It is the ultimate getaway for the committed fisherman – but if you do not have a shade over £400,000 to spare, look away now.
A fishing share in one of the Highland’s most scenic rivers – and a cottage overlooking it – are up for sale.
A 1/16th ownership share of the River Lochy, in Lochaber, is being marketed at offers over £160,000 alongside a three-bedroom cottage with an asking price of offers over £250,000.
Each lot is owned by a different person but this will be treated as a combined sale, offering the chance to own a riverside cottage while being part of the River Lochy Association which ensures two weeks’ fishing at nominal cost each year.
This particular share of the river is currently owned by one of the contestants from Ben Fogle’s reality television fishing show, Earth’s Wildest Waters: The Big Fish.
And just last week Emma Jackson, who is based in Dorset, was fishing on the Lochy and caught a salmon measuring a metre in length and weighing 20-22lb.
Mrs Jackson, who was given her share in the River Lochy ownership by her father, said: “It is like a second home for me. I smile all the time I am there and I cry when I leave. It truly is a special, spiritual place.
“All members of the association are fully committed to maintaining and improving the river and a tremendous amount of love, care and work has been invested in its management over the years. It is a very inspirational group of people and the fishing has been vastly improved as a result of the work carried out.”
The 7.6 miles of double bank salmon and sea-trout fishing comprises four private beats and two let beats with a 10-year average of 430 salmon and 126 sea-trout.
The share in the River Lochy system also includes fishing on the feeder rivers, the River Roy and the River Spean, as well as an established hatchery and a successful smolt rearing business, the largest in the UK.
Selling agent Robert McCulloch, partner in Strutt & Parker’s Edinburgh office, said: “The River Lochy is, I think, the prettiest in the west Highlands and one of the best in Scotland. The river system, one of Scotland’s most improved salmon and sea-trout systems, provides fly fishing of the highest quality in glorious and dramatic surroundings and this is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate fisherman or fisherwoman.”
