 |  |  |  |  | PROGRAMME INFO |  |  | |
 |  |  |
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.
Email: [email protected]
Postal address: Open Country, BBC Radio 4, Birmingham, B5 7QQ.
|  |  |  |  | LISTEN AGAIN  |  |  | |
|
|
 |  | PRESENTERS |  |  | |
 |  |  |  | More about Helen Mark |  |  |  |  |  |  | More about Richard Uridge |  |  |  | |
|  |  |  |  |  | PROGRAMME DETAILS |  |  | |
With farming subsidies facing radical reform and rural life experiencing a pace of change last seen during the Industrial revolution, Richard Uridge travels to Scotland to reflect on the future of the Highlands and especially the traditional Highland Estate.
An example which is both personal and universal, the story of Dunalastair could be the story of the present day highlands. It's a story of lifelong friendships and strong communities buckling under the cold winds of a harsh economic reality.
Dunalastair sits peacefully in the Glen of Rannoch, it is the home of the de Sales de la Terriere family who have run the estate for the last century. Ian de Sales de la Terriere, the present Laird is passionate about the place and has managed to run the estate on traditional lines for the last 40 years, a mix of sport and agriculture supplemented recently with an expansion into tourism. But Dunalastair is at a crossroads, the farming side of the business is under pressure, subsidies have been cut, the number of shepherds and farm workers have been reduced, in fact the whole farming enterprise looks increasingly beleaguered.
So what future does it face and what will it mean for community life in Rannoch? Richard met shepherd Robert Tailer, retired estate manager Donald Dunlop and his wife Anthea and the laird himself, Ian de Sales de la Terriere to find out.
Email Open Country: [email protected]
The BBC is not responsible for external web sites |  |  |  RELATED LINKS BBC Holiday Category BBC Country file
 |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Audio Help |  |  | |  |  | PREVIOUS PROGRAMMES |  |  |  |  | Current Week Last Week The A44 Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire, River Don Aberfan Alderley Edge, Cheshire Ancient buildings Anglesey Applecross Peninsula Aran Islands Armistice Day, Somerset & Sussex Auxiliary Units Bardsey Island Batsford Park Estate, Glos Berkshire Berwyn Mountains Birdsong Blackwater Estuary, Essex Blaenafon The Blean, Kent Bosworth Field Brecon Beacons Buckinghamshire Butterflies By Brook Valley The Cairngorms Caithness Cambridgeshire Carmarthenshire Cheddar Gorge Cherwell Valley Cheshire: Harrop Valley Chesil Bank Clee Hills, Shropshire Climbers Corfe Castle Cornwall Cornwall: Cape Cornwall Cornwall: Padstow Lifeboat Cornwall: Roseland Peninsula Cotswold Cotswold Way County Clare, Ireland Cranbourne Chase Cumbria: Eden Valley Cumbria: Coniston Water Cumbria: Sellafield Cumbria Daingean in Glengarry Dee Estuary Derbyshire Devon & Somerset: Grand Western Canal Donegal Dorset Dorset: Cranborne Chase Dorsetman Dowsing Dunalastair Durham Durham: Witton Park East Anglian Churches Eden Valley in Cumbria Eigg Eire: Co. Mayo Eire: Skibbereen Eire: West Cork Elan Valley, Wales Eshott, Norhumberland Essex Essex: coastal Exmoor, churches Falkirk Farne Islands, Part 1 Farne Islands, Part 2 Fenn's, Whixall & Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve The Fens Fife Flanders Forster Country Glencoe Mountains Glencoe Gloucestershire Goa Goodwin Sands Gower Peninsula, June 2006 Gower Peninsula, October 2005 Grouse shooting Guernsey Hadrian's Wall 2003 Hadrian's Wall 2004 Hambledon Cricket Club Hampshire: Odium Hampshire: Selborne Hardcastle Crags Heart of Wales Railway Hebden Bridge Herefordshire Hertfordshire Hidden Treasures High Weald, Sussex Holy Island Ilmington Isle of Gigha 2004 Isle of Gigha, 2005 Isle of Man - Seas Isle of Man Isle of Wight, 2003 Isle of Wight, 2005 Izak Walton Kent: Dover Kent: Dungeness Peninsular Kent: North Kielder Water Kinver Edge Kingham, Oxfordshire Lake District Leicestershire: Bosworth Field Leicestershire: death rituals Lincolshire farming Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Loch Morar Looe Island Ludlow Lunar Influence Don McCullin Richard Mabey Marsden, West Yorkshire Mary Towneley Loop Mersea Island Mersey Marshes Metal Detectingg Mid-Wales Morecambe Bay Moel Findeg, North Wales Morecombe Sands Nant Gwrtheyrn National Forest New Forest Newton Dee, nr Aberdeen Norfolk Broads Norfolk: Thetford Forest Norfolk: North Norfolk coast North Devon Combes Northants: Sulgrave Manor Northants: Underground Northern Ireland: Belfast Northern Ireland: Border Counties Northern Ireland: Moneypenny's Lock Northern Ireland: Sperrin Mountains Northern Ireland: Strangford Lough Northern Ireland: Toomebridge North Norfolk Coast Northumberland, part 1 Northumberland, part 2 North Wessex Downs North Yorkshire North Yorkshire Moors North Yorkshire Moors Railway Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire: Sherwood Forest Oak Trees Offa's Dyke Orford Ness Orkneys Out Skerries, Shetland Outward Bound Oxfordshire Peak District Peak District Pembrokeshire Coast Pentland Hills Perthshire Poachers Pony Club River Severn Romney Marsh Rutland Water Scilly Scotland: Abernethy Forest Scotland: Loch Morar Scotland: Shetland Scotland: Strathclyde Scotland: What value the countryside? Scottish Borders Sefton Coast Self-sufficient communities Severn Valley Railway Shropshire: Ellesmere Shropshire: Much Wenlock Shropshire and Wales, Newport Skegness Skomer Island Snowdon Snowdonia National Park Somerset Levels Somerset Levels Somerset: Montacute House Somerset writers South Downs South Somerset: watermills Southwold Spurn Peninsular Start Bay Stour Valley Survival Sussex Sutherland, Scotland Tamar Valley Thornham Estate, Suffolk Thurstonland Cricket Club Twyford Down Tyntesfield, North Somerset Village Life Terry Waite Wales Wales: Flatholm Island Wales: Nant Gwrtheyrn Wales: Snowdonia Warwickshire: rare breeds Wayoh Reservoir Wenlock Edge West Sussex West Yorks: Calder Valley Weston Common, Surrey Wild boar Wiltshire Wiltshire: Savernake Forest Women's Institute Wroxeter Yorkshire Dales, June 2002 Yorkshire Dales, 1 July 2006 Yorkshire Dales, 8 July 2006 Z to Z Britain Open Country looks back 2003
|  |  |  |  | MESSAGE BOARDS |  |  |  |  | Join the discussion: The Learning Curve Pick of the Week Questions, Questions Woman's Hour Word of Mouth |  |  |  |  | RELATED PROGRAMMES |  |  |  |  | Excess Baggage Changing Places Similar programmes this week on Radio 4
|  |  |
Don't miss We want to hear your experiences |