All language subtitles for Great British Winter 05

The British countryside in winter.

Cold, unforgiving, bleak.

As temperatures plunge,
the skies open,

the winds rage
and the light fades early.

This winter we've seen
extremes of weather -

mild, wet and freezing cold.

Conditions that challenge
both wildlife

and the people trying
to survive here.

In this series, I'm going to reveal

the beauty beneath winter's
bleak facade

to uncover a different side of the
season that often go unnoticed.

I'll be exploring five of our
most extreme winter landscapes.

I'll also be including some
of my BBC colleagues' experiences

from over the years.

Why do you release
weather balloons then?

Together, we'll reveal
what's really out there

during this challenging season.

Today, we're looking at islands.

They're environments
that can be the most idyllic

and the most demanding places
to live.

I'll see both of these extremes

as I visit Britain's most
northerly group - the Shetlands.

I'll be finding out
how the wildlife here

adapts to meet the challenges
of the sparse winter months.

It does look odd.

I'll encounter the dazzling beauty

of the winter Northern Lights.

As well as discovering
through history

how the islanders
have always celebrated...

CHEERING

..and survived through these darkest
of months.

No, there's no warmth coming off
that, I can assure you.

THEY CHUCKLE

Welcome to The Great British Winter.

I'm on the Mainland of Shetland,

one of over 100 windswept islands

that make up this remote
archipelago.

They are the most northerly part
of Britain

and, right now, I'm standing
closer to the Arctic Circle

than I am to Manchester,

so, unsurprisingly, it's freezing!

Sandwiched between the stormy
Atlantic and the icy North Sea,

these islands are just over
100 miles from mainland Britain,

sitting right in the firing line
of the North Atlantic storm tract.

At this time of year,

storm force gales can occur
up to three times a week

with awesome wind speeds
of up to 170mph.

This extreme weather
makes the waters around Shetland

some of the most volatile in the UK.

Just over 20 years ago,

on the 5th January 1993,

the effects of one particular
winter storm were disastrous.

In force 11 winds of up to 97mph,

the Braer oil tanker was hopelessly
blown off course

and her engines failed.

After a six-hour struggle,
she ran aground

spilling 84,000 tonnes
of toxic crude oil into the sea.

And creating the worst
environmental disaster

ever to hit the British coast.

The coastguards managed
to winch the crew to safety,

but Shetland's wildlife
was not so lucky.

Sea bird colonies, seals,

shellfish, fish hatcheries

and grazing bays were all
badly polluted.

The storm raged for almost a month,

seriously hampering
the clean-up effort.

But then, the brutal power
of the waves

started to work
in the islanders' favour.

Ultimately, the sea's power,
which is usually so unforgiving,

in this case, broke up the oil
and helped clean up the shores.

What could have been an even
greater disaster was averted.

Wintertime can be deadly

across all the low-lying islands
of Scotland's northern fringe,

as the residents of the
Outer Hebrides know only too well.

On the 11th January 2005,

140-mile-an-hour winds
ripped through the islands

leaving hundreds of buildings
damaged.

In South Uist, three generations
of the same family were killed

as they tried to escape
their storm-battered home.

By the time the storm
had blown itself out,

a £20 million trail of destruction
had been left.

This weather monitoring station
was set up a few years ago

to prevent a disaster like this
happening again.

And Julia Bradbury came to see
a key bit of kit

helping to track any extreme weather
on the way.

South Uist's weather station
is kitted out

to predict the tiniest changes
in wind speed and direction

as well as keeping a constant
lookout for storms.

But to get a real eye on the
weather,

you need to be up beyond the clouds.

OK, Julia, what we've got here for
you is a weather balloon... Right.

..which we need you to release.

Why do you release
weather balloons then?

What we need to do

is measure the atmosphere

up to fairly high altitudes.

Unless we know what's going on

high up in the atmosphere,

we just can't forecast what's going
to happen on the surface.

And it is just a big, massive
balloon?

It will become huge before
it eventually bursts

up high in the atmosphere.

And beneath it, it's a parachute,
so that when the balloon bursts,

the parachute is deployed

and that allows the radio sond,

which is the device which is taking
all the measurements,

to descend safely to the Earth.

And I get to do it? Yes.
Oh, that's so exciting!

Right, first of all,

we need to grab hold of the balloon
in the right hand. Uh-huh.

So I'll hand you that.
Thank you very much.

OK, if you hold on to the balloon.
Yeah, I've got it.

And, in your other hand,

hold the radio sond. Yes.

I feel like I can go up with this.
Mary Poppins!

SHE LAUGHS

And what you'll need to do to
release it, is, first of all,

let go of the balloon. Yes.

And then, a fraction of a second
later, let go of the radio sond

making sure that that
doesn't tangle up either on you...

Or anywhere else, OK.

Let's go.

Three, two, one...

Releasing the balloon. Yeah!

It may look pretty humble,

but my balloon will get as high
as 45,000 feet before it bursts.

Higher than a jumbo jet.

So what can it tell us
about today's weather?

So this is your inner sanctum,
Bob? That's right.

Now, what about that information
that's coming in from my balloon?
Where is it?

