quite poor condition, and we've been rebuilding the masonry,
09:16re-bedding all the stones at high level, and detailing it so that it sheds the water a little bit better.
09:22It's been here for hundreds of years, and it's still standing, and I guess that's testament to the people who built it in the first place.
09:29Yeah, it is. I mean, it's a really robust building.
09:31And even without all the protective features that it would have originally had,
09:35it's still standing, and it still will be for a long time.
09:37That's the good news.
09:41But the race is on to protect Scotland's other historic buildings that millions visit every year.
09:48Mary Davis is Historic Environment Scotland's climate change policy manager.
09:54She can tell me how they're dealing with the problem across the country.
09:57We've been doing a lot of work over the last few years to quantify those issues and address them.
10:06So that's particularly in relation to the high-level masonry like you've been looking at today,
10:12and ensuring that they are better prepared for these changes that we've been experiencing
10:19and are going to continue to experience.
10:21These are a real gift to us, these sites.
10:29They have stood the test of time.
10:32But it's also a really important part of people's identity and Scotland's identity and our sense of place.
10:42So we want to make sure that we preserve that and conserve that so that we can pass it down to future generations.
10:51Now Rosie's back, continuing her culinary search for the best of home-grown ingredients.
11:06And who better to show her how to cook them than the farmers themselves?
11:12Are we allowed to dive in?
11:13Yes.
11:14Let's do it.
11:14Let's go for it.
11:15Last time, I dined on sizzling steak in the Borders.
11:19Nice.
11:20Stunning.
11:20Mmm.
11:21Today, I'm heading to Scotland's northeast to take the vegetarian option.
11:27Hello, hello.
11:28Hello.
11:29Fiona.
11:29Nice to meet you.
11:30How are you?
11:30Good to meet you.
11:31These look incredible.
11:32Don't they do?
11:32It's gorgeous.
11:34I'm catching up with fourth-generation farmer Fiona Smith in her veg patch near Lawrencekirk.
11:41Fiona loves growing these vegetables, but she thinks her customers should get the chance to pick them.
11:46Fiona, why did you want to start this pick-your-own-veg thing in the first place?
11:53So, Dad and I were out one day lifting tatties by hand, as we do with the earlies, and I just thought, God, we had so much fun doing this as kids.
12:01And there's so much variety of what we grow on the farm.
12:04I thought there's different picking methods, different growing methods, and it would be really, really cool to showcase that to the public.
12:09Not everything is pick-your-own.
12:14Fiona sells veg in the farm shop and cafe, and she's going to treat me to one of her recipes today.
12:23This looks beautiful.
12:24What have we got here?
12:25So, we're in the beetroot patch just now.
12:27We've got our three different types of beetroot.
12:29We've got our golden, our stripy, and our red beetroot.
12:31So, we're going to pick some for the dish we're making today.
12:33Okay.
12:34This is the golden beetroot.
12:36Beautiful.
12:36And then we've got some red over here, so I'll grab a couple of them.
12:41And what about this one?
12:43This one, this is our stripy beetroot.
12:45I'll cut this open so we can have a wee look inside.
12:50Look at that!
12:51They look amazing, don't they?
12:52Yes, that's so vibrant.
12:54What are we actually making today?
12:55We're going to be roasting up some of this beetroot and some of our rainbow carrots,
12:59and we're going to be serving that over a bed of whipped ricotta with some crispy kale.
13:03That sounds good.
13:04And then we're going to do some beetroot hummus, which is really, really vibrant,
13:08with some rainbow carrot crudities.
13:10Sign me up.
13:11That sounds good.
13:12Right.
13:13That's us.
13:14We'll go and get some carrots.
13:20Carrots collected, it's back to the farmhouse to get chopping.
13:24Ready to prepare a seasonal party platter.
13:30What is the joy of cooking with local produce for you?
13:34I think food can be prepared really, really simply if you've got the best ingredients,
13:40and that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be expensive.
13:43It doesn't necessarily mean they have to be indulgent.
13:45But we know that these carrots have been grown on the small scale, with love, without chemicals,
13:50and I think you'll really be able to taste the difference.
13:52I suppose, you know, a lot of people find it difficult to know where to find cheap or affordable local produce.
