Shooting trips from Burnside Lodge concentrate on morning and evening flighted woodcock and wild duck with walked up snipe during the lighter part of the day. The onus is on wild bird hunting rather than shooting in its more conventional guises. Birds shot are for the pot, either cooked and eaten at Burnside Lodge or taken home with guests. Islay is infamous for its fall of woodcock and so there is no better place to try and get that elusive left and right.

We tailor the package to suit our guests, however as a guide: four days of shooting from late October to the end of January is £600 per person (£150 per day).

You are welcome to stay here at Burnside Lodge either for bed and breakfast, 5 days costing £150 (£30 per person per night) or full board at a cost of £280 (£56 per night, including bed breakfast, packed lunch and three course home cooked evening meal). Alternatively we can arrange self-catering accommodation locally to allow you to visit the local pubs in the evening - please note however that many places reduce their opening hours or close for winter.

Our local pub the ‘An Tigh Seinnse’ is normally open and serves good food - in fact we normally arrange for full board guests to eat at the pub on one night during their stay included in the full board price.

Parties normally arrive on a Monday, shooting Tuesday to Friday and departing on Saturday, however we are very flexible. Don't hesitate to call for further details. We also run a limited number of Woodcock and Whisky Weekends if you are short of time and would like the Islay experience. These are very wild birds in very wild places and your opportunity to see if you really can shoot!

Booking and deposits

We take shooting bookings from 1st February for the following season, ie February 2011 for the October 2011 - January 2012 season, and require a 50% deposit (£300)per person at the time of booking. The remaining shooting payment should be made by 30th September with the food and accommodation charge payable on departure.

The weather on Islay is changeable to say the least and you are advised to bring ample waterproof clothing and torches for night flighting. Shooting will not take place if the weather is so severe that it may cause a safety risk. On these occasions however the time is commonly spent seeing more of Islay and ‘experiencing’ one of the distilleries. Please note that we reserve the right to refuse to take individuals shooting if we believe they are under the influence of alcohol and as such may form a risk to themselves or others.

Safety and fitness

Due to the nature of the terrain on Islay, the weather, and being out at dusk and dawn you do need to be relatively fit for this type of shooting. Please let us know if you have any health problems we should be aware of and as stated above our guide will not take any individual out shooting if they appear to be unfit for any reason.

In booking with us we take this as confirmation that you are competent with a shotgun are aware of safety requirements and hold suitable insurance through a reputable company. We do on occasion take novice guns however they must be accompanied.

Sub zero temperatures

Shooting was banned for 14 days early in 2010 as a result of two weeks of sub zero temperatures across Scotland. To our knowledge this was the first time in 13 years this has happened, however it is important that potential guests are aware of the implications of Section 2 (6) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 under which the ban was enforced. Further information can be found at www.basc.org.uk .