Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i The Field

GREENER FIELD Field subscribers will have noticed that from the January issue copies have arrived in a paper wrap. This is fully recyclable and part of The Field’s commitment to a greener countryside. WILD TROUT TRUST AUCTION From a wilderness fishing weekend on the Dee to an expedition to fish the Loue with Gerard Piquard, there are plenty of fishing adventures among the 300 lots in the Wild Trout Trust’s auction, which takes place on 20 to 29 March. Tackle, flies, books and art are also included, with prices starting at £20. For a copy of the auction catalogue, visit: wildtrout.org GAME PIES FLY AT OCADO Wild and Game, the company founded by Michael Cannon and Steven Frampton to boost game consumption, now has two of its game pies available…

DOUBLE WATCH ROLL ETTINGER Suede-lined leather, with dividing ring, keeps a brace of watches secure. Popper closure accommodates different watch sizes. Seven colours available. 275personalisation £30 02088771616 CROCHY BODYWARMER AIGLE Quilted gilet with warm-lined pockets in navy or bronze. Suitable in country or town. Springtime staple. 105 02076601576 FONDANT FANCIES BETTY’S OF HARROGATE Diamond-shaped lemon sponge fondant fancies. New edition of a classic Betty’s favourite, fit for spring. 9fora box of four 01423814008 CASHMERE TWEED TROUSERS PURDEY Classic shooting trousers in 68% cashmere, 32% wool blend with slanted side pockets. Makes for a dead cert at race meetings or pack for country weekends. 895 02074991801 CHORE GAMEKEEPER BOOTS THE ORIGINAL MUCK BOOT COMPANY Work boots with camouflage neoprene…

THE Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) prides itself on the integrity of its valuations, but the burghers of London’s Parliament Square have set themselves a mammoth task: valuing the planet. ‘Value the planet’ is a marketing slogan rather than an ambition to come up with a guide price for the globe. However, it is an admission that RICS has a vital role to play, along with a raft of related property industries, in ‘going green’ to combat climate change. A YouGov survey for RICS found a third of staff felt their employers were not doing enough to reduce their environmental impact, while 62% did not believe sustainability was at the heart of their company’s decision-making. There is a call to arms for better rates of recycling as well as…

SLATTADALE STORE LOCH MAREE, GAIRLOCH, WESTER ROSS A wreck with a view. This is an old Forestry and Land Scotland store close to the shores of Loch Maree and surrounded by woodland, which is zoned to be returned to native woodland. It has residential development potential as a holiday home subject to planning consent. The store is primarily made up of two large rooms and an old kitchen area. Slattadale Store is 12 miles from Kinlochewe, a village at the foot of Beinn Eighe. It is close to the three glens of Torridon, Docherty and Cruaidh Choillie. Wildlife in the area includes red deer, otters and golden eagles. Agent: Bell Ingram Tel: 01463 717799 Offers in excess of £50,000…

WITH spring on the horizon and, for many of us, the hunting season winding down, there’s an inevitable round-up of thrills and spills that probably questions the sanity of anyone who sits on a horse. I began the season hoping our horses would stay on the road, legs and backs would hold up, that jumps, bogs and holes will be kind, and ended the season thankful that my head and limbs are still intact. I did fall off our 18.1hh hunter in January but, in his defence, I had been having a quick wee owing to the morning’s sloe gin and had to climb back on from a gate just a bit squiffy. I toppled off the other side head first into a soft, muddy puddle, which, given the height,…

OUTSTANDING RETRIEVE BY ANY RETRIEVING BREED DURING THE 2019/20 SEASON The category for exemplary gundog work, open to all retrieving breeds. Entry must include an example of at least one retrieve that could be considered perfect, or one undertaken in unusual or difficult conditions. Entry must include an independent witness statement. OUTSTANDING WORK BY A SPANIEL DURING THE 2019/20 SEASON The category for exemplary gundog work, open to all spaniel breeds. Entry must include an example of at least one retrieve that could be considered perfect, or one undertaken in unusual or difficult conditions, or several examples of excellent work sustained throughout the season. Entry must include an independent witness statement. THE BEST AMATEUR PICKER-UP The Gundog Awards’ only non-canine category, open to amateur pickers-up who go above and beyond…