14:01For sure.
14:01And I think there has been a bit of a perception for a while that farm shops are expensive,
14:05and I don't think that that is necessarily the case.
14:08Fiona drizzles the chopped veg with olive oil, brushes on some honey, and sprinkles them with sea salt.
14:16Then they go into the oven to roast.
14:19Right, Rosie, if you could chop up the kale for me, that would be brilliant.
14:23I'm going to quiz up this beetroot, and this is also a mix of chickpeas, olive oil, and sea salt.
14:29We're going to make a beetroot hummus to have with our crudities.
14:32Beautiful.
14:32I am nervous for you with the colour and your gorgeous top.
14:36You're not alone.
14:38The kale will go into the oven with some olive oil and salt.
14:48Fiona's top survives unscathed, and we plate up.
14:52Whoa.
14:55I cannot wait.
14:57The beetroot hummus is served with the rainbow carrots,
15:00while the roast carrots and beetroot are layered onto whipped ricotta.
15:04It's topped with ribbons of courgette and another drizzle of honey.
15:10Last but not least, it's garnished with my kale, now delightfully crispy.
15:14And that's us done.
15:17It's beautiful.
15:18So colourful.
15:19Are we allowed to dive in?
15:20Yes.
15:21Let's do it.
15:21Let's do it.
15:22There you go.
15:23Can I grab some bread?
15:25I'm just going to go straight for the veg.
15:27Good on you.
15:33That is so good.
15:37It's sweet, it's earthy, salty.
15:41Fresh.
15:42Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
15:44You're absolutely so welcome.
15:46Thanks for all your help.
15:46I'm coming to your house for the next party.
15:51Meat's back on the menu next time,
15:53when I venture into the Perthshire hills for some venison.
16:01To Ayrshire now, and back to Cammie's farm.
16:05Earlier this year, he became the proud owner of a herd of cattle.
16:09Now he's very keen to show off his best animal.
16:12This is Wilson, a young, pedigree, shorthorn bull.
16:24He was the first calf born on the farm.
16:27It's nearly there.
16:29Ah, boom.
16:31That's the game.
16:34Seven months later, we are both about to have a new experience.
16:39Here's a phrase I never thought I would say.
16:42He's taking a calf to a show.
16:46Step one of the process is to get the hotter on him.
16:49And as you might imagine,
16:51I've not done quite as many practice sessions as I should have done.
16:54Thankfully, Ian's here to help.
16:56My neighbour, Ian Johnson, is highly experienced in the show ring.
17:00His stepdaughter keeps her calf, William, on my farm,
17:03and Ian will be showing him tomorrow.
17:05That's what I should be doing.
17:13Mm-hmm.
17:15Bad start.
17:16Bad start.
17:16What a guy.
17:28Can you believe it?
17:29Hey.
17:29Did I just let him go now?
17:31No, just give him a day up.
17:32Hey, hey, hey.
17:33Wilson, that was amazing.
17:35That's actually about the first time I've ever actually got it on.
17:37There we go.
17:40Yeah, just call me Kevin Costner.
17:43Thought I'd seen him from Yellowstone, wouldn't it?
17:46Or Laurel and Hardy.
17:47I knew I'd have 100.
17:47So, the show we're going to is Stars of the Future.
17:57There's going to be over 400 other young stock there,
18:00so there's some stiff competition.
18:02Maybe no more stiffer competition than William over there.
18:06And he's already got a reserve overall champion ribbon this season,
18:08so he knows what he's about.
18:11Seeing why is the competition so good for these young calves.
18:14It's great practice for them.
18:15Gets them out and about,
18:16rounds round the ring,
18:17two-three times round the ring,
18:18and they're fine for next year,
18:19for all the summer shows next year.
18:21And what's your hopes for William there?
18:23Well, you never know.
18:24Sometimes you're first, sometimes you're last.
18:26But just whatever the judge is looking for.
18:36I'm not 100% sure why I'm doing this,
18:38but Ian told me to do it,
18:39so there must be a reason.
18:41I'm just trying to watch what that girl's doing.
18:43Eight o'clock in the morning at the Agricultural Centre in Stirling.
18:50The cattle are getting their final brush-up.
18:54And so am I.
