Top 10: UK field sporting bucket list

The UK can boast a huge array of sporting opportunities with a gun, rifle or rod in hand. From the West Country to the uninhabited island of Taransay, these 10 offer a unique experience within stunning surroundings that should be on any serious sportsman or woman’s list.

1. RED STAGS ON THE ARDNAMURCHAN PENINSULA, SCOTLAND

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Scotland provides some of the best red stag stalking in the world – the Ardnamurchan Peninsula some of the best in Scotland. A 50-square-mile finger jutting out into the North Atlantic Ocean from Scotland’s west coast, Ardnamurchan is globally renowned for its red deer. One of the great experiences in the fieldsports world that should be at the top of every shooter’s to do list. www.westhighland-hunting.co.uk

2. GAME SHOOTING ON THE LINHOPE ESTATE, NORTHUMBERLAND

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Owned by crack shot Lord James Percy, the 12,000-acre Linhope Estate near Alnwick in Northumberland offers some of the most testing high birds in the country over several challenging drives. Include the stunningly wild scenery of the Cheviot Hills, a private Victorian stone shooting lodge and superb organisation by head keeper John Queen and his team and you can see why this shoot leaps out as one of the very best in the country. www.rbss.co.uk/sporting-agency

3. SALMON FISHING AT UPPER FLOORS, SCOTLAND

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The ultimate in Scottish salmon fishing Upper Floors on the famous River Tweed, which is known throughout the world for catching more fish on the fly than any other British river, has 1.5 miles of some of the best and most productive fly water in Scotland. Situated next to the magnificent Floors Castle the beat lends itself to fishing all year round and has a 5-year catch record of 452 salmon/grilse. A condition of the beat let, which is normally for four rods on a weekly basis, is that accommodation is booked at the Roxburghe Hotel; no hardship considering it’s one of Scotland’s finest country house hotels. www.roxburghe.net

4. ROEBUCK STALKING IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND

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The famed and eagerly awaited roebuck rut starts in July and runs through to mid-August and the roe-filled counties of Southern England offer some of the best opportunities in the country.

5. WALKED-UP SNIPE ON TARANSAY

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Desolate, barren and bleak, the uninhabited island of Taransay, three miles off the Outer Hebrides on the West Coast of Scotland, is breathtakingly beautiful, with gold sand, rolling meadows and walked-up snipe shooting to please any Gun. Add in luxury accommodation and five-star food at Borve Lodge Estate on the neighbouring isle of Harris and you have the ultimate in sporting breaks that combines true remoteness and superb, challenging shooting. www.borvelodge.com

6. MUNTJAC STALKING IN SUFFOLK

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The Euston Estate in Suffolk is renowned in the fieldsports world for its historic bird shooting and the “Euston system” developed by its keepers to incubate wild game birds eggs under bantams. It is also now famous for some of the finest lowland stalking in the UK, part of the estate’s deer management plan, run under the guidance of Chris Rogers, a professional deer manager with 16 years experience behind his scope. One of his favourite deer species to stalk is the muntjac; the smallest UK deer and a real challenge to thanks to rarely emerging from cover and seldom standing still. www.eustonhall.co.uk

7. BORDERS GAME BAG IN BERWICKSHIRE, SCOTLAND

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A sporting challenge like no other, the Border game bag shoots offered by Doug Virtue at Lammermuir Shoot not only provides the opportunity to swing your shotgun over a range of habitats. Set in the spectacular scenery of the Scottish Borders in the Berwickshire hamlet of Westruther, the shoot area extends over 12,000 acres and lies at between 500-1,100 feet above sea level, giving a huge arrange of ground formation and landscape to shoot over. A day with a difference that will challenge your shooting skills to the full. www.lammermuirshoot.co.uk

8. A SCOTTISH MACNAB ON THE ISLE OF HARRIS

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Made famous by John Buchan in his 1925 book “John Macnab”, the Macnab is probably the trickiest of all sporting disciplines. The modern version involves catching a salmon, shooting a brace of grouse and taking a stag, all within 24 hours. The Baronial-style Amhuinnsuidhe Castle on the Isle of Harris, built in 1865 for Charles Murray, the 7th Earl of Dunmore, is one of the finest sporting estates in Scotland and the perfect location to tackle this most famous of fieldsports. www.amhuinnsuidhe.com

9. DRIVEN PHEASANTS AND PARTRIDGES IN WALES

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Bettws Hall has made its name with a range of renowned shooting estates in Wales and the West Country. While the likes of Brigands and Chargot are famed, the real jewel in the crown of the Bettws Hall portfolio is Vaynor, near Welshpool in Powys. This quintessential Welsh estate, set in rolling countryside surrounding the mellowed red brick, stately home and ancestral seat of the Corbett Winder family, offers classic pheasant and partridge shooting for Guns who enjoy relaxed days in the prettiest of surroundings. The perfect location for a day of traditional British shooting. www.bettwshall.com

10. SCOTTISH GAME TRAIN

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For anyone looking to indulge in something completely different, why not step back in time to the age of elegance aboard the Royal Scotsman, one of the world’s most luxurious trains? Based in the Scottish Highlands with its pine-clad mountains and silent lochs, the train forms your base for a unique sporting holiday provided by Game Train Scotland and its charming sporting agent Charles Brownlow. Guests can combine 5-star comfort, luxurious private cabins, an observation car and exceptional food with a range of game shooting, stalking or fishing in some of Scotland’s most iconic locations. www.charlesbrownlow.com

(Photographs: Tweed Media)

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