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GreatBritish1
  • 6/12/2025
Landward episode 11 2025
Transcript
00:00This time, I'm going with the flow in some wonderful wetlands. Welcome to Lambert.
00:08Hello from Baronshaw in North Lanarkshire.
00:32This urban wetland nature reserve sits between Motherwell and the M74.
00:37But it's a far cry from all that noise and bustle, providing a quiet haven for wildlife on the banks of the River Clyde.
00:46Later, I'll be finding out about the work going on to restore nature.
00:50But first, here's what else is coming up.
00:54Anne's flying high when she sees Glasgow University's peregrines.
00:58Amazing. It's absolutely fantastic. Look at them.
01:01Two men in the top. Hang on. Calm down.
01:03Cali's trying to take his lambs to market.
01:07Cut away.
01:08And Shabazz gets overexcited as he attempts to save the Caledonian forest.
01:13Yes. Yes.
01:14But first, the last five years has been a difficult time for Scottish soft fruit farmers, with some getting out the industry for good.
01:30Arlene's meaning a family now who are taking their business in a different direction.
01:34This is Strathmore.
01:38The soil and climate here, near Cooper Angus, make it ideal for soft fruit growing.
01:45But despite being one of the most fertile areas in the country, fruit farmers like James Neal have been finding things tough.
01:53We used to grow a lot of soft fruit and we were struggling with the market, struggling with labour as well.
02:03It was becoming harder to get and then Brexit was really the final straw.
02:09So we were looking for a crop that would reduce our labour needs.
02:14Soft fruit requires lots of pickers for a short time.
02:19Asparagus, on the other hand, needs much fewer, but the harvest, nearly one and a half million spears every year, lasts much longer.
02:28Why choose asparagus?
02:29Why choose asparagus? Because it's quite labour intensive.
02:33We love a bit of hassle here.
02:35We needed labour for our other enterprises and for our veg.
02:40The soft fruit before filled in our summer months so that we could have labour here from February right through to November.
02:46So we needed something that was going to replace the soft fruit and fit into that timing.
02:51The former soft fruit polytunnels allowed James an early start to harvest in March.
02:57As the ground warms up, everything moves outside, taking his asparagus season through to July.
03:04So, up close and personal with asparagus, how do you go about harvesting these?
03:08The guys are through every day and this will be growing 10 to 12 centimetres every day in this worm.
03:16That's a lot.
03:17It is, yeah.
03:18The minimum we want is a knife plus a finger.
03:22And then they just nip him with a knife right at the side of it and just nip it off.
03:27Okay, we'll have a go.
03:28Okay, so it's out of at the bottom base here.
03:30Yep.
03:35Like that?
03:35Just like that, but ten times quicker.
03:39Fair enough.
03:40James does have 35 acres worth of asparagus to cut and it's all done by hand.
03:46But now, the best bit.
03:49As soon as you've cut that, the sugars are then changing in this and if you just have a little taste of it just now.
03:57Oh, you go bottom first?
03:59I'll go top.
04:02Oh, that's so good.
04:04The longer that is cut, the flavour's changing and we're trying to replicate that flavour as close as we can to our customers.
04:12And that involves getting it to them as soon as we can.
04:17And that means it's straight to the packing shed and James' international workforce.
04:24In here today we have got Kenyans, Uzbeks and Bulgarians.
04:30The Kenyans are agricultural students so they come and do six months with us and they're learning things here that they can take back home.
04:38And it's an early start for these guys, isn't it?
04:40Yeah, these guys being in here from 3am this morning, gets washed, trimmed.
04:47The guys in the back house are then selecting the spears and putting them into their trays and it'll either be delivered that day or the next morning.
04:55Right, so speed is of the essence.
04:57Speed is key.
04:58The crop will be in restaurants and retailers within hours of picking.
05:04But some is sold direct from the farm shop, where I'm joining James and his sister Lauren for an al fresco asparagus lunch.
05:16I wonder how James is getting on.
05:21Are you ready?
05:21Nearly.
