MY FAVOURITE PLACE

WHERE IS IT?

The River Tweed between Melrose and Coldstream.

WHY DO YOU GO THERE?

Salmon fishing. I was very lucky to be brought up near Galashiels and my father had a wonderful bit of the river there called Upper Pavilion. My brothers and I spent the first 20 years of our lives, once we were old enough, fishing there.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GO?

Our house at Coldstream is right on the river and I walk by it every day. The salmon fishing is let each day to fishing tenants, but I retain the right to fish in the evenings. I tend to go down once the evenings lengthen. But I never go down for more than an hour or so. I am getting on – I am 71.

I caught my first salmon when I was nine. I am nerdy enough to keep a fishing register, so I have records of every single salmon I have caught, including the first one which was in April 1960 at Carham where my mother was brought up. How many have I caught over the years? I have never given that information away. I know and I suspect my children know because they have probably sneaked a look. It is quite a lot.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY?

One evening I came back from work and went down, as I do, to the river. I hooked an enormous fish and it turned out to be just over 30lbs. There is something mystical about catching a 30-pounder. And it is the only time I have ever done it. I had to somehow get it in on my own.

WHO DO YOU TAKE?

By and large, I am by myself. I never go in a boat to fish – I always wade from the side.

WHAT DO YOU TAKE?

I am terrible with kit. Most people think of a fisherman as having a deerstalker hat with flies on it and a coat with things sticking out of every pocket. I have none of that.

I have one rod which I look after incredibly badly and break every now and then. I have one box of flies which I put in my pocket and some nylon leader. I have my waders and off I go. We have ghillies here – or boatmen as we call them – who look after the fishing tenants, and they are unbelievably rude about my kit and quite right too.

SUM IT UP IN A FEW SENTENCES.

Stunning scenery. Wildlife. Fish jumping. The mesmeric nature of the water. Being alone and outside.

WHERE ELSE IS ON YOUR WISH LIST?

I have fished on a lot of the rivers in Scotland, but I have never been abroad. There are great Norwegian, Russian and Icelandic salmon rivers. I have never visited them because there is so much choice in Scotland and for most of my life it has been so good that I thought spending my precious holidays going fishing abroad seemed a waste.

A River Runs Through Me: A Life of Salmon Fishing in Scotland by Andrew Douglas-Home is published by Elliott & Thompson, out now, priced £14.99