Glenlude is in the spotlight on telly tonight

Glenlude, near Peebles, is the location for the first ever episode of Loggerheads, presented by farmer comedian Jim Smith.

The new series pits two teams of woodworking experts against each other in a timed competition to create something spectacular from freshly felled timber in just 24 hours.

Visiting some of the country’s most magnificent woodlands, the teams cut, craft, create and camp in the great outdoors. The woodchips fly as the experts battle against the clock, their opponents and mother nature.

Both items will remain in the woodlands but when the clock runs out and the sawdust settles only one team can claim victory – chosen by a local judge – and lift the coveted golden axe.

Presenter Jim Smith said: “The teams on this are terrific and I think people will love seeing their work and ‘being’ outdoors with them in these fantastic forest settings.

“Obviously I’ve been around Scotland a fair bit, but we went to some amazing locations and meeting the local judges was great; they all care so much about their local area and are so passionate about it.”

The teams travel the length and breadth of Scotland, visiting a different woodland each episode, as they bid to impress a local judge.

Using wood felled as part of the woodlands’ management plans, the experts wrestle this freshly cut timber, which can be notoriously tricky to work with. As they work on their creations the teams face everything the Scottish climate can throw at them from scorching sun in the Borders and howling winds on the North Coast to torrential rain on the Inner Hebrides.

Judging their efforts at Glenlude is local property manager Karen Purvis from the John Muir Trust.

She said: “It was fantastic to host the Loggerheads team at Glenlude.

"The John Muir Trust’s focus here is to bring back a mosaic of native habitats and welcome people from all walks of life to be a part of the story.

"The shelters created by the woodworkers will be appreciated and enjoyed by all those who come to Glenlude to volunteer, heal, study and reconnect in nature.”

The two team captains are woodwork experts Linzi St Clair Thompson and Vicente Ridaura-Harvey. Each week they will each be joined by two team members from a roster of regulars.

In tonight’s episode the captains hope to lead their team to victory by turning their felled spruce into something that will assist the many groups that are helping to rewild the woodlands, which includes a local rehabilitation group.

Linzi’s team is creating a place for the working groups to relax, with resting spots decorated with woodland motifs, while Vicente’s team is making a woodland workshop, complete with a wooden vice, shaver and tool hanging space.

Future episodes will feature forests in Gillies Hill in Stirlingshire, Ringill on the Isle of Skye, Dunnet Community Woodlands in Caithness, Cormonachan Community Woodlands on the shores of Loch Goil in Argyll, and Scone in Perthshire. Over the course of the series the team’s creations will also include a boat-inspired picnic table, a swing seat and a play fort.

Loggerheads is produced by Mighty Productions Scotland.