Scottish Sporting Gazette issue 36

C E L E B R AT I N G

T H E

B E S T

O F

S C O T L A N D

S I N C E

1 9 8 0

WINTER 2015/16 NO 36

ROEBUCK IN THE BORDERS Why it is so special and what you need

& INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

LIFE- CHANGING LABRADORS And pointer perfection

TASTE OF THE TROSSACHS

Fabulous pheasant shooting

A ban on netting

GLENEAGLES GET THEIR MAN We meet the new head chef

PUTTING POLITICS

IN ITS PLACE Why W hy sport sport in in Scotland Sco otland d iiss g good ood d ffor or wi wildlife ildlife aand nd tthe he S Scottish co ottish h eeconomy cono omy

£4.95

AWESOME ARGYLL

HOPE FOR SALMON

www.scottishsportinggazette.co.uk

The stunning photography of Stephen Whitehorne

CONTENTS NUMBER THIRTY SIX

GAME SHOOTING 10 AWESOME ARGYLL

West coast pheasants and partridges

18 PRIDE & PREJUDICE How privately owned grouse moors make a big contribution, by Mark Osborne

60 GROUSE IN SCOTLAND

62 EDEN SHOOTING CLUB

18

A club with a difference

66 GOING NORTH Bisley at Braidwood

130 GROUSE AND A GOOD LUNCH

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Adventures with Barry Wilcox

FISHING

16 IS NICOLA LISTENING?

70 TRIP TO THE TWEED

40 MAGNIFICENT MINERVA

Michael Wigan poses the question

89 CRAFTY IN A KAYAK 54 THE END OF SALMON NETTING How it came about, by Michael Wigan

58 ANNUAL REVIEW Salmon fishing in 2015 was good in parts, says Robert Rattray

are the complete gundog

Definitely worth it, reflects Marcus Janssen

Simon Everett looks at a popular new trend in fishing

GUNDOGS 34 JUNE LAING

Why German Shorthaired Pointers

4 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Robert MacNicol and his pointer Minerva are an untouchable combination,

by Jon Kean

102 LIFE-CHANGING LABRADORS You can cuddle a lab on a sofa, discovers Heather Waktare

Photograph: John Mactavish.

Robert Rattray’s annual review

28 Photography: Stephen Whitehorne.

TASTE OF THE TROSSACHS CHS

82 78

GOOD TO BE AT GLENEAGLES

24

WHISKY & PHEASANT

58

ANNUAL REVIEW

THE RED DEER EXPRESS

54 OF GENERAL INTEREST

24 THE RED DEER EXPRESS

THE END OF SALMON NETTING

66

dilemma facing fieldsports

100 WOODCOCK Understanding this mysterious bird

GOING NORTH

Taking the sleeper north

110 SPORTING PEOPLE 28 TASTE OF THE TROSSACHS The photographs of Stephen Whitehorne

44 JEWEL OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES David S.D. Jones reflects on the history of Garynahine

Auctions, fairs, presentations in the field

FOOD & DRINK 74 SIX OF THE BEST

Scott Thornton nominates six favourite Scottish Hotels

78 WHISKY & PHEASANT 50 ROEBUCK IN THE BORDERS

Choosing the right Scotch, with Mark Newton

Stalking with Selena Barr

82 GOOD TO BE AT GLENEAGLES 92 NIALL ROWANTREE A sporting agent spells out the political

We meet the famous resort hotel’s new head chef

74

SIX OF THE BEST

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 5

PHOTOGRAPH: STEPHEN WHITEHORNE

Grouse

THE VIEW FROM HERE

T

HE TIMES THEY are a changing.

The words of one-time Scotland resident, Bob Dylan could not be more appropriate in light of the current stirrings being felt on moorland and mountain.

It would be easy to suspect that politicians in their Holyrood lair are practically salivating at the prospect of feeding on Fieldsports, blissfully unaware of the potential disasters they might incur. For such is the weakness of their argument, they spectacularly fail to recognise the farreaching benefits delivered by those who run both high and low ground shoots – to wildlife, rural economies, communities,

Editor: Marcus Janssen Editor-at-Large: Mike Barnes Features: William Pocklington Sub-editor: Jane Pruden Editor’s PA: Jackie Pridmore Photographers: Leopold Amory, Stephen Whitehorne, Glyn Satterley, Tweed Media, Jo Woolf, Alex Mitchell Design: Marisa Bailey, Anthony Hall, Joel Hillyard Advertising: Charlie Coups Production manager: Sally Evans Colour repro: Graham Warren Ad production: Nigel Fish, Mark Cowling Head of brand strategy & development: James Buzzel Website developer: Ian Pollard

small village schools, tradesmen, garages, hotels – the list goes on. At no cost to the tax payer.

On page 18, land agent Mark Osborne paints a very clear picture of the situation we find ourselves in. But, also draws attention to the Gift of Grouse initiative.

I urge all readers to turn to the page in question and get involved.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in this issue (page 54, to be precise!), Michael Wigan looks at the ban on salmon netting, how it came about and how successful it might be in halting the slide in salmon numbers.

And let’s not forget Land Reform – is Nicola Sturgeon listening? (page 16). Read

also the thoughts of Niall Rowantree (page 92).

There is much to be enjoyed in Scotland, as the contents of this issue of the Scottish Sporting Gazette will verify. We have roebuck stalking in the Borders (page 50), fishing on the Tweed (page 70), West Coast pheasants (page 10), gundogs (page 34, 40 & 102), and a new shooting club and ground (pages 62 and 64).

The sport in all its guises would appear to be in very good shape. Demand is strong, but we mustn’t be deluded and remain ever-conscious of the threat which hangs over us.

Mike Barnes

Managing director: Alison Queenborough Printer: Warners Midlands, Bourne, Lincs Front cover: Chris Knights Published bi-annually by: BPG Media, 1-6 Buckminster Yard, Main Street, Buckminster, Grantham, Lincs NG33 5SA On sale dates: Nov 17 & May 1

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Editorial Tel. 01476 859840 Advertising Tel. 01476 859838 Production Tel. 01476 859828 Email: info@scottishsportinggazette.co.uk Website: www.scottishsportinggazette.co.uk Marcus Janssen

6 T THE HE SCOTTISH SH SP SPO SPORTING ORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

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William Pocklington

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SCOTLAND UPDATE PHOTOGRAPH: GLYN SATTERLEY

CALL TO HALT EXPANSION OF SALMON FARMING In early October, Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TCS) called upon the Scottish Government to place an immediate moratorium on further expansion of salmon farming, in light of Marine Scotland’s new analysis showing the very poor conservation status of west Highland salmon rivers.

Scottish Government’s newly published classification of the country’s salmon rivers puts all the rivers in the west Highlands and Inner Hebrides in the worst-performing category, with wild salmon stocks not reaching ‘conservation limits’ – a measure

of the overall health of the population.

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, commented: “The fact that no single river within salmon farming’s heartland of the west Highlands and Inner Hebrides has a sufficient stock of wild salmon for any exploitation to be sustainable cannot be a coincidence.

“The contrast between western Scotland and the rest of the country is clear to see and the only major or substantive distinction between the east and west coasts is, of course, the presence of salmon farming in the west.”

HONEYBEE HEAVEN Bees and honey producers are thriving across parts of Scotland thanks to the country’s grouse moors.

Despite long held concerns over a decline in the number of bees across the country, rural estates are reporting a proliferation in bees present on moorland as they access the heather.

Around 75 per cent of the world’s heather is in the UK, with the majority of that on moors in Scotland.

Beekeepers position their hives on estates during the summer, in partnership with estate owners and gamekeepers, to increase the production of heather honey.

Ian Elliott, headkeeper at Hopes Estate, and part of the Lammermuirs Moorland Group, said: “The moorland heather, which is maintained to the highest standard as part of the integrated management of the estate, is favoured by beekeepers due to its rotational renewal.

NOTHING TO GROUSE ABOUT The heather is burned in strips in accordance with the Muirburn Code, which leads to its regeneration and more vigourous flowering and pollination, which is perfect for the honeybees.”

Gavin Ramsay, science officer for the Scottish Beekeepers Association, said: “At a time of year when bees can struggle to find sufficient forage elsewhere, moorland provides the perfect location for them.

“There is an appreciation in the beekeeping community for those who are committed to preserving a habitat such as heather moorland that can be at risk in other areas due to overgrazing and climate change.”

8 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Results from a new survey published earlier this year have shown households in the glen villages of the Angus region benefit from grouse shooting by almost £1 million, with hundreds of jobs stemming from the activity.

The numbers come from a poll by the Angus Glens Moorland Group, which formed in early 2015. Respondents were asked simple questions about employee roles and staff wages. From six of the seven estates who supplied salary information, the wages paid out to staff – from gamekeepers to chefs and admin workers – totalled £989,972.

Grouse shooting was shown to support 57 full-time jobs across seven estates, with 512 beating staff employed during the grouse shooting season.

SALMON KILL LICENCE PROPOSALS REVISED

WILDLIFE CRIME REPORT PUBLISHED The third report on wildlife crime in Scotland, and the first written by Aileen McLeod MSP – Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform – was published at the end of September.

The Minister reported that there has been considerable public interest in wildlife crime, in particular the persecution of birds of prey and hunting with dogs, and therefore included a specific section on the latter.

Jamie Stewart from the Scottish Countryside Alliance, said: “We are encouraged to read that recorded crime against wildlife has fallen across the board

with the exception of poaching.

“We have not, however, seen any evidence to support the Minister’s suggestion that there is considerable public concern about hunting with dogs. The analysis clearly demonstrates that both complaints and offences relating to hunting are at a very low level. Foxhound packs throughout Scotland offer a much needed, and legal, wildlife control service to those farming sheep and poultry and managing game.

“The Scottish Countryside Alliance will work to help the Scottish Government and the Minister tackle wildlife crime.”

Scottish Government has announced that it intends to dilute its earlier proposals to restrict the killing of salmon within rivers. Restrictions on the killing of wild salmon are now likely to be in line with a targeted system based on fish stocks.

The new system was planned to be introduced for the start of the 2016 season. However, conservation proposals now being put forward for discussion include measures appropriate to the number and status of salmon in particular rivers, instead.

Hughie Campbell Adamson, chairman of Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland, commented: “We welcome this pragmatic approach... There is little point in creating a burdensome administrative system for rivers with healthy stocks.

“Our reasons for supporting the principle of kill licensing in Scotland were firstly to see the end of coastal netting and secondly to limit exploitation to those stocks with a sustainable surplus.”

HIGHLAND LYNX NEW MOORLAND RESEARCH Scottish Land & Estates and GWCT have welcomed a new report by Scottish Natural Heritage that reviews sustainable moorland management.

The report, which has received input from a wide range of industry stakeholders, provides an authoritative examination of four key issues: the development of a shared vision for Scotland’s moorland; efforts to avoid moorland deterioration; the need to plug evidence gaps through the development of a moorland habitat map; and developing management and stewardship systems across all areas of moorland management.

Tim Baynes, director of the Scottish Moorland Group, which is part of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “This report adds to the growing body of analysis that highlights the importance of moorland management.

“The report recognises the outstanding work of land managers and gamekeepers, and the defining role of management in shaping the exceptional environmental importance of these moorland areas.

“Ten recommendations are provided within the review and we will work with Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to deliver consensus on these issues.”

After an absence of 1,300 years, wild lynx are one step closer to being reintroduced to forest areas in Aberdeenshire and Argyll.

Landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and conservation groups are being asked to give their thoughts on reintroducing the oncenative lynx to parts of Scotland and England.

The Lynx UK Trust has suggested trial reintroductions in Aberdeenshire, Argyll and several areas in England over a five-year period, and intends to formally apply for the necessary reintroduction licences in coming months.

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 9

GA ME SHOOTiNG

AWESOME ARGYLL PHEASANTS AND PARTRIDGES FROM ON HIGH AT ARDTARAIG. PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON EVERETT

10 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 11

GA ME SHOOTiNG

The dogs earned their keep

All aboard the gun bus

12 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

“

W

ERE THEY GOOD birds!?” The look and response from photographer Simon Everett to an innocent question said it all. “The pheasants were coming off mountains – they were serious.

But not stupid” he added.

The shoot in question was Ardtaraig, at the head of Loch Striven in Argyllshire.

The weather was not on top form – a little indifferent. But it mattered little as we are talking about powerful, imposing settings and the sport was excellent. As was the sportsmanship... it was as it should be, a happy, friendly sporting day.

The shoot was founded by East Lothian farmer and conservationist, Keith ChalmersWatson in 1962. But he says that it really

Nicola Simpson takes a high one

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 13

GA ME SHOOTiNG

Retrieving a hen from Loch Striven

didn’t get going properly until 30 years later.

He is still the shoot captain but explains: “It wasn’t until gamekeeper Anton Lockett came along 23 years ago in 1992 that it began to take shape. He made it happen, and with the arrival of Winston Churchill and Digby Guy we found ourselves with a brilliant team who have made the most of the estate’s considerable potential as a driven shoot.

“It is run as a non-profit making syndicate, and operates purely for the pleasure of the syndicate members.” They have an unusual method of payment and funding, but one with much to recommend it. “The cost is based on 1,000 cartridges fired in a day, so there are no overages and underages, nothing more, nothing less. It’s a fixed charge for a day’s sport.”

The drives tend to be biggish – 400 shots were fired in a period of 40 minutes, or more on the fourth and final drive on the partridge day which followed our visit.

“We generally shoot two days back to back – pheasants on the first day and redleg partridges on the second. Normally we use four drives, but it might be five as we get towards the end of the season, when the birds can become pretty wild.” There are normally nine Guns, and the shooting is well spread – no one is out of it.

To give an idea of the kind of sport on offer, the partridges are released at 1,000ft into regenerated scrub and woodland. They are driven like grouse and the Guns are positioned in butts, and it all makes for brilliant shooting. As the smiling faces at the end of the day confirmed.

Out of the mist... a high flier

The shoot is run by some interesting characters, each with much to offer. As well as a farmer and property developer, Keith Chalmers-Watson is chairman of the World Pheasant Association and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and has been involved in the running of Edinburgh Zoo for 25 years. He is a breeder of ornamental pheasants, and has travelled the world extensively for the purposes of galliformes research.

Winston Churchill is a highly thought of stalker and purveyor of venison. While Digby Guy runs Aichesse, a successful timber investment company.

Pictured are Angus Churchill (son of Winston), Anton Lockett and Davey Spraggs (underkeeper).

14 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

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COMMENT

IS NICOLA LISTENING?

MICHAEL WIGAN LOOKS BEYOND THE SNP’S SOUNDBITES AND POLITICAL MANEUVERING. M

S

OME IN SCOTLAND have started to wonder if the SNP is softening its approach to radical land reform.

Scattered murmurings have reassured stakeholders that their economic contribution is valued. These have fro om come, however, from local politicians rather than from on-high. Central government in Scotland has certainly been forced to retreat from some draconian treatments to be meted out to landholders, but its hostility to owners of rural assets is unchanged. This is sometimes masked because every utterance is tuned to Scottish Parliament elections in May ev very vote.

2016. Nail every Some of land reform’s more extreme notions have been abandoned, mostly as impractical or illegal rather than because off any mindset change. To limit ow wnership was the area of ownership unenforceable, so it was

d dropped.

The absolute right for c communities to buy land, for sa or not, was dropped too. It sale w against international law to was p prohibit Scottish land sales to a anyone outside the EU - surely th should have known this? they - also dropped. These proposals w were quietly abandoned.

The next to be modified m be the re-introduction may o sporting rates. It promises of to yield a paltry sum. But to re recalibrate rates on all Scotland’s p properties with potential sp sporting bags would cost a lot.

It would embrace farmland over w which deer wander. Amongst o others, the Scottish Farmers U Union has expressed horror.

In fisheries, there has been c confusion and more retreat.

T This happens when 200 years of c complex legislation is thrown o with more fervour than out ju judgement.

First there was a proposal to charge anglers fo any salmon they killed. for C Charging was dropped. The la latest is that the number allowed to be killed will be according to to the ‘conservation status’ of ri rivers in question. This status w be based on rod catches. will The concept is flawed. The g government has pledged to m manage salmon scientifically a and instantly produced a wonky a assessment basis.

As all anglers know, catches d not reflect runs. They depend do o runs, but how many salmon on a and grilse are caught from

that migration depends on the nature of the river (deep pools hide fish), ghillie calibre, and angling pressure and conditions.

You can have a good migration in a dry summer and catch a small proportion of the run.

With good water levels and opportune rain, you catch a higher proportion of the run.

“Some of land reform’s more extreme notions have been abandoned, mostly as impractical or illegal rather than because of any mindset change.”

For migration assessments you require fish counters. Presently, two rivers only have in-river counters. Conservation limits will be guesswork. Expect more U-turns when this penny drops.

Further, the scheme ignores sea-trout. Policy makers in Edinburgh, presumably, do not understand that in much of the Highlands, sea-trout are the local anglers favoured target. The culture is often more concerned with hooking the nervous, fast-wired, sea-fattened sea-trout than landing a slab of

salmon. Rules cover only salmon because the policy makers have been focussed not on resources and fish but on people. Who to punish is the cue, not how to manage responsibly.

That way they tripped up over salmon netting. Bizarrely, this archaic activity was initially championed. Scottish lobbying secured EU money to expand it. Back then they thought that salmon in Scottish waters belonged to Scotland.

International management of migratory resources was something they had struggled to understand ever since Iceland began hauling in north coast mackerel, which the Scots representatives claimed were theirs.

There has been a learning curve, or cliff. Now it is understood: salmon are a shared resource. Some needier states, even than Scotland, are involved, such as Greenland.

Detailed thinking is needed to protect salmon across their migratory range.

Scrapping the organisations which understand these things may prove a tragic miscalculation. These organisations were district salmon fishery boards, armoured with statutory powers. Boards could comment, for example, on salmon farm expansions, an irritant, given pro-salmon farm government policy. They are to be abolished and government

is seizing control: this will go ahead willy-nilly.

The government is in public disarray on many issues. Police Scotland and the teaching profession are losing staff in droves. Now an ugly slew of ministers, who have either broken the law or are clearly incompetent, is surfacing.

Nicola Sturgeon, instead of demanding power, is having to justify her use of what she has.

Meanwhile, land values, of properties with sporting use, have collapsed. Estate agents are tight-lipped: but values are around half. Transferred properties, therefore, earn less stamp duty. Some battle-weary estate owners are proactively approaching communities seeking to disburden themselves of expensive-to-own peripheral land.

Underlying political aims are unchanged. Ownership of airguns since June is to be licensed, despite cogent lobbying for non-interference. Horrified to hear fieldsports people say that fox-hunting worked better under Scottish regulations than in England and Wales, the government announces a review.

However, the political intention will be not to frighten the horses pre-May 2016. The background is changing, not the headlines. The fact is, with a huge majority a government thinks it walks on water. Only for a while.

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THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 17

s p o rt i n s c o t l a n d

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE GROUSE SHOOTING ENCAPSULATES PRETTY WELL EVERYTHING THAT SCOTTISH LEFT OF CENTRE POLITICIANS AND THEIR ELECTORATE DISLIKE MOST, SAYS MARK OSBORNE, WHO EXPLAINS WHY IT HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER. THE PHOTOGRAPHY WHICH ACCOMPANIES THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN AT PHOINES ESTATE BY JOHN MACTAVISH

I

T WILL NOT have gone unnoticed by anyone who even casually observes what is going on in the wider world that Scotland has in recent years, become a not entirely happy place in which to own a sporting estate. If you own a grouse moor, it is even harder. It is surprisingly difficult for an English person to understand the Scottish political mindset, because unlike south of the Border, where there is a majority favouring the middle ground, in Scotland, and despite having a much smaller population spread thinly over proportionately a much larger land mass, their politics are dominated by the Central Belt; that large area of former industrialised heartland, which is now to a large extent in decline. Even before the enormous gains made by the SNP at the last Scottish and the General Election, there was a fairly hard ‘left’ Government at Holyrood and neither they nor their SNP successors, have proved to be at all friendly towards rural estates or fieldsports, although individual MSPs and indeed a few Ministers have been.

Grouse shooting encapsulates pretty well everything that Scottish left of centre politicians and their electorate dislike most.

The fact that such estates are economically, conservation wise and socially important to their areas, means very little to most politicians. It is a depressing fact for those who own or work on such estates that class hatred, which is what it is, is the apparent driving force.

With few exceptions, most Scottish politicians (and there are sadly few Tories and a diminishing number of Rural Liberals) do not appreciate that on balance 400 people owning about half of Scotland’s land mass is not necessarily a bad thing. In the real world as opposed to some idealistic utopia, there simply is no possibility of any scale of State funded alternative. The idea that ‘those who live and work’ on these estates should, or indeed would want, in the cold light of day, to own any significant part of these land holdings is very attractive as a concept but hopelessly unrealistic in practice. There have been a few successful community purchases, but already the flagship one is in dire financial trouble and the lottery or indeed any other ‘community’ funding is nowhere near big enough to do more than scratch the surface.

