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00:02Often referred to as the Queen of the Hebrides, this time I'm heading to Islay.
00:08Welcome to Lambert.
00:31Hello from the most southerly of the Inner Hebrides, the beautiful island of Islay.
00:37Now this is the fifth biggest island in Scotland and home to around 3,000 people.
00:45Lying at the entrance of the Firth of Lorne on the west side of the Kintar Peninsula,
00:50it's only 40 miles from the coast of Northern Ireland.
00:54Islay's varied landscape takes in fertile farmland, high moors and some stunning beaches.
01:02And there's a distillery in every direction.
01:06So in this special edition of the programme, we'll be meeting the people who live and work on this unique
01:13island.
01:13Here's what's coming up.
01:16The whisky grain that might just give barley a run for its money.
01:20I couldn't believe it when they said what they wanted, but we did do it and it's working well for
01:26us.
01:27And discovers the forgotten man whose influence is everywhere on Islay.
01:33And Cammy meets the cows, helping one of our rarest birds.
01:38Wow.
01:43But first, think of Islay and you think of whisky.
01:48First brought here by Irish monks 700 years ago, this is a pilgrimage for whisky lovers the world over.
01:54And with distilleries galore, why is this island such a huge whisky destination?
02:10To find out, I'm meeting whisky guide David Brodie.
02:15He's worked in the industry for 10 years, sharing his enthusiasm for the water of life with visitors.
02:23So, back to basics.
02:26The island's blessed with all of the natural ingredients it needed to make whisky.
02:32Very fertile land on Islay, so you were able to produce enough barley.
02:37An abundance of beautiful, soft water.
02:41You have peat for the mechanics of making it.
02:44You have your fuel.
02:45Everything was here.
02:47And Islay's remote location, with plenty of places to hide, also helped the industry develop here.
02:54It was notoriously difficult for the excisemen to carry out their duties on an island like this.
03:00And it carried on like that for a good 400 years, before the legal people started to become involved in
03:07it, you know.
03:08And now it's the major commerce on the island.
03:17There are currently 10 distilleries producing spirit, some easier to pronounce than others.
03:24Reflecting the huge global demand for Islay whisky.
03:29That confidence has led many distilleries to scale up production.
03:33And in some cases, reopen.
03:39That's warehouse number five, one of 12 here at Port Ellen Distilleries.
03:43Port Ellen Distillery sealed its last cask back in 1983.
03:48But after 40 years and millions of pounds of investment, it's up and running again.
03:56Ali Macdonald is the distillery manager.
03:59We had to rebuild a lot of buildings.
04:01We had to use old drawings to rebuild.
04:03So between 2017 and then March 2024 was just the build phase.
04:0924th of March last year, we had our first mash.
04:11And over a six-week period, we went from one mash a week to full production.
04:16And then the rest has been history.
04:17But with the whisky flowing, the island's infrastructure is struggling.
04:25Distilleries depend on heavy lorries for materials and deliveries, putting strain on ferry services.
04:32Islay's crumbling roads aren't fit for purpose either.
04:36You know, it's a really hard one because as a distiller on the island, we want to produce as much
04:39as we can.
04:40But the reality of it is as well, Islay is 240 square miles.
04:44We're approaching a dozen distilleries already.
04:45So are the roads capable? Are the water sources capable?
04:48Is the electricity capable?
04:49But that's just kind of where we are, not just as an industry, but as an island as well.
04:53Certainly, the positives it brings, more distilleries, there's more tourists coming in.
04:57Whether there'll be a pinch point in years to come, who knows?
05:06But they're not just reviving historic distilleries, they're even building some new ones.
05:12And all of that is bringing people to work here.
05:19Oh wow, a still room with a view, unbelievable.
05:22People like Emily Burnham, who works at the Ard Naho Distillery.
05:27We're actually the newest distillery on Islay at the moment.
05:30We started production in November 2018.
05:33So how did you get into the whisky industry then?
05:36Really accidentally.
05:37I moved to Islay in 2019.
05:40I had a job lined up, but the passion of the people here, the beauty of the place just hooked
05:48me.
05:49And here I am six years later.
05:51There are two distilleries being built and plans for another two that could bring the total to 14.
06:00No sign of the Islay whisky boom subsiding.
06:05Are you worried that we might kind of reach a saturation point?
06:08There's certainly a consciousness about that.
06:12In terms of the jobs and the economy, there's no unemployment on Islay.
06:16So as new distilleries come and they require new staff, it's more the housing that's the consideration.
06:24Generally speaking, the boon to the economy has this knock on effect.
