Many congratulations to first time Nation’s Favourite Shooting Ground winner Auchterhouse!
First established in 1989, the ground was a hobby for Gavin Christie that has now turned into much more. Gavin has put his heart and soul into the shooting ground and the rest of the Christie family does the same.
Emma works front of house and runs the Clays Shop while Evelyn, the main administrator, works quietly in the background trying to keep the rest of the family and resident dogs, Paddy, Murphy and Eric, in order. There is also Gavin’s son Drew, who will be a familiar name to many and offers coaching to Scotland’s hopefuls.
Gavin represented Scotland at English Skeet in 1998, the same year Drew was the Captain. Drew has represented Scotland at most of the disciplines, including winning a silver medal for Olympic Skeet at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.
It’s certainly not hard to see why Auchterhouse was the winner of the Nation’s Favourite Shooting Ground vote – with four Skeet ranges, Olympic Trap, five DTL, one ABT and up to 15 Sporting stands with a 150-foot-high tower on offer, it also provides floodlit shooting through the winter months.
Auchterhouse has a cosy, log-style clubhouse with leather sofas, a pool table and delicious food provided by Lee, the chef from the adjoining Pear Tree Restaurant, which serves anything from a bacon roll to a full meal, from breakfast and lunch to high tea and dinner.
It also benefits from biomass heating so there are no cold days, even this far north. While there, you can take advantage of the shop, which stocks big brands such as Musto, Toggi, Joules, Alan Paine, Percussion, Beretta and Oakley.
This victory is even more momentous when you consider that we’ve never had so much as a single winner based north of Birmingham before. We always thought this was the natural result of there being more grounds and more shooters in the south of England than anywhere else. But so extraordinary is Auchterhouse, so universal its appeal, that it overcame all of this.
What a story, and what a winner.
But Auchterhouse deserve praise not just for winning the NFSG vote, but also for their considerable charitable efforts!
Over the last 16 years, Auchterhouse’s ladies day has now raised over £63,000.
The Shoot – a large shooting day for charity, has also now raised over a staggering £3.2 million in the last 18 years.
What do you like most about Auchterhouse? Its array of disciplines and stands? The atmosphere? The food at the Pear Tree Restaurant? There’s plenty to pick from, and voters in the poll certainly let us know.
If you want to congratulate Auchterhouse on its first ever win – or let us know why we got it wrong! – email us at fieldsports@futurenet.com.
You said…
“Great all round facilities, and a diverse activity programme.”
“Simply everything you need to enjoy shooting.”
“Friendly ground with ever-changing, challenging targets.”
To get in touch with Auchterhouse:
Burnhead Farm, Auchterhouse, By Dundee DD3 0QN
01382 320476
www.auchterhousecountrysports.co.uk
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