One of the greatest lost shoots of the British Isles is the Lews Castle Home Shootings, situated on the outskirts of the town of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It provided superlative walked-up wild gamebird shooting, deerstalking and angling facilities for successive owners and their guests, as well as a number of seasonal sporting tenants, from the mid-Victorian period until 1924.
Sportsmen usually travelled to this far-flung outpost of Scotland on the overnight sleeper from London to Inverness, then onwards by train to Stromeferry or Kyle of Lochalsh, before taking a steamer or private yacht to their final destination, a journey that took around 24 hours.
Shots, stalkers and anglers enjoyed home-from-home comforts either in Lews Castle, a 19th-century, castellated pile complete with walled vegetable gardens, hothouses and a dedicated farm that produced the raw ingredients for sumptuous meals, or in a local farmhouse that offered simpler lodge-type accommodation.
The Lews Castle Home Shootings story began in 1844, when the wealthy Scottish Tai-Pan Sir James Matheson, Baronet, co-founder of the Hong Kong mercantile house of Jardine Matheson, purchased the 404,000acre island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides from the MacKenzie family for the sum of £190,000.
Having amassed a huge amount of money in the East India and China tea and opium trades, he not only began to develop the property for sporting purposes, but was also instrumental in establishing various industries to provide employment for some of the local crofters.
Efficient gamekeeping
Denne historien er fra September 08, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra September 08, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside
