'Gold-diggers' backlash over estate charges for panning
THE new owners of Suisgill Estate in Sutherland have come under fire after introducing charges for gold panning in the river running through their land – the site of a historic gold rush.
Diana and Alexander Darwall have introduced a controversial £10 a day permit for gold panning at the famous Kildonan Burn and also brought in other restrictions.
And the couple plan to recruit two enforcers, to make sure panners "behave themselves".
Regular gold panner Colin Stark has slammed the charges as "totally outrageous" and launched a petition calling for all the restrictions to be removed.
He has also written to Professor Roderick Paisley, Aberdeen University – an expert in Scottish land laws.
He said: "The Kildonan burn has always been open to people to pan for gold and enjoy the history and land for free."
But Mrs Darwall has responded that the move was about regulating gold panning and that all proceeds from the sale of permits would go to Kildonan Church.
She said problems had arisen with undercutting the river bank, lighting fires and prising off rocks and boulders.
The Darwalls bought the 16,600 acre estate in November 2016 from Edward Reeves after it went on the market for £5 million. Mr Darwell is a leading fund manager in the city and also farms on the edge of Dartmoor.
The estate employs four full-time staff and has a sixth share of the River Helmsdale.
But it is most famous for being the location of the 1869 gold rush after a local discovered the precious metal in the burns.
Since then visiting amateur panners and locals have continued to pan for gold at Kildonan.
The Darwalls’ new restrictions not only require a permit to be paid for (under 16s exempted) but limit gold panning to two weeks per year per person and to a 200 yard stretch of river between the bridge and the falls. Also, only certain implements are permitted.
And panning has now been prohibited completely between October 1 and april 15.
Mr Stark (52), is a self-employed decorator who lives in Swindon but comes to Helmsdale six months of the year to pan for gold.
Over the past four years he has collected about an ounce, which he gifted to his daughter Teresa to celebrate her 21st birthday.
He said: "I am a recreational gold panner who has panned for gold on the Kildonan burn for the last four years without any restrictions.
"But the new owners of Suisgill Estate want to charge £10 per day to pan for gold.
"They will also allow only two weeks per year per person.
"This is entirely draconian – I thought Scotland was a free country with rights to roam. I’ve never had any problems in the past".
He claimed that restricting panning to a short stretch of the river would see people working "cheek by jowl".
His petition had 175 signatures on Monday – five days after it was launched. Mr Stark has still to receive a response from Professor Paisley.
But Mrs Darwall told the Northern Times that people had been taking the "mickey" and selling Kildonan gold on Ebay.
She said: "Panning needs regulating. There are one or two bad apples spoiling it for everybody and something had to be done, although I recognise there is always some resistance to change.
"We looked at things in our first year to see how it was working. I don’t want to upset people – I want to make it more enjoyable for people. Other estates also charge for panning.
"We are within our rights to shut it (the burns) totally – we don’t have to allow panning but we are keen to encourage responsible and regulated use, given the heritage of the place."
She said panning had resulted in undercutting the bank in places which, in a spate, could cause danger. There had aslo been potentially dangerous fires along the roadside. And there was also a conflict with salmon spawning at certain times of the year.
Mrs Darwall added that she had refused approaches for commercial gold prospecting on their land.
Mr Stark’s petition can be found at www.change.org
