- 8 minutes ago
Our Tiny Islands - Season 2 Episode 3
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Short filmTranscript
00:08We are a nation of islands.
00:11Come on, you two!
00:14Over 4,000 are scattered along our coastlines,
00:18with hundreds more in our lakes, lochs and rivers.
00:22Being surrounded by water, it has a very calming effect on the mind.
00:27Many of these islands are tiny. Many are remote.
00:32I love so much about island life.
00:35But over 200 are called home.
00:43I don't own it, because you don't own an island. If anything, it owns me.
00:49With rugged cliffs and sandy shores, wildlife and family,
00:55and lives very different to most of our own.
00:59Going over the edge here is a bit cheeky.
01:02Shall we?
01:05These are the stories of our tiny islands.
01:10The fact that you just walk out your door and you're straight in to see that sense of freedom is
01:14amazing.
01:25This time, we're counting sheep on Iona.
01:32Searching for hidden treasure on Lundy Island.
01:36Heading to North Ewist for a taste of croft life.
01:40Hey!
01:41And seal surveying on the Welsh island of Skoma.
01:50Less than 30 miles off the west coast of Scotland lies the island of Iona.
01:56Just three miles in length and 2.4 miles wide, Iona is home to 178 people.
02:06Joanne moved to the island 19 years ago after meeting her husband,
02:10whose family has worked the same land on Iona for six generations.
02:14All of this is just to keep a new place set up.
02:16Come on, come on.
02:173, 4.
02:18The very first night that I met John and spoke to John, we went for a walk and he said,
02:23I think maybe I'll just take you back to Iona.
02:26You could be my wife.
02:31Along with husband John and sons Cameron and Jamie,
02:34Joanne now runs the McInnes family farm.
02:42Today is the start of the busiest week of the year,
02:45as all their sheep must be rounded up in time for the transporter
02:48coming to take them off island for the sails.
02:52We'll be gathering about 500 sheep and 600 lambs
02:58and sorting through them over the next five days.
03:04The flock is dotted throughout Iona
03:06and must be hardy enough to withstand exposure to the island's elements.
03:11Gathering them up is a task involving quads,
03:14a lot of walking and new dog, Monty.
03:17Monty, jump up. Go jump up.
03:19Bye.
03:19Sit, sit.
03:21He's a bright new hawk. We're turning everything on him.
03:24He's really good-natured, Monty, but he's really, eh,
03:28he's really pumped for sheep luck.
03:31There we go.
03:32We break in the weather.
03:34Breakish.
03:37As John and the boys head off on their toys,
03:40Joanne holds the fort back on the farmyard.
03:43It's a few years since I've been allowed out on the bike.
03:47I had to learn quite a lot when I arrived here, and I keep learning all the time.
03:56It's almost like John grew up out the ground here himself.
04:00His family have been on this farm for generations.
04:04There's a strong feeling of just being a steward at this point.
04:09A hundred years ago, it was one of his ancestors, and if we're lucky, in a hundred years' time, it'll
04:14be one of our, kind of, offspring.
04:17MUSIC
04:26At just 17 months old, Monty is showing real promise.
04:33What do you have to do?
04:34Out in the hills, he's relying on him, and he's used to focusing just on, like, getting one and catching
04:40at alarming time.
04:41That sort of did a lot to him with him.
04:43So, yeah, there's a lot to do.
04:50Their flock is comprised of black-faced sheep, which they cross with a blue-faced leicester to produce a Scotch
04:57mule.
04:58It's a bit noisy, but they're basically checking them for their teeth and their udders at the moment,
05:03just to check that they're all right to stay in the flock.
05:09The Scotch mule is a tough but low-maintenance breed,
05:13great at producing hardy lambs that can grow larger than their mothers.
05:17Oh, she's fine.
05:18Space on Iona is finite, and so every sheep and lamb that remains has a role to play,
05:24from maintaining the island's hills and golf course to lambing,
05:27and growing a high-quality fleece that can be sold.
05:32They've been quite big this year.
05:34That's fine.
05:36And if there's any issues, they'll get a wee mark on them.
05:39It's always a shame that this time, like, when you're pulling out,
05:42what a really good old sheep, they'll work well for you over the years,
05:46but, you know, another year out here in quite harsh conditions is a long time for them.
05:53The sheep are marked to indicate where on the island they've come from
05:56and whether they'll be transported for market.
05:59They've got little teeth, but they're all sawned.
06:02She actually...
06:03She could stay in her crotch.
06:06Reprieve.