Here it is. It's coming in on this
computer screen. The temperature,

the humidity, the wind speed
and direction,

it's all there for
the forecaster to use.

Nowadays, this technology is helping

protect islanders off Scotland's
west coast

by warning against the dangers
posed by the elements.

But some residents
will always be at risk.

The winter storms here
can cause real problems

for Shetland's vulnerable wildlife.

Seal pups are lifted on swells

and carried miles
from their breeding grounds.

And many other animals, like otters,

can be displaced
when their shelters flood.

Some would have little chance
of surviving

without the care and dedicated work

of the islands' Hillswick Wildlife
Sanctuary,

run by Jan and Pete Bevington.

Hi, Jan! Hi, Pete!
How are you doing? Hi, Ellie. Hi.

I'm intrigued
by what's in your box.

Can I have a look? OK, OK, then.
Just a very quick one.

She'll be a little bit nervous.

Oh, my goodness! That's amazing.

How old is this otter?

She's nine weeks old and we got her
about a week old.

Oh, my goodness. I don't want
to disturb her for too long.

You can carry her if you want.

Yes...

The couple founded the sanctuary
in 1987

after finding a seal pup abandoned
on the beach in front of their home.

Since then, hundreds of animals
have passed through their doors,

many of them, otters like this one.

Not surprising, maybe,

since Shetland boasts Britain's
largest otter population.

Although nationally
they're an endangered species,

they thrive in this island
environment throughout the winter,

building their holts
by freshwater creeks

and feeding on the rocky shorelines
on fish and crabs.

All this with not a natural predator
in sight.

Their biggest threat is the harsh
winter weather conditions

that characterise island life
at this time of year.

And that's where Jan and Pete
come in,

working with wildlife organisations
to help injured animals,

like young Aida the otter.

Today, she's being moved
into her own shed

after living with Jan and Pete
for the last two months.

Do you know her back story,

how she ended up abandoned
in the way she was?

We're not exactly sure.

It was a torrential...a day of
torrential rain, it was terrible.

And we think that,

due to the fact we got four calls
about otters that day,

that maybe she was washed out
of the holt and lost her mum.

And she ended up on a little pier
at Voe,

a place not far from here.

Do you tend to see more otters
in winter? Yeah, definitely.

Do you? Yeah.

What's the reason for that? Well,
weather conditions, for a start,

and often, there's less fish for the
mothers to catch in the winter time.

So, if it gets desperate,
which at times, it does,

they'll move their cubs out of
the holt at a very young age,

probably younger
than they normally would. Right.

And they'll trek across land
and the babies will get in trouble.

So we often get that,

or the mother will cross the road
and get hit by a car...

So it's when they get desperate.
It really is that, yeah.

Oh, that's tricky. Yeah.

And so, in terms of feeding,
is that all day, all night?

Day and night.

I mean, you really do have
to emulate the whole conditions,

so we actually had her upstairs
in a spare bedroom,

so we just kept,
stayed there with her,

every time we heard her,
we got up and fed her, yeah.

Exhausting though, for you.
Yeah, it was.

THEY CHUCKLE

This is going to feel great.

But we'll miss it too,
cos it's such a lovely experience.

Although they've obviously
formed a close bond with Aida,

they're conscious that the aim is
to release her back into the wild.

The last thing she needs
is to become domesticated.

So now Aida is healthy,

this next stage of rehabilitation

aims to gradually withdraw
all human contact

to make sure she retains
her animal instincts.

Then, once the harsh
winter months pass,

she'll stand a better chance
of survival

when she's released
in the spring.

What we'll do here now is she'll
be here for about two months

and we will basically stop
talking to her, bit by bit,

and so, she won't hear our voices.

And, hopefully, by the time
she leaves here, April time,

she'll move out
into an outdoor otter pen,

where we'll just have to feed her up

and then, we don't talk to her at
all, we just clean up the pool

and give her food, so by the time
she does leave,

she will go for it, she will buy it.

Despite the danger
of the winter weather,

otters continue to thrive
in the wilds

of these remote Scottish islands
at this time of year

and, hopefully, Aida will soon be
joining them once again.

They are some of my favourite
animals.

I caught my first glimpse
of otters out in the open

two years ago when I was
in the Outer Hebrides

with local wildlife expert
Steve Duffield.

It took a little patience,

but it was a winter sight
I will never forget.

It's quite a waiting game, isn't it?
It is, yeah.

It's a long time coming,
but right on cue.

There's one just over there, just...

You see, if you look at the
left-hand side of the island

and then towards the seaweed,
there's one just... Oh, yes!

It's fantastic!

I've never seen an otter in broad
daylight before, this is amazing!

Yeah, there it is, right-hand side,

coming down this side of the island.
Yes!

You see it rolling. If you now
have a look in the telescope, Ellie,

it was just rolling
in the seaweed there.

Part of its grooming process?

Yeah, it's really important that
they maintain the quality of
their fur

and they're actually
a fresh-water creature,

but it's using the marine
environment to its advantage,

because there's more food in here.

But they do have to sort
of maintain their coats,

so they can't let it
get matted up with salt water.

