This episode of McGilloway's Way features Derry City in
Co. Londonderry, Letterkenny, Bogey and Fanad Head all in County Donegal. The
footage begins in Derry City with scenic shots of a fresh water lake and all
the flora and fauna which surround it. The presenter makes the point that
normally, when discussion concerns the intersection between transportation
routes and the natural world, it tends to be focussed on the detrimental
effect that the former can have on the latter. However, in this case, the
railway embankment ended up being a good thing, as it has created a
'marvellous' safe habitat for the wildlife.
Next, the viewer is brought to Letterkenny, where a
blacksmithing festival is taking place. McGilloway introduces Mike Crummie, a
blacksmith from the highlands of Scotland who has travelled over for the event.
Here, Crummie explains that the blacksmith's craft has been split into four
different sections. The first is the farrier who makes and looks after horse
shoes, the next is the artist blacksmiths, who specialise in
the decorative aspects of the craft, following this is
the agricultural blacksmith and, lastly, is the general blacksmith,
who has broad knowledge across all the sections.
Badgers are on the agenda next, with local man David Agnew
showing McGilloway the best places for sightings, followed by a discussion of a
badger's behaviour in their natural environment. To finish the programme,
Audrey Whittaker, explains the process of taking natural wool and spinning it
into yarn, before then dying it using a time-tested technique of boiling
lichen, which can be found on the rocks by the ocean.