Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i The Field

SOME say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting a different result. The same also seems to apply to those so opposed to driven grouse shooting that they keep demanding politicians ban it. Five years ago, a petition prompted MPs to debate the idea, but it was rejected. Unperturbed by this setback, Wild Justice started another petition, which secured the recent debate in parliament (21 June). Since the evidence base was largely the same, the result was another rejection. However, I felt something was fundamentally different in the most recent round. This time, MPs were not only quoting from key documents, such as the GWCT Peatland Report, but they were proudly reeling out the names of grouse moors and communities they had visited, such as…

WHY THE SCHEME? In common with many charities, the GWCT was hit severely by the pandemic, which forced it to cancel most of its fundraising events. As a result, it had to delay important research projects. The idea for the Patrons scheme came after a letter by John Clements, published in The Field’s February 2021 issue and calling for donations to the GWCT, raised a phenomenal £31,000, with many becoming regular donors at an average of £500 a year. This prompted the charity to honour the people who make this special commitment to support serious conservation research with the launch of the Patrons membership programme. “After the John Clements letter was published, other passionate supporters have been in touch to say they want to do the same,” says Andrew Gilruth,…

This historic New Forest estate has come to the market for the first time in nearly 400 years; it has been in the same family since 1633. Believed to be one of only two Trinity houses in Britain – so named due to its Y-shaped design – the Grade I-listed Jacobean house dates back to around 1604. There is also an 18th-century Grade II-listed clock house, stables, outbuildings, cottage, farmhouse and three further cottages. The seven-bedroom house was enlarged in the mid-18th century with the addition of two Georgian wings. The land comprises lawned gardens, a walled garden, parkland, lakes, farmland, and woodland, together totalling more than 900 acres. The Estate is available as a whole or in up to eight lots. Agent: Strutt & Parker Tel: 01722 344014 Offers…

Grouse were arguably the first native birds to be routinely driven, but they have always been walked up, too. If you are roving over heather moor early season, taking quick shots of opportunity, a light, quick-handling gun can be a boon. If you are standing in a butt mid or late season, the requirements are rather different. Fifty years ago, 26in, 27in and 28in side-by-sides weighing about 6½lb to 6¾lb were the norm. Dedicated grouse guns – all fixed choke – were once made with the right barrel tighter, the rationale being the first shot was likely to be at distance and the second open for when the birds were over the butt. Today, guns used for grouse are typically choked improved or quarter right and half or three-quarters left…

Any shooting party is immensely improved by good wine and an evening dinner you can look forward to after a day on the hill or riverbank. It is a compliment to one’s guests, a time to come into one’s own as host, and an opportunity for immediate – and reflective – sporting conversations. Nowhere is this more important than when hosting a week in a Highlands sporting lodge. Some groups take turns with the cooking, with varying degrees of success. Others demand that the host’s spouse does all the honours, which is hardly a holiday for them. Yet there is a way round this, often overlooked, which is to employ one or two cooks who have honed their skills at any of the award-winning cookery schools that may be found…

One of the major intellectual challenges of the 19th century was to reconcile new scientific discoveries and inferences with the religion so deeply embedded in the population at large and especially in the countryside. No one represented the dilemma more than a rather special breed, rurally based yet highly educated, charged with upholding the Christian faith yet eager to explore the secrets of the physical world: the rural parson-scientist. One such was William Kirby, for 68 years the vicar of the Suffolk parishes of Barham and Coddenham, a sedulously observant enthusiast who distinguished himself by identifying a tiny but particularly unpleasant parasite that remains today the subject of close ongoing study. In due course he was declared ‘the father of entomology’. Kirby’s work explains why, with so many comely and…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Photographs of the month The Field Gundog Awards return with two new categories for the ever-popular Gundog Photograph of the Year: In The Field and Working From Home. For In The Field we are looking for an exceptional photograph of a gundog at work, while Working From Home seeks a superb shot of a gundog in any non-sporting setting. Working from home RUBY AND VIOLET BY SHARON NEWMAN: making a splash on a walk at home in Devon In The Field SNOW BY OWEN BIRNIE: keeping a watchful eye out for his owner, Billy Drysdale, from the back of the beater’s wagon. Vote now at: thefield.co.uk/gundogawards Full terms and conditions apply. Please visit field.co.uk/gundog-awards…

