A row has broken out after the wealthy owners of a Sutherland estate introduced charges for gold panning with claims that the precious ore is being sold on Ebay.
The Suisgill Estate in Helmsdale was at the centre of Scotland’s 19th century gold rush and people have panned its burn for years in search of the precious ore.
The almost 16,000 acre estate was bought in November 2016 by Diana and Alexander Darwall, who farm on the edge of Dartmoor, after it had gone on the market for £5million. Mr Darwall is also a leading fund manager in the city.
But now the couple have introduced a controversial £10-a-day permit for gold panning at the famous Kildonan Burn and also brought in other restrictions.
But the plans to charge for the experience have infuriated keen panner Colin Stark, 52, a self-employed decorator who lives in Swindon, but comes to Helmsdale six months of the year to pan for gold.
He has started a petition against the charges.
He said: “I am a recreational gold panner who has panned for gold on the Kildonan burn for the last four years without any restrictions, but since the Suisgill Estate has been sold, the new owners are wanting to charge £10 per day to pan for gold, where as before it has always been free of charge.
“They will only allow two weeks per year per person. I think this is totally outrageous that a land owner can get away with this sort of behaviour. I thought Scotland was a free country with rights to roam. This is entirely draconian. I’ve never had any problems in the past, but restricting panning to that short stretch between the bridge and the falls will also see people cheek by jowl.”
Mrs Darwall said the move was about regulation and not to make money – all proceeds from the sale of permits will go to Kildonan Church.
She said: “Panning needs regulating – one or two bad apples are spoiling it for everybody. The staff do not have the time to monitor it.
“There have been people selling the gold on Ebay – they should not be doing that for a profit. People were taking the mickey.
“We looked at things in our first year to see how it was working. I don’t want to upset people – I want to make it more enjoyable for people. I’ve had a go and I can see it is exciting. Other estates also charge for panning.”
Mrs Darwall said panning had also resulted in undercutting the bank in places which in a spate could cause danger to people, there had been potentially dangerous fires along the roadside – while there was also a conflict with salmon spawning at certain times of the year.