18:57We've been in and registered Wilson,
18:59and unfortunately, him and William are going to be in different classes.
19:04So Ian, what's the judge going to be looking for in the ring?
19:06The judge will look for a nice, clean animal,
19:08a wee bit of shape,
19:09nice pop-in,
19:10and walked well.
19:14We're in next.
19:16General feelings.
19:17I'm actually feeling pretty good.
19:18I'm quite excited, actually.
19:24Judge Stuart Currie
19:25is the man we're trying to impress.
19:28I've done this at a parade round now,
19:40we're about to get a one-on-one inspection from the judge.
19:45I just hope he stands still.
19:47Wilson, I mean.
19:47Not the judge.
19:50Those two things are so right.
19:51Yes, it is.
19:52I take it's not yours.
19:55Wilson's better behaved than me.
19:58But it doesn't do him any favours with the judge.
20:00And we place seventh.
20:07Well, no ribbons today,
20:09but honestly, what a buzz.
20:10Great fun,
20:11and we're almost not built in a day.
20:14A bull called Strathendrick Wingman
20:16takes first place in the class.
20:19But Ian and William do even better,
20:21winning the Junior Male Champion
20:23and the Reserve Overall Junior Championship.
20:26Good buzz.
20:28Buzz, buzz, some buzz there.
20:29So how do you think Wilson did?
20:31Well behaved, Will,
20:32and you showed him very well, Cammy.
20:33Did it come out all right?
20:34Yes, all right.
20:35Good man.
20:36There we go.
20:36There we go.
20:37On to the next one.
20:37To be a farmer,
20:44you have to be multi-skilled,
20:46turning your hand to many different things.
20:50Shabazz is meeting a man now
20:51who's using his agricultural experience
20:54and turning that into a more artistic venture.
20:57For centuries,
21:05most of the Scottish countryside
21:06has been enclosed with dykes.
21:09Stone monuments to the folk
21:11who artfully pieced them together.
21:16But I've come to meet a man
21:17who's using those skills
21:19to create much more than field boundaries.
21:21James Parker is based at Tesis Estate
21:28by Levin in Fife.
21:31Hi James, nice to meet you.
21:33Hi Shabazz, lovely.
21:34Lovely autumn day,
21:34but a bit brisk today, isn't it?
21:36It certainly is, yeah.
21:37I've heard you like to build things with stone,
21:39so how did you get into that?
21:41I grew up in the south-west of Scotland,
21:42in Galloway,
21:43and my father was a farmer,
21:45and one of my earliest memories
21:46was of helping my father
21:48repair gaps in dry stone walls as a child.
21:51As I grew up,
21:51I'd be trusted to rebuild walls
21:54round about the farm,
21:55and it basically just evolved from there.
21:58And this is one of your projects here.
21:59Tell me about this.
22:00It's absolutely beautiful.
22:01What is it?
22:02This is a do kit,
22:04currently home to about 30 doves.
22:08You can actually hear the doves inside.
22:10You can.
22:10They sound quite contented, don't they?
22:12I bet it's quite cosy in there to do.
22:15It's completely built out of dry stone,
22:17so no mortar at all,
22:19and people often take interest in the arts.
22:22And that's just completely self-supported?
22:25That's right, yeah.
22:25We have a...
22:26These are known as wazurs,
22:28which are shaped with a hammer and chisel,
22:30and this is a keystone in the middle
22:32which holds the structure up.
22:33I'd love to see some of your other work.
22:35Can we go take a look?
22:36Of course you can.
22:37I'd love to show you some.
22:37Brilliant.
22:41But it's not just dykes and ducats.
22:45Just up the road,
22:47James has a place
22:49where he creates even more intricate stone structures.
22:53Oh, wow.
22:55What an amazing space.
22:56Tell me about these pieces.
23:03Well, we've just come from the ducat
23:04where I've shown you some dry stone work,
23:07and these are pieces also built out of dry stone,
23:09so they're constructed out of different colours of slate
23:12using the same fundamentals
23:14that I learned from my father as a child.
23:18They're absolutely stunning pieces,
23:19and this one looks like it's a bit work in progress.
23:22Is it almost done?
23:23Yeah, it is a work in progress.