06:28Obviously, hospitality, cafes, it does benefit everybody.
06:31So you think the future of Islay whisky is a bright one?
06:34100%, yeah.
06:35There's a real buzz about Islay.
06:37It's such a special spirit.
06:40People almost pilgrimage here.
06:43People's almost emotional response to being in this place is what made me fall in love with it and what
06:48makes other people fall in love with it.
06:56People from here call themselves Ilachs and Anne's catching up with one of the best-known ones now on a
07:03visit home.
07:05This is Islay's capital, Beaumor.
07:09It's a bustling harbour town with, of course, a distillery.
07:13But it's also famous for its distinctive round church.
07:17And that's where I'm meeting one of the island's best-known sons, BBC political editor Glenn Campbell.
07:24He grew up next door.
07:26Good morning, Anne.
07:28Good morning.
07:28Welcome to my home village.
07:30Oh, thank you for having me.
07:31It's a glorious day in Islay.
07:33Sorry about that.
07:33You're looking well.
07:34How are you doing?
07:35I'm doing well, thank you very much.
07:37Yeah, and it's great to be home.
07:40Landward last caught up with Glenn when he took a walk up North Berwick Law with Doogie.
07:46And views are all directions.
07:48Glenn was recovering from brain tumour treatment and had grand plans.
07:53How is the Munro Challenge going?
07:55Well, as you know, there are 282 of them, so I've got a long way to go.
08:00But I have done 55 now, so it's starting to feel like I'm making progress.
08:06So, game on.
08:08Yeah, absolutely.
08:08Well, you're the best person to show me around.
08:10Yes, down the main street in Beaumor and have a look around.
08:14Yeah.
08:16Where we're approaching is what used to be my mum and dad's shop.
08:22Just looking at the pier here, it just reminds me of being a wee kid and we all used to
08:26run
08:26down and jump off the end.
08:28But the question was who would be brave enough to go up on the high wall and then bomb in.
08:35This was Glenn's playground until he left to study in Glasgow in 1993.
08:41I think it was a great place to grow up.
08:44I'm sure there were times where maybe I wanted to be on the mainland and the bright lights of the
08:51city.
08:51But as a kid, I think this was a fantastic place to be.
08:55That there was my swimming pool, Lochendall, before we had an actual swimming pool on the island.
09:01And I used to go out with an uncle to fish for a mackerel.
09:05But also, it was a time, I don't know if this was the same for you, where you could go
09:10out of the house in the morning
09:11and be out all day and nobody would worry about you as long as you came home for your tea
09:16in the evening.
09:17That freedom is something that's really special.
09:21You still have that strong connection, you still visit regularly, you've got family here.
09:26Has it changed a lot, would you say?
09:28Well, I think the island is far busier now than it was back then.
09:33Many more visitors to the island, many more tourists.
09:36And many of them attracted by the growing interest in malt whiskey, but also in the wildlife.
09:44There's a lot of wildlife on the island that you won't find in many other places.
09:49What's your favourite thing about the island here?
09:53It's family, of course, but I love and always try and make a point of going to one of the
09:59west coast beaches on Islay,
10:01one of the Atlantic beaches on Islay, because you can probably have it to yourself, at least for a while.
10:08I don't think there's anywhere better, apart from possibly the top of a mountain,
10:12to blow the cobwebs away and to find yourself again.
10:17It's your special place, then?
10:19Well, I think the outdoors are part of my medicine, and if that's the case,
10:24then it's doing its job, because I'm in a pretty healthy place right now.
10:30I'm loving the mountains, and not just counting the number that I've done,
10:35but also just being in good company.
10:37So hopefully at some point, if not you, then maybe Dougie will join me up one of these mountains.
10:43So you're coming for number 100, right?
10:46OK, I'll come for 100, that's the deal, yeah.
10:48What an adventure.
10:50Cut that bit out, I'm not doing 100.
11:00Leaving Anne in Balmour, we're heading now to the most southerly point on the island.
11:05It's home to one of our rarest birds,
11:08and Cammie's about to find out how attempts to protect it
11:12have led to a major breakthrough for Scottish livestock farmers.
11:20Cannabis Farm is a livestock operation,
11:23but it's also part of the RSPB's Ores Reserve,
11:27the sheep and cattle crucial to the welfare of the birds here.
11:37David Wood is the site manager.
11:40We have about 2,000 hectares, and we graze most of it for different species,
11:44and we have about 120 cows, about 400 sheep.
11:48I think sheep are the main target species here, are they?
11:51Maybe not to the RSPB.
11:53So chuff is our main species, so it's the reason the reserve was bought.