They'll have to return to fresh
water to actually wash...

And clean it off.
And clean it off. Oh, right!

Hello, getting off.

It's going up the rock now.
The tail is amazing, isn't it?

You see that, the way it's stiffened
its tail there, that's spraying...

Oh! So it's just got
a very stiff tail,

so it's leaving a scent mark
in there for the other otters.

And for the next hour or so,

these amazing creatures frolicked
in the sea right in front of me.

It felt like my own personal show.

Oh, it's got a fish!

Oh, that's amazing!

Back in Shetland,
we're leaving Aida the otter

to settle into her new digs

and Jan and Pete are taking me
to see another of the animals

that often end up at the shelter
in the winter months.

Oh, wow!

Maybe just give him a fish just
to keep him happy. How old is he?

He... We're not totally sure
how old he is,

because he'd been in the wild
as a pup

and had an accident,
probably through a storm,

and hurt his left shoulder
and flipper.

He was completely skin and bone,

couldn't even lift his head up
when we picked him up.

He must have been almost dead
by the sound of things.

Well, the man that phoned,
I said, "I think it's pitch-black,

"we'll maybe have to leave it
till tomorrow morning."

And he said, "No, no, Jan,
he won't last the night." Wow!

So we just set off
between eight and nine at night

and managed to get him.

Grey seal pups like Hamish are most
vulnerable at this time of year.

That's because most seals
mate around November

and are pregnant for 11 and a half
months,

meaning that, as the winter
begins to bite,

their offspring can only be
a few weeks old.

These newborns are exposed

not only to the predators hunting
for scarce food,

but to the storms battering
coast and seas.

Hamish is a casualty
of this wild winter weather.

How long has it taken to get him
to this very healthy stage?

Uh...nearly a month. A month? Yeah.

So what's happening today?

Well, today, because he's now
eating fish on his own,

and we want to check out his flipper
to see he's OK with it

and strengthen the muscle.

We want to take him out
and put him into the big pool.

To move Hamish outside,

they're going to transport him
in a crate,

so to help, they've called in
Ron Patterson,

from the Scottish Society For The
Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals,

who works closely
with the sanctuary.

Hey, that was pretty efficient.
Great job!

This is a big moment for Hamish
and for Jan and Pete.

It's time to see
if their hard work's paid off.

If his damaged flipper
isn't properly healed,

Hamish will struggle to swim

and would be unlikely
to survive out in the wild.

OK.

There you go.

Moment of truth...

He's reluctant... Ooh!

HE CHUCKLES

Looking good. Yeah?

He just needs to strengthen
that muscle up.

How do you strengthen the muscle
by keeping him in here?

Just the fact he's using it
in here all the time

and he'll swim up and down all the
time and that'll get that strength.

And, hopefully, he'll be able
to catch fish himself in the wild.

It's great news - Hamish looks
well on the road to recovery.

It's a performance
that certainly deserves a treat.

So what do you do with these?

Well, throw them in.

Just throw them in. Yeah.

Just see if he will
actually go for fish.

Hurrah! Yeah.

And so, prospects for Hamish, what
are you thinking having seen him in
the pool for the first time today?

Very good, I'm impressed. Yeah.

I'm a lot more impressed than what
I thought I would be when he first
came in, that's for sure.

Probably another month to get him
big and lots of blubber

and then, we'll release him.

Jan and Peter help nurse
many seals like Hamish

back to health every winter,

but, occasionally,
out in these seas,

they get more unusual casualties.

None more so than this seven-foot
leatherback turtle

that turned up in 2000,
washed in from the Caribbean.

The reason this exotic visitor
ended up here

was because of the Gulf Stream -

a warm, fast moving Atlantic current

that starts at the tip of Florida

and passes by Scotland's west coast
catching Shetland in its path.

This current is also the reason

that, while Shetland may be exposed
to strong winds,

its climate stays on a par
with the mainland.

The Gulf Stream affects
the whole of Britain,

but its impacts are most noticeable
on the islands in the south.

Nowhere is this more apparent in
winter than on the Isles of Scilly.

These are our most southerly
coastal islands.

They are also our warmest in winter,

boasting temperatures comparable
with the French Riviera,

reaching an average 11 degrees
centigrade.

This climate means, over the years,

the islands have developed
a booming trade in flower exports

during the winter months,

with plants like narcissi able to
grow here at this time of year.

Head 760 miles further north though
and it's a different story.

On Shetland, the winter landscape
is somewhat more barren,

but great beauty
can still be found here.

There's no denying that the winter
weather here can be treacherous,

but the winter light is so stunning

that it attracts photographers
and cameramen from miles around,

keen to capture the beauty
and wonder of these islands.

I'm meeting an award-winning
local photographer

who is passionate about the beauty
and light that winter offers here.

Hi, Ivan, good to meet you!
Hi, come in! Thanks very much.

Lovely.

So what is it about winter light
that you love as a photographer?

I love the winter light because the
sun sets right low the whole time,

it never really gets very high

and, quite often, it's like
an orangey colour. Wow.

And it casts really nice shadows
off everything.