05:22We're very nearly there.
05:23There's lots of things you can do with asparagus, but the best way is keeping it simple.
05:28A little bit of butter, a bit of seasoning on the barbecue.
05:32You cannot beat it.
05:33It's so fresh and that was picked this morning.
05:41A bit of a shame to waste them.
05:42I'm just going to take another little couple here.
05:45Don't judge me.
05:46I've come to Motherwell and the RSPB's Barrenshawe Nature Reserve.
06:03It was traditionally a floodplain for the River Clyde, but around 400 years ago it was banked and drained.
06:09It allowed the area to be used as farmland, and the system worked for centuries.
06:18But with climate change and more extreme weather, the old ways of managing the land no longer worked.
06:26High river levels and regular floods eroded the artificial bank known as a bund.
06:32The site was becoming harder and harder to manage, both for the public and the wildlife.
06:39So back in 2024, the team here did something bold.
06:44They put a huge hole in the barrier, letting the river here flood through to there.
06:51And it's had a massive impact on the nature reserve, as site manager Dave Anderson can tell me.
06:59Well, what we've been doing is trying to reconnect the River Clyde with its original floodplain
07:03that it used to use before this area was bonded,
07:05so that when high water's come up, the river is able to flood into the floodplain
07:10and then leave when the waters go down again.
07:12I mean, it's a huge big hole there.
07:13How difficult was it to actually kind of dig it out?
07:16Well, planning it was actually a difficult bit.
07:19It took four years to plan, but actually digging out to a couple of months.
07:22And here we are almost at it as well.
07:23So since you did this, what difference has it made to the wildlife?
07:34It's made quite a dramatic difference.
07:35I mean, before we created this big hole, the whole wetland would flood.
07:39Sometimes with weeks on end, and that obviously covers up all the feeding areas
07:42and the habitat that birds like to use.
07:44By doing this work, when the water comes in, it's able to come back out again,
07:49meaning that the birds still have the areas to feed
07:51and they can still use the site as they want to,
07:53which has been a real positive for us.
07:55This habitat also acts as a carbon sink.
07:59The reeds, rushes and mosses absorbing carbon dioxide
08:03as they grow in the waterlogged soil,
08:06locking it away for centuries.
08:08But it's the wildlife people come for.
08:14What kind of things can we see here?
08:18Oh, we've got a vast array of fantastic wildlife.
08:21We've got breeding ducks like Shoveler and Teal around this side,
08:26as well as breeding waders like Lackbring.
08:28And then during the autumn and winter months,
08:30we've got all the passage waders that love to come in here and find food.
08:33A bit like a motorway service station, I suppose,
08:35to feed off and carry on the journey itself.
08:38So it really is a fantastic array of wildlife.
08:39Keeping the wetland healthy takes more than just water.
08:46Dave's taking me to see this herd of cattle
08:49in a meadow on another part of the reserve.
08:52Well, the cattle here do a lot of habitat management for us,
08:55so we have them on our wildflower meadows
08:57to kind of press seed into the ground
08:59and keep some of those dominant grasses down
09:00so our wildflower meadows flourish in the next year.
09:03But today, they're about to be moved.
09:07They're heading for the wetland,
09:08where they'll be key players in the new ecosystem.
09:13We'll move them on to the wetland
09:14and they'll start grazing around all the wetland pools and channels we have,
09:18kind of opening those up, churning up all the mud,
09:20creating feeding habitats for kind of wading birds
09:23that come and use the site as well.
09:24It's a fence-free system too.
09:27The cattle learn to react to a warning sound from collars
09:30if they stray towards a virtual boundary.
09:34There's a mild electric pulse if they don't turn round.
09:38The collars are a real revelation for us, actually,
09:41because in the past, if we wanted the cattle to graze a certain area
09:43at a certain time, we'd have to build a fence.
09:45Now, with these collars, we could just draw a boundary on an app
09:48and then those cattle follow that virtual boundary using the collars
09:52and then they stay in the place we want them to do
09:54without us building any fences.