With too little money to fund the essentials

a loss, meaning that the owners have to invest money earned elsewhere, back into supporting their estate. This support not only ensures the preservation of what they own and cherish, but also, and not necessarily for altruistic reasons, the maintenance of unbelievable scenery, generally good to outstanding habitat and a significant employment element both direct in terms of farm and forestry staff, keepers, maintenance and ground staff and housekeepers. But also, and usually on a much larger scale, these estates are a major part of a large and interdependent infrastructure which survives and often flourishes because of these relationships.

Supplying each and every sporting estate there are builders, decorators, plumbers, joiners, garages, farm machinery dealers, fodder merchants, vets, game farmers, game dealers, grocers, wine merchants, laundries, factors, solicitors and a 101 other suppliers, all of whom derive to a great or lesser extent, income from this source. In remote areas, these estates are often their biggest customers and are everywhere, a real boost to an increasingly fragile and indeed fragmented tourist or farming/forestry based economy. Forget ECO tourism – it is a Packham-esque dream! Instead, in the real world, estates like Phoines in Invernessshire are, apart from the local distillery, the biggest local employer with seven full-time staff as well as a further four semiÌ permanent ones and up to 50 shoot day

“Our politicians need to face the brutal fact that life is unfair. If it wasn’t, I would look like Brad Pitt and no doubt be an Olympic athlete.” of Scottish life, such as police, education and hospitals, there is little chance of any meaningful sums being diverted to this frankly unnecessary cause.

The vast majority of Scottish sporting estates, even those with BPS income (essentially agricultural support), run at

18 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 19

and lodge staff during the busiest parts of the season. All seven of the full-time staff live onsite with their families. Where else is this level of employment in this incredibly rural area going to come from?

Instead of championing this private sector investment, which brings much needed money into otherwise what would be pretty depressed rural areas, estate owners are castigated and held up by most Scottish politicians as both examples of how unfair life is as well as how much better these land holdings would be were they in different hands. Our politicians need to face the brutal fact that life is unfair. If it wasn’t, I would look like Brad Pitt and no doubt be an Olympic athlete. The reality is very different, but even the Conservatives in an attempt to curry favour seem intent on perpetrating the myth of equality. The reality is that without these rich owners, there would be significantly less investment, not only in the estates themselves but also, and equally as important, in the local economies, resulting in far fewer jobs. The end result would be Scotland itself being much worse off.

One of the main reasons why people want to go on holiday to Scotland is because of the landscape. The large scale of these estates continues this open ‘wilderness’ look. Break these areas down into a lot of smaller parcels and you will inevitably have far more fences, almost certainly more dwellings or other buildings and ironically far more competition and intensification in terms of land usage, which is likely to prejudice their internationally acclaimed landscape and habitats as evidenced by the glorious photographs of the Cairngorms landscape at Phoines – one of the best all-round Highland sporting and farming estates. The reality is, of course, that Scottish politicians (or at least the more intelligent ones) know that what they say they want to see happening, by way of community ownership and a change away from sporting use to some other currently non-determined purpose, will achieve absolutely nothing, but it does appeal to the base instincts of a working (or not) population, which has been hopelessly neglected for decades by these very same politicians.

The problem to-date, is that we have been far too timid in our defence of these wonderful assets. We have quite literally adopted the approach of keeping our heads below the parapet, hoping the attacks will go away. They won’t. However, we are now at least making a real attempt to redress this, to explain just how important these estates (which include all the Scottish grouse moors) are to both their local areas AND to Ì 20 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

“The reality is that without these rich owners, there would be significantly less investment, not only in the estates themselves but also, and equally as important, in the local economies, resulting in far fewer jobs.”

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 21

s p o rt i n s c o t l a n d

“It needs all our support if we are to retain this wonderful and, indeed, vitally important part of Scotland, its heritage and its countryside.”

Scotland as a whole. Various individuals and organisations have previously undertaken some brilliant work, notably Scottish Land and Estates and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. However, it has been too little, largely because we haven’t had the right resources. You might well ask how this is possible, given the enormous wealth of many of the estate owners? The answer, sadly, is either ignorance or apathy. Maybe they do not fully comprehend what we are facing, whilst those of us at the coalface do!

However, all is not lost; a very informal group of concerned individuals have taken up the mantle backed by Scottish Land and Estates, the GWCT and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. Their aim is to show how important these sporting estates are; the result is ‘Gift of Grouse’. To find out about this, log onto http://www. giftofgrouse.com. This is a very specific promotion of grouse shooting in Scotland and the benefits it brings.

Working separately, but with very much the same purpose, people on the ground, whether they be owners, keepers, dependent businesses or supporters, have decided to set up their own self-help groups. So far, two such groups have been established in two of Scotland’s main grouse shooting areas, the Angus Glens and the Lammermuirs, and three more are currently being established in other key grouse areas.

These are grass roots initiatives with the sole purpose of showing to local people, local and national politicians as well as organisations such as Scottish Natural History (SNH), just how important our

moorland estates and grouse shooting are to their respective areas and cumulatively to Scotland itself. In time we need a group in each of the main grouse areas.

To see what these groups are doing, log onto www.angusglensmoorlandgroup.co.uk for the Angus Glens Moorland Group, and https://www.facebook.com/Lammermuirs for the Lammermuirs Moorland Group.

What they have achieved so far has been truly amazing. We now have both national as well as local campaigns showing the benefits of private ownership of sporting estates, their management and, most importantly, responsible keepering.

This is a hugely encouraging development and one long overdue. It needs all our support if we are to retain this wonderful and, indeed, vitally important part of Scotland, its heritage and its countryside.

For further information contact Tim Baynes at Scottish Land & Estates on info@scottishlandandestates.co.uk JM Osborne FRICS FAAV, is a leading manager of grouse moors and sporting estates in Scotland and the North of England.

22 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

33 Br uton Street, London, W1J 6HH +44 (0)20 7499 4411 | www.hollandandholland.com

h i g h l a n d s ta l k i n g

RED DEER EXPRESS

FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF LONDON TO THE SERENITY OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS AND BACK AGAIN IN 36 HOURS. A MEMORABLE DAY ON THE HILL FOR PETER JONES.

24 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

‘

T

HOU SHALT NOT Covet’, but covet I did, the focus of my desire a superb rifle in the iconic .300 Win Mag, proudly displayed in the William Evans gunroom in St. James’s Street.

A traditional English sporter with French walnut stock, 98 Mauser action and superb engraving, all combined to have me positively drooling.

However, with a price tag beyond my reach, how was I to lay my hands on this beautifully formed firearm? The germ of an idea began to take root in my mind. With October fast approaching, and an upcoming trip to the Highlands planned, perhaps a deal was to be done...

My desire spawned further ideas. For many time-poor Londoners, taking a trip to the Highlands to stalk a red stag is confined to dreams.

Unable to afford to take time away from busy jobs and family commitments, many recreational stalkers restrict their soirées to the Home Counties – an affordable stone’s throw away from London. Perhaps, with a little help from William Evans, we could

demonstrate in a short film the ease with which highland stalking could be accessed.

To add to the occasion, this would be conducted on the last day of the season for stags in Scotland and during the final days of the rut.

And so it was that, in the company of Freddie Nesbitt from William Evans and Ewan our cameraman, on Sunday October 19, just before 9pm, with a sudden jolt of movement, the overnight Caledonian sleeper train departed London Euston, destined for Blair Atholl, Scotland. Just how quickly and efficiently could one travel from London to the Highlands for a day’s stalking? I was about to find out.

In the minds of many, a sleeper train conjures up romantic images of woodpanelled restaurant cars and sultry-eyed ladies – more akin to a James Bond novel than reality. Sadly, the Caledonian sleeper is not this –

nonetheless, it is a great fun, highly efficient way to travel, and a welcome change from the hours spent in the departure lounge of an airport.

Excited by this fresh mode of travel and the adventure to come, we settled ourselves around a table in the restaurant carriage to enjoy a warm meal and a dram or two of whisky, before heading off to bed.

Nine hours later, shortly after 6am, I was awoken from my slumber by a knock at the door, the attendant brandishing a welcome cup of tea. Bleary eyed, our little party regrouped and stepped off the train onto the platform at Blair Atholl, a few minutes before 6:30am.

One of the joys of stalking in Scotland is that it does not require a painfully early start, and so with Ì

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 25

h i g h l a n d s ta l k i n g

our ghillie due to collect us at 9am and a little forward planning, we were able to enjoy a leisurely full Scottish breakfast in front of a roaring fire in the Great Hall of the Atholl Arms Hotel, not far from our embarkation.

At 9am prompt, Rebecca (our ghillie) arrived to drive us the short distance to one of the estate lodges, where we met Dominic, our stalker for the day.

It was here, under Dominic’s watchful eye, that I first got the opportunity to try out the William Evans rifle.

As anyone with even the most moderate knowledge of calibres will know, the .300 300 Win Mag, whilst being common place in North America and Africa, is somewhat of an enigma in the UK. This, I suspect, is for a variety of reasons, foremost of which is that the police in the UK often

deem magnum calibres to be a little ‘too much gun’ for our deer in the UK. Indeed, I am afraid that the sometimes dubious logic employed to distinguish between granting one calibre to an applicant and not another, only serves to deny some stalkers from obtaining a calibre that might in fact be better suited to their needs. Perhaps most notable of these calibres are the 7mm Remington Magnum and, in this case, the 300 Win Mag. So what is it about this calibre that makes it so desirable amongst our North American and African counterparts?

Introduced in 1963, the 300 Win Mag is undoubtedly one of the most popular magnum calibres of all time. Based on the .375 H&H Magnum and designed to fit most standard action rifles, it has been shortened, blown out and

necked down to accept a .30 calibre (7.62mm) bullet.

I don’t want to get too bogged down here with ballistics, so I’ll speak in broad terms. It is useful, I think, to draw a comparison with the .270 Winchester, which has long been regarded the

archetypal highland calibre.

Typically used with a 130 grain bullet, the .270 produces 2,705 ft/lbs at the muzzle, which equates to down-range energy at 300 yards of 1,565 ft/lbs. With a 100 yard zero, bullet drop at 300 yards is 11.2”. The .270 is

“...he raised his head and looked straight at us. Daring to wait no longer for the traditional heart/lung shot, I took my opportunity.”

26 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

undoubtedly an excellent, flat shooting calibre and worthy of its place in the gun cabinets of numerous highland stalkers. But let’s take a closer look at the 300 Win Mag. Using a slightly heavier 150 grain bullet, the 300 Win Mag is capable of propelling a bullet at speeds in excess of 3,200 fps.

This equates to 3,585 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle and a whopping retained energy of 2,160 ft/lbs at 300 yards. What is more, despite the heavier bullet, the 300 Win Mag experiences a drop of just 9.2 inches at 300 yards with a 100 yard zero – now that, folks, is flat!

Of course, if you are shooting muntjac in the south-east of England, this is indeed far too much gun, but if you are shooting predominantly large lowland reds, pumped up on adrenalin, or highland reds at long distance, then this calibre has to be worth some very serious consideration.

At any rate, I digress – back to Scotland where, with my first two test shots with the William Evans rifle both breaking the line at 12 o’clock, I was thankful for Freddie having zeroed the rifle prior to our trip. Gathering our gear, we were soon sat in the truck for a short drive up the hill.

As a professional stalker, I consider myself fairly fit, however, as many who have stalked the Highlands will know, the level of agility achieved by the professional hill stalker can only be marvelled at. With a plan clearly etched in his mind, Dominic set off up the hill like a sped arrow, leaving us to follow in breathless pursuit.

It is testament to the stamina of both Freddie, and more notably Ewan (who was carrying a film camera) that we all managed to do so. And glad we were for it, because shortly before lunch, Dominic’s knowledge and speed soon had us onto our first Stag.

Getting the stalker and guest to the line is hard enough without an accompanying cameraman, and so it was perhaps no surprise that our

first beast spied us and clung to the skyline, just out of range, presenting no suitable back stop. From this vantage point, he stood gazing at us for several long minutes like a Zulu warrior, overlooking Rorke’s Drift. We would have to think again and make fresh plans.

After taking a short break on the hill for lunch, we were soon off again in search of fresh beasts. A further hour of hiking and now experiencing the juxtaposition of gently poaching in our own sweat, we again glassed a shootable stag through the Swarovski binos. Learning from our previous mistake, as fine and experienced a wildlife film maker as he is, Ewan our cameraman was to hang back,

a decision that paid dividends.

A long wet crawl ensued, with Dominic and I finally peering over a small clump of heather at a stag just 150 yards away, and face-on toward us.

With the much needed time to gather myself and catch my breath, I took up position.

Prohibited from using a bipod that might scar the fine lines of the rifle, along with the desire to respect the tradition of this stunning English sporter, it was the rolled up rifle slip that acted as support for the anticipated prone shot.

Poised and ready, I waited for my beast to turn broadside.

Long minutes passed as the stag began instead to walk steadily in our direction. Closer still

he continued his course, 100 yards now and still coming, 90, 80 and still no broadside shot.

At last, as if sensing some near imperceptible whiff of danger, he raised his head and looked straight at us. Daring to wait no longer for the traditional heart/lung shot, I took my opportunity. The 300 Win Mag announced its presence on the hill and my beast crumpled on the spot to a high neck shot.

Warm handshakes and congratulations followed, before Dominic radioed for assistance in the form of our ghillie, Rebecca, who had been shadowing our movements from a distance. Minutes later and with garron in tow, she appeared to assist us extract the beast from the hill, adding to what was a truly traditional, superb day’s sport.

With the sense of deep satisfaction that can only be achieved by a job well done, it was back to the Atholl Arms for dinner and, yes you guessed it, a dram or two of whisky before once again boarding the sleeper train for our return journey to London Euston. We rolled into the capital just short of nine and a half hours later, at 7:45am – less than 36 hours since our departure amidst the hustle and bustle of a thousand commuters.

Peter Jones is a professional stalker and editor at County Deer Stalking. To watch the film ‘Red stag stalking in the Scottish Highlands – October’ then visit: http://www.countydeerstalking. co.uk/short-films.html

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 27

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ì

Loch Arklet near Inversnaid, The Trossachs, Stirlingshire

28 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

A TASTE OF THE TROSSACHS PHOTOGRAPHER STEPHEN WHITEHORNE CAPTURES THE UNDENIABLE BEAUTY OF THE TROSSACHS, A SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARK WHERE YOU’LL FIND SOME OF SCOTLAND’S MOST STUNNING LOCHS.

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 29

PHOTOGRAPHY

Late autumn tones, Achray Forest, The Trossachs

Loch Ard and Loch Ard Forest, Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire

Burn from Loch Chon, The Trossachs

Loch Lubnaig, near Callendar, The Trossachs

Loch Achray & Ben Venue, The Trossachs

30 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Lake of Mentith, The Trossachs

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 31

PHOTOGRAPHY

Loch Lubnaig, near Callendar, The Trossachs

Loch Ard and Loch Ard Forest, Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire

Autumn mist in Achray Forest, The Trossachs

Loch Katrine at Stronachlacher, The Trossachs

Late autumn in Achray Forest, The Trossachs

STEPHEN WHITEHORNE www.whitehornephotography.co.uk

32 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Frost on the bracken, The Trossachs, Stirlingshire

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twenty g Or No E uqsu e estions

JUNE LAING THERE CAN BE FEW WHO HAVE SHOT WITH ESKDALE SHOOTING SERVICES IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS OVER THE YEARS, WHO HAVEN’T NOTICED, OR BEEN IMPRESSED BY, ‘THE LADY WITH THE GSPs’. THE LADY IN QUESTION IS JUNE LAING. WE ASKED HER A FEW QUESTIONS…

34 THE H SC SCOTT SCOTTISH OTTISH OTT ISH S SP S SPORTING PORT ORTING ING NG GA G GAZETTE AZET ZETTE TE & IINTERNATIONAL NTEERNA NT RNATIO NATIO T NAL NAL TRAVELLER TRAVE TR AVELLE ELLE LLEER

How long have you had German Shorthaired Pointers?

45 Years.

What was your introduction to the breed?

I was 15 when I saw my first GSP. It was when the Game Fair was held in Scotland. It looked like an enormous Jack Russell.

Why pointers?

We always had dogs at home.

My father owned Ceannacroc Estate, in Glenmoriston, which had many acres of hill land so sheep were a must. Of course, we had to train them. The GSPs came along later – they just appealed to me.

Where did you get that first dog?

After seeing a GSP at a Game Fair, I went home and scoured adverts in the local paper.

I bought a bitch called Heide, who I had registered as Heide of Ceannacroc. She came from a breeder in Bristol and she came up to Inverness on the train!

It is said that they are difficult to train?

I didn’t know what to expect, and basically I learned everything from that one dog. We taught each other. In hindsight, I now realise that I was very lucky in that she was a very good dog and not at all difficult to train. And

when I was at college, I started working her on the grouse moors.

Is it true that you were one of the first in the UK to own a German Shorthaired Pointer?

Looking back I guess, yes maybe, I was – not by design, they just appealed.

Is it difficult to find a good one?

It’s much more difficult to find a good working dog these days since tail docking was banned in Scotland.

Are they best suited to working over grouse?

It’s wonderful to work them over grouse and their ability to hunt, point and retrieve really comes into its own. But, generally, they are very good on the beating line and will never run in.

Where do you work them?

When Wilson Young started his Eskdale shoot letting business, I introduced myself and have been picking up with them ever since. In fact, I am out with them six days a week.

Do Guns comment on your dogs when you are out picking up?

They are often clearly surprised to see my dogs work. But mostly they say nice things! Ì

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 35

twenty ONE questions

Do you compete in field trials?

No. I used to enter trials and I particularly enjoyed the grouse trial at Drumochter.

I feel the water test in the shooting season is not fair on the dogs. They are left to wait, still very wet, at the end of the day. It would be better to run the water test separately, in the summer.

You work two or three pointers and also a labrador – what dogs do you have?

At the moment I have five GSPs, three Braccos, two cockers and a lab. When I’m picking up, I will have three or four GSPs and either a lab or a cocker.

Do you train any other breeds?

Bracco Italianos; these dogs are hugely popular in Italy – a Hunt, Point & Retrieve breed, rather like a bloodhound.

It is said that GSPs are Jacks of all trades but masters of none – is this true?

The great thing about GSPs is that they can turn their hand to most types of gundog work and yet specialise in a particular discipline if you wanted them too e.g. working on grouse.

How similar are Bracco Italianos to our own HPR breeds?

Quite similar.

Are they suited to work in the shooting field here in the UK? Most certainly, and there are far more Braccos being used as working dogs in the UK than you might think.

Does your husband have working dogs?

No, Hugh is a haulage contractor and a busy man.

Have you seen Braccos working in Italy?

Yes, they work really well and are very obedient – they are also great on grouse. In fact good all-rounders.

If looking to buy a HPR dog, which breed would you recommend for a first time owner?

Most definitely a GSP, but be sure to find one from a good working pedigree.

What kind of work are GSPs best suited to?

A German Shorthaired pointer is suited to most types of gundog work – as the name suggests – being an HPR (hunt, point, retrieve) breed means they are great all rounders.

You also paint and sculpt – what are your subjects?

I have got into sculpting with wax, and I am presently working on a life-size partridge. I see thousands of them on the shoot, but they are such a beautiful bird.

June is also a big fan of the Bracco Italiano breed

36 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

“A German Shorthaired Pointer is suited to most types of gundog work – as the name suggests – being an HPR (hunt, point, retrieve) breed means they are great all rounders.”

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THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 39

gundogs

MAGNIFICENT MINERVA JON KEAN ON HOW A HIGHLAND POINTER COMPLETED A UNIQUE DOUBLE.

40 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

H

OW DOES ONE measure success in sport?

In winning the 5,000 and 10,000m races at successive world championships, Mo Farah’s extraordinary performances in Beijing, represented true greatness.

Similarly, in the pointer and setter field trial world we have recently witnessed another incredible feat which will take some beating. Let me explain the historical background. Back in 1997, pointer man Richard MacNicol handled the late Lord Leverhulme’s black and white pointer bitch Field Trial Champion Sutherland Sadie (FTCh Here We Go at Traigmhor X FTCh Whispering Breeze) to win the Irish Championships for pointers and setters on the Dublin mountains. The following year, Sutherland Sadie triumphed in the Kennel Club Champion Stake for pointers and setters at the Earl of Mansfield’s Logiealmond Estate in Perthshire. This achievement made the pointer an International Field Trial Champion. Never in the history of pointer and setter field trials had anyone gained back-toback victories in the British and Irish Pointer and Setter Championships with the same dog.

Seventeen years later, we now have another historic double.

Handling Tressady Estate owner Monsieur Laurent Hild’s twoyear-old black and white pointer bitch, Gerensary Minerva (Italian import Lucaniae Charro X FTCh Kissing Kate of Gerensary) Richard won the Champion Stake at the Duke of Roxburghe’s Byrecleugh Estate in the Scottish Borders. Then Minerva clinched the Irish Championships in August this year. An unbelievable record!

What is even more remarkable this year is the fact that Minerva won five of the 10 open stakes held during the summer grouse circuit in the UK. Traditionally, the Irish Championship is always an Ì

gundogs

extremely tough event to win because you need a dog with real running power and one which will do so with drive and pace. This year, the Championship – judged by Ray O’Dwyer, Jim Crotty and Kieran Walsh – was staged on the Wicklow Mountain National Park, by kind permission of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

A delighted Monsieur Hild told me: “Yes, Richard did a wonderful job and Neave (her kennel name) is an incredible pointer. It is very special for everybody involved and there is nothing better than looking at a pointer running on the moors.

