Young keeper award for Cole

A young man from Lanarkshire has been named as Scotland’s best young gamekeeper. Cole Stewart is a member of the team at Black Corries Estate in Glencoe, and a combination of his work there and his community commitments attracted the attention of the prize committee.

The 20-year-old said: “It is the variety that appeals to me as a gamekeeper. You can wake up in the morning and you might be going out to the hill with a stalking party, and the next day you might be doing a walked-up grouse shoot with trained pointer dogs.

“Another thing that drives me is seeing the biodiversity that arises from good management. When you walk on to the estate, you can see the wider benefits of the predator control work we do.

“We have greenshank, snipe and wading birds in abundance.

I believe that good gamekeeping is part of the solution for our countryside in Scotland.”

Mr Stewart was presented with his award at the Moy Country Fair. Medals and plaques for loyal service of more than 50 years were presented to retired Strathconon Estate head stalker Angus Cameron, hill stalker and grouse keeper Jimmy Miller and Perthshire grouse keeper Ronald Kippen.

Cole Stewart is the Scottish Gamekeepers Association’s Young Gamekeeper of the Year