We’re on track for our renovated Farmhouse at Dalton Green to be completed in May and ready for bookings June 2013 onwards.  See more of this exciting new luxury holiday property at Dalton Green Farmhouse

Anthony is once again in New Zealand having lots of Fishing Fun until March.   We’ll keep you posted with photos of trout when he can send them but here’s a couple from this year so far as a taster for fishing in the Beautiful New Zealand… See www.TroutinNZ.co.uk for more details.

We had our first Ghillies’ Gathering from 25th November – 1st December and although no salmon were caught there was lots to learn from each other about fishing contrasts man to man, river to river and country to country!

Also the reminder that nothing in Salmon fishing is guaranteed – what is traditionally the best time for salmon on the Annan – and the catches for the week are:  grayling, sea trout and brown trout……

Read our write up for the 2012 Ghillies’ Gathering here and register your interest for 2013.

More details www.GhilliesGathering.co.uk

A fantastic effort from those at our 2012 Salmon School resulted in 6 salmon caught (largest 15lb) over the 6 days!

It’s always great to see the fish but for us it’s even more than catching salmon.  It’s far more to do with learning about this beautiful fish, how to handle the 14ft rod, casting, wading and gaining the confidence in the river, as well as the stunning scenery, food and company….catching a fish is just a bonus!

See www.SalmonSchool.co.uk for more information and for 2013 dates.

Watch our videos filmed by Anthony and Sue Rudge

Anthony’s Video

Sue’s Video

Our first Ladies Only Salmon School started with a steady downpour of rain after 4 or 5 days of brilliant fishing conditions!  Typically as 2pm approached and everyone arrived so did the rain and cold.  However our ladies were not put off and headed off to the river with Glyn and Sue to learn about tackling up and casting techniques.  Lots of good food followed an afternoon of instruction and a well deserved rest.

Day 2 – the river is big.  Not a great day for fishing!  But we’re learning all about river conditions and lots about technique – you don’t have to be in the river to get the most from our instructors.  After lunch some stay for more tuition and the rest are off to the Barony Smokehouse to see how the fish are smoked for flavour and lots of sampling went down well!  Then it’s back down to the river, a quick bite of cake and some coffee, and back to the fishing.  Mark is on hand throughout the day to demonstrate fly tying from the comfort of the trailer.

Day 3 – We can get in the river!  Lots and lots of fishing, putting into practice all that’s been demonstrated and learnt over the past 2 days hooray!  Sadly no fish caught this time, but everyone leaving knowing much more about the salmon and how to fish for her in all conditions.   Feedback coming in so far = happy fishing ladies, and one booked already to return next year.  So thank you everyone for making our first Ladies Only Salmon School a success!

Hope to see you on our next one www.SalmonSchool.co.uk

We’ve had a busy first half of the year making some quite big changes inside and out especially around the Courtyard!

Red Squirrel Cottage has been renovated to 3 star standard….

So far everyone who has stayed has enjoyed the changes & we hope to eventually get the 3 remaining 2 star cottages up to 3 star standard too.  Book into Red Squirrel to see the difference!

Our Play Area has also undergone a transformation.

We now have a Garden Fort equipped with slide, climbing rope, swings and tyre swing and football goals.  So plenty for the little ones to enjoy after their walks around the woods across the fields, by the river, spotting wildlife, visiting the farm animals…

Other improvements underway – we’ll keep you posted!

Our 6th Salmon School has come and gone with 18 fishermen more confident and knowledgable about salmon fishing!

It’s always great to see so many new faces at the school and also some familiar ones too.  Although there were not many fish caught this time, so many of the participants say they are now confident to get out there on their own thanks to the tuition and practice on the school.

We are holding the price for next year’s school until Christmas when they are likely to increase.  So for a great gift for a loved one or why not treat yourself and get booked onto next year’s school now!  See www.SalmonSchool.co.uk for more details.

We only have 1 place left on our 3 day Salmon School so book now!

There are still a few available places on our 4 day school too so don’t panic if you miss the 3 day one.  See www.SalmonSchool.co.uk for more details on our brilliant schools which include first class tuition, all meals and accommodation – Don’t miss out!

Find out what’s been going on at Kirkwood in our Spring Newsletter 2011

We’ve always known the Annan is a great river to fish so we were delighted with the editor of Trout & Salmon’s recent write up of the stretch.   You can read it here