11:57It's this black crow family.
12:00So the only place you can see them now in Scotland is Islay and Collinsay.
12:03Is that right?
12:04Yeah, so they're down to less than 50 pairs in Scotland,
12:06so one of the rarest breeding birds in Scotland.
12:08Wow.
12:13The chuff are dependent on the livestock,
12:16and David's taking me to see his highland cattle.
12:19The poo they leave behind, and the tasty treats it attracts,
12:23are critical to chuff numbers.
12:27Wow.
12:30So we've got these here, grazing the cliffs for the chuff.
12:33This is perfect, this is short grass, it's coastal edge,
12:37it's a bit sloped, south-facing, so it's nice and warm.
12:40So this bit of ground we graze quite hard,
12:42and try and keep the grass quite short,
12:44plenty of dung, and that's all for the chuff.
12:46It's just an all-you-can-eat buffet following the cows around.
12:48It is, yeah, if the dung pats are really healthy,
12:50can we open one up and have a look?
12:51We can have a look, yeah, yeah.
12:53What a weird thing to request.
12:55Let's do it.
12:55OK.
12:57Let's have a look in this one.
12:58Right, after you.
13:00OK.
13:01Show me how it's done.
13:02Hi.
13:02So there's, yes, you can see there's a few dung beetles in here, Cammy.
13:04So there's four or five in here.
13:06Do you know what they look like?
13:07They remind me exactly, you know,
13:08you things you get in Bush Tucker trials,
13:09they make all the celebrities eat?
13:10Yeah.
13:11Yeah, I wouldn't recommend eating these ones,
13:13but it should be a decent meal for a chuff, let's see it.
13:16So, healthy dung, healthy beetles, healthy chuff.
13:21But mild, wet conditions like you find here in Islay
13:24and across Scotland are perfect for liver fluke.
13:28It's not nice.
13:30So cover your eyes if you don't want to see what it does.
13:34The livestock ingest the eggs while grazing
13:37and the parasite can cause liver damage or even death.
13:41The animals here were treated regularly throughout the year
13:44with chemical flukicides, but that poisoned the dung beetles.
13:50So the RSPB brought in the vets and scientists
13:54from the Modern Research Institute to find an answer.
13:58So we did a full season of fluke testing,
14:00going through blood tests and fecal egg counts
14:02and all this sort of stuff.
14:03And what we found here was that in that specific year,
14:06we'd normally start dosing in September,
14:08which is fairly normal for fluke dosing.
14:10We found we didn't need to treat the animals until January.
14:13That was really interesting.
14:15And then the big finding for us was that the chemical
14:17that we were using,
14:18which we knew had a negative impact on dung beetles,
14:20didn't even work.
14:21So we'd got complete resistance.
14:24And so we found that we were dosing our animals with a drug that wasn't working
14:28at the wrong time of year.
14:30So it was kind of really staggering results from that bit of research.
14:34Testing gave them their breakthrough.
14:37Now, they no longer routinely dose,
14:39but only when tests show liver fluke is present.
14:43And if animals are resistant to a fluke aside,
14:46an alternative one is used.
14:49Are you still testing?
14:50Yeah, we are.
14:50And we're going to do a little bit today.
14:52Yes, we've got some sheep in the shed
14:54and we're going to take some samples from them.
14:56You had me at sheep.
14:57We're going to have a look.
15:00I'm interested, of course,
15:02because this doesn't just affect Isla.
15:04Flocks and herds across the country
15:07could benefit from the type of dung testing
15:09Ewan Anderson is doing here.
15:12Less dosing saves time and money
15:15and it's clearly better for the environment.
15:18If any of the sample lambs test positive,
15:22the whole flock is dozed.
15:26A wee bit of testing can help farmers like me
15:29understand more about the fluke on our farms
15:32and help us make better decisions for treating it.
15:35Here on Isla, it's a win-win
15:37for the livestock, the beetles and the chuffs.
15:44Earlier on, I found out why Isla
15:47is such an important whisky destination.
15:51Most of the high-grade malting barley
15:54needed to make the spirit is shipped in.
15:56But in recent years,
15:58some local farmers have started growing their own.
16:02And that's what Andrew Jones does here at Kool Farm
16:06on the Rins of Isla,
16:08a windswept peninsula on the island's west coast.
16:12Andrew, how's it going?
16:14I have to say, this is one of the bonniest barley fields
16:17I've ever been in.
16:18Look at that view.
16:19It's cracking, isn't it?
16:20Yeah.
16:20Wow.
16:21So how's the barley looking?