23:25It's got a way to go yet.
23:27When it's finished,
23:28it will actually be an arm for you.
23:30It'll come up to about 80 centimetres,
23:32turn it in,
23:33and then back out at the top.
23:35Any chance I can give you a hand?
23:36Of course you can, yeah.
23:37Many hands make light work.
23:38James finds a slot for the slate,
23:42marks it,
23:44and then hammers his line.
23:51The finished piece then finds its place.
23:54I have to admit,
23:56you've made that look far too easy.
23:59My turn.
24:01And I'm getting an idea
24:02of how long each of these pieces takes.
24:05Weeks, if not months,
24:06of meticulous work.
24:09I'm worried now,
24:10after all that work,
24:10one wrong move,
24:11and it's just all over.
24:12Yeah, that's the story of my life.
24:17Definitely don't have the speed
24:18and agility of James.
24:19I think this might take me a few months.
24:23Let's see.
24:25So, just kind of placing it like that?
24:27Perfect.
24:28Worth a fortune now.
24:29It's a very skilled,
24:30yet creative process.
24:32How did you get started in it?
24:33My father passed away
24:34when I was a teenager,
24:35and therefore farming
24:37was kind of taken out of the equation.
24:39I actually milked cows for other people,
24:41and between the milkings,
24:42I would go out
24:42and repair dry stone walls.
24:43And I was driving home from work one night,
24:45and I could see people
24:46taking the slates off a roof,
24:48replacing it with corrugated steel,
24:51and I stopped and asked the farmer
24:52if I could have the slates.
24:54And I actually made a sculpture,
24:57I guess I didn't think of it
24:59as a sculpture at the time,
25:00from my grandmother.
25:00People kept knocking at our door
25:02and asking about it,
25:02and I thought,
25:03hang on a minute,
25:04there might be a future in this.
25:06So what is it you like
25:07about working with slates so much?
25:08I think it appeals to my mathematical mind,
25:12I guess.
25:13I like creating order out of disorder.
25:20As the orders grew,
25:21so did James' confidence
25:23to use other mediums.
25:25He now regularly works in glass,
25:28stainless steel,
25:29and bronze,
25:31his forms always drawn from nature.
25:36His sculptures land up in grand homes
25:38and gardens all over the world.
25:40So these are some of my other works,
25:44Shabazz.
25:45This is a whelk shell,
25:47inspired by the whelks
25:48that we used to find on the beach
25:49down in Galloway at St Maidens.
25:51And again,
25:53like the slate,
25:54precise layers,
25:55the mathematical side of things
25:57really appeals to me
25:58with logarithmic spirals.
26:01And here we have a pine cone,
26:03and it incorporates
26:04three spirals.
26:05We've got spirals going this way,
26:07spirals going this way,
26:08and also spirals
26:10formed by the scales themselves.
26:13And would you call yourself
26:14a creative or an artist?
26:15How would you describe yourself?
26:16That's dangerous territory.
26:18It's a funny thing
26:19because I think
26:21whether somebody's an artist or not,
26:22it really,
26:23it's in the eye of the beholder.
26:25And a little bit of Scotland
26:26in every piece.
26:27Absolutely.
26:27That's a nice thought,
26:28isn't it?
26:29That brings us to the end
26:38of this programme.
26:39If you'd like to watch it again
26:40or catch up with some
26:41of our previous episodes,
26:43go to the BBC iPlayer
26:44and search for Landworks.
26:47Here's what's coming up next time.
26:48Weather presenter
26:50Christopher Blanchett
26:51forecasts the future for snow.
26:54There will probably be winters
26:56by the 2080s or so
26:58where we see none at all.
27:00Come on, girls.
27:01We are in the borders
27:02as the cows head out
27:04to winter pasture.
27:06And we discover
27:07the magic of mushrooms.
27:09There's a whole hidden world
27:10waiting to be seen.
27:12Please join us for that
27:14and much, much more
27:15if you can.
27:16In the meantime,
27:16from all the Lambert teams
27:17around the country
27:18and especially from me
27:20here at Doomcastle,
27:21thank you so much
27:22for your company.
27:23Bye for now.
27:46Bye for now.
27:53Bye for now.
27:54Bye for now.
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