Kildonan gold (Baile an Or)

In 1869 a Sutherland man back from the Australian diggings found gold in the Kildonan Burn, and a gold rush followed, hundreds of huts at a camp they called Baile an Or, “the town of gold.” It was brief, but the gold is still there, and Kildonan is one of the few places in Britain where you can buy a cheap permit from the estate and pan a Highland burn for real gold flakes today. PUBLIC panning by licence from the Suisgill Estate, bought in Helmsdale or online, on the stretch between the stone road bridge at Baile an Or and Kildonan Falls. The burn is shut to panners from 1 October to 15 April, and a licence covers two weeks a year at most; take only fine gold, this is a special place.