SURROUNDED by hills and miles from the nearest town, it sounds like a dream romantic retreat.

But it could become a full-time reality for one lucky couple as a hotel on one of Scotland’s most popular salmon fishing rivers goes in search of a new management duo.

The opportunity to run the Oykel Bridge Hotel in Sutherland is a rare one. Current manager Neen Mackay has been in the role for three years and although she wants to stay, the lure of home is proving irresistible.

Mackay, a former journalist and TV presenter, sacrificed quality time with her husband Donnie to take up the job while Donnie remained back home on Lewis. Now she is hoping to find a couple ready for the challenge of running the hotel in time for the new fishing season in March, so she can return to the Western Isles.

She said: “I absolutely love this job and if I was single I’d do it for ever, but I think now its time for me to go back home.

“It’s a great job, but it can also be the loneliest of jobs.

“My husband stayed in Lewis – he runs a fishing and shooting lodge so we’re both involved in the same kind of work. I don’t want to leave but I feel obliged to come home for him.”

The hotel, which is run by a board of directors, caters mainly to those who come to fish on the River Oykel – one of the country’s most popular salmon fishing spots.

It is so popular, in fact, that it is practically impossible to get a licence to fish there, unless one of the current licence-holders dies.

Between March and September, men and women come from all over the world to stay at the hotel, with Mackay explaining it is like “a home from home”.

She said: “The vacancy is going to be difficult to fill as you need to have great cooking skills, good meet-and-greet skills, and have to accommodate the clients there who are coming and keep in mind it’s a home from home, not just a hotel.

“It’s 98% returning customers mostly, fishing people. We occasionally have people coming from the street looking for a bed – they are maybe doing the North Coast 500 or the Cape Wrath Trail.

“We get quite a lot of famous people coming, and wealthy people who have been coming for 30 to 40 years.

“This could either make or break two people on their own. Donnie and I have done couple’s jobs before, we get on incredibly well and that’s fine, but you have to be able to tolerate each other and work with each other 24/7.

“It’s a huge ask of any couple, for a full seven months of the year.”

Mackay explained that although she has thrived on the isolation, it may be too much to handle for some people.

She said: “Your nearest neighbour on the main road is probably about three miles away, and there are some days you might not see anybody.

“For me I was fine – I loved being on my own and I love the area, and the work. I had a cottage on site and I thought it was wonderful. I think if I could I would stay here for ever but I don’t think my husband would want to, and life is too short for spending time apart like that,

“For whoever comes, they will need to have a really strong relationship to be able to deal with working and living together 24/7.

“Is it ideal for a couple to come along who have a child? There’s a fabulous primary school in Rosehall but then if you’re looking for activities for them to do, that’s maybe 12 miles away.

“The countryside is a wonderful place to bring up a child, but you have to think about if there is enough to stimulate them without them sitting in front of the television all day.

“It’s a huge ask of any couple, for a full seven months of the year, but it is a fantastic opportunity for the right people.”