We are working very hard at Tressady Estate to put it on the map from a sporting estate point of view and the pointer kennel is one of the goals.

“I was not born with pointing dogs but fell in love with

pointers, and to have Richard as trainer and handler is a gift.”

Championship Judge Jim Crotty, with over 30 years’ involvement in the sport, takes up the story: “The overall standard over the two days of the Irish Championship was as high a standard as judges would look for. On the first day, 75 per cent of the dogs gave an excellent performance in running wide with first class quartering (hunting).

However, some of these dogs failed to handle grouse which were very plentiful on the day.

At the end of the first day, we decided to bring back 21 dogs for the second day, eight of these had excellent finds. As judges, we felt that Richard MacNicol’s pointer bitch and Paul Thompson’s Irish red setter bitch were our two top dogs.

“Conditions on both days were perfect for trialling. There

42 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

was a nice breeze and dogs had every opportunity to run very wide.Twenty-two out of the 25 brace had grouse on their run.”

Jim Crotty explained that in the first round Richard’s pointer had excellent quartering with literally no handling by him.

Nearing the end of her run she started to draw out in a very stylish manner, slowed down and eventually pointed.

When asked, she worked in and produced two grouse.

Jim said: “It was an excellent find. In the second round, the ground was more challenging as the pointer had to work up and down the side of a hill. She showed to me her true ability as she worked this ground demonstrating her power and also her style. She did this consistently and came on point.

When asked, she worked in and produced four grouse. Another excellent find. Having judged all the dogs on the day, Richard’s pointer and Paul Thompson’s Irish setter were our two top dogs. The running, quartering and style of Richard’s pointer stood out and was as perfect a performance as I have seen.”

The final word must surely go to Richard. How does he compare two special pointer bitches, Sadie and Minerva? He says: “Sadie was electric on her game. Very rarely did she false point. I would say Minerva has the bigger engine. She’s a bigger bitch than Sadie, and makes it look easy when she’s hunting.

When the going gets tough, Minerva comes into her own.

Tough ground doesn’t faze her.”

You heard it here first.

Richard has made up 13 Field Trial Champions, two of which are International Champions, including 11 pointers, one English setter and one Irish setter. He has won the British Champion Stake five times and the Irish Championship twice.

Richard has been a Kennel Club judge for 30 years and an A Panel judge for 25 years.

A LIFETIME IN THE SPORT Until recently, Richard MacNicol (61) was senior lecturer and programme leader in gamekeeping at North Highland College, University of the Highlands and Islands. He has been involved in gamekeeping and fieldsports all his life and his passion for this was ignited as a child at Badanloch Estate in Sutherland where he spent his summer holidays. After a seasonal ghillie’s position at Viscount Leverhulme’s Badanloch Estate in 1970–1971 there were no opportunities for full-time employment in the Highlands. However, Richard’s determination to become a gamekeeper led to employment on a large private pheasant shoot in Hampshire, where 7,000 birds were reared. This was a huge learning experience for him and a very different culture to that in the north of Scotland. Returning to the Highlands was always the aim for Richard, and he was asked to return to Badanloch as underkeeper in 1972. Six years later, at the age of 24, he was promoted to headkeeper – a position he held for 18 years. Richard started working for the college on a part-time basis in 1990 with his employer’s permission. In 1996, when a full-time position arose at the college, he decided to leave Badanloch and take up this new position. Over the years, he has built up the renowned Gerensary Pointers and has made up many Field Trial Champions which are now of great importance to the breed’s current bloodlines.

Earlier this year, Richard, from Caithness, retired from the college and took up a new position as gundog trainer for Monsieur Laurent Hild at Tressady Estate in the Highlands, with the emphasis on training working pointers.

S P O RT I N T H E O U T E R H E B R I D E S

GARYNAHINE – A HEBRIDEAN JEWEL

The Garynahine Hotel c.1870

DAVID S.D. JONES LOOKS BACK ON THE HISTORY OF AN ALL EMBRACING SPORTING ESTATE.

S

ITUATED AMIDST SPECTACULAR scenery on the west side of the island of Lewis, the 13,000-acre Garynahine estate at the head of East Loch Roag can best be described as a Hebridean jewel. It not only boasts superlative salmon and sea trout fishing on the Blackwater, considered to be the second best salmon river on Lewis, but also offers walked-up grouse and snipe shooting, red deer stalking and some of the finest driven woodcock shooting in the Outer Hebrides.

Currently owned by Dougie McGilvray and managed as an all-round Highland sporting property, Garynahine has been operated as an independent sporting estate

since 1945. Prior to this time, the land successively formed a part of the Soval, the Carloway and the Grimersta estates while the lodge served as the principal hotel for anglers on Lewis for around 80 years, the Blackwater fishings being apportioned to the hotel and maintained by the tenant.

The Garynahine story begins in 1864 when the proprietor of the island of Lewis, Sir James Matheson, Bt., converted the newly renovated and enlarged Garynahine Inn into a hostelry for anglers and let the property, together with the fishing rights on Blackwater river, to John Henry Morgan at an annual rental of £204. He subsequently ran the inn for the benefit of paying angling guests who came to stay

44 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

for a week or more at a time, to fish the Blackwater river. It is on record that in 1865, his second season at Garynahine, that one of his guests landed a total of 19 salmon from the Blackwater in one day!

Morgan left Garynahine in 1871 to take a hotel in Stornoway. The tenancy of the Garynahine Inn and the Blackwater river passed to John Hunter, who paid a reduced annual rental of £130 on the condition that he was to be responsible for the management and maintenance of the fishings. He immediately renamed the inn The Prince Arthur Hotel, in honour of Queen Victoria’s third son, the Duke of Connaught. Keen to promote his newly acquired business, he issued the following

Advertisement for the Garynahine Hotel, 1911

press report to The Oban Times in n February,1873: r.

EARLY SALMON FISHING – Mr. John Hunter, lessee of the Prince d Arthur Hotel, Garynahine, Uig, and the fishings of the justly celebrated d Blackwater River and Lochs, opened h the season on Wednesday the 19th current, on which day Mr. Neil Macdonald killed a fish – a great beauty and in very fine condition, weighing fourteen pounds. Mr. Macdonald is a salmon fisher of local celebrity and great n experience, and he is of the opinion that the Blackwater even at this early date abounds with newly run fish. Garynahine is within fourteen miles of Stornoway, and May Mackintosh and John Fraser is a most desirable place at which Mackenzie, tenants of the Garynahine to obtain a few days good fishing, Hotel and the Blackwater fishings c.1920 which can now be secured at a very moderate cost. yna nahi hine hi ne Hote Ho tell in H te arri ar ris, ri s, w ho lleased ease ea sed se d th thee So Sout uh ut Hunter was succeeded at Garynahine Hotel Harris, who South in 1876 by Alexander Stewart, a native of Harris fishings from the Earl of Dunmore.

Blair Atholl in Perthshire, who took the After only one season at Garynahine, hotel and the Blackwater fishings on during which time he played host to a 15-year lease at a rental of £124 per Sir Henry Knight, Lord Mayor of annum. In 1881, he advertised the London, Hornsby disposed of The Prince Arthur Hotel in the Watson-Lyall Prince Arthur Hotel and the Blackwater Sportsman’s Guide, stating that ‘Excellent fishings to Edward Nash-Woodham, salmon and sea trout fishing on the a Cambridgeshire landowner. He used the Blackwater can be had by day or month hotel as a private fishing lodge, leaving on moderate terms.’ According to the the day-to-day running to his steward, guide, hotel guests were charged 5/William Mackintosh. ( 25p ) per day for salmon or sea trout In 1886, Garynahine passed to the fishing inclusive of the services of a Mackenzie family, who changed the name ghillie while non-residents were obliged of the hotel to the Garynahine Hotel. to pay 10/- ( 50p ).

Inside of Christmas card sent by Following his death in 1882, his Admiral and Lady Drummond, tenants executors sold the lease of the Prince of the Garynahine estate, 1955 Arthur Hotel and the Blackwater fishings to Robert Hornsby, tenant of the Tarbert

The fish larder at the Garynahine Hotel 1922

O Originally from a gamekeeping b background, they rented and m managed the hotel and the f fishings for the next half c century or so and also ran a small rough shoot for the b benefit of their guests. It is o record that in 1895, the on M Mackenzies paid an annual rental of £90 for the hotel and the fishings, and that the Blackwater river yielded a total catch of 101 salmon and 1,410 sea trout.

Keen to attract new business, they advertised the Garynahine Hotel in various guidebooks in 1911, stating that the premises had ‘Every home comfort’, was ‘Beautifully situated’, with ‘Invigorating air’ and afforded ‘Excellent salmon and sea trout fishing’, with an average season’s catch of ‘300 salmon and 600 sea trout.’ In addition, they offered ‘Motor cars for hire’, charging tourists 1/-9d ( 9p ) per return mile to any destination on the island of Lewis. Their fleet of cars at this time included a Ford and a Studebaker.

The Mackenzie family, who retained a staff of five full-time ghillies to manage the Blackwater fishings, finally relinquished their tenancy of Garynahine in 1938. They were succeeded by Malcolm Ross who rented the hotel and the fishings for the next six years. He is reputed to have been something of a poacher and was once ‘caught in the act’ taking fish off the neighbouring Grimersta estate!

In 1945, the Grimersta Syndicate, who

Ì

“Mr. Macdonald is a salmon fisher of local celebrity and great experience, and he is of the opinion that the Blackwater even at this early date abounds with newly run fish. ” THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 45

S P O RT I N T H E O U T E R H E B R I D E S

George Griffin (on left) gamekeeper of the Garynhine estate 1945 to 1960

Perrins Worcester Sauce’ dynasty.

The Captain, a keen angler, employed a gamekeeper-manager and a large team of ghillies to look after the Blackwater river. He allowed local men to fish on his property, free of charge, on the condition that they handed details of catch returns to him at the lodge, usually in exchange for a ‘wee dram’ with either him or his wife! Unfortunately, he neglected the shootings somewhat, causing a substantial drop in annual grouse bags.

Sadly, Captain Perrins died in 1965 at the early age of 47 years. Garynahine passed to his widow, Elizabeth, a dynamic woman, who ran Garynahine Lodge as a hotel for anglers, operated her own award winning Harris Tweed producing company and pioneered a 500-acre afforestation scheme on the estate in conjunction with the Forestry Commission, in addition to representing the local crofting community as a County Councillor on Ross-Shire County Council.

Like her husband, she concentrated mainly on the Blackwater fishings, rather than on the shootings, and had a reputation for being lenient with poachers.

Mrs Elizabeth Perrins was obliged to sell Garynahine in 1970 and to move abroad for tax reasons. The estate was purchased by two Edinburgh businessmen, William

had purchased Garynahine in 1927, closed down the hotel, re-named the property as Garynahine Lodge and let the fishings on the Blackwater river, together with the shooting rights over the Garynahine estate, to Vice-Admiral the Honourable Rupert Drummond, a former Commander of the Royal Navy New Zealand Station, who took up residence on the estate on a permanent basis. At the end of his first season on the property, he had taken a total bag of 67 grouse, 13 woodcock, 36 snipe, 2 wildfowl, 1 hare, 3 rabbits and 108 salmon.

Keen to improve the sporting facilities at Garynahine, Admiral Drummond appointed a gamekeeper, George Griffin, D.S.M., and two ghillies, John Mackenzie and John Morrison, to manage the estate. He increased the shootings, leasing around 15,000 acres of ground from the neighbouring Scaliscro and Grimersta estates, enabling him to take bags of between 200 and 260 grouse in a season, walked-up over dogs. He also brought the fishings up to scratch, with the result that an annual catch of over 150 salmon was attainable from the Blackwater river.

Admiral Drummond retired to Windsor in 1960.

The owners of Garynahine, the Grimersta Syndicate, then sold the estate for the sum of £30,250 to Captain Allan Dyson Perrins, a Postcard of the Garynahine Hotel c.1910 member of the ‘Lea &

46 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Sir James Matheson, Bt., proprietor of the island of Lewis, who converted the Garynahine Inn into a hostelry for anglers in 1864

and Francis Thyne, who ran the property as a private estate solely to provide sport for themselves and their friends. Record bags taken during their tenure include 226 salmon caught on the Blackwater river in 1974, 43 brown trout taken from the inland lochs in 1975 and 101 grouse shot on the moors in 1979.

Early in 1981, William and Francis Thyne disposed of Garynahine to the Garynahine Estate Co., a subsidiary of Taddale Investments Ltd., who obtained a hotel licence for the lodge before

Advertisement for the Prince Arthur Hotel and the Blackwater fishings, 1881

Captain and Mrs Perrins, seated left and right, owners of the Garynahine estate, with their gamekeepers and ghillies in 1962

marketing the estate as the ‘Ultimate Timeshare’, with time slots ranging from £5,350 to £53,000 per week. Pheasants and redleg partridges were introduced to the property to provide additional quarry species, and potential clients were told that they could expect to shoot up to 200 pheasants on any two-day driven shoot, with redleg partridges providing a ‘Fast alternative’. Plans were even made to stock the moors with red deer and the plantations with roe deer!

Initially, the Garynahine timeshare scheme was a great success, with intensive keepering resulting in a vastly improved shoot which produced record bags of 2,168 pheasants in 1983, 230 woodcock in 1984 and 503 grouse in 1985. Remedial work was carried out on the fishings, too, but salmon catches were generally much lower than during previous ownerships due to excessive poaching. Poachers even cleaned out a cage of rainbow trout which had been placed in a loch as part of an introduction programme!

Towards the end of the 1980s, the timeshare scheme ran out of steam and Garynahine was sold in 1989 to A.S. Edgar (Farms) Ltd. Due to other business commitments, they did little with the property, the fish catch for the 1990 season amounting to a mere 36 salmon.

In 1993, they disposed of the Garynahine estate to Christopher Buxton, a Cambridge based land agent and a keen sportsman.

Buxton ran the estate along traditional lines, ably assisted from 1993 until 2007 by his head gamekeeper, Malcolm McPhail, a former employee of the Duke of Roxburghe. He carried out various

fishery improvements on the property in order to encourage greater numbers of salmon and sea trout, removing dams and other obstructions and clearing out miles of spawning burns. He also implemented a number of environmentally friendly game management practices, including habitat enhancement and responsible vermin control, for the benefit of grouse, woodcock and other game birds, which, in turn, led to the return of the corncrake at Garynahine. Further, during his tenure, nothing was reared or hatched on the estate at all.

The Buxton game management regime achieved positive results. The annual grouse bag at Garynahine gradually increased from 14 birds in 1993 to 170 in 1998, the snipe bag improved, too, and well over 200 woodcock were shot every

year throughout this period. Indeed, the first-rate woodcock shoot which they developed was unique on Lewis and Harris at the time. The fishings also improved considerably during this period, with larger salmon and sea trout being caught on the Blackwater river system.

In the late 1990s, red deer returned to Garynahine after an absence of over a century, with small herds being established in the forestry plantations.

Deer stalking began on a limited scale in 2001, with one beast being grassed. In 2004 and in 2005, a MacNab was achieved on the property (a sporting challenge of shooting a brace of grouse, catching a salmon, and shooting a stag in an ‘honourable and sportsmanlike manner’, within a 24-hour period).

The Garynahine estate was operated on a commercial basis throughout the Buxton ownership, with weekly sporting lets being offered through various agencies, inclusive of accommodation in Garynahine Lodge.

Salmon and sea trout fishing was available on the Blackwater river, along with walked-up grouse and snipe shooting, driven woodcock shooting and deer stalking. In addition, the estate provided day-ticket angling facilities for local people

Ì

Front of Christmas card sent by Admiral and Lady Drummond, 1955

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 47

S P O RT I N T H E O U T E R H E B R I D E S

whenever there was any free space on the waters.

Christopher Buxton sold the Garynahine estate in 2011 to Dougie McGilvray, a Scottish businessman with strong Lewis connections who has not only renovated and upgraded Garynahine Lodge to the highest modern-day standards since acquiring the property, but has also engaged a highly experienced river keeper to manage and develop the Blackwater fishery. He currently lets the estate to groups of up to 12 sportsmen for a week or more at a time and provides grouse and snipe shooting, walked-up and driven woodcock shooting, wildfowling, deer stalking, salmon and sea trout fishing, brown trout fishing and sea fishing. In 2012, a total of 555 salmon were caught at Garynahine, the largest annual catch since records began in 1889, including a super-sized fish weighing 23lb.

For details of current angling, shooting and deer stalking opportunities at Garynahine contact the estate office on 01463 220333 or visit the Fish Hebrides website www.fishhebrides.com

Shooting party at Garynhine c.1982

BLACKWATER FISHINGS

Fishing in the Blackwater is preserved by the landlord of the Garynahine Hote l. Day tickets issued by hotel for river or loch s. Boats are limited to five, two on the river and one on each loch, Beg, Tarbet and Clou d. Early application is necessary stating date s required, when applications will be booked and dates reserved. Any angler taking two boat s, one not fished must be at the disposal of the house. When only one or two angl ers are in the house they have the choice and preference of any boat. When full up lots are cast and all boats are fished in rotation. One in every

three salmon caught belongs to the house, but if not required for use of house they can be at anglers’ disposal. Each angler must be accompanied by a ghillie. Fly fishi ng only allowed. Only one rod to be used on each boat. Two can fish on one boat prov ided only one rod is used at a time. For the loch s; trout fishing free; salmon fishing very good . There are numberless lochs holding brow n trout.

Aug. and Sept. best for salmon. Apri l, May and June for trout. Apply to the land lord, Garynahine Hotel, Garynahine, Storn oway.

Garynahine angling regulations 192 1

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S TA L K I N G

CALLING

ROEBUCK IN THE

SCOTTISH BORDERS

BY SELENA BARR, A TRUSTEE DIRECTOR OF THE BRIT BRITISH DEER TISH D EER SOCIETY.

50 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

E

UROPEAN ROE (CAPREOLUS capreolus) are the most widely distributed deer species in the UK, according to the latest population survey undertaken by The British Deer Society. It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 350,000 roe deer living in Scotland with their highest density in lowland areas such as the Borders, where I live.

Home for me is now a 3,000acre arable farm that grows wheat, peas, potatoes and oilseed rape. Along with the resident brown hare population, the farmer has tasked my husband and I with keeping the roe numbers in check.

Scottish roe are not known for their huge trophies – their antlers tend to be well formed, but finer and thinner than their English counterparts.

However, I’m more interested

in filling my chest freezer with delicious venison.

Being able to go deerstalking directly from your own back door has to be every stalker’s dream. Finally, after years of having to drive at least two hours, I am living that dream.

Moving 400 miles north from Sussex was an enormous undertaking, but one we have not regretted.The fact that there’s so fewer people and so much more quarry made it an easy decision.

The farm is very picturesque and looks out to the Cheviots, a range of rolling hills straddling the Anglo-Scottish border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. Through carefully positioned Bushnell trophy cameras, I had identified several dominant bucks living in small woodland coverts. The plan was to wait for the rut and then call them to me using the irresistible pheep pheep of

a Buttolo deer call. During the rut, bucks become aggressive and maintain exclusive territories around one or more does. The dark art of roebuck calling is something I have learnt through trial and error. Squeeze the Butollo too loudly and you’ll frighten any bucks close by.

Get it right and they will come within 10 feet of you. Getting so intimately close to your quarry that you can see its eyelashes can be disconcerting and lead to terrible buck fever, so it is important to remain as calm as possible. I will freely admit that the first time I successfully called a buck, I failed to pull the trigger as the scenario was just so intense. Seeing a randy roebuck crashing through woodland or bolting through crop to get to you, is quite a sight! This will be my eighth year calling roebucks in the rut, so thankfully their abnormal behaviour no longer takes me by surprise.

It is widely acknowledged that stormy, muggy weather brings on the long-awaited rut each August. Sure enough, once I arrived home from the three-day CLA Game Fair in Yorkshire on August 3, the humidity was starting to build.

The tension in the air was palpable. It was definitely worth venturing out to see how the local deer were behaving.

For this year’s rut, I had a brand new rifle to try – the recently launched Sauer S101 Artemis, which has been designed especially for women.

The German gunmaker spent years in consultation with female hunters to create what they genuinely feel is the ultimate rifle with the correct proportions, so I had high hopes of how it would fit me.

Test firing the rifle on the range prior to the rut allowed me to get to grips with its dinky size. Finally, for the first time Ì

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 51

Grouse

in my stalking career, I have a trigger that I don’t have to reach for which will make a big difference in the field. Plus the rifle is super lightweight – it only weighs 6.3lb which is far more comfortable for me than the average rifle and will not go unnoticed when hill stalking.

The S101 Artemis is going to revolutionise my stalking.

One of my trophy cameras had picked up one buck in particular that had caught my attention. A striking six-pointer boasting incredible symmetry.

He lived in a woodland block near my house that was surrounded by standing green wheat. My plan was to hide in the tramlines and entice him out with the Buttolo by mimicking the oestrus bleats of a doe ready to breed.