Dr Nicholas Hesford GWCT Senior Research Assistant A 2019 study examined mountain hare counts from 2001-17 undertaken at 76 sites across North East Scotland. We found that mountain hare abundance was up to 35 times higher and either relatively stable or increasing on driven grouse moors compared to moorland not managed for driven grouse shooting, where declines were 40% per year in some areas. It is likely that the control of predators and habitat management may improve mountain hare survival and reproductive success. One of the difficulties in studying mountain hares is that they are elusive and difficult to count. However, in 2018 a project by The James Hutton Institute and GWCT, which aimed to determine the best method for estimating numbers, concluded that night-time counts with a spotlight were…

Gin has come a long way since the 17th century, moving from being essentially British moonshine, synonymous with social failing and moral depravity, to acquiring National Treasure status – the booze equivalent of Judi Dench – beloved by everyone from hipster millennials to maiden aunts. There’s now pretty much a distillery for every day of the year in the UK, with gin sales worth more than £2.7bn. Fifty-four distilleries opened in 2018 alone – more than one a week – and we guzzled down 73 million bottles during the year. In medieval times, the Dutch found distilled malt wine proved unpalatable so junipers were added for their health-giving properties (they were thought to aid headaches and soothe stomachs) – and so jenever became a medicinal staple. The British observed the…

THE hanger was a type of short sword that was used from the 15th century onwards for hunting, war and self-defence. Over these years its form altered, as all longer serving weapons did, in line with changing fashion and function. The hanger usually had a slightly curved and predominately single-edged blade that made it useful in various settings for several centuries. From the 17th century, firearms became increasingly important for the military and for hunting but the hanger’s use continued to grow in both fields. Especially before the development of the socket bayonet, the hanger was the musket-bearing infantryman’s close combat sidearm. It enabled him to engage in hand-to-hand combat when necessary, yet was not so heavy or long as to be too burdensome to carry or likely to get…

I DON’T know about you, but I still blush to remember the walk of shame to the bottle bank at the end of our road in early January. Just when I thought I’d got rid of the last mementos of yet another New Year’s Eve of bad judgement and questionable behaviour, I found a further box of empties lurking under the stairs and one on the back step, too. Oh, and my missus had sweetly stashed some in the boot of the car as well. Getting rid of the bacchanalian evidence took all morning and I could hear the tut-tutting and see the curtains twitching the length of the street. Not that the neighbours should be so bloody censorious, given that most of them were here, chez nous, on NYE…

SO, Barrow, Blyth Valley and Bishop Auckland have all gone Conservative blue. “We are witnessing a seismic political shift,” various commentators commented. And during the morning of 14 December, as Boris’s Britain dawned, it was apparent that there had been a second ‘Rising of The North’. Let us hope that it does not follow the same trajectory as the original 1569 rising took, ending in a crushing defeat with a further 25 years of abject poverty and misery. “We need to create village mentalities in our cities, to listen to and respect one another” In 1569, the revolt against London was led by disgruntled nobles Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland, and my powerful ancestor with a grievance, Leonard Dacre (or, as Queen Elizabeth…

FROM the start, James Wild seemed destined to become a wildlife sculptor and his art teacher sealed the deal: “At school we had this very expensive welding machine in the art department that no-one was using and the art teacher told me to go and use it. He showed me how to work it and I made two horses’ heads with anything I could find, just offcuts lying around. So the medium found me. People liked the horses’ heads and I got two orders.” Which meant that Wild had to reassess his ideas about life and the all-important gap year: “I thought, instead of going to work in a pub to fund my India trip, which had been my plan, how about working as a blacksmith and selling what I…