06:08The sheep that need a quieter life can often find a job elsewhere.
06:12So, she's too old for us to keep.
06:14She'll be sold as a breeding sheep for someone else,
06:18and they'll keep her on my better place.
06:21There's an easier shift for her, and she'll probably get another couple of years.
06:27This is the last two batches.
06:30Quite a manageable number today.
06:32Get us eased into it.
06:36About 30 sheep, so only about another 470 to go.
06:43Having been sorted, the sheep are back at work grazing the island.
06:48So, we're looking to have a nice, healthy flock that are ready to eat all the grass,
06:54produce nice, healthy lambs, and generally live a nice Iona life.
07:08Life on our islands is more than just people and livestock.
07:12They're home to a vast array of wildlife on the land,
07:16in the skies,
07:19and in their seas and coastlines.
07:26Ten miles off the North Devon coast is the island of Lundy.
07:32It's around three miles long and one mile wide, and is home to 28 people.
07:43Tara is the island's marine wildlife specialist,
07:46and works as part of the conservation team.
07:51I take people rock pooling, snorkelling.
07:53In the spring months, I take school children around the island on school trips for the day,
07:58and just give them a really nice kind of day out, really.
08:03Lundy has been a marine nature reserve for over 50 years,
08:06and is a designated special area of conservation.
08:13Tara regularly checks for changes in the coastline for new species that may be appearing due to warming seas,
08:20or familiar faces that could be at risk.
08:25Today, it's the turn of the Devil's Kitchen on the southeast of the island.
08:30I love finding creatures. I think they're also different, and different colours, shapes and sizes.
08:39At low tide, lots of creatures like to hide underneath the rocks,
08:42because it's cool and damp,
08:44so the best place to find stuff is to carefully lift up rocks and have a look underneath.
08:47Lots of crabs underneath this one.
08:5052 species of crab and lobster have been recorded here,
08:54but Tara is on the lookout for one that stands out from the crowd.
08:58So this is a Montague's crab.
09:02Sometimes known as a kind of bodybuilder crab,
09:05because they have very muscly kind of looking carapaces.
09:08I won't hold them for too long.
09:16Lundy's diverse marine life thrives due to geography.
09:20The nutrient-rich Bristol Channel and cool Atlantic Ocean meet in the area.
09:25While the west of the island faces strong swells,
09:28the sheltered east side is home to teeming reefs, sandbanks and rock pools.
09:38I'm looking for a type of sea slug called the Celtic sea slug.
09:43This is the kind of spot where they're always found,
09:46and they're one of my favourite creatures to see.
09:49I'm very small, but I found a couple.
09:52These sea slugs are sensitive to changes in water temperature.
09:56They look quite boring at first, because they're like a grey dot,
09:59but when you look closely they have quite cute faces,
10:02and they've got little antennas and they're kind of covered in little kind of spiky bits,
10:05which they use as a defence against predators.
10:07They're pretty cool, despite their mere appearance.
10:14Rockpool's in good health, Tara can get on with the next job of the day,
10:18and this one takes her away from her speciality altogether.
10:22It's a very, very varied job.
10:25I do seal serving, butterfly serving,
10:28and record other things I see as I walk around.
10:32Sometimes random jobs come up and you go and help out with whatever's needed.
10:36Tara's been tasked with installing a new Lundy letterbox.
10:42So it's a weatherproof box, because it rains a lot here.
10:44So when someone finds the box, obviously they can open it up.
10:48Inside is kind of a bit of information,
10:50so people can kind of learn about the location they're in.
10:53And then you'll find the stamp, which is obviously the most important bit.
10:58Similar to geocaching, the Lundy letterboxes are a 27-step long treasure trail.
11:05It's a really nice way to explore bits of the island that you wouldn't normally go to.
11:08Some of them are quite intrepid and you have to kind of go down a bit of a slope or
11:12traipse through the bracken to find them.
11:15Tara's decided this letterbox will tell the story of the island's only remaining Heligoland trap,
11:21which was used for ringing birds in migration studies.
11:25The location of the letterbox isn't going to be in a really obvious place.
11:28It's got to be kind of a bit of a challenge to find it.
11:31We don't want to spoil it for people that are going to come and find the letterbox.
11:37I've just literally finished putting the stamp together kind of yesterday.
11:45So sometimes it comes out better than other times, but you can see most of the Heligoland trap.
11:50Yeah, that's kind of what it looks like.
11:54Many returning visitors undertake this quest year after year in an attempt to collect all the stamps.