And it's really clear.
You get the frosty, clear air,

you can see for miles and miles.

Absolutely glorious, that one.
What others have you got on there?

This is local, is it?

Yeah, that's just up the road
in a small village called Voe,

in the winter. Wow! It's just
that lovely, that lovely winter days

when it's just frosty and still
and a few degrees below freezing.

It's just lovely.
It's lovely, that one.

Oooh! This is a small village

in Scalloway. Yeah.

What are the tips for taking
something like that?

Taking photos into the sun
is never a good idea,

so always looking across the light,

so you get the light shining through

and you get a far more even
exposure.

Wow!

This was our Christmas here,
this year.

Oh, ooh!

Is that a wave? That's a wave, yeah.

Oh, my goodness!

That was pretty rough,

There were no boats sailing here
for a few days. Yeah, right.

Big, big seas.

That wave is probably 80 foot high.

That's extreme weather!

Yeah, it's really difficult when
you're trying to photograph that.

You're really in all elements.

Through Ivan's lens,

the low light
and wind-lashed landscape

are captured in mesmerising detail.

But, although the winter days here
may be spectacular,

they don't last long.

This is the closet part
of Britain to the North Pole,

as far north, in fact,
as parts of Greenland.

This often means less than six hours
of daylight for months on end.

But these short days
do have one advantage.

Clear night skies free from light
pollution of town and cities

reveal a whole new, nocturnal world.

Is that the Milky Way?
That is the Milky Way.

On a nice, frosty winter's night
here.

How do you get that photo?

Cos you can't, maybe you can't see
that many with the naked eye.

How do you get that?
You can't see it with the naked eye,

but the camera
picks it up very well

if you're doing a really longer
exposure, it really brightens it up.

And winter this far north

brings with it one special
sight like no other.

The northern lights.

For a photographer like Ivan,

it's an event

that never fails to inspire.

How often have you seen
the northern lights?

Hundreds of times in my lifetime.
Oh, really? Literally hundreds,

probably thousands, I would think.

I first saw them when I was little.

I was doing a bit of fishing
in a local stream

and the first time I saw them,
it was the most amazing green light.

I didn't know what it was
at the time.

And yeah, I actually thought

it was some kind of magical thing.

I had no idea, it was kind of scary,
cos I'd never seen it before.

And then, I found out what it was.

So I've really, I've been looking
for them my whole life.

That's a beautiful shot.

How do you take photos
of the northern lights?

Well, you have a lot of waiting
about to do at night,

standing out in the cold.

You have to use a tripod
to keep your camera really still.

And just wait till it starts
flaring up and go for it.

How does it compare to what you see
with the naked eye that night

and what you get in the camera?

Doing a longer exposure,
it makes it look brighter

than when you see it with the human
eye. Yeah.

But you still see a really, really
good... Some nights, it's just
beautiful.

You can hardly take photos
for looking at it,

because it's so impressive.
That's incredible.

That's a cracker! A self-portrait.
Self-portrait.

One night, just standing about
for hours and you get a bit bored,

so you start...you start doing
all the strange stuff. I like it.

What are the right conditions when
you know that it's going to happen?

Ideally, you want the skies
to be as clear as they can be,

without cloud cover.

During winter, this incredible sight
can be seen in places like Shetland

because they're so close
to the North Pole.

This is Britain down here. Yeah.

And on the 60-degree line
is where Shetland sits. Yeah.

So this is the aurora
where it's hitting the Earth.

These aurorae occur here,
because it's in the polar regions

where electrically-charged
particles from the sun

collide with particles charged
by the Earth's magnetic field.

The result - the spectacular show.

Shetland is a good place
to see the northern lights,

if you're lucky.

But the further north you go,
the better your chances are.

It's something that
Brian Cox discovered

when he visited northern Canada
in 2010.

Soon after dusk,
and despite clear skies,

there's no early performance
from the aurora.

So while we wait, Mike runs
a film loop of the northern lights

as seen from an extraterrestrial
perspective.

That's a beautiful image.

I haven't seen an image
like that before.

It's taken from above the poles.
Yeah.

That's a spacecraft in orbit
around the planet, yes,

going from pole to pole.

From space, you can really see
the impact of the solar wind.

Its energy feeds an unbroken
circuit of aurora

that surrounds the pole.

And we will feel that it's a display
put on just for us here,

but when you see the pictures
from space,

you realise everybody on that oval
is getting the display as well.

Well, my hope is that

we'll be directly underneath
that tiny thin band tonight,

here in Tromso. Yes.

Thankfully, our luck holds

and the skies remain crystal clear.

Until, at last,
energy brought by the solar wind

sets the upper atmosphere alight.

Absolutely amazing sight.

Arcs, but...more like curtains
of, of green.

It doesn't look to me
like it's cascading down,

it looks like it's rising up
from the ground.

It is quite incredibly beautiful.

The long dark winter nights here
on Shetland

are ideal for seeing
the northern lights,

but they've played a much more
important role

in the islands' history.

In World War II,

the cover of darkness
during the winter months here

provided a vital lifeline
for resistance fighters

fleeing occupied Norway,

as Neil Oliver found out.

