Wigtownshire · Scotland
Loch Ryan Oysters
Britain's last wild native oyster fishery.
"The bed has been fished continuously since the seventeenth century. Every one is hand-dived."
— Tristan Hugh-Jones
Placeholder profile
This is a working draft based on public information. A proper profile will follow once Samuel visits the fishery, spends a day with the divers, and writes the piece in the way the operation deserves.
What is here now
Loch Ryan is Britain’s only remaining wild native oyster fishery. The bed sits at the north end of the loch in south-west Scotland and has been fished continuously since the early eighteenth century. Every oyster is hand-dived, graded on-shore, and shipped alive.
The fishery serves a small number of London rooms. Wiltons has been a Loch Ryan customer for decades. Bentley’s takes them for the Corrigan raw bar. A handful of Scottish and Northumbrian rooms take smaller allocations.
Why they matter to OYSTR
There is only one wild native British oyster fishery left. Every other native on a UK menu is either farmed or imported. Loch Ryan is the last continuous link to what the whole British east coast used to produce before disease, over-fishing, and pollution shut most of it down in the twentieth century.
The site was on Sam’s list from the first time he read about the fishery. Any properly-written OYSTR must credit them first.
What is coming
A proper visit is scheduled for late September, before the season opens. The finished profile will include real photography from the boat, a conversation with Tristan Hugh-Jones about how the diving cycle works, and the specific Loch Ryan pubs and rooms in London that source directly.
Where you can eat these oysters
- Wiltons, London
- Bentley's, London
Every venue in the OYSTR app credits its supplying farm. Download the app to find the closest room serving oysters from Loch Ryan Oysters.
Open in OYSTR