12:03It's quite exciting to have designed a new letterbox,
12:05because obviously letterboxing has been on the island longer than I've been alive.
12:12So it's nice to be able to add to that and leave a bit of a legacy with my design
12:16for the stamp
12:17that will hopefully stay there for the years to come.
12:29Scotland is home to almost 800 of our tiny islands,
12:33a mix of Ben and Moor, of Locks and Coon, of Crofts and Glens.
12:40The crofting tradition runs deep,
12:43and they form a unique and integral part of life on the Isles.
12:4855 miles off the west coast of mainland Scotland, in the middle of the Outer Hebrides, is the island of
12:54North Ewist.
12:56Around 17 miles long and 13 miles wide, it is home to almost 1600 people.
13:05Alexander moved here five years ago with dreams of the good life.
13:12So this croft had been on the market for about 13 years, and everyone was put off by it.
13:17And most people think of croft, they want it to be working, so they want sheep, and they want cows
13:20on it.
13:21And it wasn't really the best habitat for them.
13:24This place was, it was a bit of a jungle. It was a bit wild.
13:28Nature just moved in.
13:30As much as it was wild, it was still workable.
13:33Every year I see it, it kind of improves, and it's just kind of starting to take shape.
13:38One of Alexander's first tasks on the nine and a half acre croft is breakfast.
13:46Come on in, guys. That way, that way, that way.
13:53You're laughing about jazz hands when you have ducks.
13:55That way. Look, there's food, everyone's bunching.
13:58Hey! There you go.
14:00So I've got a bunch of animals on the croft. I don't like to say, like, stock.
14:04I've got livestock. I don't know if it sounds weird. I've got a few workmates.
14:08For former gardener Alexander, the ducks are a key ingredient of his croft,
14:13helping fertilise the ground. His passion for them, however, was unexpected.
14:19I moved here August 2020, and by October I had ducks.
14:25I couldn't wait. It was my son's third birthday, and I thought,
14:28you know what, let's get him three ducks.
14:29So we started off with three muscovies, and it's since evolved from then.
14:35I've had up to, like, almost 50 ducks at some point, which is a lot of feed.
14:38A lot of eggs, but it's like Easter. They're scattered everywhere,
14:42so it's like constantly looking for eggs.
14:44And I'm happy that they're here, because what they do, they walk around,
14:46they keep the grass kept, and they poo everywhere, they keep the snails down.
14:51Along with the muscovy ducks, Alexander has a mallard,
14:5515 guinea fowl, 4 hebridean sheep, and a grey-legged goose called Gossie,
15:00who he rescued at just a few days old.
15:03So I slept with the guzzling in my neck,
15:07and then he shimmied down into my, into my, into my wrist.
15:10And I was like half asleep, trying to shimmying out,
15:12and he went behind my back, but yeah, we had a good bond.
15:14He followed me around the face, and every time I left,
15:16he would kind of pine for me.
15:17So it was quite sweet to kind of have that bond,
15:19because I've never experienced that with any of these ducks,
15:22but it was kind of nice to kind of see it, what it is.
15:26All the animals on the croft form part of Alexander's permaculture approach
15:30to revitalising the land.
15:34Nine, ten years of my life I've been studying permaculture,
15:36and it's just, it's opened my eyes to many things.
15:38The old cliche saying, working with nature instead of against it,
15:41you want, you want to create like a lovely system,
15:42but it needs a lot of input at the start, but once it gets flowing,
15:45it's just, it just keeps on churning all the goodness out.
15:50Top of his to-do list, however,
15:51is dealing with an unwelcome guest on the croft.
15:56The New Zealand flatworm, to me I'm convinced is an alien,
15:59and they eat our native earthworm and have no defence,
16:02and it's a pain.
16:03So, obviously we have earthworms to improve the soil,
16:05their poo is like black gold.
16:07You want to keep them, you don't want them to get munched.
16:12Alexander hopes to deal with this pest in a natural way.
16:17The beetle ditch is essentially like a big massive hole
16:19with lots of brush and branches in,
16:20and what that creates is a nice little beetle habitat
16:22for like adult female beetles.
16:24And the reason why I'm trying to encourage these ground beetles
16:26is because I know they eat a flatworm egg.
16:30All this manual labour comes with its own rewards.
16:34I don't go to the gym, so this is kind of essentially my workout.
16:38At the same time I'm improving the landscape
16:39and improving my mental health and my wellbeing.
16:45For almost 20 years, Alexander has lived with anxiety.
