Gone fishin'

Driving in from Ullapool the one-lane road twists and turns along an intriguing river. We'd always wanted to explore it so one lovely morning in March we went out to walk the banks of the Owskeich River. The views of the mountains from there were beautiful and there is an amazing variety of terrain from slow pools to rapids between high rock cliffs. It all looked very trouty and Jack lusted after a beat on it - but we knew the Royal Hotel in Ullapool owned the banks and the price would be way too high. Unlike the US where there is lots of public land to hunt and fish, in the UK everything is privately owned and you have to pay for the privilege of taking game of any kind.

So he settled for getting permission to fish Loch na Beiste - a small loch a short way from our cottage. The laird, Mrs. Longstaff, who owned the fishing rights in Coigach, was a keen fly fisherwoman herself and could often be seen in her tweeds and fore-and-aft hat casting the banks of one of the local lochs. It probably wasn't as much fun as the river - but we did get a few nice trout to grace our breakfast or dinner table.