The islands became the base
for a daring, secret operation -

the Shetland Bus.

The Bus was a fleet of fishing boats

which smuggled people out
and agents in to occupied Norway.

Many lives were saved and many
lost.

The islanders have never forgotten
the sacrifice of these men.

The names, the age,

when they died
and the boats they were on.

Look at that - 23, 28, 21, 21.

Just wee boys. Just boys.

Karen Anderson's father was one of
the Norwegian sailors who survived.

At 23 years old, Kaare Iversen
risked everything for his homeland.

So how did your dad get involved
in that story?

Dad escaped from Norway in 1941

on his father's boat

and they came across to Shetland
and he was approached

to see if he was suitable
for the Shetland Bus and he was.

Ammunition was stored
at Scalloway Castle while resistance

fighters and refugees found
shelter with the locals.

It was very dangerous

because they didn't know what they
were going across to Norway to face.

The weather
was against them for a start

and the Norwegian fishing boats
they were using, they were not big.

He said if he was captured,
that they all had a cyanide pill

to take, rather than
be interrogated by the Germans.

By the end of the war, more than 350
refugees had been carried to safety.

How much does the story
of the Shetland Bus still mean

to people in Shetland? Oh, a great
deal. I'm very proud of my dad.

Really, I cannot say it in words how
I feel about what...not only him

but what other Norwegian boys did.
It's part of Scalloway's history.

Always will be.

These rough seas that provided
a lifeline to so many

during the war years

today sustain the livelihoods of
many of the island's residents.

Thanks to the turbulent
mixing up of the water,

nutrients are brought to the
surface from the depths of the sea

which creates the perfect conditions
for plankton

and they, in turn, provide
food for fish.

The continental shelf
around Shetland drops to

depths of over 300 metres.

It's not only one of the best places
in Britain for fishing,

it's one of the richest and most
productive areas

of sea in the world.

Lerwick Harbour is where
much of this catch is landed

and is kept busy year-round with
the £81 million-worth of fish

that pass through here.

James Anderson's family have been
working the seas out here

for generations,
fishing for cod and haddock.

And at this time of year,
he's as busy as ever.

So what happens, then?

You bring a catch in,
how does it all work

when you get back here to
land it all?

We just come in here usually weekly,
maybe sometimes twice in a week.

We just put it out here and it
goes and gets sold

and we usually head
straight back out again.

Is there a pattern to
the price of fish?

does it go up during the winter,
does it make it worth your while?
Usually does, yeah.

Certainly in the past
it was more so like that.

But lately with tighter quotas
we've had more balanced markets,

but, yeah, the winter's usually
when you'll get your best tallies.

Yeah. Your best markets.

These guys stay out at sea for days
on end and while in winter

the price of fish can be at its
best,

the weather is often at its worst.

Today, the waters are calm,
but when the winds whip up

and storms roll in, ships can be
caught on waves

the size of ten-storey buildings.

It's an environment that tests
both man and boat.

Have you ever been caught out there

and thought this is a bit
touch-and-go,

really felt nervous about it?
Um, we've had some bad,
uncomfortable weather

but fishing around Shetland,
we're usually not too far

for getting in so we usually
always manage to get in,

if it's picking up.
Good forecasts nowadays,

we get the internet on the boats

so you know far more about what's
coming... Yeah.

..than what we used to.

Do you experience
much in the way of damage to nets,

damage to boats or even risks to
people during the winter?

Yeah, you certainly increase
all of those things.

There's more
wear and tear with the gear.

More danger to the crew
so you need to watch for that

and sometimes you'll get a bit of
damage round the boat, too, yeah.

Men like James brave
the winter storms and swells

for the promise of making a good
living,

but these rewards all too often
also bring increased risks.

Fishing out there is one of
Britain's most dangerous jobs,

especially in the winter,

as the crews of the North Sea
trawlers know only too well.

In 2006, a BBC film crew was onboard
the ship Amity in these waters

as a storm blew in.

RADIO ANNOUNCER: Viking,
North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties,

cyclonic, five to seven, becoming
north seven to severe gale nine.

Perhaps storm ten later in Forties.

Wintry showers, moderate...

After four days at sea,
Amity has caught virtually nothing.

Losing money
and desperate for a catch,

they're forced to
fish in rough weather.

In conditions like these,

the smallest mistake can
result in a serious accident

but it's a risk that skipper
Jimmy Buchan feels he has to take.

It's a full force eight at the
moment,

probably even touching force nine.

Basically, we shouldn't be shooting

but this is the pressure that
comes on to the skipper.

I've got to get a pay for my crew

so it's a gun-to-my-head
kind of situation.

Watch yourself there, Kevin!

The dangers of working
in weather like this is

if anything were to happen to
a crewman,

it's getting the boat around to pick
him up

because we've got gear on our stern

and the boat just won't turn 360
degrees.

Last year, nine fishermen died and
34 fishing boats were lost

from the UK fleet.

For the first mate, Kevin,
the risks are all too real.

Very dangerous craic, this.

I remember fishing in Ireland once
about 10, 12 years ago.

We were shooting herring nets

and one of our friends got his legs
caught in the net

and he was took overboard.