16:50Croft life has helped him find calm.
16:54I moved here and my whole routine was changed.
16:57And that's when I realised I was a bit stressing over different things
17:00and all that kind of stuff.
17:03This was so good for me, like being outdoors and just getting some fresh air.
17:06And it's been proven, like, you've got more greener on the scenery.
17:08It makes everyone happy.
17:11It really has. It's been proven.
17:12And it's just...
17:13It keeps me sweet.
17:15It keeps me sane.
17:18Once the ditch is dug, Alexander fills it with tweaks and brush.
17:24There's nothing special about this.
17:26You just have to cut them and then put them in here
17:27and make lovely layers and make like a nest underground
17:30and then you just backfill it with soil.
17:33There you go.
17:34Bosh.
17:35In fact, last thing.
17:36Look, look at that.
17:38Makes all the difference.
17:39Look at that.
17:39Zazzed it up.
17:40So yeah, that's it.
17:41A beetle ditch.
17:45While much of his week was spent gardening on the mainland,
17:48Alexander has found a new connection to the land through his island Croft.
17:54Being here, I find it a lot easier to work with nature.
17:56It's just a lovely vision I have.
17:58And I know to myself that once I'm buried and scattered over the ashes,
18:03I'm recremated.
18:03I'll be scattered all over the croft, feeding the land.
18:07It's going to keep on going and putting out for future generations to come.
18:17Our islands have varied from white sand beaches to sheer cliff faces.
18:25From green and pleasant fields.
18:28To mountain and moorland.
18:31Their diverse landscapes allow opportunity for many to live off the terrain,
18:36through conservation, growing crops and raising livestock.
18:43Right at the end of the Inner Hebrides is the Scottish island of Iona.
18:49While it's home to less than 200 people, over 1,000 sheep live on the island.
19:01Joanne is hard at work on an offshoot of the family's sheep farming business.
19:05Oh, it's cracker, isn't it?
19:08Along with fellow islander Katie, she's grading some of the 1,200 fleeces gathered from across the island,
19:15which go into making Iona wool.
19:18Single origin wools like this can be hard to find.
19:21And Iona wool is especially warm and hard-wearing.
19:25Obviously the sheep are all raised here on Iona.
19:30And then they're shorn here and then we grade the fleece by hand here.
19:35And then it goes off to the mainland for scouring and spinning.
19:41A lot of what we do is just feeling.
19:43So you can feel the softness.
19:44You can feel if it's a bit scratchy in places.
19:47You can feel its strength.
19:49Yeah, you kind of work on instinct after a while.
19:52You get into a rhythm with your hands, don't you?
19:55It's almost like you stop thinking and you just feel...
19:59Absolutely.
20:01The fleeces are evaluated by what type of wool they will produce.
20:05So this kind of stuff here is kind of soft but not soft enough
20:10and that would go into our course.
20:12And the course doesn't go into the yarn.
20:15Yeah, all the different grades have different purposes.
20:19And you're particularly looking for the kind of kempy bits,
20:22which are little short hairs.
20:25And if they end up in the yarn then it can be really itchy.
20:31So we take all of that out.
20:33And then at the end your hands are covered in this lovely lanolin,
20:38a lovely oil you don't need to moisturise for a few months.
20:45Farming on Iona has meant that selling fleeces
20:48hasn't always been cost effective for farmers and crofters there.
20:52All the sheep on the island are bred for meat.
20:56They're bred for eating.
20:57The wool is a genuine by-product.
21:00They must prioritise breeding sheep that thrive in the conditions
21:04rather than those with the softest fleece.
21:07And the extra cost of sending fleeces off island for processing
21:11meant that they couldn't balance the books.
21:15Just over ten years ago, Katie set up Iona Wool,
21:19aiming to develop a premium product that would also pay farmers and crofters
21:24more than they received from the Wool Board,
21:26who produce the majority of wool in the UK.
21:30Joanne has been involved from the get-go.
21:33We work with our dalwinish just seven miles away on Mull,
21:38who weave our tweed,
21:40and we work with a small selection of trusted makers on the mainland.
21:48Having done the lambing and then done this stage,
21:50it's very satisfying to see people's faces when they find us in the shop,
21:57especially if they're knitters.
21:59The end product is always unique thanks to the island's flock.
22:05We take all of the different breeds and mix them together.
22:13The majority of them are white fleeces like this,
22:17but we also have dark fleeces which, once they're all mixed in together,
22:23give us a really nice collective flock colour.