09:55Previously, did you have cows up in Mullable High Street?
09:58Oh, yeah, all the time.
09:59Every week we're getting phone calls from residents
10:01that they had escaped and they're heading on up there.
10:03So now they stay where they're meant to be,
10:05which is a big relief for our staff and volunteers.
10:09And a big benefit to the wetland wildlife into the bargain.
10:13If you're heading to Barrens Hall over the next few weeks,
10:16keep your eyes open for the cattle as well as the birds.
10:25From the array of wildlife that called this restored wetland home
10:31to another species opting for some high-rise living.
10:35Ants in Glasgow now looking up to some first-class birds.
10:43Glasgow University's Gilbert Scott Tower
10:46is one of the city's most iconic landmarks.
10:49At 85 metres, it's visible from almost every corner of the city.
10:56But for the past three years, this grand Victorian tower
11:00has been home to some unexpected residents.
11:03Peregrine Falcons.
11:07The pair have been named Bonnie and Clyde.
11:10You might think a tower in the middle of a big city
11:14is a strange place for the fastest birds on the planet to nest.
11:20But tall buildings like this mimic the high cliffs
11:24peregrines naturally prefer for nesting.
11:28The Glasgow Peregrine Project have been closely monitoring the birds
11:32since their arrival back in 2022.
11:35John Simpson is one of the project leads.
11:38John, tell me what first attracted the peregrine falcons to this location?
11:43The main reason is they've got a first-class raptor nest site.
11:48It's impregnable.
11:50Nobody can get to it.
11:51It's northeast-facing.
11:53It's out of the sun.
11:54Perfectly shaded.
11:55It's a wonderful place for them to nest.
11:57And what makes them so unique as a breed?
12:00Well, there's a number of ecological and biological factors
12:04that make them so unique.
12:05They are, in fact, the fastest creature on the planet.
12:08They're biologically adapted for stooping at 200 miles an hour
12:12when they're hitting a pigeon in Glasgow.
12:15Dynamically evolved species, certainly, in the city.
12:19In fact, they only pair in the city.
12:23So it's the top location, location, location.
12:25Yeah, absolutely.
12:27When it comes to an address,
12:29Penthouse Suite, Gilbert Scott Tower,
12:31University of Glasgow,
12:33I don't think you can get any better than that.
12:37In recent years, Bonnie and Clyde have become something of a tourist attraction.
12:44This year, the pair have had two chicks,
12:47which the study group have named Jack and Victor.
12:50And today is an important day for these four-week-old chicks
13:00as they're going to be ringed before they've pledged the nest in a few weeks.
13:04I'm off to have a look.
13:09Do you know how many steps there are?
13:10A good few hundred, I would suspect.
13:12Gosh.
13:13There's some writing here on the wall.
13:16It says 224 steps to the top.
13:21We've only done 48.
13:29Up at the top, wow.
13:32What a view.
13:33I understand now why these birds choose to stay here.
13:37While I catch my breath,
13:41two experienced abseilers are preparing to descend to the nest.
13:51They collect the chicks and take them safely up in a backpack.
13:58And a few minutes later...
14:00Two lovely big chicks.
14:01Wow.
14:07Amazing.
14:08Amazing, isn't it?
14:09Yep.
14:10Those two male sticks.
14:12Two male sticks, yeah.
14:14I feel privileged to be able to watch this, actually.
14:17It's amazing.
14:18What's happening here then, John?
14:19Talk me through the process.
14:20Well, the ringers have got the birds out now.
14:23They're going to fit those rings.
14:24And that first ring they'll fit is a silver BTO ring,
14:28British Trust for Arnithology ring.
14:29And that will be its individual marker now for the rest of its life.
14:33Then they'll move on to an orange ring,
14:35which is really important for us as bird watchers and photographers,
14:39because that's the ring we'll be able to see on the bird's leg
14:42when they're perched up in the architecture of Glasgow.
14:45We'll be able to see them and identify them through that ring.
14:48And you can get quite a lot of information from these tags in the future.