16:22Yeah, it's looking pretty good.
16:24It won't be our best ever crop,
16:26but I'm pretty happy with it.
16:27It's a week, 10 days away from being ready,
16:30weather permitting.
16:31Have you always grown barley on the farm?
16:32It's been probably about 40 years on Kool
16:35barley's been growing.
16:36Dad before me,
16:37he was growing it for feed for cattle.
16:40I think it was either 2008 or 2009
16:42was our first malting crop of barley.
16:45So as soon as you start growing for the whiskey distilling,
16:49then that makes a difference to your business, I guess.
16:52Yeah, definitely.
16:53Yeah, certainly, don't get me wrong,
16:54we don't get the yields that you'll be getting
16:56maybe in East Coast to Scotland and whatnot,
16:58but we do get a premium.
17:00It all helps.
17:02Andrew is one of 20 Isla farmers
17:04now growing malting barley for the island's distilleries,
17:08keen for local provenance and sustainability,
17:10but they're looking for something else as well.
17:14So is it only barley you're growing from distilling?
17:17No, it's not actually.
17:19In 2017, we grew our first drop of cereal rye for them.
17:23Can we go in and look at them?
17:24Yeah, let's do it.
17:26Planted in the autumn,
17:28this hardy cereal puts up with Isla's conditions
17:31through the winter months.
17:33This year's lot has just been harvested.
17:37Now, I've heard of rye and American whiskey,
17:40but Scottish whiskey,
17:41I'm surprised by that, I have to tell you.
17:43Yeah, well, I was the same.
17:44I couldn't believe it when they said what they wanted,
17:46but we did do it,
17:48and it's working well for us.
17:50So how does it compare to the barley, then?
17:52Well, it grows a lot taller,
17:56you know, that'll be kind of three foot tall,
17:57whereas the barley kind of be maybe down to my knee.
18:01It's a far, far smaller grain,
18:03but it's very, very...
18:05That'll blow away.
18:06Very dense.
18:07We shouldn't do this in Isla,
18:09we shouldn't have put it inside.
18:10It's windy today.
18:11And there's a barley grain.
18:12Ah, right.
18:13So you can see the difference.
18:15And rye brings benefits that barley doesn't.
18:19The cover crop enhances biodiversity,
18:22and it's a lower input, lower carbon grain.
18:26Rye's deeper root system works hard below the ground,
18:30reducing the need for artificial fertiliser
18:33and retaining moisture.
18:35This field hasn't had rain on it for, I don't know how long,
18:39and normally that would just be dust.
18:41That's pretty damp, isn't it?
18:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:42That is wet.
18:43It's pulling up any moisture that's down there,
18:45and it's doing a lot of jobs under the surface
18:48that you can't see, but you can, you know, it is working.
18:51We're still learning, you know,
18:52there's still bits we can improve on and whatnot,
18:54but it's ticking a lot of boxes for us.
18:56Great.
18:58Andrew's rye doesn't travel far,
19:01just seven miles along the road to Prokhladi,
19:04and the distillery of the same name.
19:07Now, using rye for whiskey production is not you.
19:11They've been doing that in America for many, many years,
19:14even though they can't spill whiskey properly.
19:16But here in Islay, that's sacrilege, isn't it?
19:20In fact, not at all.
19:23With rye long being used to make the spirit,
19:26and only falling out of favour at the start of the 20th century,
19:30distiller Rob McEchen can explain why it's making a comeback.
19:36There's something we've been doing since 2017,
19:37and it was effectively a way to get closer to the farmers
19:41and give them another opportunity
19:43and starting a conversation about using new types of grain
19:46and the effect it has on the environment.
19:48Several other producers are going against the grain and using rye.
19:53But how easy was it to bring back the old tradition?
19:57What about how you treat it and how you have to handle it?
20:00Is it different from barley?
20:01Massively, yeah.
20:02This is where we soak the grain in hot water
20:06and what you find with rye is it doesn't have much of a husk,
20:09so you have to make adjustments with water, with volume
20:12and with an addition of barley to kind of help it along.
20:15It's just to make sure that a machine built in the 19th century
20:18to make malt whiskey can make something it was just never designed for.
20:21So we sort of make it work, roughly.
20:23And how does it impact on the taste?
20:25It's pretty good. I can give you a taste if you want.
20:27That's a very fine idea.
20:28Lead me on.
20:39Oh, look at that.
20:53Oh, that's lovely.
20:55It's kind of spicy, isn't it?
20:56That's what you get.
20:57You get that spiciness.
20:58It's like a licorice sort of saltiness almost in the rye whiskey.