With my new rifle slung over my shoulder and Gretel, my Bavarian Mountain Hound, walking beside me, we gingerly ambled along the farm track towards the wheat field. As I scanned the woodland for outof-place shapes using my Leica Ultravid 10x42 HD binoculars (the outing was proving

something of a product test), I picked up the distinctive outline of an ear. Was it an ear? Or were my eyes playing tricks? The shape twitched. It was definitely a hairy roe ear, but was it a buck? Beech leaves obscured its head and body. I hissed at Gretel to freeze but she had already spotted the deer and was fixated on where I was glassing. Before it could spot us, we crawled into the standing wheat so that we were completely hidden by crop.

The deer was browsing leaf buds and looking totally relaxed. There were too many obstructions for me to be able to tell if it was a buck or doe, so I gently squeezed the Buttolo in my pocket so that its sound was muffled. It instantly stopped eating and pricked its ears in my direction with its neck straining to see the imaginary doe. It took a few steps forward to fully reveal itself. Not only was it a buck, but it was the same handsome buck my trophy camera had photographed.

By now I was on my knees with the rifle resting on sticks.

I flicked on the illuminated reticule of my Leica ERi 2.5-

10x42 scope. The pinheadsized dot glowed bright red in total contrast to the greens of our surroundings. I squeezed the deer call again.The buck then raced out of the shadowy woodland into the field, all the while licking his nose for clues of the doe’s whereabouts.

Once on a tramline, the buck presented a textbook broadside shot; I moved the red reticule into the front shoulder mass above its leg and gently squeezed the trigger to release a round of 150gr Hornady Superformance SST. The buck dropped cleanly on the spot. In terms of calling roebuck, this was a lucky Red Letter Day, it doesn’t always go to plan like this! Having confidence in my rifle set-up helped me make a quick decision and eliminated any hesitation on my part. The perfectly balanced S101 Artemis features a short Length Over Pull and slim palm swell to prevent my small hands fumbling.

A wily species like roe will not hang around for me to adjust the rifle into my shoulder before I take the shot – I need to be able to react fast.

“...I moved the red reticule into the front shoulder mass above its leg and gently squeezed the trigger to release a round of 150gr Hornady Superformance SST.”

52 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

I gralloched the buck in the field and fed Gretel a small piece of heart as a reward for lending her services. It might only be once a year that my deer dogs need to track a lost deer, but I would never stalk without one. As a responsible and compassionate hunter, I think you owe it to your quarry to stalk with a dog that is trained to track both adrenaline and blood trails. We bagged up the faeces and rumen lining to send to the Moredun Research

Institute in Edinburgh, to help with their on-going research into liver fluke, which appears to be on the increase and spreading across the UK into previously fluke-free areas. This buck’s carcase was healthy and clear of any disease and was a welcome addition to the food chain and my cull sheet.

Hunters from all over the world descend on the UK at this time of year to experience stalking roebuck in the rut. If you’ve tried every other type

of stalking and have yet to experience the magic of calling a buck to within feet of you, I’d certainly recommend you down tools immediately and go now – does are only in oestrus for a few weeks.

To book roe deer stalking in the Scottish Borders, contact David Virtue via www.dvsporting.co.uk Scottish roe season Bucks: 1 April to 20 October Does: 21 October to 31 March

KIT BOX Sauer S101 Artemis in .308 - £2,255 www.sauer.de

Buttolo Deer Call - £24.99 www.bushwear.co.uk

Hornady Superformance SST 150-gr bullets - £150 for a box of 100 www.edgarbrothers.com

Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Max - £295 www.edgarbrothers.com

Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 - From £1,300 www.leica-camera.com Leica Ultravid 10x42 HD Binoculars From £1,660 www.leica-camera.com Benchmade Hunt knife - From £117.15 www.edgarbrothers.com

John Field Beaufort tweed cap - £75 www.johnfield.eu The British Deer Society Membership and stalking insurance - £68 www.bds.org.uk Liver fluke research information Moredun Research Institute Email: philip.skuce@moredun.ac.uk

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 53

SALMON

NO MORE NETTING

MICHAEL WIGAN REFLECTS ON HOW A BAN ON SALMON NETTING IN SCOTLAND CAME ABOUT.

I

N JULY, THE Scottish government declared a consultation on the end of salmon netting. A late September announcement confirms this historic move. Officially, it is a three-year review, but nets will almost certainly never be used again. In England and Wales all netting was already to close by the end of 2022. Salmon netting has been a heritable right in Scotland since the 12th century.

It has been a long journey from total salmon exploitation to more scientific salmon conservation.

Netting Atlantic salmon will not have completely disappeared. It persists in the Finmark where native communities in the Norwegian Arctic net thousands of Russian-born salmon. In Canada the rights

of native Indians in netting migratory salmon appear to be almost unassailable, though migrations have shrunk to miniscule numbers. Ireland has some estuary draftnetting subject to quota. But salmon netting off the UK will cease.

The Scottish government had championed salmon netting. Why the U-turn?

Rod anglers and fishery trusts had been pressing government unremittingly. The Scottish government had chosen to champion old-fashioned netters as more acceptable users of the resource than leisure anglers. It was a tweed versus oil-skin contest. Although anglers and river workers outnumbered netsmen by hundreds to one Scotland’s politicians bent every sinew to

54 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

keep netting going, even securing money from Europe in 2011 for its expansion.

The tactic worked well, needling the targeted river owners… until Sea Shepherd came along.

Happy to do combat with anglers projected as visitor toffs, the politicians were less comfortable defending salmon netsmen shooting seals to protect their catch and their gear. In summer 2015, using drones and CCTV cameras, the marine pressure group Sea Shepherd relentlessly exposed seal-shooting by netsmen and published the gory pictures on social media. Helen of Troy’s face was said to have launched a thousand ships: baby seals’ faces have done the equivalent for their own species.

Government ministers were dragged

in front of television cameras saying that the salmon netsmen had proper licenses and were justified in protecting their livelihoods. Then a dolphin was snared in a salmon net. The PR job turned to nightmare. And no political grouping in the UK is more sensitive about image than the ruling Scottish National Party.

Meanwhile, netsmen bungled the pass by gruffly stating their historic rights and looking seal-unfriendly. Something was going to give.

Angling interests had been ramping up the pressure, citing conservation. In 2014 a plummeting catch of salmon and grilse by rods had been shadowed by a hugely increased net catch. It was an annus horribilis for sport fishermen. Game anglers pump over £100 million into Scotland’s economy.

The government had lost a court case on the North Esk because it supported salmon netting without any scientific justification, thereby breaching the EU’s Habitats Directive. It was forced to fork out compensation. This went down particularly badly with the vengeful SNP leader at the time, Alex Salmond.

Next was the international dimension.

Orri Vigfusson’s Reykjavik-based North Atlantic Salmon Fund had requested a meeting with the new government’s rural affairs minister, Aileen McLeod. This had been airily refused. Then, presumably, somebody explained who Vigfusson was, that he had met several American and Russian presidents and had a contacts book in practical conservation circles better than

anybody’s. Suddenly time was found in the diary for a September meeting.

Vigfusson painted the international picture, an unknown canvas. Vindicated by a bumper salmon season at home he told her that Iceland earned huge amounts from visitor anglers. Iceland’s treatment of salmon is different to Scotland’s. He told her some rivers sterilised by volcanic ash were entirely hatchery-seeded. Salmon, not their predators, were protected. Salmon, he explained, were an international free-ranging fish. Other North Atlantic partners in their protection – Iceland, Norway, Greenland, the Faeroes – had missed Scotland at the policy meetings, where conservation arrangements had been agreed from which Scotland had richly benefited. He told her that Scotland failed to protect its stocks. Finally he suggested a fresh international treaty.

Much of this was new language. Salmon had been seen as a tartan fish. Perhaps sensing that the SNP could score antiUK points on this, the Minister was in Vigfusson’s words, ‘very receptive’.

The complexity of salmon legislation’s evolution in the UK reflects the subject’s complexity. When the Scottish government

piled in with burn-the-boats reform concepts, seizing control for themselves, the knowledge base was minimal. The idea that salmon protection has to occur through the fish’s whole lifecycle – Vigfusson’s developing theme – is unfamiliar. When Vigfusson told Aileen McLeod that Scotland knew nothing about what smolts feed on, she noted the point.

Her highly-politicised new government had wanted to brandish some society scalps in the form of rod anglers.

Meantime, those netting salmon in Scotland have put away their gear for the last time. The poles, curtains of monofilament, buoys and header-ropes will be stored or sold. The cobles may be used for potting, but they are wide and lack a wheel-house.

As for salmon, they will be free to locate their birth river and swim into it to reproduce. The maze of nylon awaiting them had anyway been thinned to a few strategic bags flowing in the currents and tides.

I talked the news over with a salmon netsman on the north coast, a man who had netted salmon in summer through his life. Ì Apart from the natural sadness at

“The PR job turned to nightmare. And no political grouping in the UK is more sensitive about image than the ruling Scottish National Party.”

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 55

SALMON

Orri Vigfusson

packing up a skill he had honed for so long, working long-familiar waters, he had two main themes. He said poaching would increase. This prediction is common.

Scotland had around a dozen active net stations. The few survivors were in the places best to net salmon as they nosed their way around the coast. These stations were manned and active, governed by tides and the right wind, when salmon ran. Their abandonment leaves gaps, honey-pots without bee-keepers.

Interest in wild salmon as a food will not disappear. The farmed product is no substitute, indeed to many it is inedible. That ancient appetite - salmon once fed coastal Scotland - will be hard to extinguish. There is continuous poaching on Scotland’s north coast now, where salmon returning from the Faroes, and in lower

numbers from Greenland, hit the UK coastline.

It is a lowly-populated coast with some fiercely-independent local people who know well how to use small boats. There are limited ways of earning a crust, and selling wild salmon will never be overwhelmingly problematical. Under the latest hastily-arranged rules, anglers will still be able to kill a few fish where rivers meet ‘conservation limits’. So some wild salmon will be eaten. But luxuries in limited supply sell, as trade in rare animal parts demonstrate.

Attempts in the wild fisheries bill to reduce bailiffing powers could mean that river workers will be unable to deal with sea poaching. Presently, their powers extend to six miles out to sea.

The creation of Police Scotland, which has so embarrassed its SNP creators, has reduced the police presence in northern Scotland dramatically. The possibility of the boys-in-blue hoving into view to inspect monofilament nets will not even occur to potential salmon-takers. Fisheries protection is more focused on quota excesses on trawlers and enforcement of the Common Fisheries Policy; salmon are minnows. The coast will be pretty well clear.

The other beneficiaries, said the netsman, will be seals.

When netting was being discussed, netsmen would often point out that they protected salmon from attacks by seals.

Cetaceans will, from now, have full scope.

This summer in northern Scotland, dolphins and porpoises were photographed many times leaping towards an airborne salmon to swallow it like a sweetie. Spectators are boated out to watch the sport. In the absence of netting, sea mammals will share the coast and its harvest with renascent salmon poachers.

Those agreements, whereby district fishery boards were allowed to kill individual seals causing point-source problems, for example when a rogue seal ventured up-river to take fish destined to breed, are probably doomed. In the future salmon will take their chances in an environment cleansed of their protectors.

I saw this netsman on July 25. Working

with one mate he had had his first good haul, the season being uncharacteristically late. In a self-regulated net operation he had kept 50 grilse, and returned 70 bigger fish including a hen and a cock both over 20lb.

It was the best haul he had seen for many years. The future? “We’ll live with it,” he said, with a touch of wistfulness.

Anyone who knows how to handle a boat will find something to do on this rich and wild coastline.

For rod anglers there will be new challenges. Protecting smolt runs may come next. For the recorders of man’s relationship with the wild Atlantic salmon, one thing is missing with the last net catch – accurate statistics. Despite engrained under-reporting of catches by netsmen, what was traded was measured.

Salmon are sold fresh and by weight.

Billingsgate logged factual numbers. Salmon anglers are not always quite so biblical, and catch and release has allowed creative guesswork to mar the picture. Salmon net stations could not shed light on individual river stocks but they provided the best record of runs, fish weights, and timings of runs. Those statistics will be missed.

The closure of netting is universally welcomed. But it may show that making the right decisions for the wrong reasons has dangers. The Scottish government was embarrassed into the right decision.

It became aware that sea mammals being sacrificed for salmon went down badly, and that its entitlement to Scottish salmon was only as a shareholder, the reality being of a widely shared international resource. Insistent pressure from river boards representing sport fishermen finally penetrated. The force behind a U-turn on netting became irresistible.

If, for the reasons above, salmon runs do not respond by increasing, the question will get sharper: do salmon deserve protection in their own right because they are a rare and infinitely precious resource?

Taking this thought further: should the species be managed as part of mainstream Scottish culture and history, and a keynote component of the visitor industry, rather than as a minor aspect of fisheries and the environment?

“When netting was being discussed, netsmen would often point out that they protected salmon from attacks by seals.”

56 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Salmon review

AN IMPROVEMENT IT’S NOT ALL BAD NEWS ON THE SALMON FRONT, AS ROBERT RATTRAY EXPLAINS IN HIS ANNUAL REVIEW.

A

FTER THE LEAN years of 2013 and 2014, it has been heartening to hear reports of good catches and signs of improved runs of fish on some but sadly not all rivers in Scotland this season.

There has been no defining pattern as to areas that have fished better than others.

If there were to be any generalisations, the northern rivers, including for example the Naver and Thurso have had an excellent season, with good runs of fish from April onwards. The southwest, west coast and the islands continue to suffer. The Findhorn and Spey have had much improved catches, particularly the middle Spey, whilst rivers further east and down the coast - Deveron, Dee and the Esks have suffered another poor season, whilst the Tay has had a much better season overall.

From a letting perspective, demand continues to be strong for good fishing, and it is a matter of sorting the wheat from

the chaff. This is where impartial and well informed agents can help, and provide essential and unbiased guidance.

Hot off the press are the latest proposals from Scottish Government on the subject of quota, licensing, tagging and curtailment of mixed stock netting; all part of the ongoing legacy of the Wild Fisheries Review. In brief, the proposal is to categorise rivers into Grade 1, 2 or 3 status dependent on current information on Conservation Limits (CL).

Grade 1 rivers are classified as having an 80% mean probability of CL being achieved over the last five year period, and as such will have no change to current exploitation.

By contrast, Grade 3 rivers (less than 60% mean probability of CL being achieved over the last five years) will have mandatory catch and release imposed. This will be managed on an annual basis. In parallel, netting out with estuary limits will be prohibited for a three year period and then reviewed. This proposal is open for public

58 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

consultation for the month of October, and by the time you read this, the proposals will be finalised and in place for the 2016 season.

Here at Sporting Lets we cautiously welcome the latest proposals although the methodology behind the grading of individual rivers, and in particular groups of river, being designated Grade 3 needs to be carefully understood. Any system with conservation and sustainability at its heart ideally also needs to have the capability to react to the strength of runs in any one season. In addition we remain firmly of the opinion that the demise of the strength of west coast runs needs to be more closely examined.

We hope that the measures put in place will meet with approval from fisherman and proprietors the length and breadth of the land and will give Scottish Atlantic salmon a measure of security in the face of rising pressures, both domestically ĂŒ and internationally.

The Deveron

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 59

Grouse review

A MIXED BAG THE GROUSE SHOOTING SEASON CAME GOOD FOR SOME, EVENTUALLY… ROBERT RATTRAY LOOKS BACK.

G

ROUSE MOOR OWNERS (and their sporting agents) have had a particularly challenging season this year, in stark contrast to the bumper harvest of 2014. A fairly benign winter in Scotland and a cold long lasting spring was followed, apart from a brief spell in April, by relentless cold and wet weather that extended right through May and June into July, a month which was recorded in Perthshire as the wettest on record.

Although in the main, most moors had an excellent stock of birds – a legacy from 2014, chick mortality was high, particularly in the early broods.

Unsurprisingly, July grouse counts were disappointing, and many moors right across Scotland took the painful decision to either severely curtail or cancel their whole grouse programmes by the beginning of August.

Scotland was not alone, and a similar

pattern was also evident in Yorkshire and the Peak District.

It therefore seemed something of a miracle when the word went round that a number of moors were reporting large numbers of grouse, with keepers on those estates quietly bullish of another bumper year. This caused a stir of cancelled parties trying to find alternative days, and moors with credible spare capacity offering realistic packages were soon booked up. It was then a matter of these moors delivering, and sure enough predictions were spot on with a number of moors on the eastern edges of the Cairngorms, into Aberdeenshire and down into Angus finding themselves with large quantities of grouse. Indeed Dorback broke its 2014 record with 158 ½ brace in late August.

There were also similar bright spots in the western Monadhliaths with one or two of the high ground moors shooting

60 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

bags reminiscent of last season. Indeed it seemed that the higher ground moors fared better than others, and maybe just a quirk of geography that the worst of the weather missed them. What was interesting was that teams reported seeing grouse packing almost from the word go, with packs of 100 or more coming through the line.

It was interesting that reports suggest that the numbers of birds seemed to increase by mid September, and this was possibly due to the very late second brood chicks making their first appearance. And as I write this at the end of September, and revelling in this Indian summer weather, I am envious of those who still have days to look forward to.

Those moors still shooting are still seeing lots of birds, and have been experiencing some wonderful days. If this weather, they will continue to shoot well into October and possibly beyond.

Gift of Grouse

The Twelfth of August saw the launch of the Gift of Grouse initiative, and it was great to be a guest at the event that took place in Glen Clova. The campaign highlights the benefits of grouse shooting and moorland management to Scotland and which was supported by a recent report published by Scotland’s Rural College. Gamekeepers from the Angus Glens Moorland Group have also reinforced this message via ‘The Untold Story: Driven Grouse Shooting’ – a feature film demonstrating the impact of grouse shooting on local communities.

This video plus others can all be accessed on the new Gift of Grouse website at www.giftofgrouse.com.

Robert Rattray is a partner in CKD Galbraith and head of their Sporting Letting Department. CKD Galbraith has the largest portfolio of Scottish Sporting Estates and their 2016/2017 brochure will be due out soon.

Email: robert.rattray@ckdgalbraith.co.uk

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 61

shooting

NEW PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB HOW THE EDEN SHOOTING CLUB HAS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL IN ITS SIGHTS.

Pittormie Castle

T

HE WORLD’S FIRST international private members shooting club has been launched in Fife. It looks to follow the success of the Eden Club since its formation in 1997.

Sales director Simon Taylor explained: “The Eden Shooting Club is serving a very special niche, focusing on the very highest echelons in the shooting world.

In association with Holland & Holland, the privileges of membership are crafted around international experiences which are truly unique within the world of shooting. The patrons, founders and members come from royalty, ruling families, past presidents, prime ministers, icons of industry and some of the world’s most successful individuals.

“Members are able to participate and invite guests to a private schedule of outstanding shooting and social events each year which are held at combinations

of the world’s finest shooting destinations globally. They include celebrity-am’s, father-son, team, couples, local one-day events, teaching, the classics etc. It’s not just the format and competition, but also the people you meet which will make participating special.”

Formerly the home of the first Duke of Fife, having been given to Ludovic of Lennox by King James VI in 1596, the club’s base in St. Andrews, Pittormie Castle was lovingly restored in 2005 under the guidance of Historic Scotland. Surrounded by mature forestry, manicured lawns and beautiful gardens the castle forms the centrepiece of the club. It also acts as more than just a base for members in the Kingdom of Fife.

In addition to the pool, gym, spa, tennis courts and other on-site facilities, members have access to their own luxurious private residences.

The Eden Club was formed in 1997 at

62 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

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St. Andrews with a focus on golf.

Now it will cater for both sports.

Shooting events in Scotland include Shooting with Stars, The Gentleman’s Challenge, The Couples Classics, The Macnab.

Classsic trips include dove in Argentina, giant wild boar in Turkey and caribou in Canada. The club will also host an annual clay pigeon competition at Holland & Holland Shooting Grounds and other social gatherings in London and NewYork.

The club’s secretariat service (concierge) assists in arranging travel around the world and visits to the world’s finest estates, ranches and other venues with members’ own guests. As many of the estates and

land holdings are those of other members who are providing fellow members a unique opportunity to enjoy once in a lifetime experiences.

The club owns Pittormie Castle and The Residences at Pittormie – a luxurious private club and residential offering in Scotland. From here the club provides entrée to over 40 of the finest estates in Scotland for shooting a wide variety of birds, stags etc., salmon fishing and other pursuits in addition to tuition and clay pigeon facilities The club is strictly by invitation only and is currently considering applications from over 240 individuals from 36 countries around the world.

St. Andrews – the famous course is nearby

64 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

“The club is strictly by invitation only and is currently considering applications from over 240 individuals from 36 countries around the world.”

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THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 65

SHOOTING SCHOOL

GOING NORTH

THE FRUITFUL CREATION OF BISLEY AT BRAIDWOOD.

One of five flushes

A

T FIRST GLANCE there is no obvious synergy between Bisley Shooting Ground and Braidwood. But we are in fact talking about England’s oldest shooting ground and Scotland’s newest. And both facilities are run by father and son owners, Anthony and Alex Roupell.

