Gold panning on the Suisgill Burn is strictly prohibited.
Guests staying at Balvallioch Cottage and Upper Suisgill Lodge on the Suisgill Estate will be granted a licence to pan for gold on Suisgill Burn between 15th April and 1st October, subject to a maximum of 4 people per day. To do so you will, after payment of the balance for your booking, need to apply in writing to lettings@suisgill.co.uk. You will be required to supply the full names of all panners (this should be the lead booker and a maximum of 3 other people), the address you would like the permit to be sent to, and your vehicle registration number. On receipt of this application, you will be posted a signed letter of permission for the dates of your stay.
Over 70s may apply for a permit which costs £10 per day on production of ID. A 50% discount is available to those staying in local hotels and b&bs. This also includes permission to pan on the Kildonan Burn between the road and the falls. Profits go towards the upkeep of Kildonan Church.
In either case, the rules as laid out below must be adhered to, and it should be understood that panning is under licence from the Estate and that permission is not available through any other party. The Estate reserves the right to amend these rules at any time, to withdraw permission to pan, or to ban any person from gold panning permanently.
When gold panning on Suisgill Estate, you do so at your own risk and the Estate will accept no liability for any accident or injury you may incur.
RULES
1. The panners must at all times carry with them the letter of licence.
2. No gold panning is allowed between 15th October and 15th April to protect salmon spawners.
2. Parking must be on or by the A897 new road bridge and not on the Greens.
3. Panning may take place upstream from the old stone bridge at Grid Reference NC 897 251, as far as where the track crosses the burn at Grid Reference NC 904 269.
4. The maximum time allowed per year for those over 70 is two weeks, which may be taken in not more than two periods. Balvallioch guests may pan for gold on Suisgill Burn during any week they are booked into Balvallioch cottage.
5. Panning may only take place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., or dusk, if earlier.
6. Fires are not permitted by the estate. The Access Code states: “Never light an open fire during prolonged dry periods or in areas such as forests, woods, farmland, or on peaty ground or near to buildings or in cultural heritage sites where damage can be easily caused. People who light fires will have their permission withdrawn indefinitely.
7. All litter must be removed from the site.
8. Dogs should not be allowed to roam and must be kept at all times within 10 metres of the handler or kept on a lead.
9. Competitive or commercial panning is forbidden.
10. The following actions are expressly prohibited:- a) digging into, undercutting, or in any way damaging, the banks; b) breaking or prising of rocks and boulders (i.e. if it can not be moved by one person with their bare hands then it should not be moved) and c) the diverting of burns.
11. The only implements permitted are a pan, a hand sieve (or ‘riddle’), a hand trowel, a small spade and a gravel pump with a maximum barrel width of 2.5 inches.
12. The use of sluices and any tools or equipment other than those specified above is strictly prohibited. ‘Sluices’ include any set sieves. The users of any such equipment will be treated as trespassers.
Please allow our staff to inspect your equipment at any time to ensure it complies. Failure to do so will result in indefinite withdrawal of permission. Our rules are based on the guidance of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It is in the interests of all concerned that they are observed; otherwise all panning on Suisgill Burn will be prohibited.
If you suspect any of the above rules are being broken by another party, we would be grateful if you would report it to Klaus our Keeper on 07787 527824.