The Forest - Season 1, Episode 06

Mark Bonnar narrates the first in a new series revealing the hidden world of Galloway Forest, the country's largest afforested area. Join the amazing men and women who live and work in the place known as Scotland's 'Highlands in the Lowlands', where 600,000 tonnes of timber are produced every year. The Galloway Hills Rally draws crowds of visitors to the Forest Park. To make sure spectators have the best and safest view, John 'Cool' Coughtrie and his Recreation Team boss Archie McNeillie spend the days leading up to the race preparing safe places for them to stand along the route. Reigning champion and local legend Jock Armstrong hopes to defend his title. On the day of the rally, a troop of the event's safety marshalls are on duty and Archie too keeps a watchful eye over proceedings. Jock, meanwhile, thinks of nothing but the finish line. At Penninghame, tree planter Alastair Livingstone restocks a recently felled site with sycamore and oak. The Forestry Commission plant 4.5 million trees a year and Alastair has single-handedly planted over a million, proudly offsetting his carbon footprint many times over. Wildlife ranger Grant Carson is on a stalk. Trees are the Forestry Commission's valuable asset, and his task is to manage the numbers of thousands of deer that roam the Forest Park in an effort to stop them from damaging the recently planted trees. Having worked for 43 years as a forester, Jim Burns has sophisticated tree-felling machines operating in the forest.