14:52Absolutely.
14:53We'll be able to monitor where they go,
14:55where they go to feed,
14:56where they go to breed in years to come.
14:58And they might not necessarily come to a city.
15:00They might go up into the mountainsides of Scotland
15:02and that colour ring will stand out
15:04and it gives a great chance to tie it back to here.
15:07And they're just getting a swab ready now?
15:09Yes, there's a DNA swab getting taken,
15:12a buccal swab, which is a mouth swab.
15:15And that's extremely important
15:16because this is a species that suffers from persecution
15:20throughout its range in Britain,
15:22particularly in Scotland.
15:23The eggs get taken, the chicks get stolen.
15:26But a DNA is an individual marker for that bird.
15:30So now what happens to that bird throughout its life,
15:32nobody can say that it wasn't from Glasgow University
15:35who would tie it straight to here as a wild bird.
15:38Amazing.
15:39It's absolutely fantastic.
15:40Look at them.
15:41They're noisy, aren't they?
15:42Screaming and wailing's the characteristic of the species,
15:45but listen out for it in Glasgow.
15:47Fantastic.
15:47Safely back in the nest with mum and dad,
15:55the next milestone is flight.
15:57So the chicks test out their wings every day.
16:03Here's hoping over the next few weeks
16:05that these two young chicks successfully spread their wings
16:09and begin their lives high above the Glasgow rooftops.
16:21The ancient Caledonian forest used to stretch
16:24across the whole of the highlands,
16:25but now sadly only a few scattered patches remain.
16:29Shabazz is amongst the Scots pines of Wester Ross now,
16:33meeting the team fighting to save them.
16:35This might look like a lovely west coast rainforest to you and I,
16:44but deep within these woods, here's the battle going on.
16:50And the fight is to save this habitat from being lost forever.
16:55High rainfall and milder temperatures
16:57provide the right conditions for these native pine woods.
17:01And only a few pockets, like this forest near Strathcaran,
17:04are left in Scotland.
17:07These foresters are waging war
17:09against the invasive plants that shouldn't be here.
17:13In terms of rainforest area,
17:15Scotland has about 2% of its original cover left.
17:18So it's very precious.
17:21Mike Beveridge from Forestry and Land Scotland is in command.
17:25What we're doing here today
17:26is we're trying to restore this rainforest zone
17:30from several threats that they face.
17:34One of the main ones, and what we're clearing today,
17:37is rhododendron, rhododendron ponticon,
17:39a very invasive species
17:40that chokes the forest floor
17:43and prevents regeneration of these woodlands.
17:45The rhododendron was brought into Britain in the 1700s.
17:51Intended as an exotic plant for the garden,
17:54it escaped into the wild
17:55where it outcompetes anything it comes across.
18:00It forms a monoculture,
18:02which basically means you will have just this.
18:06And so all of the native species
18:08that have grown up over millennia here
18:09to work together will be eradicated.
18:12This just forms really thick bushes and carpet
18:16and spills out seed,
18:18as you can see going right the way up this burn here
18:20and stops everything that we need,
18:23all of the parts of this rainforest, from growing.
18:26So we have here a lovely holly.
18:29You can see already the rhododendron.
18:31If we don't get that removed,
18:32it's going to crowd it out.
18:35Choking out other species is bad enough,
18:38but the rhododendron has another nasty surprise in store
18:41for this rainforest.
18:44The leaves of rhododendron are allopathic,
18:46which means they're poisonous.
18:47Once they're shed,
18:49they poison the surrounding areas.
18:52And there's only one solution.
18:54It's got to come out.
18:55So we'll use tools like chainsaws and hand saws
19:03and then hand pulling as well.
19:05Not a simple job then?
19:06No.
19:07As you can see by the terrain,
19:09it's tough work in a tough location.
19:13Billy Robertson is one of the foresters working here today.
19:17He's going to show me just how difficult it is
19:20tackling this woodland nightmare.
19:23Look at it like an octopus.
19:25You're going to try and find all of its tentacles.
19:29Yeah.