By the time we got the boat around
to fetch him, he was gone,

never to be found again.

RADIO: Viking, North Utsire,
South Utsire, Forties,

north or north-west gale nine to
storm 10,

squally wintry showers,
moderate...

Amity is heading into the storm.

A tiny speck in the turbulent seas.

As winds reach 60mph,
skipper Jimmy knows

how vulnerable his boat is
to the approaching storm.

In a force 10,
you probably get...

..12-15, 18 metre-high waves.

If one of them's coming down on you,

it's like a tenement building
coming at you.

So right now, I've got a big knot
in my stomach because one half of me

wants to stay out
and the other half is saying

"You'd better
get your backside off the seas".

I think we'll call the crew
out shortly

and we'll start her on in any way,
we'll start to head for home.

Jimmy is prepared to take
the boat home even though

they have caught very little.

Their poor catch will barely cover
the cost of the fuel,

leaving almost nothing for the crew.

This is a dilemma that constantly
faces skippers

out in tough conditions.

The Amity eventually returned
safely back to port

and like many other vessels has
returned here time and again since,

drawn by the lure of rich pickings.

It's not just fisherman
who are attracted to

the fish in the seas around Britain.

In winter, a species such as
mackerel migrate past Shetland

and they, in turn, attract killer
whales.

These giants of the ocean follow
the mackerel migration route past

Shetland and have learned that
mopping up the spillage

from fishermen's nets takes little
effort for a fantastic feast.

In the winter of 2009,
Gordon Buchanan joined a North Sea

fishing vessel to try
and capture this sight on camera.

We've got whales, we've got whales.

Just over to the left here,
coming straight in.

WHALES SNORT

I'm finally going to get the chance
to film killer whales in UK waters.

I can't believe that they're
coming.

Oh, gee, look at that!
Really close.

There are so many whales here,

it's very difficult to estimate how
many there are.

Possibly 50, possibly 60.

There may even be up to 100 on the
other side of the boat

that we're just not seeing.
And this is what they're here for.

Look, look, look, look.
Jeez! Look at that.

Jeez! Oh, unbelievable.

Now that I've spent some time
with them, I'm beginning to get

a deeper understanding of what
they're up to.

They're just standing off about
300m, they're not coming in.

There's loads of tail slapping going
on, it's still happening.

SLAPPING

I'm not sure they're doing
this to catch fish.

After all, the boat is herding
the fish for them,

saving them the trouble.

Scientists believe that killer
whales also slap their tails

as a social activity and I think
that's what's going on here.

It's believed that when
they're feeding on mackerel, it's

the one opportunity that different
families of killer whales

have to come together, that's why
you can find them in 100, 200.

It's not one big super-pod,

it's lots of different
families coming together

and when these families do come
together, it's an opportunity

for the males to mate with other
females out with their family.

After saying their hellos,
it's time for lunch.

And it's becoming very clear
to me that these whales

aren't just fishing randomly.
They have a plan.

They're coming in, cruising in like
a flotilla. Oh, right.

Please, guys.
Just come all the way in.

Every time, it's a large male
that approaches the boat first,

checking this out before giving the
signal for the others to come in.

With the whales in so close,
it means I can now try to film them

underwater.
The weather's turning bad.

A storm's brewing,
but I'm still going to give it a go.

I so want to enter their world,
even if only for a moment or two.

I'm right at the back of the boat.

What I'm hoping will happen is
the fish coming through the net

just will drift the full length of
the boat

and the whales will come in here.

We've seen them the length
and the breadth of the boat

but I think this is the only place
we can actually use this pole

successfully without getting
in the way of the nets too much.

OK, they're coming in.

Camera's running up.
Camera's running.

In we go.

Come on, we've got to get this.
We really have to get this.

Ah, hold on tight.
Oh, look at this wave. Whoa!

SQUEAKING AND WHALESONG

We've got him right here,
right in front of me,

I could reach out and touch him.

Oh, holy mackerel!

Finally, I'm encountering this
beautiful creature

in his true home.

Look at that. Thank you, ever, ever
so much.

Oh, you beauty. Whoo! Hoo-hoo-hoo!

WHALESONG

Here, the seas are providing plenty
of food for both man and mammal.

But at this time of year, one
of the sources of nourishment that

attracts life to these oceans also
has its uses on dry land.

The rough waters that ordinarily
batter these islands at this time
of year

don't just create productive seas,
they also help fertilise the land.

Winter storms wash in tons of this
stuff - seaweed.

It's often used on northern Scottish
islands to help enrich

the coastal pastures known
as the machair, as Julia Bradbury

discovered when she visited
the Outer Hebrides.

It's pretty nippy but winter is
when all the important stuff

happens on the machair. And it's
all because of this.

SHE SNIFFS

Fairly smelly.

Crofters like Angus MacDonald know
its value.

Hi, Angus. Hello, Julia.

Good to see you.
Good to see you, too.

Fair bit of seaweed you have here.

There's not an awful lot
there, really.

That's just what came in last night.

It's not been windy enough to bring
lots of seaweed in.