DOGS are extraordinary animals, able to survive on whatever is available. In India, I’ve watched pye-dogs that live by scavenging. They rarely get the chance to eat meat and are usually painfully thin, but this doesn’t seem to reduce their zest for life. Here in Britain we spend billions of pounds every year on specially formulated diets for our dogs, but this doesn’t make them any healthier than their Indian cousins. One of the reasons is that we tend to over-feed them, with the result that an estimated 50% of our canine population is obese, leading to a host of health problems. Obesity is much less of a concern with proper sporting dogs. The fact that they get far more exercise than the average pet dog is one reason, while…

Bodnant Garden Bodnant, as HRH the Prince of Wales says in his introduction, “is one of Wales’s greatest treasures”. Iona McLaren, whose forbear Henry Pochin bought the 2,000-acre estate (for £62,000 in 1874), and whose family home it remains, has done wonderful justice to the variety of people (and plants) who have created and maintain, with the National Trust, 80 acres of gardens, with formal terraces, majestic redwoods and an abundance of rhododendrons. Pochin made his money from bleaching soap bars, mining clay for writing paper and a raft of successful directorships. Bodnant is the temple of his endeavours, framed by the River Conwy and the glories of the Snowdonia mountain range. Three generations of the Puddle family, as head gardeners, have aided the McLarens, notably Harry McLaren, who developed…

Social spotlight SUMMER COOLERS The jury is out among Fielders on the best summer cocktail. Virtually every Instagram poster named a different favourite, whether Punch Romaine, Espresso Martini or Tom Collins. Only Bellini received more than one vote, but its lead is so narrow that it may have been scuppered by the time you read this issue of The Field and check out the Instagram post. MAN’S BEST FRIEND A piece by Field contributor David Tomlinson on the lifespan of different breeds sparked a nostalgic walk down Memory Lane on Facebook, with people posting about beloved dogs that are no more and one quoting Agnes Sligh Turnbull: “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” PUT IT TO THE TEST A picture of the William Powell Sovereign 16-bore found…

Bike for butterflies: On 22 June, Butterfly Conservation trustee Simon Saville began an epic bicycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats, calling for urgent action to save moths and butterflies, such as the High Brown Fritillary pictured. “We are hoping that Simon’s efforts will inspire others to get out and bike for butterflies,” says Butterfly Conservation’s spokeswoman Emma Butler. And, yes, even indoor bike ‘rides’ count. You can sponsor Simon at: justgiving.com/fundraising/bikeforbutterflies SPORTING COMPANIONS…

THIS is not just a feast of flat racing but, believe it or not, tautology. No, ‘ebor’ doesn’t mean festival. It is taken from the Latin word Eboracum, which means York. So, the York York Festival. From the Latin influence in the Festival’s name comes the Anglo-Saxon etymology of the land upon which the racing takes part, the Knavesmire. The word knave, or Jack, is the least important of the unnumbered playing cards, while mire translates as swampy ground. In other words, a lowly man’s swamp. An ironic name for one of the most pristine and well-attended courses in England. So well attended that some 150,000 turned up to watch Voltigeur take on The Flying Dutchman in 1851. Those familiar with the famous races of the Festival will not have…

Passionate sportsmen have a chance to make a difference and support evidence-driven conservation by joining the GWCT’s new Patrons scheme. The initiative, explains the GWCT’s Andrew Gilruth, recognises those who donate £500 a year through a new membership tier, Patrons, offering a wide range of opportunities. BENEFITS INCLUDE: Invitations to behind-the-scenes visits to important conservation projects, including real research in action at GWCT conservation sites, such as its headquarters at Burgate Manor, in Hampshire, or The Allerton Project at Loddington, Leicestershire. Invitations to exclusive events and visits to those institutions and businesses that are so vital to a thriving sporting community. Briefings on emerging political and policy issues. With significant new legislation being drafted to fill the gaps created by our departure from the EU this is becoming increasingly pressing.…

YSGUBOR FAWR FARM MYDDFAI, CARMARTHENSHIRE This is a 286-acre farm on the edge of Myddfai. The farmhouse has five bedrooms and four reception rooms, while the stone barns have potential for conversion. There is a block of farmland of about 98 acres set around the village and further farmland in three other blocks. There is a derelict house and barn with renovation potential. Also available in lots. Agent: Savills Tel: 029 2036 8930 Guide price: £2m for the whole BRYNIAU GOLAU LLANGOWER, BALA, GWYNEDD This is a Victorian house in Snowdonia National Park with views over Bala Lake. It has for many years been run as a successful bed & breakfast. The gardens – just under three-quarters of an acre in total – are well stocked with a variety of…