Having enjoyed success in turning round Bisley SG, Europe’s largest sporting clay ground, they started to cast around for sites where they could extend their brand. But why choose a venue which is nearly 400 miles away, Alex explained: “We both love Scotland and are particularly

fond of the Borders. Friends living up here saw that Braidwood was for sale and brought it to our attention.

We came to have a look and that was it. It may be a long way from London but it was obvious to both of us that with investment we could make it our style of ground.”

This was two years ago. Both its setting and location were deciding factors. Situated on a stunning estate overlooking the Eildon Hills, about an hour from Edinburgh, the ground is now a multi-purpose sporting facility catering for both the game Shot who wants a round of practice on the high tower and for top sporting clay

66 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Shooters. Not forgetting the skeet range and ‘fun’ Shooters.

Much has been done to improve the facilities. Alex added: “We knew that if we were to get the little things right as well as the

big ones then there was every chance that the shooting ground could become successful.”

And so it has proved. The 45acre ground has had a major makeover giving Shooters perfect Lessons and gunfitting

The new rifle pipe range

Alexander Roupell

settings in which to enjoy their sport and all that is on offer. The setting and surroundings could hardly be better following an investment programme which took in all areas and aspects of the ground. They’ve also created two duck ponds. One of which has a small island with a shooting stand, and is reached by a bridge.

Meanwhile, in the clubhouse there is a café and restaurant,

gun room and shop. “Whatever you need, it’s here!” On the clay front there are five clay flushes, and what is probably Scotland’s highest tower and largest ‘pay and play’ system, which enables visitors to shoot their stands of choice (unaccompanied if they wish). Because of the expertise available to them, they’ve also been able to install four purpose-built stone grouse butts.

Plus Scotland’s first 100-metre full-bore rifle pipe range, which can be used in all weathers, offering complete protection from the rain and the elements.

There are also several very good game shoots in the area, and the ground’s kitchen provides shoot and corporate lunches, which are collected from the ground first thing on shoot days.

So how is it going down?

“Phenomenal,” he enthused, “it’s a surprisingly busy area, particularly with a range of

activities – fishing, cycling, sailing, walking and, of course, shooting. Apart from local residents, loyal members and tourists, we are only an hour from Edinburgh. And everyone is so friendly up here – in fact we can truly say that we have found ourselves the perfect ground, which is precisely what we had hoped for.” The locals are also excellent in this respect, and they have a very good team – head groundsman Billy Braithwaite, office manager Dawn MacIver, receptionist Liz Edgar, and instructors Raymond Dutton and Ian Braithwaite. Anthony and Alex each spend a week at Braidwood every month.

Between them they have created something quite special. Not surprising then, that Bisley at Braidwood has been awarded a 4* Visitor Attraction by Visit Scotland.

Well deserved!

Fact file

Open Tuesday-Sunday.

For details of ladies’ days, young Shot days and booking Tel: 01835 870280 Email: Braidwood@ bisleyshooting.co.uk www.bisleyshooting.co.uk

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THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 67

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fishing

24 HOURS ON

THE TWEED

JUSTIFIABLY FAMOUS FOR ITS PROLIFIC SALMON AND GRILSE RUNS, THE RIVER TWEED IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED FOR ITS EQUALLY IMPRESSIVE SUMMER SEA TROUT AND WILD BROWNIES, SAYS MARCUS JANSSEN. PHOTOGRAPHY: TWEED MEDIA

70 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

I

T HAS ALWAYS struck me as strange that, in the UK, salmon and wild trout fishers tend not to see eye-to-eye, viewing one another with a hint of distrust and disdain. Perhaps it stems from days of old when salmon anglers were encouraged to kill any form of Salmo trutta they had the misfortune of hooking. Trout were viewed as the piscatorial equivalent of cormorants, prolific carnivorous killers of beloved salmon fry, parr and smolts.

That theory has long been disproved by the clever people at the Wild Trout Trust and yet, until fairly recently, the salmon fisher’s derision towards Salmo salar’s less glamorous cousins persisted. Conversely, down south on the River Test, where brown trout have always occupied the prime spots above the mantelpieces of Hampshire fishing huts and lodges, salmon were regarded as a pest and killed in their thousands. Even today, a certain wild trout aficionado and good

friend of mine sarcastically calls salmon ‘silver vermin’, an ironic reference to misguided attitudes of old.

Gladly, things have moved on a bit since those medieval times and, as any true fisherman knows, both species offer outstanding sport – it is just a case of picking your moment and fishing according to the conditions. Indeed, there is no reason why salmon and trout fishing should be mutually exclusive, as I discovered on the Tweed last summer.

I had been invited by my good mate Charlie Brownlow to join him and a couple of friends for a day on the Lower Floors beat and, as an added incentive, he had managed to organise a bed for me at the recently refurbished Roxburghe Hotel. Don’t tell Charlie this, but no-one has ever needed to go to such extreme lengths to convince me to join them for a spot of fishing of any kind. I would happily have slept in my car. Having said that, I can’t think of finer fisherman’s lodgings than the Roxburghe.

Not only was my room far more comfortable and luxurious than any fisherman truly deserves – I have always maintained that any bed that is difficult to get out of in the morning is not helpful to the fisherman’s cause – but the food was exceptional, too. But, despite the appeal of a roaring log fire and library full of fishing and shooting classics, I was waiting in the foyer – my bacon and eggs long gone – by the time Charlie arrived to pick me up at

8am. The river beckoned.

Like the upper beat and the hotel itself, Lower Floors is owned by the Duke of Roxburghe and is available to hotel guests who, like me, are more at home on a riverbank than a championship 18-hole golf course or spa massage table.

As soon as I laid eyes on the beat, with the magnificent Floors Castle in the background, all thoughts of four-poster beds evaporated as we hurriedly strung up our double-handed rods.

I was to join ghillie Jonathan Mackereth at the top of the beat where a delightful looking run sparkled in the morning sunshine beneath a stand of overhanging beech and oak. For the next couple of

Ghillie Jonathan Mackereth (left) & Simon Barr with a fresh-run salmon

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 71

fishing

hours I was in heaven. And, although I didn’t connect with any silver tourists, it was clear to see why this is one of the most productive runs on the beat, the sort of water that fills you with confidence as every cast swings through the run at just the right pace and depth. Indeed, later that morning, Charlie would have more success than I, landing a stunning, chrome-plated and sea-liced fish of about 12lb from this very spot. Simon Barr, too, who was fishing further downstream, managed to winkle out a similarly fresh fish.

And so it was in high spirits that we reluctantly left the river and returned to the hotel for lunch. But when I spotted none other than Monsieur Albert Roux’s name at the top of the menu, the lure of the

river waned somewhat. And then, to our disbelief, the great man himself emerged from the kitchen to check that we were satisfied with our main courses! It was a surreal moment. As it turns out, Albert has been brought in by the Roxburghe on a consultancy basis to ensure that their cuisine is of the highest standards; I can vouch that he has succeeded in that aim.

And with clear blue skies overhead, it was decided that, rather than make a mad dash back to the river straight after lunch – as

Charlie Brownlow with his sea-licer

“...the Tweed had once again been good to us – two stunning salmon, half a dozen brownies up to 3lb and a couple of fresh-run sea trout to boot.”

72 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

tends to be my modus operandi – we would stay right where we were and do justice to the bottle of Merlot that had so perfectly accompanied my venison. Admittedly, in normal circumstances the thought of forfeiting a single minute’s fishing for anything other than more fishing would have filled me with horror, but Charlie is a man after my own heart, and he quickly put my mind at ease with some very good news.

“If we don’t fish the afternoon session, we can stay as late as we like this evening. And Jonathan assures me that there’s a good chance of a sea trout.”

And that is exactly what we did, returning to the river at dusk with our single-handed 8wt rods at the ready. But, before we ventured out of the fishing hut to our respective pools and runs, Charlie had a another little surprise up his sleeve: the good chefs at the Roxburghe had put together the most amazing riverside picnic imaginable. Piping hot boeuf bourguignon, freshly baked baguettes, a cheese board, salted caramel chocolate pots, and several bottles of Game Bird ale from the local Scottish Borders Brewery.

And just when I thought things couldn’t possibly get any better, a few large dark olives started to flutter up into the soft evening light. By the time I had managed to pull on my waders, grab my four-weight and hastily tie on a size 14 March Brown, a number of hungry trout were already porpoising along a gravel shelf, just metres from the near bank. With my bottle of ale firmly stuffed into the front pocket of my waders, I was soon in my element as a stunningly speckled two-pound Tweed brownie cartwheeled across the pool, my little Battenkill reel protesting accordingly.

Almost an hour later, Charlie and Simon almost had to drag me out of the river by my waders. “Mate, the sea trout are calling,” laughed Simon as I made yet another “last cast”. But he was right; with the light fading quickly, it was approaching sea trout o’clock.

With that, I begrudgingly exchanged my four-weight for something with a little more backbone and headed upstream to a tasty looking run that I had spotted before lunch.

As Lord James Percy once wrote in Fieldsports Magazine, to be on any river at the gloaming is magical, but a night spent sea trout fishing on the Tweed is truly spellbinding. That moment, that indescribable, heart-stopping moment, when, out there, somewhere in the inky darkness of the pool and without any warning, a sea trout grabs hold of your fly and powers off downstream is, quite simply, as good as it gets. Like a distillation of all of the hundreds of reasons why anyone ever became addicted to fly

Although Lower Floors is very much a salmon and sea trout beat, permission can be obtained to fish for brownies

fishing into one acute moment, the take of a sea trout is nothing short of electrifying.

And so it was an hour or so later when the take finally came. Even as I cradled the fish beneath the surface several minutes later, feeling her muscles twitch as she recovered her strength, every nerve-ending in my body was alight, like I had had six double espressos in a row.

“Well done, mate,” said Simon from somewhere in the darkness. He had made his way upstream to see if I needed a hand.

Even in the darkness I could tell he was smiling. And I’m pretty sure he could tell that I was too. Over the past 24-hours, the Tweed had once again been good to us – two stunning salmon, half a dozen brownies up to 3lb and a couple of fresh-run sea trout to boot. Yes, we had a lot to smile about. www.charlesbrownlow.com www.roxburghe-hotel.net The witching hour: nothing else in fishing compares to the take of a sea-trout, says the writer

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 73

hotels

SIX OF THE BEST COUNTRY SPORTS ARE ESTIMATED TO GENERATE AROUND ONE MILLION BED NIGHTS IN SCOTLAND A YEAR. THERE ARE LOTS OF HOTELS, BUT HOW DO YOU CHOOSE? WE INVITED PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST SCOTT THORNTON TO SUGGEST SIX GREAT PLACES TO STAY.

74 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

CHIRNSIDE HALL HOTEL This small country house hotel, owned by Dutch couple Christian and Tessa Korsten since 2000, makes a first class shooting base and a marvellous, relaxing retreat for anyone, irrespective of their love of country sports pursuits.

“We treat all guests the way they like to be treated and offer a personal, homely atmosphere,” says Tessa. “If they want something, all they have to do is ask.”

Built in 1834, the 10-bedroom hotel commands spectacular

views of the Cheviot Hills.

It’s a short drive from the Lammermuir Hills and Berwickshire coast.

Traditional furnishings retain the country-house feel, all the spacious bedrooms have their own character and some have four posters. Downstairs there’s usually an open fire roaring in the grate.

The four-course dinner menu changes daily. Game comes from the estate. Meat, fish, seafood, fruit and vegetables come from local farms and suppliers.

Chirnside Hall offers a wide variety of shooting with pheasant, partridge, grouse, duck and pigeon. The established shoot is run by Christian Korsten who has stalked deer for more than 30 years across Scotland and around the world. Shooting days for novices or beginners are easily arranged.

The nearby River Tweed is famous worldwide for fly fishing. Chirnside offers expeditions or lessons with a local guide. The hotel has

Skye’s main town of Portree.

The views out over the loch and out to sea are magnificent.

Skeabost is the only hotel on Skye (strictly speaking, of course, not an island since the Skye Bridge was built in 1995) with its own golf course – a nine-hole, 18 tee shoreline challenge.

Fresh fish and seafood come straight from the fishing port of Mallaig. Skye itself provides much of the venison and beef, mussels, crabs, oysters, vegetables and salads.

Skeabost is steeped in history.

T Two ruined local chapels are a associated with Saint Columba w who died in 597 after bringing C Christianity from Ireland to S Scotland.

For several centuries a island in the river was the an b burial ground of the Chiefs of t Clan Nicholson. What is the

now the golf course was the site of a bloody battle in 1528 between the MacDonalds and the Macleods.

Between April and September guests can sail on the owners’ luxury yacht (a 50-foot Sun Odyssey) which is also often used for weddings. Ken is the former captain of the five-star cruise ship Hebridean Princess.

all the amenities shooters and anglers would expect such as drying and changing rooms.

Walks on the estate can bring sightings of birds of prey, deer, hares and maybe an otter.

Country houses and mansions like Manderston, Paxton, Floors Castle and Sir Walter Scott’s Abbotsford are a short drive from Chirnside.

Chirnside, Berwickshire, Scottish Borders TD11 3LD Tel: 01890 818219; www. chirnsidehallhotel.com

SKEABOST Skeabost Hotel on the Isle of Skye is situated on the edge of Loch Snizort. A fast flowing river, which runs through the 23 acres of grounds, provides excellent trout and salmon fishing.

The 14-bedroom (four of them four-posters) hotel is the third on Skye owned by former Scottish Hoteliers of the Year Anne Gracie and Ken Gunn, who also run Duisdale and Toravaig House Hotels. It’s a seven-minute drive from

Shooting on Skye includes the rare opportunity to stalk stags in and around the jaw-dropping Black Cuillin mountain range.

Skeabost, Isle of Skye IV51 9NP Tel. 01470 532202 www.skeabosthotel.com

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 75

hotels

THE PARKLANDS HOTEL This is far from a traditional country sports hotel but an excellent base for making the most of ‘Big Tree County’ Perthshire, renowned for its hunting, shooting and fishing.

It’s a couple of minutes’ walk from Perth railway station on the edge of the South Inch park – a setting owners Scott and Penny Edwards have made the most of with a delightful garden terrace (with a giant parasol with light and heat for the cooler evenings) looking down to it.

Regularly voted Perth’s top hotel, the four-star Parklands combines the charms of a boutique hotel and top notch food. In-house it has the fine dining, two AA Rosettes ’63 at Parklands’ as well as the informal No. 1 The Bank bistro.

If that wasn’t enough for foodies it also has the 63 Tay Street restaurant, a few hundred yards away. All are under the guidance of local lad and executive chef Graeme Pallister.

A Masterchef of Great Britain, he was named Chef of the Year at the Catering in Scotland Excellence Awards in 2013 and

is a passionate ambassador for Scottish produce.

Each contemporary styled room has modern furniture, Egyptian cotton sheets and duvets, LED Smart TV’s, DAB Radios with Bluetooth speaker and USB charging. High speed wifi is available in the bedrooms and public areas. Scotland’s rain can be among the finest in the world, so there’s an umbrella in every bedroom – just in case. There’s a fourposter for the more romantic – and a gun cabinet, but not in that bedroom.

The Parklands Hotel, 2 St Leonard’s Bank, Perth PH2 8EB Tel. 01738 622451 www. theparklandshotel.com

76 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

MARYCULTER HOUSE HOTEL This is one for history as well as fishing buffs. Built on the site of a former Knights Templar chapel and farm, part of the hotel dates from the 15th century or even earlier.

Situated six miles from Aberdeen, it’s owned by the family of Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management. At the entrance to Royal Deeside, it’s handily placed for exploring Scotland’s only Castle Trail and the only malt whisky trail in the world.

Maryculter House Hotel owns the Culter and Tilbouries beats (the latter bought in 2015) on the River Dee and offers an exclusive right to fish over 3.5 miles of the world famous salmon river. Indeed, it claims to be the only hotel situated right on the Dee. Its Poachers Brasserie has recently been refurbished, providing an informal alternative to the hotel’s fine dining Priory restaurant. The hotel’s family room has also been re-worked with modern tweed fabrics. You may find yourselves in the middle, or at least the fringe, of a wedding

as more than half the hotel’s revenue comes from those tying a knot instead of a fly.

Two rooms were recently turned into a wedding suite.

A nice touch is the souvenir gift of ‘Mary Coo’ - a wee Highland cow (a toy one, not the real thing). Murder Mystery Evenings are particularly atmospheric in such a setting, with dates in the diary for 2016.

Maryculter House Hotel, Kirkton of Maryculter, Aberdeen AB12 5GB Tel: 01224 732124; www.maryculterhouse hotel.com

GREYWALLS I must confess a personal (if rather indirect) connection with Greywalls: the grand Edwardian mansion was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens whose works also include the former head office of news and financial information agency Reuters which employed me for more than 20 years.

It helps if you like golf.

Greywalls is a wee chip from the 10th tee and 9th green at Muirfield, half an hour’s drive south of Edinburgh on East Lothian’s Golf Course Road.

There’s no reception desk, no demand for a credit card as soon as you check in, and a feeling as soon as you enter that you’re a special house guest. Its food comes courtesy of legendary chef Michel Roux, whose photos are plastered all around the dining room. The hotel provides private dining of

in one off the th he soundly in 23 bedrooms, which include six cottages.

If you fancy looking at birds, Aberlady Nature reserve is a few

double bedroom suite with a double-bedroom unobstructed views of the loch, where Celtic legends abound.

With three AA Rosettes you should be assured of a good meal. Options can include a nine-course tasting menu.

Unlike quite a few other so-called ‘top’ hotels I know, Ardanaiseig welcomes children and offers activities for all ages, including clay pigeon shooting, archery and kayaking. Bicycles are available free of charge.

I dog-friendly too. It has its It’s o own fishing boats, which can b used as rowing boats, but be a also equipped with a 4HP are o outboard engine. Boats can be r rented for a trip across the loch to the ruins of Kilchurn Castle, an ancient burial ground on Inishail Island.

The grounds are a photographer’s dream. You might catch glimpses of deer, squirrels, birds and fish.

A short drive away is one of the country’s most amazing engineering achievements – and a popular tourist destination. Hidden deep within the mountain of Ben

ARDANAISEIG

This category B listed manor house, dating back to 1834, was voted Country House Hotel of the Year in the 2015 Scottish Hotel Awards. Owned by a London antiques dealer, it’s not surprising that the place is a treasure trove of antique furniture and works of art.

The hotel describes its bedrooms as “classic tradition with a bold twist of eccentricity.” Your eyes may be attracted even more to the spectacular views across Loch Awe and landscaped grounds.

If it’s romance you’re after, book the Boat Shed,

m minutes’ drive away and good fo spotting migrating wildfowl, for w waders and seabirds. Historian an author Nigel Tranter, who and li lived locally, wrote some of his b books there.

the highest calibre.

Outside there are putting and croquet greens, tennis courts - and Gertrude Jekyll’s magnificent walled gardens with delightful nooks and statues.

Greywalls has close connections with the family behind the Horlicks malt drink so you’d expect to sleep

Greywalls, Gullane, East Lothian EH31 2EG Tel. 01620 842144 www.greywalls.co.uk

Cruachan, on the shores of Loch Awe, is a hydro electric power station. The cavernous ‘hollow mountain’ has been used as the setting for a number of films including the James Bond blockbuster The World is not Enough starring Pierce Brosnan.

Ardanaiseig Hotel, Kilchrenan by Taynuilt, Argyll, PA35 1HE Tel. 01866 833337 www.ardanaiseig.com For information on Hotel PR’s services call 0131 473 2388 or 0141 552 4800 www.hotelpr.co.uk

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 77

food and drink

A FINE DRAM FOR PHEASANT

WHISKY IS NO LONGER JUST AN AFTER-DINNER TIPPLE, SAYS MARK NEWTON, WHO RECOMMENDS HALF A DOZEN FINE MALTS TO GO WITH THIS SEASON’S PHEASANT.

78 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

T

HIS IS THE season of biting winds and brooding skies, when the mind may slip more than once to dreams of warm fires and hearty food. It’s also a fine time – perhaps even the best time – to enjoy a glass of single malt whisky.

Whether a dram is being crafted in Scotland or Tasmania, the whisky industry is in rude health. There is more choice of single malts and blends than ever before. Such diversity and a thriving spirits culture means that whisky is no longer considered merely an afterdinner drink. In fact, it can be paired with all kinds of cuisine from roasted meats and fish to cheese and chocolates.

Although whisky ought to be drunk according to personal tastes – for example, add water or ice if you want to – the season of pheasants invites a selection of recommended pairings at this time of year.

To understand the connection between bird and dram further, I caught up with top game chef Andy Waugh, of the Wild Game Co.. Andy has recently opened the restaurant, Mac and Wild, on Great Titchfield Street, London, and it has a huge whisky selection available

to diners. Andy has also worked with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in matching game meat with whisky.

“I come from a game background,” Andy said, “so to me the pheasant is like a wild chicken. The shape, the colour, the look of the animal – there’s a lot of similarity. Originally, they came from the Far East, and now every single continent pretty much has some version of the pheasant, which means the types of cuisine vary a lot.

“The colour is beautiful.

Yellow, like corn-fed chicken.

