Wild Camping and Wild Fishing For Dinner in Scotland

[jdawg_01]

Hi All,

I am planning a trip for two people for a week's worth of walking and wild camping in Scotland in August. I'm an experienced camper but inexperienced fisherman, and I find much of the information around about it confusing so wondered if you could help me out.

The trip will be 7 days, we will be self sufficient for those 7 days, but we want to be sure to not break any local laws/rules.

1.) We'd like recommendations on areas to visit, so we can enter the wilderness and walk and pitch each day, and after 7 days return to civilisation. So far the Cairngorms sounds like a good choice for this. Am I correct that I can pitch up anywhere in the Cairngorms National Park without any kind of permit?

2.) We will have enough basic food with us for the week, but it would be really nice to catch and eat some fish from the rivers/lochs. Ideally salmon but trout would be nice too. Here's where things get confusing. Despite being one national park, it seems the land and rivers are privately owned by different people. And most require permits. We're not planning a fishing trip, we're just planning to pitch up on a nice spot near a stream/loch and fish if we feel like it, and if we catch something nice then eat it. But it's starting to seem like it's very hard to do this legally.

I don't object to paying for a permit, but since we'll be walking each day and moving around, we will need to always be in posession of the right permit for the right place at the right time. There doesn't seem to be a "Pay £20 and keep one fish each day from anywhere in the Ciarngorms, for a week" kind of permit?

Could anyone suggest a sensible approach?

Thanks a lot

J

[davekeiller]

Under the land reform (Scotland) act, wild camping is permitted pretty much anywhere in the Scottish countryside. There is a camping management zone which places restriction on camping in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park, but not in the Cairngorms.

I don't know about fishing. My understanding is that you need a rod license and the landowner's permission. There may also be seasonal restrictions as there are for shooting.

[Giant Stoneater]

Some of this should help

http://fishinglicence.eu/uk/scotland

[Caberfeidh]

My understanding is that you need a rod license and the landowner's permission. There may also be seasonal restrictions as there are for shooting.

Scotland does not have, nor ever will have, rod licences. That's Englandandwales, far to the south. Fishing season is generally March -Oct. We do have permits for many places, especially in the Cairngorms where the rivers act as nurseries for young salmon, which are a protected species and you cannot kill them for your tea. The Cairngorms are entirely the wrong place for such a camping/fishing venture, if you want to stay within the law. If you don't mind breaking the law, go ahead! But for wandering, camping and fishing, far north and west would be the place, such as Assynt, South Skye or Raasay. Fishing from rocks in the sea at high tide will get mackerel, Pollack and even sea trout, the lochs have many brown trout which breed in profusion, something to do with the acidity. They don't grow very big but there are lots of them. The Sligachan River on Skye is very cheap, about thirty quid for a season ticket (though ten quid per day, to milk the tourist trade) but only fishes well in a spate. I believe there is an estate in Sutherland where you can pay approx. five quid and wander about fishing where you like, best google fishing in Sutherland for that. Tackle can be as cheap or expensive as you like. Where are you coming from to get to Scotchlandland ? It may be cheaper and better just to buy stuff here.

[davekeiller]

I stand corrected.