These spectacular Scottish estates are eager to welcome a new cohort of prospective Macnabbers and guide them to sporting glory
When John Buchan wrote John Macnab in 1925, he created a seemingly timeless and appealing sporting adventure for daring and ambitious souls. His three protagonists, Sir Edward Leithen, John Palliser-Yeates and Lord Lamancha, write a letter under the name ‘John Macnab’ to a trio of Highland estates, warning that within 48 hours they intend to remove a salmon or a stag, undetected, and present it at the door of their house.
Just shy of a century on, the Macnab challenge has evolved: one asks permission from the estate first, for a start. A successful Macnabber must also take a salmon on the fly, a brace of grouse and a stag between dawn and dusk within one day. Every member of the Macnab Club will have their own advice on how to achieve the feat but history has proved the fish to be the trickiest element. Once the salmon has been caught and returned, one turns to the hill, where a steady hand is required for the rifle and unerringly accurate reactions for the walked-up brace. It is a test of nerve, luck and judgement: proof that the spirit of Buchan’s creation is still alive to this day. (Read more on the Macnab Challenge rules here.)
We are delighted to launch The Field’s Macnab Challenge 2024 in association with Westley Richards and Blaser: sporting partners that can fit you out with the rifle, shotgun, leather luggage and best kit with which to undertake the adventure.
To give yourself the best chance of achieving a Macnab, you should think carefully about where you will make your attempt. Location is key, and there are many marvellous estates, steeped in Macnab successes and history, where one can be guided every step of the way.
Estate stalkers will help you get in the right spot at the right time for a stag
Gannochy estate delivers a significant number of Macnabs each year: in some seasons more than all of the other Scottish estates combined. This is because, barring a prolonged dry spell, there are no chinks in its sporting armour – it offers exceptional fishing, stalking and grouse. If conditions are good, Gannochy’s enthusiastic and skilful team approaches the day with confidence, and this confidence breeds success.
Colin Lanyon, the estate’s headkeeper, explains: “At Gannochy we have our ‘Classic Macnab’, where a four-wheel-drive vehicle can be used to reach the river and then again to get to the hill before progress continues on foot behind the dog handler, and later the stalker, in the normal way.
“However, the location of our lodge at the centre of the estate allows us to also offer a ‘Walked Macnab’ experience,” he continues. “This is undertaken by those hardy souls that wish to attempt the entire process on foot. Macnabs are difficult to do when one is constrained to a single effort.” According to Lanyon, even at Gannochy the salmon can prove most elusive. “They have a habit of not playing ball if the water is low and the sun is high. One can hit it right though, of course, and have a fish in the net in short order following a spate. The three-day Macnab package we offer gives a potential Macnabber a good crack at landing a salmon, even when conditions are tough. A full week-long stay allows even greater scope but availability for such weeks is limited.”
The estate caters for eight guests, either sharing in the welcoming and comfortable Auchmull Sporting Lodge or in individual rooms spread over the Lodge and two cottages. The accommodation more than matches the quality of sport on offer.
Situated on the Isle of Harris, this estate boasts a significant roll call of past glories. Unusually, the salmon will most likely be caught from a loch rather than a river; however, with six river/loch systems to choose from, the potential Macnabber will be spoilt for choice. This, combined with estate pointers to close on the wild island grouse, and a healthy red deer population, promises every chance of success, and there is no better place to celebrate than the dining room of Amhuinnsuidhe Castle.
The castle is available on an exclusive-use basis or there are occasional weeks when individuals can book rooms and enjoy the sport, including ‘single day’ Macnab attempts. Mungo Ingleby, director of Ossian Sporting Lets, reckons that Amhuinnsuidhe is a destination that every sportsman or woman should visit at least once: “It is worth every mile of travel and the luxurious castle is a wonderful contrast to the stark but intoxicating beauty of the wild Harris hills. An absolute bucket-list destination.”
Lying close to the shores of Loch Roag on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, Garynahine is a wonderful all-round Hebridean sporting estate. Offering a mix of sporting opportunities throughout both the summer and winter seasons, the estate extends to around 11,500 acres of moorland and 500 acres of conifer plantations. Barvas estate is something of a rarity, providing exciting wild sport for nearly 10 months of the year. In spring and summer there is excellent salmon and trout fishing, and autumn offers a superb grouse-over-pointers experience. Together the estates have produced four Macnabs in the past three years: an impressive statistic given the difficulty of the challenge. The main lodge on the Garynahine estate, built in 1720, is an ideal base camp for prospective Macnabbers.
Visit Garynahine
What makes Dalmunzie estate, located at the Spittal of Glenshee, so special is the chance to experience it yourself, as it is often booked so far in advance. The estate, and its stunning country, has the Shee Water running through it that eventually joins the River Tay. This has produced some encouraging catches of late. There is a healthy deer population to boot, helping to ensure a good chance of a Macnab, but make sure you book early in the season as grouse numbers can fluctuate depending on the year. Accommodation-wise, the estate has six holiday cottages as well as the castle, all of which boast comfortable furnishings and terrific views.
The hill at Tulchan Glenisla is a heather-coated haven and the perfect place to secure a brace of grouse
A classic Highland estate located in the Angus Glens, Tulchan Glenisla is one of few estates to have succeeded in producing a double Macnab (two stags, two brace of grouse and two salmon for the same Macnabber in one day). The high population of red deer on an area of 15,000 acres offers stalking of the highest quality. Tulchan Lodge is a classic Victorian sporting lodge built in 1870 and provides a sophisticated base for your stay in Scotland. In the comfortable lodgings, warmed by roaring open fires, guests can enjoy the view of a heather-coated hill and feast on game from the estate in the evening. The house lies in a picturesque garden on a scenic spot at the foot of the hill. As the estate does not have a river flowing through it, the line is cast from the bank of a neighbouring estate.
Some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery can be found on Glenmuick estate, nestled in the heart of Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms National Park. The estate extends to approximately 14,000 acres, filled with all the wildlife and epic landscapes that make Scotland such a special place. Neil Hogbin, factor of Glenmuick agrees: “Glenmuick stands out as one of the truly great Scottish sporting estates. The House of Glenmuick is extremely well appointed and ideal for sporting parties, with spacious accommodation and practical extras such as secure gun and rod facilities. A week at Glenmuick is never enough, so many of our guests return year after year. It is the perfect place for a Macnab, and we are especially pleased to celebrate this remarkable achievement with many first-time Macnabbers.”
With two beats of the North Esk on its doorstep, Invermark estate offers Macnabbers a good chance of a salmon
Covering 55,000 acres of stunning countryside, and with the North Esk flowing through it, Invermark estate possesses all the ingredients required for a successful Macnab. Invermark Lodge is a classic mid-Victorian shooting lodge built of Aberdeenshire granite in a commanding position overlooking Loch Lee and the cliffs and corries of the wider estate. Mungo Ingleby classifies this estate as “sporting aristocracy”. “With a crack team of stalkers and gillies with multiple stalking beats, two beats of the North Esk and a good stock of grouse, Invermark is a real gem,” he says.
Visit Invermark
And so we now encourage you to pack your kit, set the Highlands firmly in your sights and undertake the challenge that shows not only the best of sporting skill but proper sporting spirit too.
To enter The Field Macnab Challenge, e mail field.secretary@futurenet.com for an entry form and rules.
Read about the successful Field Macnab Challengers from 2022 and 2023 here.