And its texture is similar too, although there’s a bit more bite to it than chicken, and it can be dry if you cook it the same.

Personally, I like to crown the pheasant and cook it with oil and salt. The best age to eat a pheasant is when it’s young, about a year old – when it’s this season’s bird. Hung between two to four days, you can enjoy a beautifully mild, wild-tasting meat.

“The whiskies that go best with the meat,” Andy continues, “are those with orange or fruity tones, which offset the gameness. Something sweet goes really well with pheasant.”

It’s just as well that sweeter, fruitier whiskies are in abundance.

If notes of oranges, in particular, go well with pheasant, then look no further than the Dalmore distillery, where such a quality can be found consistently across the range of its superbly textured spirit. The Dalmore lies north of Inverness, on the banks of the Cromarty Firth. Some of its more premium whiskies, each one bearing the distillery’s iconic stag’s head, are perhaps more famed for the cost rather than the flavours. Indeed, many bottles in their Constellation collection cost many thousands of pounds (I’ve been lucky enough to sample a couple – they’re very good, but it’s a pricey business).

At around £120 a bottle, The Dalmore King Alexander III is much more affordable. The

whisky was created to honour the act of the Chief of the Clan Mackenzie, who in 1263 felled a charging stag that was destined to attack Scotland’s king and rather ruin his royal hunting expedition. Such a noble deed deserves a notable whisky.

This single malt is made up of a marriage of different whiskies from the distillery’s warehouse. And in this case the spirit has spent many years maturing in exotic wine barriques, port pipes and sherry casks from fine bodegas.

The result is an exceptionally velvety dram, which oozes

plummy late-summer fruits, figs and warming winter spices.

It’s absolutely sublime and, despite its complexity, remains very approachable.

Nestled at the foot of the Ben Rinnes mountain, in the heart of the Speyside region, is Glenfarclas. Established in 1836, it has become a favourite of many around the world – and was even one of the first distilleries to have a visitor centre. Glenfarclas thrives in producing sweeter whiskies with classic dried fruit notes.

Though Glenfarclas produces a wide range of whiskies, the Ì

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 79

Grouse

Glenfarclas 15 Years Old – adding cinnamon, ginger and sherry notes to a wonderful spirit – is perhaps one of the icons of the stable. It is not without good reason, either, having won numerous accolades over the years. Costing just a shade under £50 a bottle, this is one of the richest and best-value single malts available. The characteristics are particularly striking in the winter months, evoking sweet and spicy dishes, notably Christmas cake.

I don’t think there’s a better value distillery these days than GlenDronach. This distillery will offer you fantastic flavours, made traditionally and sold at old-fashioned prices. It is without a doubt a hidden gem, a secret that many whisky drinkers are reluctant to share.

For those of you who already enjoy whiskies from the more famous Speyside or Highland distilleries, then you’ll find much to enjoy here.

The GlenDronach 18 Years Old ‘Allardice’ (named after the distillery’s founder) is gorgeous.

It reminds me of Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut – morello cherries, champagne truffles, tangerines, and a glass of decent Bordeaux.

All within one glass. The real beauty about this, is that a bottle only costs £60 – which is why whisky drinkers prefer to keep it a secret. So don’t go telling anyone.

Although the island of Islay is

fo its peated whiskies, known for there are some delicately sw fruity, sweet gems here too.

Bruichlad Bruichladdich produces a wide variety of different types of whiskies – including Octomore, world most heavily the world’s a peated – and is known for being a radical experimenter. The distillery sits on the shores of Ind Loch Indaal, gets its water from an inland spring nearby, and has rejuvenat agriculture on the rejuvenated island in the pursuit of locally ba grown barley.

It has constantly sought to explore the concept o whisky – on how of terroirr on the land can shape the taste spi of the spirit.

A d unlike many other And Islay distilleries, which are smoky beasts, Bruichladdich’s core range remains unpeated.

Though they offer many single cask experiments for the connoisseur, Bruichladdich: The Classic Laddie showcases its elegant floral spirit, with notes of vanilla, apples and caramelised fruit. It’s so light and classy, and is also a great n to Scotch whisky. introduction It’s also madee entirely from ey, which, in the Scottish barley, global world of whisky, not all an boast. distilleries can Now, thosee who are seeking more curiouss and exotic specimens may look to Japan, uces brilliantly which produces d delicate whiskies, balanced and re crafted in a very and which are similar style to Scotch. Japanese re proving so distilleries are bally that many of popular globally ving to limit what them are having they release in order for aged ld up again. stocks to build anese Harmonyy is a Hibiki Japanese d whisky made by new blended d it goes with just Suntory, and ing – from being about anything cktails to being served in cocktails paired with pheasant. Priced at around £50, it’s very easy going, with intense floral aromas that me hidden corner speak of some of a Japanesee garden. There’s a marmaladee and honeyed at just suits the sweetness that eat perfectly. pheasant meat y conversation with During my entioned that there Andy, he mentioned

80 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

was an opportunity for those who love the sweet smoke of peated whiskies to enjoy their preferred tipple with pheasant.

Should you want to cook, say, chorizo with the pheasant – or even, say, pheasant curry – then these stronger flavours allows for a more robust, peated dram to accompany it.

For those contemplating more adventurous dishes, without hesitation, I’d recommend the Longrow 18 Years Old. It’s distilled at Springbank distillery, in Campbeltown, a town that a century ago used to boast tilleries, well over two dozen distilleries, but now has just a trio. The neas great whisky writer, Aeneas ed MacDonald, once referred to Campbeltown as the sky ‘double bass’ of the whisky p and orchestra, given its deep muscular whiskies, and that’s his an apt description for this one in particular.

The Longrow 18 Years Old is hand-crafted without a

computer in sight, and at just under £90 a bottle it still represents excellent value. It’s a robust, oily, maritime whisky with some wonderful mellow smoke, and it’s certainly one of my best of the year. In fact, long after you’ve consumed your pheasant, and you’re sitting by the light of the fire contemplating the cold hillside once again, I can think of no better peated whisky right now. This is a brooding, mood whisky: something to warm the bones and share with your friends.

All these whiskies can be ordered online from The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt or Amazon.co.uk The Dalmore King Alexander III – £120 Glenfarclas 15 Years Old – £50 GlenDronach 18 Years Old – £60 Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – £45 Hibiki Japanese Harmony – £50 Longrow 18 Years Old – £85

The Leading Auctioneer of Fine Sporting Guns in Scotland London Auction Dates: 1st December 2015 13th April 2016 Gleneagles Hotel Auction: 29th August 2016

Auctions held in London and in Scotland at the Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire.

Regular Free Valuation Days in Edinburgh.

Auction at Gleneagles now in its 48th Year.

For further information and for a free valuation contact Gavin Gardiner directly: +44 (0)1798 875300

www.gavingardiner.com

Auctioneers of Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns, Ri es and Accessories

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THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 81

FOOD & DRINK

GLENEAGLES GET THEIR MAN NEW HEAD CHEF AT WORLD FAMOUS HOTEL.

P

ERTHSHIRE’S GLENEAGLES HOTEL has welcomed Ram Jalasutram as its new resort head chef. Ram, 37, will oversee the day-to-day operations of the resort’s 70-strong kitchen brigade, including The Strathearn restaurant, Deseo and The Dormy Clubhouse, as well as Gleneagles’ private dining operation.

Educated in Mumbai and with a family background in hospitality, Ram studied hotel management and was named Young Chef of the Year in 2002. From there, his culinary career moved to London and he went on to work in some of the UK’s bestknown culinary establishments. Previous roles include sous chef at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester; senior sous chef at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge; senior sous chef at Gordon Ramsey’s Pétrus and, latterly, head chef at Pennyhill Park in Surrey.

Chef Ram: “I want to focus on keeping Gleneagles on the British culinary map by serving up classics with a modern twist. One of the attractions of coming to Scotland was being able to strike up closer relationships Gleneagles Deseo restaurant

Ram Jalasutram

with suppliers, and I’m excited about working with the top quality produce that’s available in Perthshire, to create some fantastic dishes.

“I would also like to take some of my experience of running culinary masterclasses in London and create some more opportunities for Gleneagles’ guests to interact with, and learn from, our chefs.”

His enthusiasm is genuine, and he had no hesitation in answering a few questions.

Will game, salmon and trout be appearing on the menu?

Yes, in abundance. There’s nothing better than Scottish game, and this is the perfect time of year for it. Some of the dishes appearing on our menu at the moment include partridge, Scottish venison with celeriac, Lanark Blue cheese and figs; and Gressingham duck with tortellini, parsnip, cherry gel and morel mushrooms. And, of course, we always have grilled salmon and two varieties of smoked salmon on the menu - that’s enduringly popular.

How are you finding Scotland?

Scotland is wonderful, and I love working at Gleneagles. I feel surrounded by friendly, positive people and the quality of life is excellent.

What interests do you have away from the kitchens?

I enjoy spending time with my family and getting out to explore the Scottish countryside.

We have really good travel links from here (Auchterarder) to the rest of the country, which helps us to get out and about.

Have you been to the famed Gleneagles shooting school?

Yes – that could possibly be my new hobby!

I have visited the school a couple of times now for shooting and, though it was my first time, it was great fun. It’s a fantastic facility with a great reputation, and we get guests using it from all over the world.

82 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Is your role strictly one of management, or will you still also be cooking?

Both. Day-to-day, I manage a team of about 80 chefs throughout the resort, which can be challenging but is also very rewarding.

I’m also still able to put my culinary skills to the test, focusing on innovation and coming up with new dishes with the individual head chefs from each restaurant.

What prompted the move away from London?

In London, I was working in one of the best hotels/restaurants in the world, but I eventually sort of fell out of love with the city. I’d been there for a long time and I wanted to try and make my name in a more rural setting, in the countryside, where I would have a little more time and freedom to develop relationships with suppliers – there’s no time in London!

What food do you favour personally?

At home, I’ll cook really simple continental dishes – something like roast chicken with spring onion mash and gravy is a real favourite.

Where do you rate as the top restaurant anywhere in Britain?

There are lots to choose from – and I’m sure I’m not allowed to pick any of the Gleneagles restaurants! I have to say Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester – they are always coming up with new and interesting dishes.

Every time I go there, I learn something new. I also love Galvin at Windows (Hilton, Park Lane) – they have a very simple menu, expertly done.

Are you married with children?

I’ve been married to my wife for three years now.

If so, how has your family settled in Scotland?

We are both settling in Auchterarder very well – far quicker than we expected, actually.

We’re still getting used to that slower pace of life, but living in a small town has big benefits, and we like the sense of community. I can walk to work every day now in a matter of minutes.

“There’s nothing better than Scottish game, and this is the perfect time of year for it.”

GROUSE SALAD

Grouse breast, carrot, heather honey and ginger purée, pickled chanterelles and miso jus SERVES 4 AS A STARTER

Ingredients O 4 grouse breasts O 50ml crème fraîche O 1 clove garlic O 1 sprig thyme O 3 juniper berries crushed O sea salt and pepper O 2 carrots peeled and chopped O ½ an inch of ginger root finely grated O 1 teaspoon

Method

heather honey O 100ml double cream O 30gm butter O 1 shallot finely chopped O 25ml sherry vinegar O 100gm Scottish chanterelles O 25ml rapeseed oil O 9 x baby carrots – purple, white and orange

Marinade the grouse breasts in crème fraîche, garlic and thyme, for 24 hours.

In a saucepan, sauté the chopped carrots in butter with a splash of water. When nearly cooked, add the ginger, honey and cream and finish cooking, then make a fine purée with a hand blender.

Peel the baby carrot to remove the outer skin and then peel them lengthways to create “carpaccio”, place in iced water.

In a saucepan, add the chopped shallots and the vinegar and reduce until nearly done.

Add the oil and warm through. Toss in the mushrooms and cook for a minute.

O Butter O Seasoning O Watercress leaves O 2 spring onions O Edible flowers O 50 ml reduced grouse stock (made from the grouse bones) O 1 spoon of miso O 1 spoon virgin rapeseed oil

Season with pepper and sea salt, and add some flat leaf parsley. Keep to one side.

In a non-stick pan, cook the grouse breasts for 2 minutes each side, remove from pan and allow to rest.

To serve

Divide the carrot purée between the plates and pull across.

Scatter the mushrooms across the plate.

Cut each grouse breast into three slices, drain on paper and add to the plate.

Add watercress leaves, flowers and spring onions.

Season carrot “carpaccio” with a little salt and divide onto plates.

Finish with a few drops of miso, grouse jus made from stock and oil.

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 83

Gbr oo ouksse

FROM

DREAMS TO GROUSE, DEER AND GUNDOGS SOME GOOD NEW TITLES FOR THE HE SSPORTING PORTING BOOKSHELF

IDEAL CHRISTMA S GIFTS

Fields of Dreams – A journey of sporting passion Lord James Percy (The Sporting Library £30) ISBN 978-0-9574677-7-4 Growing up in the wilds of Nothumberland and Scotland, James Percy has enjoyed a privileged life dominated by sporting adventures. In this lavishly illustrated coffee table book, he shares his deep respect for the Great British countryside and his passion for conservation, wildlife, shooting and fishing in a series of beautifully written pieces. It is a colourful mosaic of unapologetic nostalgia, quiet comedy and Northumbrian humour – the hard truths and gentle reflections of a northern countryman’s way of life.

The Th he S h Sportsman Philip Fussell, with Rupert Godfrey (The Sporting Library £20) ISBN 978-0-9928318-5-1 Philip Fussell is a legend of the shooting world. Born in Wiltshire in 1931, he has spent most of his life shooting and is widely regarded as one of the finest game Shots of all time.

In this brand new book, Philip tells his remarkable life story. And with hundreds of sporting memories and anecdotes about many well-known names in the shooting world, it is both a fascinating and entertaining insight into the life of one of our great sporting characters. Sit back and enjoy.

THE ABOVE TWO TITLES ARE AVAILABLE DIRECT AT: WWW.THESPORTINGLIBRARY.CO.UK 84 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

The Stalking Party D. P. Hart-Davis (Merlin Unwin Books £14.99) ISBN 978-1-910723-04-3 A fast-moving and sinister story revolving around a wealthy stalking party assembled for sport amidst the grandeur of a Scottish deer forest. The labyrinthine mystery of this fiction thriller is handled with aplomb by Hart-Davis. A lethal concoction of sexual, social and inheritance conflicts combines to create a highly dangerous situation in an untamed landscape where natural hazards threaten the unwary as much as man-made ones.

The Rabbit Jill Mason (Merlin Unwin Books £20) ISBN 978-1-906122-98-0 Covering the humble rabbit’s life-cycle, behaviour, breeding, feeding habits and, above all, its incredible adaptability and resourcefulness, Jill Mason puts the under-rated wild rabbit back into context. Beautifully illustrated by photographer David Mason, The Rabbit also includes a reference section on the sites of the UK’s former commercial rabbit warrens.

The Yellow ll Earll

On Your Shoot

Venison – the game larder

Liam Bell (Quiller Publishing £20) ISBN 978-1-84689-211-0 An invaluable reference tool for gamekeepers, gamekeeping students, members of shooting syndicates and anyone with an interest in shooting, this guide runs through the tasks required to maintain a shoot of your own, providing practical tips, cost-saving ideas and a guide to common pitfalls.

From stock selection, habitat management and predator control to game crop establishment, holding game and running a shoot day, advice is offered in an informal and easy-to-read style.

José Souto (Merlin Unwin Books £25) ISBN 978-1-906122-96-6 Not just a cookery book, this is a true celebration of deer. Game expert José Souto offers over 50 innovative ways to enjoy venison. Souto has invited guest chefs to add their own favourite venison recipes to his own, opening up a wide range of dishes from simple venison lasagne to elegant dinner-party show-stoppers. Lavishly illustrated with photographs from Steve Lee, Venison provides a holistic overview of deer stalking and British deer, and the process that takes them from the hillside or woodland to the kitchen.

Douglas Sutherland (Merlin Unwin Books £20) ISBN 978-1-910723-03-6 The 5th Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Lowther was perhaps the most famous English Lord in the world by the 1880s, and was dubbed ‘England’s Greatest Sportsman’. His love of womanising, boxing, gambling, horses and hunting – not to mention his reckless spending of his vast fortune – not only rocked the Edwardian aristocracy but endeared him to risk-takers and bon-viveurs the world over, ever since. Douglas Sutherland’s biography of Hugh is a pacey and fascinating tribute to one of aristocracy’s greatest eccentrics.

Game Shooting – An Illustrated History

River Cottage Handbook No.15 – Game

David S. D. Jones (Quiller Publishing £25) ISBN 978-184689210-3 A fascinating and comprehensive book on the history of game shooting. Using snippets from diaries, game books and personal testimonies from sportsmen and gamekeepers, sporting historian David S. D. Jones provides an accurate and fascinating overview of game shooting both in the UK and overseas, since its inception in the 16th century to the present day. Also covered are shoot organisation, lady Shots, shoot vehicles and sporting agents, resulting in a balanced insight of the sport in bygone days.

Tim Maddams (Bloomsbury £14.99) ISBN 978-1-4088-5832-5 In the 15th River Cottage Handbook, Tim Maddams offers a comprehensive guide to harvesting and preparing game.

Tim begins by describing the characteristics of game species, then discusses ethical and sustainable hunting, preservation and seasonality. A series of easy-to-follow, step-by-step guides to skinning, feathering and butchering techniques are also included, and accompany a host of outstanding recipes from the River Cottage kitchen. Ì THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 85

Gbr oo ouksse

The Labrador Handbook Pippa Mattinson (Ebury Press £8.99) ISBN 978-1-78503-091-8 Addressing all the challenges that face a new labrador owner, in The Labrador Handbook Pippa Mattinson offers modern, science-based advice on everything from selecting a healthy puppy to healthcare, principles of early training and breeding. An easy, practical, stepby-step guide, Pippa was inspired to write this book by the many new dog owners who visit her website in search of advice.

A Year on the Moor Tarquin Millington-Drake (Quiller Publishing £35) ISBN 978-1-84689-213-4 Tarquin Millington-Drake’s first book showcases everything we love about our unique uplands in a spectacular way. This large format coffee table book is a photographic account of a year on a grouse moor. Starting in winter, it progresses through the seasons, giving the reader a unique view of our uplands. With more than 200 incredible images – from the charismatic birds themselves to the scenery, the dogs, the detail and hive of activity and interaction between man and moor – it really is a celebration of all that we who shoot, beat, pick-up and load love about our uplands.

Salmon Dance (UFO Artistic Gallery $250) ISBN 978-4-908149-01-6 Award-winning salmon conservationist Orri Vigfusson is the chairman and co-founder of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF). In the stunning Salmon Dance, he brings together the philosophy and art of several kindred spirits in the salmon world. A collection of writings, coupled with Yasuji Sugai’s breathtaking photography perfectly captures the beauty of this most incredible of creatures.

All profits from the sales of this book are donated to salmon conservation organisations, including NASF.

The Imperfect Shot

The One That Got Away

J C Jeremy Hobson (Quiller Publishing £20) ISBN 978-1-84689-208-0 A humorous collection of experiences, faux pas and misdemeanours in the shooting field with anecdotes and tales of many light-hearted incidents, this book provides some novel excuses and tongue-in-cheek advice for pickers-up, Guns and keepers alike for when things don’t quite go as planned. Brought to life by Oliver Preston’s illustrations, there are, among its pages, real pearls of wisdom.

Multi-author (Merlin Unwin Books £20) ISBN 978-1-910723-02-9 A highly entertaining and absorbing read, The One That Got Away is a speciallycommissioned collection of essays in which a number of famous and highly regarded angling writers share their experiences of a lost fish which has haunted them all their lives. Contributors include Jeremy Paxman, Chris Yates, David Profumo, Neil Patterson and Laurence Catlow, amongst others, with wood engraving illustrations by Chris Wormell throughout.

Shooting for Sport

Complete Training for the Working Spaniel

Tony Jackson (The Crowood Press £16.99) ISBN 978-1-84797-933-9 Tony Jackson’s guide to driven game shooting, wildfowling and the DIY shoot explains the various aspects that surround sporting shooting in all its guises. From choosing a gun and gun safety to finding shooting, quarry species, rough shooting and gundogs – fully illustrated with colour photographs – this will no doubt prove a useful book for any newcomer to the world of shooting.

86 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Graham Gibson (The Crowood Press £19.95) ISBN 978-1-84797-945-2 A nicely illustrated guide to training a working spaniel. Suitable for both novice and experienced trainers, this book offers step-by-step practical advice on all aspects of spaniel training, covering a wide range of topics to help the reader raise the perfect shooting companion. From choosing a spaniel and teaching it the basics to introducing your dog to game, retrieving and water work, including a section on common problems and solutions.

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88 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

1

Fishing

GETTING CRAFTY ON A

KAYAK

SIMON EVERETT ON THE LATEST FAD IN FISHING.

K

AYAKS HAVE BEEN used for hunting and fishing for centuries, but in recent years they have been making waves in the recreational angling scene around the world. It was good to see the opening programme in the new BBC series The Big Fish, include a kayak fishing session off the coast of Iceland. The big breakthrough was with the design of specialist, fishing friendly kayaks with open cockpits that remove the fear many people

have of using a traditional kayak. The other big motivator is the affordability and ease of use of these great fishing platforms.

