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| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
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|  | Glencorse Reservoir
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The Pentland Hills are a quaint collection of small hills seven miles south-west of Edinburgh. On a clear day there's a good view of the city, the Forth and its bridges and the Southern Coast of Fife. The hills were shaped by ancient glaciers and water is very much a feature of the area. Its valleys and peaks are criss-crossed with lakes and rivers, natural burns and 11 man-made reservoirs.
The Gazetteer for Scotland
The area has been the prime source of water for Edinburgh since the 17th century and Richard Uridge begins his visit at Glencorse, one of the oldest reservoirs in the hills, which he finds iced over. Susan Manson, of Scottish Water, explains that there used to be a number of mills on the Water of Leith, the major river running from the Pentlands into Edinburgh. The mill owners complained that in the summer months the water level was running low due to abstraction up-stream. The compensation reservoir stored winter water and released it during the summer. Nowadays the reservoirs prevent too much water flowing down and flooding Edinburgh. A system of manually operated sluices does this job.
Bill Elliott was born in a cottage at the side of the reservoir. He works for the water company, monitoring and adjusting water levels to prevent flooding on the Water of Leith. He keeps the reservoirs three or four feet below maximum level and carefully checks weather forecasts against historical records.
Scottish Water
 | Richard Uridge and Jill Noble
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Richard meets Jill Noble, who has loved Icelandic ponies since she was a child and now has a herd of 70 (Britain's largest). They're an unusual breed with a fascinating history: the purest breed in the world, they decend from Viking horses living on Iceland in total isolation for over a 1000 years. Icelandic law prevents the importing of new strains to prevent disease: any horse which leaves Iceland can never return. They come in a range of sizes and colours and have a wonderful shaggy coat. Jill says they're fantastic horses and show great stamina and intelligence as they negotiate burns, bogs, steep banks and gullies. As well as walking, trotting and cantering they also tölt, which is the same speed as trotting, but with a totally smooth ride: it's said you can carry a glass of champagne without spilling any. And finally there's skeid, or flying pace, which gives the rider a real sensation of floating.
Pentland Hills Icelandics
More about the horses
It's still icy when Richard gets to Harperrig Reservoir, the favourite walking haunt of Professor Brian Edwards. He's been walking round it for over 30 years and says it's important for spiritual repair to be so close to nature and it's a wonderful antidote to his job in Edinburgh. There's the remains of Cairns Castle (which gave its name to the other Cairns in Australia and Canada) which is now home to bats and owls. The reservoir is an important place for birds and, even on such a cold day, there are ducks and geese aplenty. Brian talks about coming to listen to the strange sounds the ice makes and likens it to contemporary music. Today, it sounds like breaking china or tinkling windchimes as it breaks up at the edge of the water.
Richard next visits Garvald Special Needs Farm at Dolphinton. Colum Beagan's parents began the farm and it's very much a family concern, a home to adults with learning disabilities and an educational cenre for schoolchildren. Colum was a teacher but feels strongly that children today need a chance to reconnect to the real world. They come here to learn where their food comes from and how to make shelter, still the two basic needs of mankind. It's a mixed farm, run on biodynamic lines and everyone takes turn with the jobs, even milking the cows by hand.
Garvald Home Farm
Richard ends at North Esk Reservoir, which is privately owned by Michael Jones. He had plans for a fish farm, but now is proud of it as a wildlife and conservation area. As owner of the reservoir, Michael still has to maintain the water levels and there is a safety inspection every 10 years to make sure that anti-flooding measures are in place. In the past, waterboard employees would have maintained the site, part of which includes a grassy bank that acts as a water runoff. This is starting to revert to wildflowers and plants, but needs routine maintenance as it's part of the safety inspection. One downside is the increase in reeds and Michael has experimented with grazing a handful of neighbours' cattle to try and suppress the spread. Again, the ice which holds centre stage as it cracks and booms - sounding for all the world like a laser gun in Star Wars.
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