When a Macnab becomes a Macnot

An attempt at the feat of a sporting lifetime is filled with highs and lows. However, whether congratulations or commiserations are in order at day's end, the journey is truly unforgettable

- Written by Sam Rickitt • Photography by John MacPherson

UNLIKE BUCHAN'S protagonists in John Macnab, this sporting adventure has its origins in an excess of ebullience rather than ennui. At the Countryside Day held at Cheltenham last year, a fine lunch crossed with a winning horse produced a successful bid in the Countryside Alliance auction. These charity fundraisers are often fertile ground for fieldsports fun yet prizes too frequently languish forgotten until the time to claim has passed. This time, post-auction ennui did not take hold.

It is north to Invermark, part of the Dalhousie estate in Angus, that this merrily-won Macnab attempt takes me on a dank autumnal day. Covering 55,000 acres with heather-clad moors, salmon fishing on the North Esk and a deer forest established in 1853, Invermark is eminently suited to the challenge. Headkeeper Gary Maclennan has been at the estate for 12 years and is an enthusiastic proponent of the Macnab. “It’s a great way to test our clients' abilities to the limit,” he explains, “and is a challenge for us as much as our guests. They may be good with a shotgun but not as practised with a rod or vice versa. I find it really rewarding when we bag the part of the challenge they think they will struggle with most. Or after starting at daylight, we finally land a salmon or shoot a grouse just before dusk.”