Fishery owners need not be afraid of kayak anglers, they are anglers using a low impact, environmentally friendly craft, and it is good to see that major fisheries are welcoming them. Of course, there is resistance from some quarters who seem to ally kayak anglers with canoeists, but there is a distinct difference: kayak anglers are anglers who also do not want to disturb the

fish. Fish are not spooked by a drifting kayak and shallow water can be accessed to be able to fish effectively where other forms of craft cannot reach.

Safety concerns have also been addressed.

Kayaks are able to handle adverse conditions, far worse than a traditional boat, and take them in their stride. Kayak anglers are, in the majority, the most safety conscious and best equipped water users there are. No kayak angler worthy of the title would go out without being dressed for Ì

“It was good to see the opening programme in the new BBC series The Big Fish, included a kayak fishing session off the coast of Iceland.”

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 89

immersion, with a specialist buoyancy aid and, on the sea, equipped with compass, GPS and VHF. Specialist safety courses, promoted by The Angling Trust, prepare people to go about this family friendly access to the water for angling the correct way. For fly and lure fishing, the humble kayak is the ideal tool: fast, seaworthy and with negligible impact in both the noise and footprint departments. They are great fun and provide a means to combine healthy exercise with a love of fishing.

Handling fish is easier too, as due to the close proximity of the water, the fish are only inches away. Landing big pike is more convenient than having to haul them over the gunwale of a boat, and revival and release is easier too. The kayak has proved its worth, served its apprenticeship and is now gaining acceptance as being a legitimate fishing tool that has no detrimental effect whatsoever. There are even kayak fishing competitions being staged by fisheries in all the home nations, with more springing up each year. For lakes and big rivers, a kayak is a wonderful way of quietly fishing otherwise inaccessible water.

Our photographs were taken at an informal event on Loch Ken, in Dumfries.

“For fly and lure fishing, the humble kayak is the ideal tool: fast, seaworthy and with negligible impact in both the noise and footprint departments.�

90 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

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92 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

SCOTLAND THE BRAVE?

ARE OUR SPORTING ESTATES UNDER THREAT OF CLOSURE? SPORTING AGENT NIALL ROWANTREE WORRIES ABOUT PROPOSALS FROM RECENT LEGISLATION.

T

HE SCOTTISH LAND Reform Bill, published in June 2015 and currently under consideration by the Scottish Parliament, is causing concern among the fieldsports community. With Westminster giving Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party the devolved right to deal with all matters to do with Scottish land, the path to reform is inevitable. But are the current proposals, which include the ending of tax relief for sporting estates and forced sales if owners block economic development, the best way forward for Scotland, one of the world’s premium fieldsports destinations?

Niall Rowantree, a born and bred Scot, head stalker and sporting manager at West Highland Hunting, has spent 20 years managing the deer herd on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, a 50-square-mile finger of land that juts out into the North Atlantic Ocean from Scotland’s west coast.

He also provides deer management services and consultancy for several other estates in Scotland, managing some 160,000 acres in total.

In his opinion it would be disastrous if proposals to redistribute land by breaking up large estates, get the green light. “Where we have an issue is that the majority of MSPs are urban-centric and it’s easy for them to have a vision of quaint communities with a small scale ownership mosaic landscape. To link land reform to scale of land ownership is dangerous as it depends on the type of land being discussed. For example, if an estate includes massive areas of blanket peat bog which has a huge role to play in carbon sequestration in Europe, then to divide that up in the hope that people can make a living on it, is bordering on lunacy.”

Niall believes this also ties in with the apparent desire of the Scottish National Party to right the wrongs of the past and tackle what are seen as social injustices.

“The Scottish Highlands saw massive depopulation in the past driven by feudal masters, although not all these were English, many were Scottish,” he explains.

Some 83.1 per cent of Scotland’s rural land is currently held by private interests.

“If you have an enormous Highland estate owned by an absentee foreign landlord who turns up a few weeks of the year to shoot and keeps everyone else off that land, that is the worse case scenario as the land is not benefiting the local community,” says Niall. “If, however, you have a modern, forward thinking landowner, such as ourselves, it is completely different. The estate used to employ six people; it now employs 50 and works in close partnership with the local community. My question is this: why should a democratic country that allows capitalistic practices, suddenly change the law and destroy that? What

society in allowing wealthy individuals to own extensive tracts of land provided they deliver the social, economic and environmental benefits that a modern nation would expect.”

Clearly for Niall, the most important issue is not who owns the land but how that land is managed, and he calls for a ‘safe ground principle’ to ensure it is not destroyed, eroded, or wiped out plus the need for owners to hit the triple bottom line of providing social, economic and environmental benefits. He would also like the debate to focus on how the buying and selling of Scottish land is currently open to free market forces with no safeguards.

“If you go to Austria to say buy 6,000 acres, they would say OK but here are the rules you must work by: you need to employ x number of people, have y amount of money in the bank and when you transact anything, you must do that through local bank accounts. In Scotland, these safeguards aren’t in place which has led to the situation today of absentee landlords and some 750,000 acres of Scotland being held by companies based in offshore tax havens – none of which provides benefits to local communities, or to Scotland.”

The land reform debate cannot, of course, be looked at as a single issue; it draws in many other areas including the Scottish Government’s pledge to increase biodiversity and the role of agencies such as the Forestry Commission. “The vision of the Scottish Government and its agencies is to halt the loss of biodiversity,” says Niall. “However, there are few examples of this being achieved around the world where small scale subsistence farming cultures exist. Ì If land reform results in that scenario,

“...the majority of MSPs are urban centric and it’s easy for them to have a vision of quaint communities with a small scale ownership mosaic landscape.” people also have to understand is that Scottish land is no longer purely owned by wealthy individuals. It is owned by charities, commercial companies and power companies, many of which buy up huge estates, make millions but pay the local communities virtually nothing. All this needs to be included in any debate about land reform. Large-scale land ownership with no accountability is wrong.

But there is no problem in a democratic

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 93

comment

Scotland’s biodiversity will undoubtedly suffer as the smaller the scale of the land use the more focused the requirement for an income from that land, and the less likelihood of environment tolerance. That is evidenced across the planet.”

As for the Forestry Commission, for which Niall used to work: “The largest white elephant in Scotland at the moment is the Forestry Commission. If there is an opportunity for wide-scale community involvement in the management of natural resources anywhere in the UK it has to be on Forestry Commission land. Yet to this day they insist on wasting £6 million of taxpayers money each year on deer management by contractors when it could be carried out under a licensed system that creates community opportunity and income. This is completely absurd.”

As to the removal of the tax break for sporting estates, Niall is forthright. “The indication is that removing the tax break and administering that, will cost as much as it is worth. I have no problem with

revocation if it is replaced with a natural resources tax paid by any business that uses Scotland’s fragile habitats. The important thing is that that tax can’t just be put on fieldsports businesses because they are perceived to be elitist. Any business that makes use of the country’s natural resources should pay a tax to the community for that privilege, and that includes farming, fish farming and wildlife tourism. But we also need to instigate exemptions to this tax for businesses that deliver on environmental

To conclude, the prejudices around land ownership must give way to intelligent sensible debate about land reform.

Removing wealthy individuals from the landscapes of Scotland will lead to a devaluation of the land, a reduction in employment, a decline in tourism and a loss of natural resources. For stalkers and deer managers such as Niall, any land reform must also safeguard the premium natural resource Scotland is famed for; its deer. “If the Ardnamurchan Estate was split up into micro farms the deer population would be wiped out and the deer sold for beer money instead of what they are really worth. Wild deer in Scotland turn low value grazing land into high value meat production land. But this government seems so incensed by a tweed clad person paying to shoot deer under the supervision of a local, that they can’t see the value of the animal, the value of the land, and the tremendous work that estates and their owners do to bring visitors and their money to Scotland.”

“If the Ardnamurchan Estate was split up into micro farms the deer population would be wiped out and the deer sold for beer money...” targets, secure local employment and maximise the benefit from the natural resource. That creates a good incentive for things to be done properly and ensure that the many people in highland communities who are not wealthy, see benefits from large-scale land ownership.”

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shopping

COUNTRY ATTIRE GREAT SPORTING GEAR & ACCESSORIES, WHATEVER THE SEASON.

Lovely Labs oven gloves from Fur Feather & Fin: £17.99

Matthew jacket in brown from Woodcock and Snipe: £295

Spanish suede riding boots from The Spanish Boot Company RRP: £210

2016 Limited edition laser-engraved grayling fly box from Richard Wheatley: £56

96 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Stealth Argyll shooting vest from NomadUK: £250. Plus fours: £280

Waterproof riding boots from The House of Bruar: £225

Leather flask range from The House of Bruar Hip Flask (200ml): £79.99 Tripple Flask Set: £195 10-cup set: £129.95 Round hip flask (200ml): £149.99

Hare range placemats from Clare Brownlow: £59

FinHunterUK salmon reel Case from Charles Brownlow: £20

Labrador puppy loo seat from Fur Feather & Fin: £49.99

Edward jacket (action back) from Woodcock and Snipe: £325

Kimberley jacket in ocean blue from Butler Stewart: £275

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 97

shopping

Licence holder from Longthorne: £39.99

Wallet (with clip) from Longthorne: £45

Perilla Alpaca shooting socks: £28.60

Bremont Jaguar watch (model: MKII): £4,950

Royal Zip Wellingtons from Gumleaf RRP: £165 ¼ zip breathable/ waterproof sweater from Snowbee: £89.99

Ladies’ Loden short cape from Purdey: £825

Cotton, canvas and leather Heritage fishing bag from Snowbee: £99.99

Men’s technical wool waterproof coat from Purdey: £795

98 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Tweed rugby ball from The House of Bruar: £39.95

Laksen Dorset tweed shooting coat from Farlows: £499

STOCKISTS Bremont Watch Company www.bremont.com Tel: +44 (0)845 0940 690 Butler Stewart www.butlerstewart.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)7941 513650 Charles Brownlow www.charlesbrownlow.com Tel: +44 (0)7805 250131 Clare Brownlow www.clarebrownlow.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)7768 619 777 Farlows www.farlows.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1544 322311 Fur Feather & Fin www.furfeatherandfin.com Tel: +44 (0)1243 811844 Gumleaf www.gumleaf.com Tel: +44 (0)1692 536777 House of Bruar www.houseofbruar.com Tel: +44 (0)1796 483236 Kate Macpherson Sporrans www.wildsporrans.com Tel: +44 (0)7762 057102

FinHunterUK neoprene fly wallet from Charles Brownlow: £20

Leslie Sutcliffe www.lesliesutcliffe.com Tel: +44 (0)1608 683855 Longthorne www.longthorneguns.com Tel: +44 (0)1772 811215 Nomad www.nomaduk.net Tel: +44 (0)7736 255100

Tania coat in Purple Orchid from Butler Stewart: £395

Perilla Limited www.perilla.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1886 853615

Unique, handmade sporrans from Kate Macpherson Sporrans: £300–£650

Purdey www.purdey.com Tel: +44 (0)207 4991801 Richard Wheatley www.richardwheatley.com Tel: +44 (0)1460 55369 Snowbee www.snowbee.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1752 334933 The Spanish Boot Company www.thespanishbootcompany.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)845 313 8167 Tingley rubber overshoes from Leslie Sutcliffe: £24.99

Woodcock & Snipe www.woodcockandsnipe.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1524 782431

THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER 99

GAME BIRD RESEARCH

THE MYSTERIOUS

WOODCOCK

SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA – THERE IS A GROWING TIDE OF INTEREST IN THIS WONDERFUL BIRD, LED BY THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSEVATION TRUST. PHOTOGRAPH: CHRIS KNIGHTS

T

HE WOODCOCK IS a cryptic, elusive wader adapted for a life in woodland and fields.

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust have studied the species for over 30 years, conducting some of the fundamental work on the species’ biology, such as its polygynous mating system. In Britain, we have a resident breeding population estimated at 78,000 males and a total wintering population that could number 1.5 million individuals in some years.

The primary focus of the GWCT’S current work is on understanding and managing populations.

The preferred breeding habitat of woodcock is deciduous or mixed woodland, but conifer plantations are used up to the thicket stage, as are large patches of bracken in upland areas. Wide rides and small clearings (1-3 hectares) provide easy access and flight paths in large woodlands, and an understorey of brambles, hazel, holly or bracken is important to provide cover from avian predators. The bird is absent as

a breeder from Devon, Cornwall and southern and western Wales.

Although the number of birds breeding in the UK is believed to have declined over the last 20 years, woodcock were rare or absent as breeding birds until the mid-19th century, when extensive planting of pheasant coverts was probably responsible for an increase in numbers. The recent decline could be related to the maturing of large conifer forests planted in Scotland, Wales and East Anglia in the 1950s and 1960s.

In spring and early summer, male birds are conspicuous over woodland when they perform their breeding display flights (roding). Breeding woodcock are currently most abundant in the north of England and the lower-lying areas of Scotland. In the south, the best numbers occur in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

A large percentage of the British population are overwintering birds that migrate to northern and eastern Europe to breed during the summer. The distances flown by this small bird are incredible (we are talking Siberia and back!) and were not

100 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

fully realised until the Trust carried out a survey using satellite tracking methods, a few years ago. The Woodcock Watch project has been very successful and provided us with data about woodcock migration patterns and where our overwintering birds migrate to their breeding grounds.

Woodcock breeding habitats survey key findings were as follows: O Woodcock are more likely to breed in landscapes that contain a high proportion of woodland and relatively low proportions of housing and improved grass.

O The chance of breeding woodcock being present in a wood is increased by the diversity of woodland stand types, the absolute number of different stands and gamekeeper density. The chance is reduced in woods with a high proportion of young trees.

The woodcock remains ‘amber-listed’ as a bird of conservation concern within Britain owing to a large-range contraction and probable decline in breeding numbers, during the last 30 years. The GWCT-BTO breeding woodcock survey highlighted regional differences in woodcock occurrence. However, a clear understanding of what influences woodcock distribution and what constitutes good breeding habitat is important if management is to be implemented to improve the species’ status.

Using their survey of roding males at 907 woods, they investigated which landscapes and types of wood influenced the occurrence and abundance of breeding woodcock. The presence of a roding male cannot be taken as proof of a female nesting, but it is a good indicator of habitat suitability. We split the sample into woods where woodcock were breeding and woods where they were absent. We then compared the countryside around the two groups of woods using Geographical Information System (GIS) data, based on satellite images.

This was repeated at five scales, within

“The chance of breeding woodcock being present in a wood is increased by the diversity of woodland stand types...” radii of one kilometre, five, 10, 20 and 30 kilometres from the survey point. There were significant habitat differences in every case, which were similar at all five scales.

Woodcock were present in more heavily wooded landscapes and were less likely to occur in woods surrounded by land with a high proportion of housing or improved grassland. The biggest differences between woods with and without woodcock occurred at the five kilometre radius (80 square kilometres) scale.

Having established that the amount of woodland in the landscape influenced the likelihood of woodcock being present, they examined this in relation to several additional variables thought likely to be

relevant, based on the species’ ecology (see Table 1). The likelihood of breeding woodcock being present, increased further north and east. Relative to woods where woodcock were absent, woods with breeding woodcock had a greater diversity of types of tree stands (deciduous, coniferous, young trees, coppice, shrubs) and a greater number of individual stands, but a lower overall proportion of young trees. The chance of breeding woodcock being present also increased as the number of gamekeepers within five kilometres increased. Roding male abundance was lower in woods with a high proportion of conifers, but higher in woods with more ground vegetation.

This takes them a step closer to understanding how woodland and its management can influence breeding woodcock, but it only explains a small proportion (less than 20 per cent) of the variation in their data. They also need to look at other important variables, such as soil type, which is likely to influence food availability for woodcock. www.woodcockwatch.com

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GUNDOGS

LIFE-CHANGING LABRADORS HEATHER WAKTARE DISCOVERS THAT IT’S OK TO CUDDLE UP ON THE SOFA WITH YOUR GUNDOG.

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HREE YEARS AGO my brother Bruce and his wife Gayle decided to up sticks from their two bedroom cottage in Waltonon-Thames and head for the Scottish Highlands.

This announcement came as a big surprise to me. They were both true townies with a penchant for good restaurants, trendy pubs, cinemas, coffee shops etc. They found a house just 10 miles north of Inverness on the Black Isle, and soon after settling in they announced they were going to buy two dogs, not just pooches, but gundogs! Their only experience was the time they spent with my two working labradors when they came on holiday to Devon.

So they went on a mission to get two black labs. Having done their research they found a gundog breeder just north of Edinburgh. A few days later I had a phone call – ‘mission accomplished!’ They had bought two part-trained labs, Charlie and Piper. Of course, I was full of advice.

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Brother Bruce working with Piper

Don’t let them do this and that, they are not like normal dogs. Having said that, a fat lot of good my advice would be as my two were not very obedient and certainly not good role models!

Bruce bought a kennel, which the new arrivals only spent the nights in; during the day they had their freedom. Charlie and Piper slipped into Bruce and Gayle’s routine, and Bruce would spend the odd couple of hours a week training them with a dummy picking up launcher. Their plan was to go picking-up

on a local estate. I was very cynical about all of this as I could not envisage them out there in the field with the new dogs and no picking-up experience. Was it not a recipe for disaster?

Bruce told me the dogs were great, and his dog Piper was amazing. I had to see this for myself, so I booked a flight and armed with my camera took off for the Highlands.

Arriving at their house, I was greeted by these two beautiful coal-black labs with se coats like seals.

During dinner that evening we chatted about the next day’s shoot, and G Bruce and Gayle were full of jovial banter d would perform the best. After on whose dog supper, we retired to the living room where bur a wood burner was radiating out tr tremendous heat, and we sat and

had a dram or two. Then to my horror, Charlie jumped up and laid beside Gayle on the sofa and Piper climbed up beside Bruce.

“Oh my God, what are you doing? How can you allow them to do that?” But Gayle then announced: “Oh, it’s fine – they always cosy up with us and then they go to their kennel to sleep.” I was starting to get the picture already – there was no way these dogs would perform well in the field.

We were up at the crack of dawn getting ready for our day’s picking-up. It was freezing cold and snowing but the shoot wasn’t far away. We were soon there meeting up with everyone, greetings exchanged and then off for the first drive.I opted to go with Gayle. Standing in the freezing morning air, she was more intent on talking to Charlie Ì

“OK Charlie Charles, you be a good boy and bring those birds back to me?”

This banter was followed by a big smacker of a kiss on Charlie’s head!

Bruce and Gayle at the end of a drive

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GUNDOGS

Gayle and Charlie successfully picking-up another pheasant

than to me! I had never heard talk like it coming from a picker-up. The verbal chatter was bizarre to say the least; I thought I was hearing things. “OK Charlie Charles, you be a good boy and bring those birds back to me?” This banter was followed by a big smacker of a kiss on Charlie’s head! I swear that dog was taking it all in as he sat there with his neck craned, patiently scanning the sky.

Gayle was all smiles and clearly loving every second. Down came the first bird

in Charlie’s range. Gayle let him go, and he was on a mission. He picked the bird, turned and ran towards Gayle who was standing there with her arms stretched wide open and shouting “Come on my Charlie Charles.’’ The dog came straight to her and sat like a statue with his prize. At first

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Author and brother Bruce at elevenses

I thought she was going to pick him up and hug him, but she just gave him another smacker on the head, and this went on for the rest of the day. It was a touching sight to see them together in

“My thoughts drifted back to Piper snuggled up on the chair with Bruce. All the things I had said were proved wrong!”

such harmony and clearly both really enjoying the day.

After lunch I went to see my brother and Piper in action. This was another strange experience. Bruce did not really say much to Piper but this dog was clearly in awe of him. Piper just seemed to know what to do instinctively as Bruce had done very little training with him. My thoughts drifted back to Piper snuggled up on the chair with Bruce. All the things I had said were proved wrong! When Piper retrieved his first bird I was crouching low to take a photo of him. My eyes suddenly filled with tears as I saw this beautiful

black creature thundering through the snow at full speed towards us with a huge cock pheasant in his mouth. Looking through the camera lens I could see the loyalty this dog had for my brother – a truly moving moment.

It was an amazing day watching this little team of four at work. It was very evident that Bruce and Gayle adore their dogs and picking-up. I have never seen a couple so happy together. It was a far cry from having lunch with them at some trendy pub in London.

The moral of the story is yes, you can let your gundog cuddle up on the sofa.

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FISHING

HAPPY MEMORIES IN THIS EXTRACT FROM HIS NEW BOOK THE SPORTSMAN, PHILIP FUSSELL LOOKS BACK ON DAYS SPENT IN PURSUIT OF SALMON.

I

WISH I’D kept proper records of what I’ve caught, but I reckon I must have topped 1,000 salmon on a fly.

The great thing about fishing was that it slotted so well into my calendar. I’d shoot pigeons until the end of April, and then fish through the summer – when I wasn’t playing cricket.

Then the game season started.