22:27We refer to it as the kind of natural silver,
22:29and every addition is slightly different.
22:34The endeavour is improving the margins of farming on the island,
22:38and creating a single origin product.
22:42The whole point was that it was a kind of light touch on crofters and farmers.
22:49It wasn't about giving them additional work.
22:51Just, here's a different option,
22:54and the fact that Iona Wool pays more for the raw fleeces
22:58means that it's a more sustainable model for everybody.
23:02Is that the last one? That's us.
23:04Brilliant. That's us all done for today.
23:06Excellent. Good job. Great work.
23:08Thanks, Joanne.
23:10Why does it feel heavier at the end?
23:12Oh, it's all fluffed up.
23:14Oh, good.
23:24Many of our islands are rugged and exposed,
23:27shaped by the pounding of our seas and oceans.
23:32Others, however, find protection nestled in rivers,
23:35lochs and inlets, like the Bristol Channel.
23:38It separates the south of Wales
23:40from the counties of Somerset and Devon in England.
23:44And is home to a number of islands, including Lundy.
23:51Former teacher Jane moved to Lundy four years ago with her partner, Theresa.
23:58While on the mainland, many hit the gym before work,
24:02island life allows Jane to dive straight into her day.
24:06Literally.
24:08I sea-swim all year and try to get people to come with me.
24:12Today we've got quite a few, so that's good.
24:15This is new. This is my birthday present.
24:17It's a bit long.
24:20Sea-swimming on Lundy is great because we're at sea level.
24:23Most of the time we spend our time up on the top on the granite rock,
24:26but here you really get to the ground level.
24:37You get to swim with nature, with the seals, and with the birds, the wildlife.
24:42And the drama of the coastline just makes it feel more wild.
24:56Oh, that was exhilarating. Just what I needed.
25:00And, er, it wasn't too cold.
25:02A little bit of a chop, but, er, it's about the warmest it'll get.
25:10Wonderful.
25:12Hot chocolate now in the tavern.
25:16A PE teacher in her former life,
25:19moving to Lundy has meant a career change for Jane.
25:22I'm a general assistant on the island.
25:24You can be either on housekeeping, or you can be in the tavern,
25:29or we could be working in the shop,
25:31which, er, provides everything for all the residents
25:34and all the visitors that come to Lundy.
25:37All those living on the island permanently
25:40are employees of what is known as the Lundy Company
25:43and are provided accommodation while they're working.
25:47This evening she has a shift in the tavern,
25:49where partner Teresa is the head chef.
25:55But before the dinner rush, there's time to catch up.
25:59Your lifestyle is idyllic.
26:00My lifestyle is idyllic on the island, I know.
26:03I've got a lot more time now to do, sort of, my hobbies and, er, that sort of thing,
26:08without having to, sort of, prep for my teaching and, er, dealing with all my students.
26:14It's a lot, I'm a lot less, I'm a lot less stressed, aren't I?
26:18Yeah, definitely, you actually use your days off for stuff, for doing stuff on your days off,
26:22rather than planning for stuff like that.
26:24Yeah, like swimming.
26:24Yeah, you know.
26:24But there's worse places to live.
26:31With the last ferry gone for the day, the island's residents have been joined by a few extras.
26:38Hello.
26:39I've got nachos.
26:41All these people here are staying on the island, so some of them will be campers.
26:45But, er, we have 22 properties, so there's lots of other places for them to, er, stay.
26:51And, er, we've got a lot of regulars as well, at the moment, so that's nice to see.
26:55People come back year on year.
26:58The Morisco Tavern is the island's only pub.
27:01It never shuts, as it's the only building on the island to have electricity all through the night.
27:07It was originally built in the 1860s as a refreshment room for workers quarrying Lundy granite.
27:14Is that everything?
27:15Yeah.
27:15Where are you sitting?
27:16The little table by there, yeah.
27:19The tavern is a major focus for the island.
27:22The first stop, often when they come off the ferry, is the tavern.
27:25They come and, sort of, have a drink, get some refreshment, and so it's a really pivotal place.
27:46The morning after a busy shift, Jane is able to reflect on her Lundy life.
27:53It's possible to stay on Lundy for the rest of my worky life, which, er, I haven't got that long
27:58left yet.
28:02If you come to retirement, you have to leave because there's no place to live.
28:06If you're not working.
28:07So, I have got a finite time that I'll be here.
28:12Although you sometimes take it for granted, a lot of people would like to do what we do.
28:17So, we are really privileged to be here.
