For any fieldsports aficionado, the ultimate goal must surely be to find someone with whom they can share their pursuits. Adrian Dangar meets the couples living that dream
WHEN land agent Paddy Hoare abandoned his girlfriend, Iona Hughes, up to her waist in the powerful River Spey after a short lesson on how to cast, her expectations couldn’t have been lower. She’d caught the train to Scotland full of enthusiasm the previous day, but the couple’s first romantic break together had taken a nosedive when Paddy forgot to collect her from the station.
‘I was so excited to be joining him on holiday, although it was just me and Paddy’s six best mates,’ Iona remembers, ‘but when I eventually met up with the group, one of them told me he had still not caught a salmon after 12 years of trying. I wasn’t expecting much.’
Much to her astonishment, the novice angler caught two fish that day, with a combined weight of nearly 30lb, and has been fanatical about fishing ever since. Her results have been spectacular: Iona’s 32½lb salmon from the Tay, caught in 2016, nearly won the coveted Malloch Trophy for the biggest Scottish salmon of the year.
‘The fish was so enormous, I thought I’d caught a seal,’ laughs Iona, who married Paddy within four years of their first fishing trip. ‘When my husband appeared with a huge grin, having landed his own 22-pounder, my gillie just smiled and mumbled “32lb” in his soft Scottish lilt. Paddy’s face was an absolute picture.’
Iona repaid her husband for getting her ‘completely hooked’ on fishing by introducing him to hunting, which was something of a family obsession. ‘Paddy had to learn to ride or face a lonely life,’ she says. ‘He bonded with a friend’s schoolmaster, after which he was ready for autumn hunting with the Heythrop. Back then, he hadn’t quite mastered a rising trot and used to ride across the ridge and furrow in agony, which we all thought was hysterical.’
Denne historien er fra October 24, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 24, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
