Dunnet Forest plays host to Loggerheads TV series
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Dunnet Forest is the setting for a forthcoming episode of a new TV woodworking series.
Loggerheads is a BBC show in which two teams compete to create something spectacular from freshly felled timber within a 24-hour time limit.
The programme is presented by comedian farmer Jim Smith, and the team captains are Linzi St Clair Thompson and Vicente Ridaura-Harvey.
The teams travel the length and breadth of Scotland, visiting a different woodland each episode, as they bid to impress a local judge.
The Caithness episode, the fourth in the six-part series, will be broadcast on Thursday, March 10, on the BBC Scotland channel (8.30-9.00pm).
In this programme, set in the most northerly community woodland in mainland Scotland, the teams are not only battling with the wood but are also having to contend with windy weather.
Both items created by the teams will remain in the woodland – but, when the clock runs out and the sawdust settles, only one team can claim victory and lift the coveted Golden Axe.
Reflecting the international trade in Caithness stone, Linzi’s team create a boat sculpture – featuring a figurehead inspired by a mythical princess – with a central picnic table decorated with a map of the world.
Vicente’s team, taking inspiration from a World War II site, make an interactive community noticeboard with an inbuilt grid on which to play Battleship. Judge Anna Graham has the task deciding the winner.
Jim Smith said: “I like a bit of woodworking myself – I am a farmer and I do have my own chainsaw – but nothing like what these guys can create.
“The teams on this are terrific and I think people will love seeing their work and being out of doors with them in these fantastic forest settings.
“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.
“And at the end of the day, whatever team wins, the local area has two great projects which will benefit visitors and the local community.
“Seeing it all from start to finish, from the trees being felled in the forest to being turned into brilliant creations there on site, has really inspired me.”
