Summer Special - Royal Highland Show
The team are at the Royal Highland Show celebrating the best that rural Scotland has to offer, including the Arbroath smokie and an award-winning Scottish gin.
The Countryfile team are at the Royal Highland Show celebrating the best that rural Scotland has to offer.
Matt Baker goes behind the scenes amongst the feathers and fleece, hair and horn. Stockmanship takes centre stage here, and the show is a shop window for the best livestock in the country - a chance for farmers to take pride in what they do and show it off.
Of course rural produce is also on display. And there鈥檚 one delicacy so important to the Scottish economy it was recently granted special status to stop imposters from using its name - the Arbroath smokie. Anita Rani meets fifth generation 鈥榮mokie man鈥� Ian Spinks for a real taste of tradition.
Exports of Scotch whisky hit a record high last year, and Ellie Harrison meets one local lady taking a shot at the drinks market with her own award-winning Scottish gin.
There are more than 900 prestigious competitions at the show and Sean Fletcher learns at first hand the art of competitive horseshoe-making from one of the best farriers in the business, Sarah Mary Brown.
A show like this inevitably produces tonnes of waste. As recycling the waste produced by everyday life has become increasingly important, it has become increasingly more complicated. Tom Heap asks if it is even worth it.
Away from the show, Adam Henson sees the preparations involved for farmers, as they get ready to show their prized cattle at what is the pinnacle of the rural calendar.
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Arbroath Smokies
Anita gets her teeth into the festival of food on offer at the show, sampling a smorgasbord of Scotland's most glorious grub.聽
And she meets聽Iain Spink, a fifth generation 鈥楽mokie Man鈥� who cooks fish in the way generations long since past used to - in a barrel, over a hard wood fire.
Iain gives Anita her first taste of the famous Arbroath Smokie...
Recycling Confusion
Celebration of Clydesdales
Sean brings us a celebration of the mighty Clydesdale horse, known as the Pride of Scotland.
He meets Benny Duncan and his 10-year-old granddaughter who both have a special connection to these gentle giants.聽
And top farrier Sarah-Mary Brown puts him through his paces by challenging him to forge his own horse shoes from scratch.聽
Show Animals
Adam finds out what it takes to get the show animals looking their best.
First, he joins brothers James and David Lawrie, as they give a shampoo and a sharp haircut to their Pedigree Ayrshire cows.聽
He then meets 14-year-old Logan Ross who is showing Arin - his Highland heifer 鈥� at the show.聽
After her coat is brushed and her impressive horns oiled 鈥� she鈥檚 looking great.聽聽
But how will Logan and the Lawrie brothers get on in the showring?
Drink Tasting
Ellie explores a few of the many local drinks on offer at the Royal Highland Show.聽
There鈥檚 always plenty of whisky on offer, but the burgeoning craft drink market means it鈥檚 now brimming over with artisan drinks producers too.聽
Ellie has a wee dram of single malt, some fruit wine produced in Perthshire and a small batch gin that is inspired by the stories and culture of the Scottish bothies.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Matt Baker |
| Presenter | Anita Rani |
| Presenter | Ellie Harrison |
| Presenter | Sean Fletcher |
| Presenter | Adam Henson |
| Presenter | Tom Heap |
| Executive Producer | William Lyons |
| Series Producer | Joanna Brame |
