Lairg Lodge, Upper River Shin
14
Sleeps 14 / £POA
Lairg Lodge and the Upper River Shin are situated one hour’s drive north of Inverness and the River Shin is one of Scotland’s best kept secrets.
Lairg Lodge enjoys wonderful far reaching views over Loch Shin to the hills beyond. The lodge provides very comfortable accommodation for up to 14 guests and is let with the services of a housekeeper.
Salmon fishing is available for either four or eight rods on two, rotating four rod beats on the Upper Shin. This productive and very pretty Highland river, offers some lovely fly water.
The estate also has a variety of smaller accommodation including Phil’s House, a contemporary eco house, with lovely views over Lairg to the hills beyond, which sleeps up to six guests in two twin bedrooms both with ensuite bathrooms and a double bedroom with shower room. Reid’s Cottage is a delightful croft, which has been fully modernised and sleeps four guests in great comfort. Sometimes the fishing can be taken with Phil’s House or Reid’s Cottage.
Accommodation
The estate has a variety of accommodation available to suit all budgets. Lairg Lodge, which sleeps up to 14, and Phil’s House which sleeps up to 8 and Reid’s Cottage, a delightful croft which sleeps 4 in great comfort.
Lairg Lodge
The lodge commands an outstanding position high above the village of Lairg. The views from the Lodge are exceptional and give a great panorama of Loch Shin.
Ground Floor
There is a sitting room with open fireplace, a television, video DVD and satellite, and a large selection of books and games. The drawing room with open fireplace and a large picture window looking north up Loch Shin. Dining room that can seat 14. Excellent drying room and games room with a small billiard table & dart board.
First Floor
Comprises of 6 double bedrooms and 2 single bedrooms. All beds have electric blankets!
The lodge is let to include the services of a housekeeper.
Phil’s House
The cottage is newly built and is a custom designed eco house. It will sleep 8 in two twins both with ensuite bathrooms and a double with shower room next door, plus a double room in the attic (please note that the attic is accessed via steep stairs). The property benifits from underfloor heating throughout and a wood burning stove in the open plan sitting/dining room. There is a well equipped kitchen, custom designed drying room and large central (enclosed) passage for waders, boots and wet dogs.
Reid’s Cottage
Reid’s sleeps 4 in two twin bedded rooms, one bedroom on the ground floor with its own bathroom and the second bedroom up stairs also with its own bathroom. Very comfortable living room and the kitchen has everything you could wish for plus the most wonderful view down little Loch Shin. There is a very useful separate drying room. Short, long and weekend lets are possible. Reids also has a 4 star Scottish tourist board rating.
Sporting
The River Shin is one of Scotland’s best kept secrets. Although the river was dammed in the late 50’s, a comprehensive re-stocking program has been in place ever since, and the returns of salmon and grilse have been consistently stable.
Salmon Fishing
Fishing on the Lairg Estate water starts towards the end of May and closes on the last day of September.
The Lairg Estate water starts at the dam below Loch Shin, in the new artificial pool appropriately named the Dam pool, and continues down river for approximately three miles until a pool called Grief.
There are two beats (four rods per beat) and over thirty named pools on the Upper Shin. The Lairg Estate water is all double bank and most of the pools can be fished from either side. The fishing is for fly only. Most of the pools can be fished from the bank without wading, but a few require some wading. We recommend thigh waders and it is advisable to use a wading stick in certain pools.
The size of the Shin salmon vary greatly depending on time of year. It is not uncommon for rods to come into contact with fish in the 20lb bracket early in the season. As summer progresses, the grilse appear in greater numbers and give wonderful sport.
Rod size is a matter of endless speculation. The water is easily covered with a 12ft rod. Equal fun can be had with a small single handed rod. For the championship caster there is room for the longer rod.
The river is rocky in places and we would suggest that in the early season it is advisable to use a tippet material of at least 15lb. The early fish tend to run hard and have a tendency to leave the pools, so a heavier tippet gives the angler the option to play fish harder and land them faster for the process of catch and release.
Trout Fishing
Brown trout in Loch Shin average ½lb, but very large fish are taken early in the season and around the fish farm cages!
The Estate has several excellent rivers, small lochs, and burns to chose from. Experienced guides can be arranged. Loch Beannach has some exceptional Trout, and in the past few years fish of up to 5lb have been caught. All the fish are wild native brown trout.
Special trout fishing weeks are available on the Lairg Estate’s water on the Shin, during April, May and June. Daily bags of up to 40+ trout are possible
Stalking
Stalking is predominately for the majestic Red Deer. The estate also shoot Sika and Roe Deer. The Red/Sika stag stalking starts on 1 July and closes on 20 October. Hind stalking starts on 21 October and closes on 15 February. Roe Deer bucks start on 1 April and close on 20 October. Does start on 21 October and close on 31 March. Most of the letting is for one week and includes up to 5 Stags per week.
For Roe and Sika stalking, once the competence of the rifle has been established, unaccompanied expeditions are possible.
Golf
There are some of the best courses in the whole of the UK just a short drive from Lairg. These include:</b/>
Royal Dornoch
Golspie
Bonar Bridge
Nairn
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