Shooting woodcock and snipe over dogs is one of the great sports available in the British Isles. Calvert McKibbin and Luise Janniche head to the Isle of Luing in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides with their dogs, where the native Luing cattle and the warm gulf currents help provide habitat for the huge numbers of snipe and woodcock that migrate here every winter.
Shooting on Luing GunsOnPegs.com/shoots/argyll-bute/isle-of-luing-shoot
Tuffies Bit.ly/tuffies
To watch all of Fieldsports Britain, episode 838, visit FieldsportsChannel.tv/fieldsportsbritain838
How cattle dung is helping keep winter tourism alive on a Hebridean island
An Inner Hebrides farm has found an unexpected way to support wildlife, rural jobs and year-round tourism, thanks, in part, to cattle dung.
On the Isle of Luing, off the coast of Argyll, pasture grazed by the island’s distinctive Luing cattle attracts large numbers of woodcock and snipe each winter. The island seldom freezes because of the warm Gulfstream currents that flow past it. As the cattle’s cowpats break down, they become rich feeding grounds for worms and insects, drawing in migrating birds from across Europe.
The result is a striking example of how traditional island farming, wildlife and rural tourism can work hand in hand.
Each winter, the Hebrides become a refuge for Britain’s migratory woodcock and snipe population, with birds pushed west by colder conditions on the Continent. On Luing, those birds concentrate on cattle-grazed land, where probe marks in the dung show just how intensively they are feeding.
That abundance allows the island’s farming family, the Cadzows, to offer walked-up snipe and woodcock shooting during the quieter winter months — bringing visitors and income to the island at a time when tourism would otherwise slow dramatically.
Local gamekeeper Darren Smith, who manages shooting on the island, explains that the farming system plays a crucial role in supporting wildlife:
“You start to see a lot of snipe here,” he says, pointing to grazed pasture dotted with cowpats. “The birds are feeding hard, and the ground really works for them.”
The additional winter income has helped the farm invest in high-quality self-catering accommodation, including luxury holiday cabins, which are let to shooters in winter and holidaymakers in summer. The result is a rare year-round business model for a small Hebridean island.
Among recent visitors are Aberdeenshire-based couple Calvert McKibbin and Luise Janniche, who travel to Luing with their dogs for short breaks centred around wildlife, landscape and local food. Like many visitors, they are drawn as much by the setting as the experience itself.
Crucially, Luing’s land is managed as a single unit, allowing visitors to move freely without boundary concerns. Shooting is low-key, bags are small, and the emphasis is firmly on respect for land and wildlife.
The cattle at the heart of the story are themselves a local success. Luing cattle were developed on the island by the Cadzow family and have become increasingly popular over the last two decades for their hardiness and suitability for exposed coastal conditions.
As Archie Cadzow explains in the film, the breed’s success lies in its ability to thrive where other cattle struggle — a quality that has helped shape both the island’s landscape and its wildlife.
The story is featured in a new Fieldsports Channel film exploring how everyday farming practices influence biodiversity and rural economies. It shows how something as ordinary as cattle dung can underpin wildlife, attract winter visitors and help sustain families on one of Scotland’s Atlantic islands.
In a time when many island communities are searching for ways to remain viable, Luing offers a simple lesson: productive farming, healthy wildlife and tourism do not have to compete — they can depend on one another.