28:22The walk along the coastline gives Jane a chance to check in on her poetry venture.
28:28This is a little special place for me. So, it's a, I call it my little writing retreat, but I've
28:34opened it up to other people to come and write.
28:37I've asked people with this project to type haikus. So, haikus are short three-line verses.
28:48It doesn't have to rhyme. It doesn't even have to be that poetic.
28:53So, it's an old typewriter I've got off eBay.
28:58This is some of the work that people have left me.
29:03It tells me, really, who's visited and some people put their age on it, some people put who they are,
29:09and some people just write me a little story.
29:14Jane has collected over 250 poems from islanders and visitors, and is making them available to read in the Morisco
29:21Tavern or online.
29:26The reason why haikus existed in the first place was about engagement with landscape, and that's how they came about,
29:32so it just seemed fitting.
29:36They are so beautiful.
29:39Lundy, magic isle. Puffins, ponies, paradise. Happiness surrounds.
29:50Lundy is gorgeous, as I was told it would be.
29:55I will come back.
30:06Across the Bristol Channel, on the Pembrokeshire coast of southwest Wales, lies the island of Skoma.
30:14It's just two miles wide by 1.2 miles long, and for just over eight months of the year, it
30:20has a population of up to four people.
30:28Rob is a zoologist and conservationist living and working on the island.
30:33He's been here for the past two years after first visiting to volunteer.
30:39Coming to Skoma, you can't help but be amazed by the seabirds and the seals that you get here coming
30:45so close to you.
30:46It's really important, and it feels really privileged to sort of be able to work with them now.
30:51Today, it's the island's population of Atlantic grey seals that are getting Rob's attention.
30:57Skoma has nine beaches they use as popping sites.
31:01The team of wardens on the island gather data about the seals' numbers and health for scientific study.
31:09Skoma is such an attractive home for these seals because of these nice big beaches we've got.
31:14We're right in the middle of the season, so we're just at that point where there's lots of pups sort
31:18of popping out everywhere.
31:21Globally, the grey seal is one of the rarest seal species, and about 50% of the world's population lives
31:28in British and Irish waters.
31:30We scale them from one, all the way up to size five is a very big pup that's ready to
31:34go, it's sort of molting, and it's ready to leave the beach.
31:40So we've got about ten seals on the beach just now, and we've got five females.
31:45There's a male down there as well, and I can see at least three or four pups down there as
31:50well.
31:50Different sizes, a couple of size twos, also a size three pup down there as well.
31:57Monitoring the seals like this allows Rob to watch out for any decline in numbers, or environmental problems such as
32:04discarded fishing net, which could be affecting the population.
32:09There's about five females over there on Driftwood Bay, eight females, six pups.
32:16It's hard to get an angle on the main beach from this angle.
32:19It's really important to give the seals some space because they are very thinkerative animals, they don't like humans, quite
32:26understandably, they don't like getting too near to us.
32:29So we do try to keep our distance, particularly when they've got young pups.
32:32If the pup's just a couple of hours old, they will abandon them if they're disturbed by a person or
32:36a dog.
32:37So it's really important that while we're doing this monitoring, it's very little disturbance.
32:40We're staying on top of the cliffs, we're staying far away from them.
32:46The wardens are allowed to get close for surveying.
32:51In general, it's important to keep 100 metres away, whether on foot or in a boat.
32:58Got a seal pup just down here.
33:01Probably a couple of days old, just tucked into the rocks just behind us here.
33:07The great thing about North Haven Slip really is that we can get kind of quite close to these seals.
33:11We're still keeping enough distance so we're not disturbing them.
33:14But we can get a bit closer and see a bit of behaviour and see what these seals are up
33:18to.
33:24Seals have always fascinated me.
33:26I think I've always felt, really felt something for them, definitely a bit of a spirit animal I think as
33:30well.
33:34So we've got a pup there on the edge of the water.
33:37Looks like it's going to start moving towards the water.
33:40These pups generally are encouraged to stay on the beaches by the mums when they're this age.
33:44They've still got these nice big white fur coats on them essentially.
33:49So they're pretty heavy when they're in the water.
33:55Looks like he's just gone into the water.
34:02Mum's just out beyond it in the water there.
34:08They do do these little test runs into the water just to sort of see what it's all about really.
34:13But we wouldn't want it going too far out to sea.
34:23Mum's just going up to keep an eye on it.
34:25So it's...
34:27I think mum's just thinking the same thing as me, that it's okay where it is.
