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6 Episodes 2018 - 2018
Episode 1
29 mins
The Forestry Commission's recreation team are tasked with rebuilding steps on a well-worn pathway at Fairy Knowe. Getting the hunks of granite rock to the remote location 330ft up a hillside is one challenge, digging them in by hand is another. A team of specialist contractors arrive from Wales to harvest timber from some of the most inaccessible areas of the forest using a massive system of cables and winches called a skyline. Conservationists Bill and Christine have an unusual project deep in the heart of the forest, where they breed and hand-rear hyacinth macaws, the world's largest flying parrot. On a remote peat-bog the size of 32 football pitches Graeme Little operates his own customised mulching machine in a conservation project to restore the natural habitat.
Episode 2
29 mins
The James Jones sawmill in Lockerbie to the east of the forest gets through 20,000 logs a day. But when a six-tonne machine called a crosscut stacker breaks down, a dedicated engineering team must save the day. A decline in salmon numbers in the River Cree near Newton Stewart has led to a tireless effort to restock the river by the Cree Hatchery and Habitat Trust. The Forestry Commission's recreation team must deal with a rat infestation in a public area which has been caused by an overzealous member of the public's bird feeding habit. At the Balloch O'Dee campsite, owner James gets ready to stage a comedy night.
Episode 3
29 mins
Volunteer enthusiasts are renovating a remote bothy (a small hut used as a shelter on mountains) sited on Forestry Commission land but need help getting building materials and a new wood-burning stove to the site. Planning and environment forester Bill Fisher is surveying the health of the cash crop of trees in the vast forest by helicopter. This bird's-eye-view allows him to spot any patches of larch disease, while down on the ground Forestry Commission staff fell infected trees. Archie selects some of the trees along the route of a path popular with walkers that runs right through a harvesting area. This will instruct the felling teams to leave those trees standing when they come to harvest the timber, allowing the public to still enjoy a woodland walk through the area. Back at home Archie shares his other great passion, pigeons, with his wee granddaughter Katie. Chef Ed and his sister Karen are planning to open a new restaurant in Castle Douglas housed in a former bank. They intend to use local produce on the menu, including some from Galloway Forest. In a conservation area, environment forester Gareth Ventress is turning back the clock. He's hired some traditional horse loggers to use a method called horse rolling in an area of dense bracken. This method crushes the bracken but is less damaging to the soil - allowing light and space for oak saplings and native herbs and flowers to grow.
Episode 4
29 mins
Navigating 1,200km of forest road are a fleet of highly skilled truckers who track down the stacks of lumber, load them using cranes and transport the wood to sawmills in both Scotland and England. Inside their cabs we see what life is like for three of these kings of the forest roads - Jimmy, Norman and Eric. With new harvesting sites constantly opening up the Forestry Commission must find 500,000 tonnes of stone every year to build new roads and maintain existing ones. A detonation is planned at a forest quarry to provide rock for a new road but before it can be given the go ahead environment officer Gareth Ventress must check the site for any signs of pine marten activity in the area. Thankfully for forestry engineer Elaine McClymont, special cameras reveal no activity and she can proceed with the explosion she has carefully planned. Gareth's next job takes him to a secret location deep within the forest to check a feeding station for golden eagles. Owner of the Balloch O'Dee campsite, James, has problems as he has double-booked an old byre (a cowshed) that he is frantically converting to tourist accommodation before the start of the busy summer season.
Episode 5
29 mins
When two fishing huts are discovered on remote Forestry Commission harvesting sites, community liaison forester Lyndy Renwick must investigate. With worrying signs of fire damage around the first hut plus concern that they may be in the line of fire of the harvesting machinery she puts up notices asking the owners to contact her before the huts are demolished. However, the second hut she visits is very well made and has its own jetty - can it be granted a stay of execution? Highly-skilled chainsaw operators show off their skills at the UK Logging Championships. Because so few people live in the Galloway Forest it has some of the darkest skies in Europe and has now become one of the continent's first gold tier Dark Sky Parks. The observatory near Dalmellington houses two huge telescopes to give the public an open-air, hand-on observing experience. At Balloch O'Dee campsite, James organises an impromptu pony show to entertain the younger campers.
Episode 6
29 mins
The Galloway Hills Rally draws crowds to the forest. In the days leading up to the event the recreation teams must create safe viewing areas for them. Elsewhere recently felled areas are restocked and deer numbers managed.