Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat 

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Mìorbhail na Mònach

Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Presenter Anne McAlpine bids to uncover the secrets locked away in peaty landscapes.

Anne McAlpine explores the magnificent peatlands in Scotland and around the world.  From stunning pool systems, to Iron Age bog bodies, Anne discovers the secrets in the peat.

A series exploring magnificent peatlands in Scotland and around the world - and why they are the unsung eco-heroes of our planet. Presenter Anne McAlpine takes us on a journey from the boreal peatlands of Canada, to the expansive peat plains of Finland and the beautiful blanket bogs of home. 
Along the way we see Iron Age bog bodies, stunning pool systems, meat-eating plants and bogs covering stone walls older than the Pyramids.
Anne meets a peat scientist in Sutherland monitoring the health of a vast and spectacular landscape dotted with bog pools - Europe’s biggest blanket bog. 
The peat moors of Lewis inspire writers, artists and musicians, including local band Peat & Diesel. Anne also goes to the Netherlands, where she learns of the role in peat extraction of the country’s most iconic symbol – the windmill.

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Anne MacAlpine

Catriona Lexy Campbell

Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat: Series 1: Beatha air a’ Mhòintich - Life on the Peat

Beatha air a’ Mhòintich - Life on the Peat

Series 1

BBC ALBA - Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat, Series 1, Beatha air a’ Mhòintich - Life on the Peat

In Harris, we go in search of the stags which roam the peaty uplands.

In Harris we go in search of the stags which roam the peaty uplands. And in Lewis, presenter Anne McAlpine joins Danny Mackay to put the finishing touches to a peat stack. 

Tha mòintichean a’ cur taic ri diofar dhòighean-beatha. Sna Hearadh, aig àm reitheachd, tha am preseantair Anne NicAilpein a’ sireadh na daimh a tha a’ siubhal talamh àrd nam mòintichean. Air raointean farsaing mòintichean Chanada, tha na lusan pitcher a’ dèanamh rud iongantach – ag ithe shalamandaran. Tha luchd-saidheans ann an Èirinn a’ rannsachadh mar a dh’fhaodadh lusan-mòintich a bhith a’ leigheas – fiù ‘s aillse? Tha Anne cuideachd sna Tìrean Ìsle, far a bheil traoghadh agus buain mònach air buaidh mhòr a thoirt air a’ chruth-tìre agus mar a b’ àbhaist do dhroch ìomhaigh a bhith aig talamhan-mòintich an sin, ‘s iad ga mheas mar ‘Thìr an Diabhail’.  Na dachaigh ann an Leòdhas, tha Anne a’ nochdadh fhad ‘s a Dànaidh MacAoidh a’ cur crìoch air a’ chruach-mònach aige, agus tha sinn a’ coinneachadh ri cruthaidhear mòine choimeirsealta san Fhionnlainn, far a bheil cùisean ag atharrachadh ri linn uallaichean mun àrainneachd.  

Peatlands support different kinds of life. In Harris, during rutting season, presenter Anne McAlpine goes in search of the stags which roam the peaty uplands. Amidst Canada’s vast swathes of peatland, the pitcher plants on the bog are showing surprising behaviour – they are eating salamanders. Scientists in Ireland are investigating the healing powers of bog plants. Could they help to fight cancer? 

Anne also travels to the Netherlands, where peat drainage and extraction has heavily influenced the shape of the landscape. She learns how peatlands used to have a bad image there, thought of as Devil’s land. In her home island of Lewis, Anne joins Danny Mackay as he makes the finishing touches to a peat stack, and we meet a commercial peat producer in Finland, where times are changing amid environmental concerns. 

In Gaelic with English subtitles

Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat: Series 1

Anne McAlpine explores the magnificent peatlands in Scotland and around the world. From stunning pool systems, to Iron Age bog bodies, Anne discovers the secrets in the peat.

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Miorbhail na Monach - Secrets in the Peat

Series 1

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