34:31But if it goes any further out to sea then she's going to want to try and probably push it
34:35slightly back towards the beach there.
34:41And there's mum just sort of telling it to get back onto the shore there.
34:46I think she's had enough of it being in the water.
34:52Yeah, looking a bit bedraggled and full of water but safely up above the water line now.
35:00Seal pups back on shore, Rob must head back for the day.
35:05When it's nice weather like this, you can't help but work outside on the bench.
35:12I think this data is really useful in a small scale.
35:14We can keep an eye on our pup numbers, how they're changing every year.
35:17And it's also useful on a more wider scale.
35:19It helps influence government policy in terms of marine areas and helps them sort of pinpoint species that we really
35:24need help.
35:29The wildlife to this island is everything. It's bread and butter really.
35:32This is why we're here. We're here for the wildlife.
35:35We hope that this island will stay as it is.
35:42We're cautiously optimistic that these seals will have a home here for many years to come.
35:59Our islands are home to people working in all manners of job.
36:04From posties and fishermen, builders and chefs, to taxi drivers and first responders.
36:15One thing common to many islands, however, is having multiple feathers to your cap.
36:21On the west coast of Scotland, less than a kilometre from the large island of Mull, lies Iona.
36:28Joanne is off to another of her jobs on the island.
36:33Lots of people have multiple roles and not always paid roles as well.
36:39Quite often people have a seasonal job and then they'll take on other jobs over the winter.
36:44It's just over a mile's drive from Joanne's farm to Iona Craft Shop,
36:48where the fleeces from the island are sold in their final form.
36:52These crofts on either side both have sheep on them that go into Iona Wool.
36:59And people can then walk around the island and make that connection.
37:07Iona Craft Shop has been operating since 1965 and is the island's oldest shop still in existence.
37:15It's a special day for Joanne as a batch of fleeces that have been sent off island for scouring, spinning
37:21and dyeing has finally arrived back.
37:25One of the best things about the wool arriving is seeing the silver, because every edition of wool is slightly
37:31different.
37:32It's gone gradually lighter over the years, which means that the colours which are dyed over the natural silver,
37:39it means that they're quite poppy this year, which is really nice to see.
37:44Pink looks great, actually.
37:46I mean, all of our colours are inspired by the island.
37:51So we have, this is our fuchsia pink, which has evolved because it's got brighter.
37:58You'll see the fuchsia bushes outside.
38:03Serpentine for the serpentine stones that you find off Columbus Bay.
38:09These are the kind of sea colours here, people really associate with Iona.
38:16Seeing the end product ready to sell is a process that takes time and patience.
38:22Production takes two years from the fleeces being shorn to the product being placed on shelves.
38:27So it comes back to us either on cones or hanks, which we sell directly to people who can make
38:36things.
38:36And for people who can't make things, we get it made into a range of lovely things too.
38:41It's great to have the full range of colours back and it's so eye-catching as people come in.
38:46The shop is a focal point for many of Iona's 130,000 visitors a year.
38:55We have a range of visitors, some of whom are knitters or crafters and people are always really interested in
39:03the sheep.
39:04They want to know if they can spot them on the island as they're going around.
39:08So we gather up fleeces from most of the crafters and farmers on the island.
39:13Because I used to raise sheep.
39:14And goats.
39:16These are different.
39:17Yeah, they will be what did you have.
39:19Joanne's customers want something with real roots on Iona.
39:23The single origin coming from the island flock is usually the thing that's most important to people.
39:30I'll pop you in one of our postcards because there's lots of nice information on the website about where your
39:36wool's from.
39:37And the quality of the wool produced by crofters and farmers like Joanne draws in repeat customers.
39:43I can't remember what weight we bought and how much meter edge is in the cone so I brought a
39:48bit of it up.
39:48Ah, okay. Tell me.
39:49Yeah, I think so. It looks like double knit.
39:51Double knit, okay.
39:52People always ask me if I've knitted the garments and my answer is always no, I grow the sheep.
40:01Because I can't knit.
40:04I can't knit. I mean I can, but it's really bad.
40:07I've been cold since I've been here.
40:09Where is home?
40:10Arizona.
40:11Ah, okay. Well that figures.
40:14Both the yarn and knitted garments fly off the shelves along with tweed hats and ties made from the course
40:20of fleeces.
40:22I'm going to get this too because that looks like I can work golfing.
40:25Yeah, it's perfect.
40:27I would have been able to use that yesterday.
40:29And if you'd had more time you could have been golfing here.
40:32Do you have a golf course here?