19:29So this one is a prime example of a rhododendron tentacle.
19:34I would just approach it,
19:35pull it,
19:36and just snip away pretty much
19:39until there.
19:41This is your first little stem.
19:45I'm not sure I should be trusted with a knife,
19:46but I'm going to give it a go anyway.
19:48Right.
19:49Grab one and cut away from me.
19:52Oh, it's quite easy actually.
19:55Yeah, not at all.
19:55And how's that?
19:56That is perfect.
19:57Yeah.
20:11Look at that.
20:14The last one.
20:16Do you want the honours or shall I?
20:17I'll let you have the glory for this one.
20:21Yes!
20:22Yes!
20:25But this is just one bush
20:26amongst thousands and thousands
20:28across the rainforest.
20:30And cutting isn't enough on its own.
20:33If we pull them out,
20:34they won't go back
20:35if we get the roots and all.
20:36But if you don't get the roots and all,
20:37which happens on the larger bushes,
20:39we'll need to cut as much as we can and spray,
20:42but they will regenerate.
20:44It's a very tough cookie we're dealing with here,
20:46so you have to come back,
20:47which we call follow-up treatments.
20:49The area we're in now
20:51has been cleared of rhododendron,
20:53and it's what Mike wants
20:54for the future of Scotland's rainforest.
20:57But just how realistic is it
20:59to remove every bush?
21:02You look at this just now,
21:04this is what we're aiming for right here.
21:06The idea is 100%,
21:09but you'll never, ever get that.
21:11You know, we want to do this massive big hit now,
21:14get it down to something
21:15that's not beyond manageable.
21:17There'll always be the odd bush somewhere,
21:20but we'll be after it.
21:21Time now to head to Ayrshire and Cammie's farm.
21:32We've been following his progress
21:34since he bought his own place
21:36at the start of the year.
21:38No longer only a sheep farmer,
21:40he's expanding his livestock.
21:43This little sty is for a couple of pigs
21:45we've got coming next week.
21:46He's also moved into cattle.
21:49Here we go.
21:49And with calving and lambing now over,
21:52things should settle down.
21:56Well, maybe not.
22:00This year, we have had
22:01one of the best lambings on record.
22:04The weather has been incredible.
22:06But it's farming,
22:07and the work never stops.
22:08And today, we're off to market.
22:10I need to load up some lambs.
22:13How are you reversing skills?
22:15You're about to see rather average.
22:17I've got to keep going with it now though.
22:19I won't look if you don't.
22:25See the pigs?
22:28This is a familiar routine.
22:31Here we go.
22:33I've been taking lambs to Ayrmacht
22:34every fortnight.
22:36Too many on the top.
22:38Hang on, calm down.
22:43Calm down, everybody.
22:46These are a cross of Texels and
22:48mules, and
22:50they're all our bottom end lambs.
22:52As you can imagine,
22:52they've been with us 13 months.
22:54So, of course,
22:55they're not our absolute premium spec.
22:58There have been things that
22:58maybe were little runts
22:59when they were born,
23:00or there have been orphan lambs
23:02or various things.
23:03And it's taken us 13 months
23:04to get them to the point
23:05we can actually get them to market.
23:07And we're probably not going to get
23:08a good price for them either.
23:10Let's go.
23:11This is a great wet day job,
23:17but I'm running a wee bit late
23:18as I head to 13 miles to Ayrmacht.
23:22Morning.
23:24Put you on the spot like this.
23:26Sorry.
23:27What have you got for us this morning?
23:30Absolute tail end hogs.
23:31Hogs?
23:32Yeah, yeah.
23:33A couple of yous,
23:34right enough,
23:34there is a couple of yous.
23:37Helen knows my counting
23:38leaves a lot to be desired.
23:40I think it's 44,
23:42but it might be 42,
23:43you know what I'm like.
23:43I'll have 18 already.
23:45I think I've been right once this year.
23:51Let me see,
23:51these might just jump off.
23:5543?
23:56That could be right.
23:57It will be right.
