Langwell House is the principal Lodge on the 52,000 acre sporting Estate of Langwell & Braemore in the South East corner of Caithness. The Estate represents the finest of it’s kind and has a famous deer forest which the 5th Duke of Portland wrote about in his book published in 1935 and entitled ‘The Deer of Langwell & Braemore’. It is also home to many of the tales in another celebrated sporting book published by the Duke in 1933 ‘Fifty years and more of sport in the Scotland – and other pleasant memories’. Langwell was originally purchased from John Horne by the Duke of Portland in 1857 and Braemore was added in 1878

The Estate has an eleven mile coastline and goes from sea level to 2,300ft. The ground includes Morven, Maiden Pap and the Scarabens, these are the only ‘mountains’ in the otherwise flat landscape of Caithness and the hills form the signature landscape of the County.

Whether you are a sportsman, angler, historian, naturalist, archaeologist or walke, Langwell will provide you with the very best of everything.

Historically only invited guests of the family have ever had the chance to stay in Langwell House and 2009 will be the first time that anyone has been offered the Lodge on a commercial basis. 2009 tenants will be given preference in future years so this may be your only opportunity to secure a week.

Accommodation

Langwell House was originally built as a ‘Managers House’ in the early 19th century and has subsequently undergone a great many alterations, with extensions, redesign and removal of redundant buildings. It very much has the feel of a house (The Duke used to stay at Langwell for up to 6 months of the year) and when you walk in the door you enter a Victorian time-warp. The House oozes history and every painting, trophy and game book has a story to tell.

Coming in the front door you enter a sandstone walled wooden floored lobby with stairwell and half landing. At the bottom of the half landing you are faced with the Duke’s 1,000th stag, enough to give hope to even the most pessimistic of sportsmen. The next hallway contains many trophies and paintings as well as a large table with the game books dating back to about 1830. From this lobby you can either go to the drawing room or the dining room, both of which are in their original condition and lined with paintings of Langwell and other Estates owned by the family over the years.

One wall consists of a pair of very large bay windows and a telescope to look out to sea. The other 3 walls are home to what is reputed to be the finest collection of stags heads in the world. More than two hundred heads, nothing less than a royal, all shot on Langwell and Braemore. Up to and including the record for Langwell which stands at 28st 6lbs, a royal shot in the 1980’s.

The house sleeps ten comfortably and we might consider parties of up to 12. The domestic servants quarters are extensive with 6 or 7 bedrooms and room’s can be made available for nannies etc if required.

Sport

The sporting lettings are primarily for angling and stalking. Historically Langwell & Braemore have produced between 500 and 800 brace of grouse per annum but (in common with most of Scotland regrettably) bags have diminished sharply since the early 90’s and at present all grouse shooting is retained by the owners. For an attempt at a ‘MacNab’. The estate might be persuaded to take the pointers out for a couple of hours providing the salmon has been caught and the stag already shot.

The Lodge is let with stalking for up to 12 stags per week, on the two beats of Langwell and Braemore for five days each week. Saturdays are not generally let but can be kept in reserve in the unlikely event that you have failed to reach your quota through the week. Occasionally some extra stags might be available at £250+VAT but only at the discretion of the estate. Please note that although you will see many very impressive heads and large stags it is unlikely you will get the chance to shoot them. Cull policy at Langwell is very traditional and only the cull stags are shot.

The angling is on the Berriedale Water which is split into three beats, two of which will be for the exclusive use of house guests. Catch records show an average of 10 fish per week for the September period but angling very much depends on water. In the right conditions you can expect to double that number and in low water conditions it is not really worth fishing. There is a small loch on the Estate which is stocked annually with brown trout and a boat is available.

With enough notice we might be able to secure fishing on other local rivers such as the Thurso or Halladale and this would be charged at cost.

In calm conditions it might be possible to take you out to sea on the Estate Boat which is moored in the harbour at the river mouth but again this is very much weather dependent.

The package includes

Fishing for up to four rods on the Berriedale Water, strictly on a catch & release basis.
Stalking on the Braemore & Langwell beats.
Accommodation for up to ten people in Langwell House.
Lodge staff (excepting the cook).
A haunch or saddle of venison for use in the Lodge.
A frozen salmon for use in the Lodge.
Staff accommodation in the Lodge.
The use of an Estate 4x4 vehicle for access to fishing.

The package does not include

The services of a cook. Food and drinks except as detailed above
Tips and gratuities for staff, keepers and ghillies

Surcharges apply for

Grouse shooting (only available in order to complete a MacNab)
Extra stags if and when available

If you'd like to book a holiday without any sporting please visit our Holiday Letting website