Westlands Country Park has undergone significant investment in recent months, making it a great place for a day out doing country sports or just for something to eat.
Just off the M74 motorway, between Kirkpatrick Fleming and Annan you can find Westlands Country Park.
Having seen the news of the recent improvements and upgrades to the site, we recently visited Westlands and were really impressed. The updated facilities and solidly designed clay pigeon shooting ground offers a really good day out for shooters and non-shooters alike.
Club Room and Food
The biggest change to Westlands Country Park is the facilities- they have been seriously improved. The main centre is impressive and modern, finished to a high-standard with well-thought out details. Walking into the club room there is a reception, gunroom and shop and most surprising - a large restaurant and bar area!
The restaurant and bar are seriously slick looking, and as it was early we ordered some breakfast (bacon roll; poached eggs & toast). The lunch and evening menu looked varied, with special theme nights advertised. Breakfast was nice and well presented.
Clay Shooting Ground
Westlands has a large and well-designed clay shooting ground.
There are tuition and special occasion days, like corporate or stag/brunch days available for non-shooters or with limited experience. From
the website, these are priced at the market rate for similar packages elsewhere and I can't think of anywhere in Dumfriesshire that offers similar with the same high
quality of shooting grounds.
As a shotgun certificate holder, we went for the "Pay and Pay" option. This is a really easy and common approach, where a key-card tracks how many clays are used and you only pay for what you use.
When shooting at Westlands, the high quality and variety of the grounds are obvious. Although the "bones" of the set-up haven't changed drastically, there are more stands. This includes a challenging tower "high bird" which is apparently the highest in Scotland!
In terms of variety, there is a really good mix of types of stands of varying difficulty and novelty. Most of the 20+ stands are some variety of sporting, which makes a good day out and some really tricky shots. I personally love a "rabbit" set up, even though I miss far more than I hit!
From a practical perspective, traps are high quality Promatic and we didn't suffer any malfunctions.
Gun Room and Shop
One of the most surprising things to see at Westlands Country park was a massive gunroom and shop! Although we only had a quick look around, there appeared to be a good mix of both new and second hand shotguns at a mix of budgets.
There was also a whole rifle room, which was unusual but good to see.
Additionally, there was another section with a range of clothing, including Westlands merch and a small range of boots and wellies.
What else is there to do at Westlands Country Park?
Walking around Westlands there are a number of cabins and lodges, both new and more under construction which looks like they offer a number of different accommodation options.
There is also some provision for fishing but lack of fishing expertise prevents any further comment!
Overall
Overall, Westlands Country Park is a good day out for shooters and non-shooters alike. The grounds are varied and challenging whilst the new facilities provides a modern and comfortable place to eat. If the main centre is anything to go by, it would also be a great place for a weekend away!
5/5 - What To Do
Address: The Broats Moss, Annan. DG12 6RS
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