1 East Devon Point-to-Point Bishops Court, near Ottery St Mary, Devon. Tel 07870 737209. 6-8 Wilton House Antiques Fair Salisbury, Wiltshire. Antiques and decorative arts from 40 dealers. Tel 01722 746728; wiltonhouse.com 7 Duke of Beaufort’s Point-to-Point Didmarton, Gloucestershire. Tel 07974 396766. 10-13 Cheltenham Festival Prestbury, Gloucestershire. Tel 01242 513014; thefestival.co.uk 10-12 BASIS Certificate in Game Management GWCT Allerton Project, Leicester. Predator control, game-bird releasing, shoot and land management. Price £685. Tel 01425 652381 (Lizzie Herring); gwct.org.uk 11 BASC Ladies’ Beginners and Novice Clay Shooting Day Penrallt Hotel, Aberporth, Dyfed. Cost £50 members, £60 non-members. Tel 01244 573029; email wales@basc.org.uk 14 Duke of Buccleuch’s Point-to-Point Friar’s Haugh, Kelso, Roxburghshire (first race 1pm). Tel 07896 089133. 15 Bicester with Whaddon Chase Point-to-Point Edgcote, Wills Estate, Banbury, Oxfordshire. Tel 07768 360308. 18…

1 GRUINARDS FARM ARDGAY, SUTHERLAND This is a renovated stone farmhouse and adjoining cottage in a riverside setting. The property features renewable energy, including ground-source heating and solar panels. The renewables also offer an income source. For sale either as a whole or in two lots. Agent: Strutt & Parker Tel: 01463 723593 Offers in excess of £640,000 2 ACACIA HOUSE & MALLARDS REST COCKFIELD, SUFFOLK These brand-new eco-homes combine the traditional flint of the local Suffolk area, close to Bury St Edmunds, with green technologies. They include triple-glazed windows, air-source heat pump, under-floor heating, a heat-recovery system and solar panels. Agent: Bedfords Tel: 01284 769999 Guide price: £775,000 3 START VIEW CLIFFHOUSE SOUTH HALLSANDS, KINGSBRIDGE, DEVON The clue is in the name. A modern property with panoramic sea views…

1 LONG CANDOVERS HARTLEY MAUDITT, ALTON This Grade II-listed property dates from the 17th century and there is also a neighbouring cottage, Candovers Kiln, in the sale. The house has five bedrooms and features exposed beams and flagstone floors. The cottage is a farm building conversion with two bedrooms. Agent: Hamptons International Tel: 01420 730062 Guide price: £1.6m 2 SHEARWATER BOATHOUSE BATHING LANE, OLD PORTSMOUTH This Regency boathouse, dating from the 1820s, has been converted into an open-plan, mews-style, three-bedroom property with a private inner courtyard. Shearwater is down a cobbled lane, just yards from the harbour, and comes with boat moorings in Camber Dock. Agent: Fry & Kent Tel: 02392 815221 Guide price: £850,000 3 THE WHITE COTTAGE AMPORT This four-bedroom, Grade II-listed thatched cottage has landscaped gardens open…

THAW DEAL Q I made damson gin for the first time last year and then forgot that I had frozen a large bag of damsons, too. They are about eight months old now. Are they still suitable to use to make more gin? WB, by email A If the fruit has been stored correctly in the freezer there is no reason why the damsons won’t make perfect gin. Check the frozen fruit first. If it is covered in a lot of white ice, has a frost-bitten look and is dull in colour, then it might taste bland. Most fruit can be frozen and kept for about a year without any issues. “Correctly frozen fruit can be used for gin” THE NEED TO BEE SENSIBLE Q How far from a footpath…

Get the basics right: your kit and your shoot routine (process) are the foundations of your shooting. Good, solid foundations make for good shooting. Invest in both to ensure your foundations are solid. Get the right gun. One that suits you and is right for the purpose. Your gun should fit you – don’t fit yourself around the gun. It is important that you can mount the gun correctly and you can handle a good-fitting gun correctly and safely. You may invest in gun fit but do you invest time in practising gun mount and handling? Focus on doing it correctly. It’s worth it – your shooting will benefit and you will have a happier experience.…

