GWCT raffles double Macnab at Dalhousie to shore up research

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) is raffling the chance of two simultaneous Macnabs at Dalhousie Estate in Angus, after cancelled regional events left its Scottish fundraising short and research budgets exposed. The winner and a companion will make their attempts on Saturday, 28 August 2027, guided by the estate’s head keeper and underkeeper.

What does the Macnab prize involve?

A Macnab, the challenge drawn from John Buchan’s 1925 novel John Macnab, demands a salmon, a stag and a brace of grouse in a single day, and remains one of the rarest achievements in British sport. The raffle offers two attempts run side by side, with the use of a Dickson round-action shotgun and an Alex Martin fishing rod provided by John Dickson & Son, Scotland’s oldest gunmaker, established in Edinburgh in 1820 and famed for the round-action, the uniquely Scottish trigger-plate mechanism prized for its strength, elegance and balance. Estate rifles will be available for the stalking, and the package includes a night’s bed and breakfast at the Panmure Arms Hotel in Edzell with a packed lunch on the day.

Why is the trust raffling a Macnab?

Rory Donaldson, GWCT head of events and membership in Scotland, said in an appeal that the raffle is “a hugely important fundraiser” after a couple of the trust’s regional events were cancelled this year, leaving income down on expectations, “which could have knock-on effects to the research we’re able to carry out”. The GWCT’s Scottish research underpins much of the evidence base on grouse, waders and moorland management that the sector leans on in the licensing debate.

Where will the attempts be made?

Dalhousie Estates have been in the ownership of the Earls of Dalhousie for almost 250 years. The present estates at Brechin Castle, Edzell and Invermark cover some 55,000 acres of Angus, from the farmland of Strathmore to the heather and high tops of Invermark, where the ground rises to 3,000ft at Mount Keen, Scotland’s most easterly Munro, with the North Esk carrying the salmon beat.

What happens next

Tickets cost £75 and a maximum of 400 will be sold, putting the odds at one in 400. The raffle closes on Thursday, 31 December 2026, and the draw will be made on Tuesday, 5 January 2027, with full details on the GWCT website; the trust is licensed by the Gambling Commission and encourages responsible play. In 2025 the trust’s raffles raised £71,400, of which £60,109 went directly to funding its research.