Aline Lodge
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Aline is an all round sporting estate offering a variety of field sports and spectacular scenery. Situated on the boundary of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, Aline covers 8,000 acres of hills, moors and lochs with sporting rights over adjacent land. The lodge is next to the sea, looking onto Loch Seaforth which, because of its beauty and wildness forms part of a Scottish National Scenic Area. The estate includes several miles of sea coast, including Seaforth Island, plus several miles of shoreline on Loch Langavat, one of the most prolific salmon fisheries in the Hebrides.
Aline has a variety of sport: stalking on hills and forest, walked-up grouse, driven woodcock, duck flighting, and salmon and sea trout fishing. The estate has a fulltime gamekeeper, boats on both the sea and freshwater lochs, boathouse, sauna complex by the sea, and dogs for walked up shooting. The eighteenth-century lodge is newly rebuilt, with sunroom, poolroom, study, and six bedrooms and five bathrooms. There are two additional cottages available for rent. A 16ft Arran sea boat is available to guests at the lodge, and a larger sea boat, the 27 ft Targa, is available by separate arrangement. The Arran is suitable for exploring Loch Seaforth, dropping prawn pots, and visiting Seaforth Island. The Targa can take guests on further trips, to the Shiant islands and elsewhere along the coast of Harris. Wildlife abounds at Aline. Golden eagles, peregrines, merlins, sea eagles, snowy owls, puffins, divers, seals, otters, dolphins and whales all may be spotted, sometimes from the lodge, sometimes from one of the sea boats. The beaches of Lewis and Harris are nearby and ideal for a Sunday picnic. Day trips can be made to the 800-acre Seaforth Island, which is part of the estate, to enjoy walks and picnics. ACCOMMODATION The newly refurbished lodge offers comfortable accommodation for 10 people in a spectacular setting on the shores of Loch Seaforth, looking down this beautiful sea loch all the way to the Isle of Skye 25 miles away. With no road between the lodge and the sea, guests can enjoy one of the finest views in the Hebrides. Originally built in the 18th Century, the lodge was completely modernised in 2009/10 without losing its traditional Highland character. Guests are now provided with five double or twin bedrooms (with five more bedrooms available by arrangement in the nearby Tarbert and Seaforth Cottages). The newly built sunroom gives fabulous views in three directions, while the billiards room and nearby sauna complex (with table tennis) offer great entertainment in the evening. The lodge is offered on a fully catered basis. FISHING There are four main fishing systems on the estate. Loch Langavat is the headwater of the Grimersta system and provides salmon, brown trout, ferox and arctic char from the estate boats. Fishing is largely done by boats on Langavat: however, the estate also fishes one bank of the Langadale River at the head of the loch. Langavat itself can be fished from the shoreline, of which Aline has approximately four miles. The Tiorsdam system consists of a small river with several productive pools and a loch which offer exciting salmon and sea trout fishing from July onwards. The Scaladale is a picturesque river which can offer excellent sea trout fishing in spate conditions. The rarely fished Vigadale has salmon and trout and, like the Scaladale, runs through a pretty, secluded North Harris valley near the lodge. Numerous little hill lochs offer a choice between a few large trout (up to 4lbs) or a plethora of small ones ideal for children. Weather permitting, our sea boats can take up to 8 people sea fishing for mackerel, pollock or skate and putting down and pulling up the estate's prawn and crab pots. StalkingRed deer stalking is available on the estate and in the adjacent leased lands. The main stalking period takes place in September and early October, although earlier stags may be found in the forestry. Hind stalking begins towards the end of October. Either in the magnificent scenery of the hills, or in the dense forest, stalking at Aline offers good exercise and exciting, challenging sport. The price per stag is £350; hinds are £150. SHOOTING Walked-up grouse shooting over pointers commences in September. After a recent downturn in numbers of birds, the estate's grouse moor has returned to productivity. In 2009, over 16 brace were shot over a four-day period by 2 guns going out for 3 hours a day. The most prolific areas are the moorlands along Loch Seaforth and Loch Langavat. Grouse shooting is available to tenants of the lodge at a price of £95 per brace. Bags of up to 5 brace a day can be expected. Woodcock shooting, both driven and over pointers, is available from November onwards. In recent years, as many as 80 woodcock have been shot each season. Driven shooting takes place in the forest and can offer some of the most exciting and challenging sport available. Woodcock are wholly wild birds that migrate to Lewis and Harris in the winter months to enjoy its comparatively warm climate. Each bird often only remains on the island for a few weeks a year. Two day shooting weekends are standard and typical bags are 10 to 30 birds a day, depending on the skill of the guns and the weather. Driven woodcock shooting is available to tenants of the lodge at a price of £100 per gun per day for parties of 4 to 6 guns. The season is mid November to end of January. Snipe shooting is available from October onwards. Snipe will generally be found by streams, ponds and similar wet areas scattered throughout the moorland. Duck shooting on the several flight ponds can be exciting in the evening with good winds. The occasional geese fly over as well. |
All round sporting estate covering 8,000 acres of hills, moors and lochs Summary
Location
Aline Lodge, Isle of Lewis HS2 9JL
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