40:33You have 18 holes.
40:34You do?
40:35Yeah, all kept by our sheep.
40:37Natural green keepers.
40:40The wool's success has had a big impact on Iona's crofters and farmers, who now will prioritise good fleeces when
40:47sorting their flocks.
40:49An understanding of what we're trying to get to has helped the whole process, right back from breeding to shearing
40:56to sorting.
40:58And the biggest change is just having more fleeces available.
41:06For Joanne, the work in the shop is the culmination of all the family's hard work, lambing, raising sheep and
41:13skirting fleece.
41:15For me, it's a lovely connection between what we do on the farm and what John's family have been doing
41:21for generations.
41:22And it means that I can speak to customers from a place of experience and authenticity.
41:31It's nice to see these hanks and cones heading off all over the world with people, happy smiling people.
41:5090 miles away on the outer Hebridean island of North Uist, former gardener Alexander is hard at work on a
41:57plan to conquer the elements on the island.
42:02North Uist is by far one of the windiest places and wettest places I've ever lived in my life, honestly,
42:07like, it's so spongy, like, you can get away with planting a tree in August, it's wild, because it's so
42:12wet.
42:12But, being windy, it tends to slow the growth of a lot of things.
42:17The high winds and driving rain are making Alexander's vision of homegrown veg stall.
42:23I want to get this nice and big and full of trees, create, like, more of a windbreak, and that
42:29is my plan for this pitch.
42:32Willow is one of the easiest plants to plant. How do you cut it back? The thicker it will come
42:36back, basically.
42:37He's taken inspiration from the island's past.
42:41So, many moons ago, we had many trees here. When the Vikings came, they chopped a lot of trees down,
42:47they made boats, they made houses.
42:48Because the weather's so harsh, it's hard for the trees and plants to grow back, and they need our help
42:53to, kind of, protection, to, kind of, bring back this lovely, kind of, woodland that we used to have.
43:02Alexander can take a relaxed approach to willow planting, thanks to North Uist's weather.
43:08We're all ready. This is the place. So, right here, and you just put it in.
43:16There you go. Like that.
43:19Not all of them will take, but it's wet enough here for them to be able to survive and last
43:23long and thrive, and they love it here. The wetter, the better.
43:27And he has another trick up his sleeve to give his cuttings a fighting chance.
43:32The rabbits tend to eat the leaves in the bark. So, I'm going to use some wool.
43:36You kind of want to just rub it in. You want to get it all covered. Just literally, don't discriminate.
43:41Just rub a rabbit on.
43:44The smell of the lanolin in the wool is known to deter rabbits, deer and rodents.
43:51Rub it on your trees, and they will avoid it, like the plague, which is great. So, that's why I
43:55do this, and it's like a cheaper way of getting, because there's sheeps, there's sheeps, there's flocks everywhere up here,
44:00and there's sheep wool coming out of everyone's ears.
44:02So, it makes sense for me to use this free resource.
44:09There you go.
44:09There you go.
44:17After a hard day crofting, Alexander's heading to the far side of the island for some R&R.
44:25This is the east side of the island, and it's very different to the west. Totally different landscape.
44:47Alexander had some reservations about the move to North Uist, but came here so his young son could grow up
44:53away from city life.
44:56Moving here, I did think that people might be a bit behind in their thought process when it comes to
45:01people and different cultures and stuff like that.
45:04Knowing that Uist is a place where I can't be anonymous is quite tricky. It was very hard to kind
45:09of take on and kind of understand and kind of get my head about it.
45:12Growing up in London left Alexander worried how he would be perceived on the island.
45:18So, when I was 16, I used to run everywhere. It was one of my hobbies. And one day I
45:22was running from my friend's house, and the police stopped me for running.
45:31And that's what kind of changed my perspective.
45:35My hyper-vigilance became a thing, and that's why I started to notice some people would perceive me in a
45:39different way.
45:41But with arrival on North Uist, Alexander found relief.
45:45The day I arrived here, I got to the beach. It was low, low tide. I ran. I ran for
45:50how long? I can remember it now. I can remember myself running. And I just thought it was the first
45:54time in like my adult life I felt free.
46:00And after five years, he understands island life.
46:07Everyone kind of welcomed me to open arms and that. And I can just be myself.
46:13I'm doing my crofting. I'm working. I'm just kind of being a nice, happy girl, happy chappy, basically.
46:21Who are you doing?
46:44What are you doing, buddy?
46:46What are you doing, buddy?
46:50I'm just kind of getting ready.
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