We tend to get more
seaweed in January, February with

Atlantic storms,
when it's been blowing a gale

and a high Atlantic swell,
it breaks all the seaweed loose.

Mainly, the kelp, this stuff here
which is rooted to the rock

by the end there. Yeah. And then it
breaks loose and comes ashore.

Thousands of tonnes, just that bay
there... So we're full?

..could be full, yeah, with
thousands of tonnes of seaweed.
Blimey. Yeah.

And what do you do with it all?
Come on, I'll show you.

SHE SNIFFS

Oh, Angus!

That is a pungent, pungent smell!
Yeah.

Clearly...

SHE COUGHS

it's some sort of manure
or becomes some sort of manure.

Yeah, it's actually the seaweed
that's been taken up about six weeks
ago

fresh off the beach and then is
composted together in this heap

and then it rots down.

The heap would've originally been
maybe three metres high

so it sank down to about a metre
high but it's composted now.

And this is your magic
potion for the machair?

This is really good for the machair.

It's full of nutrients,
huge in humus

and there's a massive injection of
potash in it. Really full of potash.

It holds the sandy machair soil.
Not that you can see much of it
today!

No, not under the snow! Under all
this snow.

And now is the best or a good time
of year to do it?

Yes, it is a very good time of year,
especially the wind brings it
ashore in the first place

and then the ground being frozen,
a bit of snow on it,

you can see exactly where you're
spreading and how it's going on.

Do you get used to the smell?
Oh, yes, I'm very used to
the smell.

You can't even smell that? That's a
good smell.

It's good compost, it's good
seaweed.

Right, well, let's get spreading.
Yeah, let's go for it.

Angus is out here spreading seaweed
every day in the winter,

to give this challenging terrain
the nutrients it needs.

By spring, he assures me

it'll be green with the first
shoots of oats, barley and potatoes.

Oh! So, spreading done, and I'm
pleased to say that the smell is...

SHE SNIFFS

No better!

You're STILL not getting used to it!

No, I'm still not getting used
to it.

I've got to say, Angus, looking out
there now, here we are in the

mid of winter, I'm not sure
you'll be able to grow anything.

But I wish you luck.
You're the expert!

You come back next August,
and you'll see crops here.

You're on! Believe me. You're on!

And it's not only crops
that are nourished by the goodness

floating in on the winter tides.

The seaweed that washes up on
the shore provides

a much-needed supplement to the
winter diet of some of the animals

that live here on Shetland.

BLEATING

Sheep are a regular
feature on the shorelines,

grazing at low tide on this veggie
seafood that's packed with

vitamins and minerals which are
essential to keep them healthy

through these cold
and demanding months.

When the tide goes out,
they choose to go down on the beach

and eat through this seaweed,

which suggests they're getting
plenty of nutrition from it.

If nothing else,
they appreciate the variation.

And this isn't the only breed
that's known to do this,

other sheep will eat
seaweed as well.

It does look odd.

These sheep are part
of a smallholding known as a croft

that's unique to the Highlands
and islands of Scotland.

It's a proud tradition that's
carried on to this day

by people like
Mary and Tony Isbister

who've worked this croft on Shetland
since the 1970s.

Hi, Tony. How are you doing?
Hi, Mary. Hi.

So is this a bit of winter
work here with the cattle?

Are they in for the winter?
They're in for the winter, yeah.

These are some pretty hardy breeds
you have here on your farm.

What have you got? We have all the
Shetland breeds. Mm-hmm.

That's the cattle, ponies,
sheep and poultry, geese.

Have you had any other breeds that
haven't been Shetland natives

and realised that they
aren't that well adapted

to these cold conditions?

Yes, we've had bigger breeds of
sheep.

They do well but only with a lot
more feeding and looking after.

I see.
The sheep can survive without help

but thrive with a little
bit of help.

How tough can the winter get here?
It can get pretty bad.

Over hundred-mile-an-hour winds
and steady rain is not pleasant.

What was your worst winter?
It was 1991. Mm-hmm.

There were about five gales at that
time over 100mph.

How do the animals cope?
They can get through it.

We have an island out here that we
rent out in the Atlantic.

Wow. That sheep seems to thrive.

They have plenty of shelter and
they seem to live off the seaweed.

They're seriously hardy to survive
on an island by themselves all
winter. They're hardy, yeah.

Crofting out here relies on tough
breeds that are able to

survive in all weathers
and, of course, there's one

native of these shores that embodies
these qualities more than any other.

In spite of their cute appearance
and miniature stature,

they don't come much tougher than
the iconic Shetland pony.

They're ideally suited to survive
these sparse conditions,

developing a double coat in winter
with guard hairs which repel

the rain and keep the pony's skin
dry even in the worst weather.

Small horses, like these ponies,
have been kept on Shetland

since the Bronze Age.

But the island was already
inhabited long before that.

Human remains have been found dating
back to 2500 BC but it's these

Iron Age buildings, uncovered
when today's residents built

a road through to the airport, that
give us the first real glimpse of

how early human settlers survived
Shetland's harsh winter months.

Archaeologist Val Turner is
showing me just how they did it.

