There’s fish and forests in the next episode of UTV’s Lough Foyle

‘Lough Foyle’ is a television travelogue series featuring the history, natural environment and cultural heritage of the Foyle catchment area, with particular emphasis on Ulster-Scots elements of the hinterland.

Joe spent several months, both pre and post lockdown, exploring the unique watery environment of Lough Foyle, and this series is taking the viewer on a fabulous journey on one of the greatest river systems in the island of Ireland.

In Monday night’s episode, Joe finds himself far from the Foyle on the banks of the Bann at Kilrea, at Movanagher Fish Farm. He meets DAERA’s Senior Fisheries Officer, Warren Campbell and his colleagues who give a guided tour of the hatchery where they breed rainbow and brown trout to stock the Public Angling Estate rivers and lakes. Joe finds out about special water that’s used in the process; how one staff member is the ‘mammy’ to young rainbow trout; and how they have their own ‘Mexican wave’.

Joe then sets out with the team and 500 trout with which to re-stock the wonderful man-made lake found right on top Binevenagh Mountain at Magilligan. Beautiful drone footage gives stunning bird’s eye view of the lake and surrounding countryside.

In the second part of the programme, Joe meets up with Mark Parker of the Forest Service who tells Joe about the Scotsman who created this lake in the early 1920s. Murdo McPherson came from the Isle of Skye to take up a job with newly created Forestry Service of Northern Ireland. He spotted the few streams that flowed down the hillside from Binevenagh, and by building a low dam wall just a few feet high was able to create this beautiful lake in the natural hollow at the top of the mountain.

Throughout the series, Joe will continue to spend time with government bodies, agencies and charity groups whose main aim is to ensure the lough and surrounding areas, and its many natural inhabitants are all looked after. One of the great attractions of this series is the stunning aerial photography which shows off the dramatic land and seascapes of the North West region as they have never been seen before.

Lough Foyle is produced by Westway Film Productions for UTV, supported by Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. The series is sponsored by House Proud Furniture. You can watch this episode on Monday 19th October at 8pm on UTV and on catch up on www.itv.com/utvprogrammes