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ELLIE EXPLORES LOCH ETIVE BY BOAT
Ellie Harrison takes the advice of the locals on the best way to see Loch Etive; from a boat. Skipper Donald Kennedy takes her to some of the area’s most impressive landmarks, including one of the oldest castles in Scotland. Ellie also uncovers Argyll’s industrial past by visiting Bonawe Iron Furnace, which is the most complete charcoal-fuelled ironworks in Britain. She discovers that the Cumbrians would make pig iron in the furnace itself and the local Gaelic-speaking population would coppice and burn wood to make charcoal to power it.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BONAWE IRON FURNACE -
MATT’S FLOOD RESCUE TRAINING
Matt Baker gains first-hand experience of the rigorous training that is regularly undertaken by the RNLI International Flood Rescue Team. These RNLI volunteers not only carry out regular sea rescues, but also make themselves available at 24 hours notice for any potential flood disaster, at home or abroad. Matt’s challenge, as a rescue team trainee, is to tackle the Falls of Lora – one of the UK’s biggest flows of white water. During the training exercise, Matt has to learn how to save a casualty from fast-flowing water and how to get himself out of trouble by swift-water swimming out of a current.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE RNLI INTERNATIONAL FLOOD RESCUE TEAM
(Image courtesy of RNLI volunteer Tobi O’Neil) -
JAMES WONG VISITS THE CRUACHAN DAM
James Wong travels 1000 feet into the hollows of ‘Ben Cruachan’ mountain, where he gets exclusive access to the dam and power station. The Cruachan Dam has been used in a number of movies, including the James Bond film “The world is not enough”. James Wong won’t be saving the world, but he will discover how this 1960s feat of engineering manages to pump 440 Megawatts of electricity into the national grid. That’s enough to power the whole of Edinburgh.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CRUACHAN DAM -
LOCH ETIVE’S WILDLIFE
Philip Price is a local photographer who has a passion for Loch Etive and its surrounding natural beauty. He takes Ellie to the north of the loch to show her its diverse wildlife and how to photograph it. Ellie then discovers the darker side of Loch Etive’s richly dense ecosystem when she hears about the rogue mussel that has brought about the downfall of the region’s mussel industry. Local mussel farmer, Walter Spiers explains the root of the problem - the loch’s low salinity which allows the relic species Trossulus to flourish. We join Marine Scotland Science in collecting larvae samples to monitor the loch’s mussel population.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARINE SCOTLAND SCIENCE -
ADAM’S FARM: THE END OF ANOTHER HARVEST
Even though the harvest is almost finished, there is still plenty for Adam to do. The grain stores are now full and he is assessing this year’s harvest and hoping for some good results. Adam has also had some late arrivals. Some of his ewes have given birth to baby lambs and they are out in the field enjoying the green pastures. Meanwhile, the Iron Age sow has also given birth to nine healthy piglets. Plus, Eric the bull is up to his old tricks again.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT IRON AGE PIGS -
JOHN CRAVEN INVESTIGATES: HOLIDAYS AT HOME
Over the last few years the number of people having holidays and short breaks, at home in the UK, has risen dramatically. On this week’s Countryfile, John travels to the Churnet Valley in Staffordshire to find out what affect that is having on the countryside. Is the increase in the number of ‘staycations’ going to help revive rural communities? Or is there a danger that tourism could spoil the natural beauty of our landscape?
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CHURNET VALLEY
Credits
- Series Producer
- Teresa Bogan
- Presenter
- Matt Baker
- Presenter
- Ellie Harrison
- Presenter
- John Craven
- Presenter
- Adam Henson
- Executive Producer
- Andrew Thorman
