50 Grilse And Counting

William and Alastair Peake experience breathtaking sport with shoals of salmon in Sutherland

- Will And Al Peake

MY BROTHER WILLIAM, Eoin Fairgrieve and I were on the fishing expedition of a lifetime in the extreme south of Patagonia. At the end of the adventure we were already planning our next trip. We wanted to find and experience Scotland in its wildest form. We pored over the map, searching endless rivers in search of a true Scottish wilderness experience to produce our next fishing-and-filming fix.

We found vast wild landscapes in Sutherland, the host of so many fabled rivers – Naver, Helmsdale, Gruinard, Oykel – so many choices, and then we discovered the Hope system. A place we had heard much about but had never fished. It felt right. We’d give it a go.

The Hope system is in the far north of Sutherland and is fed by the Strathmore River, which is supplied by numerous hill lochs. It flows into the six-mile long Loch Hope, which empties into the River Hope. Our journey to its banks was fantastic. We took the long route, driving beside the Helmsdale for many miles, then the River Naver came into view and we followed it to its headwaters and Loch Naver. A majestic, beautiful mountain then broke the barren landscape – Ben Loyal is one of the highest of the northern Munros and towers over the rolling moorland.

We were greeted by the gillies-cum-stalkers Ian Smart of Ben Loyal Estate and Ian Macdonald of Hope Estate. Both have worked here for many years and their knowledge of the region is unparalleled. We were shown to the idyllic Ferryman’s Cottage, our base for the week, beside Loch Hope, close enough to hear the splash of fresh salmon leaping. 

That first evening, fuelled by Scotland’s finest nectar, we told fishing stories deep into the night.