Stanhope and Patervan Estate located near Tweedsmuir in Tweeddale, Scottish Borders, and part of the Southern Uplands Moorland Group, is committed in its efforts to carry out vital conservation to help preserve important moorland habitats and save our beautiful Scottish landscape for generations to come. This will only be achieved by pro-active management.
This family run estate is predominantly open hill and some moorland spanning 6500 acres in total, with a sheep enterprise, a small driven grouse shoot and a low ground pheasant shoot. The entire area of hill land, 6200 acres, is classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The estate has implemented a new regime to aid with the regeneration of land and are improving the integrated land management practices to help conserve the landscape for the benefit of all the wildlife that flourishes there. Valuable species found on Stanhope and Patervan estate include good numbers of curlew, several golden plover, ring-ouzels and a small black grouse population, as well as a frequent visits from a golden eagle.
The Estate are in the process of applying for a new Agri-Environment Climate Scheme. If successful in this application, the scheme will help promote land management that protects and enhances the Natural Heritage of the site, improves water quality, manages flood risk, mitigates and adapts to climate change and improves public access. The scheme also has huge benefits to flora and fauna, through active management of the habitat.
A contract shepherd and two full time gamekeepers are employed on our estate and we also engage contract workers to help with specialist land management practices throughout the year. We also support local employment during the sporting season with a day’s grouse shooting allowing for 30 plus people to be employed on any one day and a day’s partridge/pheasant shooting offering employment for 15-20 people each day.
The estate supports the wider Tweeddale community, using local tradesmen as well as working with a local food manufacturer to make our very own estate game pies, ensuring any surplus game is put back into the food chain.
The positive impact moorland life has on the local economy and supporting employment cannot be underestimated. We’d like to see everyone in the area ‘Support Moorland Life’ which includes communities, the environment and wildlife.