Drynachan, Scotland
One of the ultimate partridge shooting destinations in the world.
Situated on the banks of the River Findhorn, 30 minutes from the town of Inverness in northern Scotland, Drynachan, part of the Cawdor estate, is one of the premier driven partridge shoots in the UK.
The shooting is superb – high partridges with fantastic variety between drives – and stunning scenery to boot. It's difficult to find drives elsewhere in the world that will match ones like Red Burn, Daless and Peat Road.
Another great tradition of the estate is that your bag is always laid out at the end of the day thus giving teams the perfect photo opportunity.
The Estate covers some 30,000 acres and thus incorporates eight separate grouse beats and 55 lines of butts. In the last few years major investment has taken place on the moor which has meant that some teams have recently opted for a combination of both grouse and partridge days. This makes for the perfect few days of high quality sport.
Teams traditionally stay at the extremely comfortable Drynachan Lodge, the epicentre of the shoot itself. The Lodge can easily accommodate eight couples all with their own bathroom and a full time chef. Three housekeepers are also employed which makes sure all parties are given five star treatment.
Another advantage of Drynachan is that teams travelling north in September can also fish for salmon on the River Findhorn. Guests staying at Drynachan Lodge have access to one of the best beats on the river and normally fish after a day’s shooting, adding another unique dimension to the experience.
Drynachan is also very accessible as Inverness airport is only 30 minutes away which makes it particularly popular with teams from Europe. They can easily fly in and shoot for two days without the hassle of going through airports like Heathrow or Gatwick.
"This is my 15th season in a row shooting at Drynachan and the standard just keeps getting better and better, I also love the recent improvements to the lodge"
"I shot two days of driven grouse, a day of partridge and fished for salmon on the Findhorn, you can't get many estates in the world where you can do this all in one place - Drynachan is truly a special sporting estate."