23:59You've said it.
23:59I need to go and fill the line
24:01out of the office.
24:01Oh, that line in the office.
24:031 for the 88,
24:041 for the 88,
24:0460,
24:051 for the 68,
24:062 for the 68.
24:06With the sale underway,
24:07it's worth popping in
24:09to check on the prices.
24:102,
24:105,
24:118,
24:1288,
24:122,
24:131,
24:1482,
24:142,
24:141,
24:1582,
24:151,
24:161.
24:17The trade's actually looking pretty decent today,
24:18but it's a big sale
24:19and I can't afford to wait
24:20to see mine sold.
24:22So we'll head home
24:22and we'll hear the prices later.
24:27I'd be happy
24:28with about £120 a head
24:30for my hogs.
24:31And anything I get today,
24:33I'll be spending
24:34on my new favourite thing.
24:46Oh, girls.
24:47How are you this morning?
24:50Daily livestock checks
24:51are a big part of my summer work.
24:54Yes, I did forget
24:55to bring the bag of feed,
24:56but we'll be back later.
24:57Don't you worry.
24:58This is exciting here.
24:59This is our final calf barn.
25:00Just a few days old now,
25:02actually,
25:03this bull calf.
25:05Big, big calf.
25:07I was thinking
25:07we'd call it White Sox.
25:09It has to be a W
25:09but we've ended on whiskey.
25:11Without an E,
25:12of course.
25:14I am well chuffed
25:15with how calving
25:16has gone this year,
25:17but this little guy
25:18isn't the most exciting thing
25:19I've got to show you today.
25:20Come with me.
25:25Tucked away
25:25in another field,
25:27I've gone
25:27and bought these.
25:28So these girls
25:31are the new addition
25:32to the herd.
25:33There are 10
25:34pure pedigree
25:36shorthorn heifers here.
25:37They've came from the same farm
25:38as the cows at home
25:40and they've all ran with the bull.
25:42So you see the girls we have here.
25:43This one here,
25:43this is a white,
25:44pure white
25:45beef shorthorn.
25:46The one next to her
25:47is a lot darker red.
25:48You'd call her Roan
25:49but the idea is
25:50if you put a red bull
25:51to a white beast like that,
25:52she should come out
25:53with a nice mottled coat on her.
25:56Hopefully,
25:57they'll be ready
25:57to calve in January.
26:00That'll give us something
26:00to do this winter,
26:01I suppose.
26:10Okay, news just in
26:11from the market.
26:12Good trade today.
26:13We averaged 142 pounds
26:15for those hogs
26:16and that's,
26:16you know,
26:16our bottom end hogs,
26:18good to get them away
26:18and that kind of marks
26:20the end of the spring work
26:21here on the farm.
26:23Next up is the summer season
26:24and the small matter
26:25of 1,400 sheep to share.
26:31And you can see
26:32how that goes
26:33when we rejoin Cammie
26:34later in the series.
26:42That brings us
26:43to the end of this programme.
26:44If you'd like to watch it again
26:46or catch up
26:46with some previous episodes,
26:48go to the BBC iPlayer
26:49and search for Landworth.
26:52Now I can tell you
26:52what's coming up next time.
26:55Anne meets the cream
26:57of dairy cows.
26:58Do I have to
26:59down it in one?
27:00Please.
27:01Rosie gets some flowers.
27:0410,000 beds.
27:05And what happens
27:06when a life in farming
27:08is over?
27:0812,000.
27:10I'll take it now.
27:11Cammie goes to a ripe.
27:16Please join us for that
27:17and much, much more
27:18if you can.
27:19In the meantime,
27:20from all the Lambert teams
27:21around the country
27:22and especially me here
27:24at Barrens Hall
27:24in this beautiful meadow,
27:26thank you so much
27:27for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:29Have a great time.
27:29Bye for now.
27:32Bye for now.
27:33See you next time.
27:34Cheers.
27:35Bye for now.
27:43I'm sorry.
27:48Cheers.
27:49Bye.
27:50Bye for now.