This is quite amazing, what's this,
Val? It is. This is a wheelhouse,

or the remains of a wheelhouse

that came at the end of the
Iron Age, maybe about 650 AD.

Wheelhouses are named
after their circular design,

with internal stone walls resembling
the spokes of a wheel.

It's thought that they were
important buildings in these ancient

communities used both as homes and
for religious and ritual activity.

The walls look incredibly new to me.

Well, they were incredibly
good at building dry stone. Yeah.

It feels really exposed here,
we're right by the sea there.

Would this have felt quite a cold
building?

I think the walls were quite
thick and you'd have had the fire.

Once it was in, you'd have kept
it alight all the time.

It must've been very difficult
to keep a fire going

when there are so few trees here.
Wood was too valuable.

If they did have it, they would use
it for structural things,

other things
but mainly, they're burning peat.

Which is perfectly
good for making a fire. Exactly.

You have all the stuff set up here.
Yes.

How would this have been
made, then, as a fire?

You'd start with little
bits of kindling

although you might have seaweed or
something like that.

Just a basic structure
but then, of course,

the key thing is you've got
to have a spark to start your fire

and you didn't just have your
matches in your pocket.

So, it's back to basics.

My mission seems straightforward -
use recreated Iron Age tools

to make a spark which can in turn
light some kindling.

And, hey, presto - we'll have fire.

I have done it! OK.
But it's not easy.

Considering Val's the expert, she
isn't filling me with confidence.

No, there's no warmth coming
off that, I can assure you.

BOTH LAUGH

Obviously, this would've been
important to do in the winter

but would it have been much harder
to do in the winter?

Certainly doing it where there was
a little bit of a wind or a draft,

yes, that would make it harder than
doing it

in a place that was either warmer
or was completely still.

After several attempts, I've only
managed to produce a few

charred embers, and the Atlantic
winds are beginning to bite.

It's a very good job our survival
doesn't depend on this, this
winter! Yes!

Because I think we'd be gonners...
OK. ..with me at the helm,

sorry about that.
Fair enough.

We decide to call it a day

and head for shelter in the houses
at the heart of the settlement.

But the last residents of this
building came to Shetland

much later than the Iron Age.

The Vikings arrived on these
shores in the 9th century and

there's evidence that they sheltered
in the buildings they found,

bringing their own tricks with them
to see out the dark, cold months.

That's more like it on the fire
front, there. Absolutely.

Fire's obviously really important,
especially in the winter.

What other features are there
in a settlement like this that

would've been a big
deal in the winter?

Lamps, of course, because in
here, you're in the dark.

How's this made?

It's made out of soapstone which
you find in Shetland.

It's a really soft stone.

It's so soft, that you can actually
scratch it with a fingernail.

Wow. So it was easy to work
and then once it's put in the fire,

it hardens up a bit.

What's that in there?
That's fish oil

and then the wicks are made
out of the insides of reeds.

You get the reeds and strip it
back, strip the green off,

and that's what's inside.

What about bedding and clothing,
that kind of thing?

Well, they had their own sheep so

they would've obviously had skins
and also they wove it as cloth.

And also, by Viking times, they'd
started making flax

so they'd started growing flax and
so they started producing linen.
Oh, wow.

So it really can be quite
sophisticated.

How long did the Vikings remain
here on the Shetland Islands?

Well, arguably, they're still here.

The people are still here.
The crofting way of life

really isn't too different from the
Viking way of life.

It's reflected in the place names,
in the dialect.

Even in some of the laws.

So, yeah, a lot of Shetlanders would
claim direct descendants...

to be direct descendants
from the Vikings.

That's fascinating.

The generations that settled these
islands all found their own ways

to cope out on this cold
and exposed coast.

But the Vikings' legacy is the one
that most strongly endures

and particularly associated
with the winter months.

The Viking influence can
still be seen in many

aspects of Shetland life,
including at this time of year,

the renowned island festival,
Up Helly Aa.

The ritual has been observed
by generations of Shetlanders

every January on the Isle of Lerwick

and has grown to be one of the
biggest fire festivals in Europe.

From dawn until dusk,
squads of islanders

dressed as Vikings can be seen
parading through the streets.

As night falls, light-up time
arrives and every man carries

a flaming torch, setting the night
sky ablaze as hundreds of men

join together to march into the main
town in a column miles long.

SINGING

At its climax, the 30-foot long
galley

they've spent all year building

is torched and consumed by fire.

Three cheers for the boys that
built the galley.

Hip-hip... CROWD: Hooray!
Hip-hip... CROWD: Hooray!

Hip-hip... CROWD: Hooray!

This spectacle is the last
gasp of winter,

a celebration of another harsh
season survived.

The winters here may be long.

Everything and everyone that lives
here has to use ingenuity to get by.

Are they in for the winter?
They're in for winter, yeah.

But the beauty of the landscape,

the variety of the wildlife...

Hi, good to meet you.

..and the warmth of the people

easily outweigh the challenges
that come with the season.

Still, getting through it requires a
pretty tough Viking spirit

so it's no wonder that the biggest
festival on this island celebrates

the returning of the sun
and the coming of spring.