A great fishing friend is Peter Stratton. He got me into a timeshare on the Conon, which was great fun for many years, and now he’s a member of the Spey syndicate I still fish with every summer. We’ve had a lot of laughs together: he’s a great naturalist, a natural Shot, and an excellent fisherman. My old friend and near neighbour, John Long, had come up with us for a week on the Beauly. Longy was a dry old stick, and rarely cracked a smile, let alone a laugh. The river was low, and salmon were scarce, and Longy didn’t have much luck. On the Wednesday, he’d retired to the hut for lunch, and I was walking back, having finally caught a 2lb trout and a salmon of about 8lb, when I met up with Peter, who asked me how I’d got on. I showed

him my two fish, and told him that I was going to have a laugh with Longy. I hid the fish beside the hut, and went inside to see Longy’s long face. “Any good?” he asked me. “Yes,” I said, “I’ve had two.” “Two what?” said Longy, “Trout, I expect. I bet you haven’t caught a salmon?” “How much do you want to bet?”

I asked him, and he replied, “£100.” I told him I needed a proper bet, and he raised it to £500. “How about £5,000?”

I said, and he finally agreed.

I went outside and picked up my fish, and stood by the window, and slowly held up the trout. Longy said “I knew it was only a trout, Fussell – get your chequebook out!” I smiled and lifted my other hand, with the salmon in it. “How about ‘ee then, Longy!” I said. “Get your chequebook out!” I never did get paid, but it was worth it, just to see his face.

On another occasion, we decided to wind up Lloyd Stone, another member of my Spey syndicate. We were then fishing the Conon, and Peter and I put together this story of a 70-yearold woman fishing a pool called the Ferry Stream, as we knew Lloyd was going there the next

“I’d shoot pigeons until the end of April, and then fish through the summer – when I wasn’t playing cricket.”

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day. We told him that she was in her slippers, but that she must have known what she was doing, as she was Spey-casting, with an old greenheart rod, a good 40 yards across the river into the pool on the far-side and that she’d caught three fish while we’d been watching.

The next morning, Lloyd skipped breakfast, and when we went down to the river, there he was – an excellent caster – trying to reach the pool from the near side, and not getting anywhere close!

Peter Stratton remembered: “Phil and I were fishing the

Conon in June one year. I had had a blank morning, and walked down to where Phil was fishing a pool called The Major.

He had waded in quite deep, and was concentrating with his usual ferocity – mouth open, tongue out, eyes on his fly – and hadn’t noticed my arrival. There was a gorse bush on the bank directly behind him, and I lay down flat behind it, and gave a loud squeak, shaking the bush as I did so. He briefly turned round, but – seeing nothing – returned to his fly. I repeated the performance, giving my best otter impersonation, and he

Pure concentration

“What I’ve always loved about fishing is that you need just as much fieldcraft to catch a wily salmon, as you do to make a bag of pigeons.”

look harder this time.

“I did it once more – louder this time – and gave the gorse a really good shake, and finally caught his attention. He wound in his line, and very slowly approached the bush, head forward, eyes fixed. I squeaked again, and, as he peered down – his head practically touched the gorse – I leapt up. In his surprise he launched himself backward, and fell into the river, before calling me all sorts of unmentionable things, and then exploding into the Fussell cackle.”

If I had one day of sporting left in my life, I’d choose to spend it fishing Beat 2 on the Thurso in the first week in August – as long as the water was right! I met Lord Thurso, and we got on really well. He said to me: “Philip, you can fish Beat 10 (his private beat) any time you want to!” Marvellous!

What I’ve always loved about fishing is that you need just as much fieldcraft to catch a wily salmon, as you do to make a bag of pigeons. I remember one occasion on the North Esk, where there were overhanging water elders all down the stretch under the Hatton Pool, and the

fish were lying there. They’d been fished hard in the pool itself, and I asked the ghillie how deep the water was there, and he replied “Too deep, Sir.” It was after a spate, and the fish did not want to be caught in the usual pools, so I told the ghillie I was going to have a go at getting at these fish.

I managed to do a little flick cast under the elders, and,

Philip (seated, second left) with his Spey syndicate members

during that week, I had 21 salmon from that stretch! The ghillie couldn’t believe it, but I said to him that the fish simply hadn’t seen a fly down there before in the faster water; they were always seeing flies, but never under those elders. Bob Browning was there, and he didn’t catch a fish all week.

In those days, of course, I was steady on my legs, and I could get myself out of trouble; now I sometimes think – halfway across a river – ‘You bloody idiot, Fussell. What are you doing here?’ I nearly drowned on the Moy a few years ago. I’m a bit

unsteady now that I’ve had new hips! I had my wading stick, but the water had washed a hole out that I stepped into, and I lost my balance completely.

I tugged at my life jacket toggle, but it didn’t inflate. As I lost my footing, I managed to grab the branch from an overhanging withy tree. I dropped the brand new Hardy rod I was using, and just hung on to the tree. Luckily, the ghillie wasn’t far down the river below me, and saw my rod floating past, and realised what had happened. He came up in the boat, and managed to get me to the bank.

The Sportsman by Philip Fussell, with Rupert Godfrey, is available from the Sporting Library (£20) www.thesportinglibrary.co.uk

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GA ME SHOOTING PHOTOGRAPHY

OVER!

A CLASSIC NOVEMBER SPORTING SCENE AT THIRLESTANE IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS. PHOTOGRAPH BY GLYN SATTERLEY.

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Joanie Whiteford & Quintin Stevens

Philippa Dingwall, Fiona Flowers & Sally Macdonald

Ron Hepburn & Ross Young

Mike Clark, Pete Henry, Harry Maitland, Anna Gardiner & Malcolm Leslie Frank Hoskins, Denis McGrath & Ross Mickel

David MacRobert & Sally Hamilton

Shibumi Coat and Indigo Ivy Waistcoat, Lots 118 and 120

GWCT SCOTTISH AUCTION 2015

The annual Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scottish Dinner and Auction took place in Edinburgh at Prestonfield House Hotel on 14th May. The event was once again generously sponsored by Pentland Landrover and Saffery Champness and was attended by 440 people.

Louise Williams, Nick Holt & Sam Lagneau Jon Lambert, Michelle Stevens & Chris Swift

The guests enjoyed a champagne reception and a delicious dinner beautifully prepared by the Prestonfield chef and his team, including venison which had been generously donated by Highland Game. The convivial atmosphere soon became competitive as the auction got under way, and between the live auction (conducted by Bernard Williams of Christie’s), the silent auction (conducted on handsets on the tables) and the raffle, a total of over £144,000 was raised for the charity on the night. As the final accounts for the evening were drawn up, the event had raised over not far short of £160,000, which is a terrific result.

Ian Crombie & Angelica Salvesen

The GWCT would like to extend a huge thank you to all the events’ sponsors, donors and attendees for their support.

Piper, Marquee and Jaguar

Bernard Williams is thanked

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Richard & Anna Vainer, Johnny Rutherford

Raffle winner Angus Crow with Adam Smith (GWCT Director Scotland)

Mark MacNeil, Martin Murphy, Sheri Murphy & Anna MacNeil

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Jeremy Evans, Alistair Troughton & Denzil Skinner

Group Captain Phil Cox & Tabatha McCree-Cox

Settling in for dinner

Reception, general scene Ed Clerk, Jamie Wedderspoon & Robbie Wotherspoon

Ben Powell, Gina Wilson & Andrew Sanders

Getting to grips with bidding system Ross Murray & Joanna MacDonald

Michael Dalrymple & Hugo Straker

Dave Whiteford, Susie Swift & Shaun Macdonald

The stables

Ian Crombie, Mike Younger & Evelyn Crombie

Nick Holt, Graeme Hartop & Tim Oliver

Miranda McHardy, Tim Baynes & Judy Thomson

Simon Laird, Jim Stewart, Julie Husband, George Taylor, Fi Laird & Andrew Husband

Don Young, Sarah Barron, Tina Hurn & Matt Henderson

Caroline Turner & Hannah Lusada, modelling the coats and displaying lots

Harriet Dalrymple, James & Patricia Manclark

Chris Thomson & Michael Dalrymple

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SO NEARLY! Lèopald Amory’s photography captured all the fun of the fair.

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T

ORRENTIAL RAIN ON the Saturday morning looked likely to call an abandonment of the 2015 GWCT Scottish Game Fair. Another half-hour’s deluge would have done it.

Happily, just when it seemed to have reached the point of no return, the rain stopped. Normal service was quickly resumed, blue skies overhead and thousands of visitors descended on Scone Palace for a myriad of food, drink, country sports, competitions and thrilling main ring events. In fact, the fair attracted the highest number of visitors on record for its opening day with temperatures reaching in excess of 22 degrees.

All enjoyed a feast of entertainent including thrilling new main ring performances by The Savage Skills mountain bike team and horn-playing French huntsmen. There were more crowd-pleasing events with the welcome return of terrier racing, gundog displays, falconry demos and pipe bands.

One of the most popular ‘have-a-go’ events this year was the gnat shooting which attracted lots of children and adults alike, as well as the World of Gundogs which drew in crowds of visitors and participants with dogs. Ì

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Whilst providing a valuable insight into all that’s great about rural Scotland, as well as furthering awareness of the importance of game, wildlife and countryside management, the Fair also celebrated the Year of Scotland Food & Drink with a packed Cookery Theatre programme and Food Hall. Foodie in residence, Christopher Trotter hosted big name chefs such as Tom Lewis and Three Sisters Bake who regaled audiences with informative cookery demonstrations and tastings. Trader numbers exceeded all previous years.

The organisers have asked us to pass on huge thanks to all those who supported this year’s event. From fantastic volunteers, traders and visitors to event performances, chefs and professional demonstrations, this really was an unforgettable experience for all.

Make a note of the date – the 28th Scottish Game Fair will be held on July 1-3, 2016.

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SCOTTISH RURAL AWARDS 2016 Highlighting the true industry, innovation, dedication and aspiration of those who live and work in rural areas.

For 2015 Winners and their stories as well as information about 2016 Awards go to www.scottishruralawards.org

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Dawn Hewes, Lynn Clark, Sarah Hollas, Gwyn Nalty McIntosh & Rachel Miller

Dawn Hewes

Sarah Hollas, Suzanne Carry & Leng Forest

Amber Dines & Jillian MacFarlane

GLAD RAGS & CARTRIDGE BAGS Members of all-ladies shooting club, Glad Rags and Cartridge Bags recently descended on MacLeod House on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire for a day of clay shooting fun.

The ninth event since the club’s inception in late 2014 saw those in attendance enjoy a day of clay pigeon shooting followed by afternoon tea at the five-star country house hotel also commonly referred to as Trump International.

Founder of Glad Rags, Mhairi Morris said: “I feel very proud to have held a Glad Rags event at Trump International. We were truly spoilt. I am so delighted how the club has grown. We are a friendly bunch and everyone is welcome, from the complete beginner to the more experienced Shot.”

Jillian MacFarlane

Kelly Bowie

The team at Trump International

Rachel Miller, Lynne Clark, Dawn Hewes & Joanne Whyte

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Peter and James Phillips grouse shooting at Braemar.

Abdulla Al Khalifa.

Patrick Yugesson with an early Roe Buck.

Jens Jensen at Ralia.

HIGHLAND SPORTING LTD. FRIENDS AND CLIENTS OF HIGHLAND SPORTING HAVE ENJOYED ANOTHER FANTASTIC SEASON OF MIXED SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS.

Returning home Strathconon.

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Sh.Rashid Al Khalifa with the new Rigby.

Andreas Bestilid with a stag on the high ground.

Sonia Fletcher the end of a hard day.

Christina Rehnquist with a stag on Braemore.

BOOK YOUR SPORT WITH

HIGHLAND SPORTING LTD. AND GET YOUR PHOTO ON OUR WALL

DEER STALKING DRIVEN SHOOTING WALKED-UP MIXED GAME Tel. +44 (0)1463 782325 Email: ls@highlandsporting.com FARLIE HOUSE, BEAULY, INVERNESS-SHIRE, IV4 7AX

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Sporting Lets Claire Wallace at Braeroy Estate with her first stag

A first fish for Julia Martin from the River Hope in June

James Evans after a successful stalk at Kinlochewe

Martin Rodriguez with his first grouse at Dorback Estate

Louis Douglas-Miller (aged 9) with his first fish from the Oykel, in August

A brilliant sporting year for friends and clients of CKD Galbraith Sporting Lets STRONG EARLY RUNS OF FISH ACROSS THE NORTH, SOME SIGNIFICANT GROUSE HOTSPOTS AND MANY MEMORABLE FIRSTS.

Tel: 01738 451600 Email: sporting@ckdgalbraith.co.uk

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Baron von der Goltz shooting party at Tulchan and Dorback

James Thompson with stalker Kenny Ross at Kinlochewe

An end of season walkabout in the snow

Fiona Rattray with head ghillie Mark Melville and a bonny fish from Delfur in August

Malcolm Arrowsmith with a beautiful 10lb May fish from the Kinlochewe River Sandy MacKenzie travelled across the Atlantic to catch this 11lb fish and a number of other crackers from the River Ewe in June

Swarovski’s Paul Innes keeping a close eye on proceedings at the Swarovski, Blaser and Sporting Lets range day

A richly deserved first fish for Annemarie von der Goltz at Tulchan on the Spey

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Heading to Lunch! Dunmaglass

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Peter Swales International Big Game & Bird Hunting

Ferreting fun for Swedish clients at Invermark

Clients and friends enjoyed another season of fine sport in Scotland during 2015. www.kiltarlity.com Contact Peter: +44(0)7703 594462 peterhswales@gmail.com Contact Cara: +44(0)7771 695494 girlboots@btinternet.com

A different type of shot! Perfect end to a week of hunting – a Whisky tasting session

Friends from Germany enjoying a glass of wine in our stand at the CLA Gamefair

Gold Medal result for a client in England

One of our many great trips to the Isle of Muck

International Big Game & Bird Hunting Ltd is a long established and reliable company which can provide all of your hunting requirements throughout Scotland and beyond.

Mr Jandke from Germany in the Perthshire hills

Clients enjoy a range of accommodation from lavish Castles to cosy Cottages

Irish Billy!

And from a little further afield... Great results for these two clients.

We organise hunting in many corners of Africa and beyond

Jamie from Canada thoroughly enjoyed his stalking on the Isle of Rum

Jess on the lookout at Invercauld

Two friends from Norway preparing supper

Trygve Kongsvold Larssen, aka ‘Trigger’ at Dunmaglass

Jenny taking 5 after a busy day of shooting!

Out for a spy...

Killiechonate Headstalker Jamie Hendry in his office

A spot of early season fishing!

Roughshooters from Berlin.

Oct 2015

Headkeeper at Culachy, Scott Bremner gives Ladygun Philippa Cliff the traditional blooding

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CASTING FOR RECOVERY Thirteen ladies from across England and Scotland gathered at the picturesque Forbes of Kingennie Country Resort, near Dundee, during the final weekend of September for a Casting for Recovery retreat.

C

ASTING FOR RECOVERY UK & Ireland (CfR) is a residential retreat programme for women who have, or have had, breast cancer. CfR takes ladies who have been profoundly affected by breast cancer away for a weekend where counselling and medical support are combined with fly fishing tuition, the idea being to combine emotional and physical elements to help the ladies move forward.

The Countryside Alliance was a founder

donor of the project eight years ago and its charity, The Countryside Alliance Foundation, now runs the project in its entirety. It is supported by a network of casting instructors and medics and with the goodwill of some of the most beautiful rural venues in the UK and Ireland. The mission is simply to support ladies with breast cancer, and it provides a great opportunity to promote fly fishing and the countryside to a new and enthusiastic audience.

This was the programme’s fifth visit

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to Forbes of Kingennie, a working farm based on the outskirts of Broughty Ferry.

A corner of the farm was diversified into a fishery, golfing resort and lodges by owners Mike and Gail Forbes, 20 years ago. The combination of open spaces, fishing lakes, accommodation and fresh farm produce means Kingennie works very well for Casting for Recovery’s purposes. Mike Forbes captained the Scottish fly fishing team in the early 90s, and his passion for the sport helped ignite the lady participants’

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“The mission is simply to support ladies with breast cancer, and it provides a great opportunity to promote fly fishing and the countryside to a new and enthusiastic audience.” enthusiasm th i ffor th their i new skill. kill Over the course of the weekend, the ladies learned how to put together a fly rod, tie on a fly and master the basics of fly casting before being paired with a local fishing guide (including many of the Kingennie staff and even Mike and Gail’s teenage son, Alistair) to catch themselves some trout.

Several of the ladies reported feeling humbled that such a programme could exist to provide them with such an enjoyable experience. “You are all angels in disguise” said one. “What a blast” said another, while yet another wrote that “saying thank you to everyone who made this possible isn’t enough.” Another sweetly emotional response let us know that one lady feels “very lucky to meet wonderful people like you all. The retreat was a time I will treasure all my life.”

No-one who sees and hears of the benefits of Casting for Recovery can be in any doubt of its value. And to keep her experience going once she had got home, one of the ladies even wrote in asking for a fishcake recipe so that she could enjoy the fish she caught, as a result of her new found casting skill.

We will be holding four retreats in 2016 and will open to applications later this year on our website www.castingforrecovery. org.uk. For more information please email cfr@ca-foundation.org. Please note that places are allocated by ballot and are subject to medical clearance.

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AWESOME ARGYLL Lots of smiles on a driven day at Ardtaraig. See page 10.

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C L A S S I F I E D BOOKS

GUNS

SPORTING BREAKS

THE ROYAL DUNKELD HOTEL

BOOKS on ANGLING/ SHOOTING STALKING Bought and sold

Catalogue free on request

IAN KILGOUR

3 Hall Farm Road, Thurcaston, Leicestershire LE7 7JF

Tel: 0116 2350025

To advertise here call Charlie on 01476 859821 or email: c.coups@bpgmedia.co.uk

Specialists in Game Guns

for sale and wanted for purchase www.yorkshiregunroom.com

mail@yorkshiregunroom.com - Jeff Lupton 01765 620602

FISHING HOLIDAYS

The Royal Dunkeld Hotel, a 200-year-old former coaching inn – a great choice for fishing and shooting breaks.

Great food in our Woodlands Restaurant.

B&B from ÂŁ45 pppn based on two sharing.

Check our website for special fishing and shooting breaks.

www.royaldunkeld.co.uk Tel: 01350 727322 Follow us on Twitter @ScottishGazette and like us at www.facebook.com/ scottishsportinggazette

For sporting holidays in stylish accommodation Shooting, salmon, sea trout and walking Visit

www.southesk.co.uk PEST CONTROL

KINNAIRD CASTLE, ANGUS

GAME DIRECTORY

GARTH PHEASANTRY Day old chicks and 7/8 week pheasant poults.

Also 12 week redleg partridge poults. Members of GFA.

Tel: 01964 612466 07951 013618 (East Yorkshire)

SIMPLY THE BEST GREY PARTRIDGES Available from Fenton Barns, East Lothian info@fentonbarns.com

01620 850201

Hy-Fly 01253 810307 www.hy-fly.co.uk

or phone the estate office on 01674 810240

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A N D F I N A L LY

GROUSE AND A GOOD LUNCH THE SPORTING ADVENTURES OF BARRY WILCOX.

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EAR THE END of the Second World War, a young German Prisoner Of War called Heinz (who at 14 years old seemed a low escape risk!) was sent to work with local farmers including my grandfather. Heinz remained in the village after the war as he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of his family, and his home was now in the Russian sector.

Although older than myself, Heinz became a good friend both on the football field and later, in the pub! He carried on farming for some years and then ploughed his energies into the building boom of the 1960s, rising from groundwork to brickwork and becoming a reputable builder of some stature.

Then came game shooting – Heinz took to it like a duck to water, and I profited in a small way by selling him several guns, including a trio of Woodwards. We

shot together for many years, and I well remember a hilarious episode that took place on Glenshee whilst grouse shooting.

We had eaten (and drunk!) a very good lunch on one scorching hot, late October day. Heinz, my old friend Steve, and myself were to be on pegs 6, 7 and 8 respectively, pegs that were near the top of a very steep hill. We set off together, and by the time we reached Heinz’s butt, the lunchtime wine and port, together with a few years of good living, were taking their toll on him. We left Heinz sitting with his back against his butt in the warm sunshine, his gun out on the ground beside him. It was late in the year and there were masses of grouse packed-up, as you would expect them to be.

Steve climbed on and made ready at butt 7, and I was almost at 8 when I saw movement from the flankers flags.

A massive pack of birds could be seen heading for the centre of the line. Shouts of

130 THE SCOTTISH SPORTING GAZETTE & INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

‘Grouse!’ raised Heinz from his dozing, and as the birds were dealt with along the rest of the line, he could be seen scrabbling to his feet, shooting at departing grouse now almost out of range.

A ripple of laughter ensued at Heinz’s expense, followed by Steve’s friendly taunt that could be heard down the glen: “No wonder you lost the bloody war!” Heinz suffered much leg-pulling that evening, although he did get a chance to get his own back (but that’s another story!).

Looking back, this episode reminds me how much fieldsports, game shooting and sporting camaraderie can transcend barriers of nationalism, social standing, wealth and even conflict. I am privileged to have been involved in many such episodes and to have shared so many memorable experiences.

For other sporting tales see Gramps Blog at www.castlegunmakers.co.uk

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