MOST VIEWED Gundog Awards 2020 Readers were delighted by the return of The Field Gundog Awards, which launched online this month with new categories and a new sponsor. Now in association with Chudleys, favourite categories, including Best Family Gundog and Naughtiest Gundog, are back and for the first time we are searching for a Precocious Puppy and Best Veteran Gundog. Turn to page 46 for more information and send your entries to gundogawards@ti-media.com INSTAGRAM Shooting snipe Instagram Fielders loved this out-take from our January issue shoot report, which saw the Editor travel way out west to Co Roscommon, Ireland, in search of snipe. Taken by Charles Sainsbury-Plaice, the image shows the Editor’s fellow gun, Jason Doyle, a hunting guide and fieldsports journalist. “What a picture,” admired one Fielder, and the…

BLUNDERING ON With reference to Paul Kenyon’s letter, Unusual Weapon [February issue], in December 2018 I took my blunderbuss to Whitfield on a .410 and black-powder day. It hadn’t been fired in the past 50 years so the first test shot was taken with trepidation Needless to say, I didn’t hit anything as the shot spread so quickly but it was great fun trying. My blunderbuss [pictured below] looks almost identical to the one shown in The Field and has the fearsome, spring-loaded bayonet. I have the following information on it, written by a retired police officer in the 1970s: “This weapon was made in Birmingham and bears the viewing mark and proofing mark of that city. These markings came into use in 1813 and the gun was probably made…

FLOWER shows can be bloomin’ disappointing. The veg section is usually all right (who doesn’t like an outrageous parsnip?), and I’m intrigued by the predatory nature of carnivorous plants; but all those perfect roses and petunias remind me of failure, the wasteland of weeds that purports to be our herbaceous border. Yet I was intrigued by a theme running through the Chelsea Flower Show some years ago addressing the drought that would surely come with global warming. Our gardens would have to adapt to the dry and our planting become more Mediterranean, thyme and rosemary to the fore with perhaps a suggestion of cacti and grape vines. My few acres of chalkland would no longer be grazed by a scattering of sheep but support groaning rows of merlot, cabernet sauvignon…

Favourite categories are back, including Best Family Gundog and Naughtiest Gundog. We are looking for proper gundogs that work throughout the season and make being in the field a joy: the hound that stunned with an exceptional retrieve; the trusted family companion; the amusingly disobedient gundog; and the underestimated breed that never fails to impress. Plus, we are pleased to introduce two new categories for 2020: Best Veteran Gundog and Most Precocious Puppy. Best Veteran Gundog is open to all gundogs aged eight years and over, the old dogs in no need of new tricks that continue to delight with their exceptional work in the field. Most Precocious Puppy is open to apprentice gundogs aged one year and under, the up-and-coming companions that show early signs of aptitude for the…

Rare plants, exotic trees, stunning sculptures – money can purchase all these things but it can’t buy wildlife. This is what makes creating your own Simple habitat management will work wonders. Many species, such as thrushes and green woodpeckers, like mown lawns but areas of rough (not overgrown) grass will harbour voles and mice, which in turn will attract owls and kestrels. Nectar-bearing plants such as lavenders and verbena are great for insects, while buddleia might not be native but butterflies love it. If you are going to plant trees, opt for natives such as rowan, bird cherry and hawthorn, or, if you have the space, oak and beech. What your new reserve will almost certainly lack is sufficient nesting sites for the birds you are going to attract. This…

HOW TO READ A SUIT Masculinity has been tied to the suit, and how to wear one, since the garment’s inception. The fit of a jacket, the cut of the cloth, the shoes one wears – even today they have the power to convey a message from the wearer: invisibility, power, identity, character. Over seven detailed chapters, Lydia Edwards examines four centuries of the suit, from Charles II’s Restoration in 1666 to 2000. The author invites the reader to understand the changing shape of the suit, analysing shifts in the silhouette and other changes. This is much more than the history of a piece of clothing, it is the ideas and attitudes that have shaped and defined masculinity. From the coat and breeches of 1705 to the 1970s leisure suit,…