21:01Yeah, definitely a bit more of that spice in it than single malt.
21:04So doing this then, what do you think it's going to mean for Islay on a bigger scale?
21:09I mean, that's a small batch at the moment and it's experimental still,
21:13although we're starting to push it into the mainstream.
21:15But hopefully we can find a balance between commercial prospects for the farmers and for ourselves
21:20and doing the right thing with the land as well.
21:23Well, I'll certainly drink to that.
21:24Glad you.
21:27While we finish our drinks, let's join Anne as she delves into the history of the island
21:32and reveals the story of one of Islay's landowners whose legacy has been overlooked.
21:42All over Islay, there are clues that lead to one man.
21:47His influence is everywhere.
21:49In the smart, white-painted towns, the distilleries and even the place names.
21:56Port Charlotte was named after his mother, Port Ellen and Port Weems after his wife.
22:03But nowadays, he's largely forgotten.
22:09His name was Walter Frederick Campbell and he transformed Islay into what we see today.
22:18One time Laird, Walter Frederick, came from a high-achieving, wealthy family,
22:24the Campbells of Shawfield.
22:26They owned the very grand Islay house and I've come here to find out more about him
22:32and what he did for the island from author and historian Dr Margaret Storey.
22:37He inherited in 1816 at the age of only 18, which was rather young to take on a big estate
22:46like the Islay estate, which had up to 15,000 people on it.
22:54But despite his age, he set to work using Islay's 600 square kilometres
22:59and expanding population to improve the island's land, industries and housing.
23:06The vision was to be one of the premier landlords in the Highlands and Islands.
23:13He built villages, most of them named after his family.
23:20Because it was a very green grassy island, he built a lot of the new farms with dairy premises.
23:28He didn't stop there, building distilleries, weavers' cottages, piers, roads, dykes,
23:35even a lighthouse, the only square one in Scotland.
23:39Throughout the 1820s and 30s, his spending spree transformed the island.
23:46His basic love was really just the people.
23:50I mean, he really was wanting to do all this for the people of Islay.
23:55He was very different to other landowners at that time where they were cleared for sheep farms.
24:01He didn't do that though, did he?
24:03No, he didn't go in for it.
24:04Just didn't believe in it.
24:06He had tried more than most to keep going without clearances
24:11and without displacing people onto tiny coastal crofts.
24:19But despite his enthusiastic investments and good intentions,
24:23by the 1840s, Walter found himself in deep financial trouble.
24:29The Highland potato famine and agricultural depression were hitting hard.
24:37Income was just going down and down and down.
24:41And it ended up in 1847-8 with a spectacular bankruptcy.
24:50Do you think he was a romantic at heart?
24:54Yes, I think so.
24:55He was too young really.
24:57He was easily influenced.
24:59If he had had better advice, he might have fared better.
25:06But it was an unrealistic view of what could be achieved.
25:12Bankrupt to the tune of £800,000, that's £83 million in today's money,
25:19he had no alternative but to leave his beloved Islay.
25:22It was a terrible, thundery day, the day that he was bankrupt.
25:29And he felt it was a vision from God, you know,
25:32that he was being pushed out of Islay.
25:37Islay was sold and Walter ended his days in exile in France.
25:42He never saw the island again.
25:44But he left his mark, his influence still visible across Islay today.
25:54Do you get a real sense of who Walter Frederick Campbell was
25:58from the lighthouse that he built in memory of his first wife?
26:04Lady Eleanor died aged only 36.
26:08He placed an inscription on the building expressing his feelings for her.
26:12But it could just as well describe how he felt about Islay and its people.
26:20And still my guiding star, she lives in realms of bliss above.
26:25Still to my heart, blessed influence gives and prompts to deeds of love.
26:38And that brings us to the end of this programme.
26:41If you'd like to watch it again and catch up with some of our previous episodes,
26:45go to the BBC iPlayer and search for Lambert.
26:48Here's what's coming up next time.
26:51We're painting it yellow in an attempt to bring back the aspen.
26:56What we really want is for people to recognise the value of aspen in a woodland.
27:00The women transforming their dairy herd.
27:04Paird average was 19 litres and now we're at 29.
27:09And Cammy takes farm diversification to another level.
27:14Please don't put this one in the thing like that.
27:16Come on!
27:17Join us for that and much, much more if you can.
27:20In the meantime, from all the Lambert team right here
27:23on the beautiful and multifaceted island of Islay,
27:26thank you so much for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:58We'll see you next time.
27:59Bye for now.
28:00Bye for now.
28:00Bye for now.
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