Gold Panning on your NC500 travels!
Venture off the main North Coast 500 route, drive away from the coast, and take time to explore the inland areas of the North Highlands. You never know what you’ll come across – a host of different experiences and activities await! Did you know that the area which the North Coast 500 route encircles has a brief history as a gold panners’ paradise?
You can even try your hand at panning for gold while on your travels…
In 1868, when a local man found significant amounts of gold in the Suisgill and Kildonan burns, Suisgill Estate became the centre of the ‘Great Sutherland Gold Rush’, with hundreds of would-be gold prospectors flocking to set up camp at the site of Baile an Or and try their luck at making their fortune.
Although this gold fever was short-lived, recreational gold panning is still permitted on certain parts of Suisgill Estate today, and visitors to the area are welcome to try their hand at this absorbing past-time (panning is available from 1st April to 1st October).
The technique of gold panning requires some skill and a lot of patience, but it’s fairly easy to pick up the basics and start your hunt for treasure. Nuggets are extremely rare, so while you’re unlikely to be able to pay off your mortgage with your findings, you’ll be able to claim specks and very small flakes of gold as your own. For most people, the fun is in the search, the process of looking for gold, and we’re sure that you and your family will enjoy splashing about in the burn, regardless of whether you strike it lucky!
Permission and Rules for Gold Panning on Suisgill Estate
- Recreational gold panning is permitted on two of the burns on Suisgill Estate, within strict rules.
- The first, Kildonan Burn, is located at the site of Baile an Or and (from 2018) a stretch of it is open, for a small fee, to anyone who would like to pan for gold for a maximum of two weeks a year. Free camping is available, and panners are required to purchase a permit in Helsmdale. For a full list of rules, and details of where you are entitled to pan, please click here.
- Gold panning on the second location, Suisgill Burn, is strictly prohibited unless you are a guest staying at Balvallioch Cottage or Upper Suisgill Lodge on the estate. As such, you will be granted written permission, a copy of which you should keep on you at all times whilst gold panning, as you may be asked to show it. For a full list of rules, information on how to apply and details of where you would be entitled to pan, please click here.
- When gold panning on Suisgill Estate, you do so at your own risk and the Estate will accept no liability for any accident or injury you may incur.
For more information on permission and rules for gold panning, please see here.
Purchase your permit and equipment now!
To help protect the burns and ensure that gold panning can be enjoyed by all for many years to come, the permitted gold panning equipment is limited to a pan, a hand sieve (or ‘riddle’), a hand trowel, a small spade and a gravel pump with a maximum barrel width of 2.5 inches. The use of sluices is strictly prohibited.
A gold-panning kit comprising a pan, riddle and hand trowel can be hired from Timespan Museum in Helmsdale. Licences for gold panning can be purchased from a couple of the eateries in Helmsdale, visit Timespan Museum for more information.