Those undertaking land management for shooting might best be described as the ever-present but silent majority in the conservation sector. Shooting ploughs nearly £250m into conservation projects annually, be it planting and managing woodland, copses or hedgerows, growing cover crops or improving wetlands and ponds. The workforce – gamekeepers and land managers – undertake their work diligently and behind the scenes. Unlike their charitable, land-managing counterparts, their work is funded privately. Donations and fundraisers are unrequired and so is the subsequent press coverage needed by the third sector. “Gamekeepers can now go toe-to-toe with conservation bodies” Unfortunately, increased lobbying by those who wish to see grouse shooting restricted has left gamekeepers in the lurch, with some practices dragged into the political arena by those who think they can manage the…

It’s a safe bet that many Field readers will harbour fond memories of sunny summer days spent in pursuit of that most obliging of all saltwater fish, the gorgeous and ubiquitous mackerel. My earliest recollections date from childhood holidays on the south Devon coast, where my brother and I would wake up at dawn and scour the blue seas overlooked by our holiday cottage in the hope of seeing Plynlimon anchored in the bay. Days would pass without a glimpse, until one happy morning the converted trawler owned by family friends was bobbing gently in the swell. Within the hour we would be clambering on board for a nautical adventure, the highlight of which was trolling a paravane and lure off the stern for mackerel. For young schoolboys, there was…

What does sherry mean to you? Banish thoughts of some stale, sickly confection. Turn your imagination instead to the thunder of thoroughbred hooves racing along a beach, fishing boats bobbing behind, flamingos in formation overhead and a crowd whose attire covers the full spectrum from bikinis to Glorious Goodwood. Or picture a lunchtime spread overflowing with garlicky prawns and gleaming slivers of cured ham. Come winter, take shelter from the elements and hand round a restorative hip flask, your hand perhaps slipping as it passes a mug of consommé. For anyone lucky enough to have been nibbled by the sherry bug, none of these scenarios is complete without the presence of either a cool, saline manzanilla or an equally bonedry, nutty amontillado. Dry is the key here. There are indeed…

EDDYSTONE The four engineers behind Eddystone’s four iterations laid down the principles for rock lighthouses to be replicated around these shores. Eddystone Rocks lie 13 miles south of Plymouth; the reef is submerged in high spring tides, which made entry into one of the country’s most important ports highly perilous. Henry Winstanley, a 17th-century merchant, smarting from the loss of two ships, was outraged that boats weren’t warned of this hazard. Funded by Trinity House, in 1696, the confection that arose out of his febrile imagination and from the seas was almost a maritime folly: an octagonal structure of Cornish granite and wood, bolstered by a dozen mighty iron stanchions, with a lead-domed, octagonal glass lantern at the top; an external stair wound round the base and up to the…

A FEW years ago I was talking ‘shop’ with a top London dealer and made the ghastly error of referring to his august emporium as a shop. He was scandalised. “It’s not a shop,” he snorted. “It’s a gallery.” Spotting my look of incredulity, he decided to elaborate. His secret – putting aside the intense research involved in buying great items at good prices and the importance of building up a wealthy and trusting clientele to flog them on to – was in the way he displayed his bits and bobs (not that he referred to his treasures as such); mounted them; cleaned them; repaired them; lit them. Looking around, I could see the truth of this. Hardly a single object lay on a shelf. Everything was beautifully and cleverly…

THE moment my Welsh cob took a hold and charged after hounds, I was hooked. I had a relatively late start to hunting, aged 13, but I never looked back, partly due to the kindness of Roy Tatlow, huntsman of the Clifton-on-Teme, a farmers’ pack in unspoilt Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Tina, my brilliant pony, was stabled at Tipton Hall Riding School near the kennels and as soon as she heard hounds, she refused to stand still. I was much the same. At the University of St Andrews I played polo. Then, having started work for The Field’s sister title, Country Life magazine (of which I am now chief sub-editor), I asked Nicola Swinney, then hunting editor of Horse & Hound, about packs near London. She asked if I’d be interested…

Westminster Hall recognised the value of driven grouse shooting when it debated a Wild Justice petition to ban the sport on Monday 21 June. Only two MPs supported a ban, with the rest acknowledging that grouse shooting helps preserve the upland landscape, supports ground-nesting birds such as lapwing, curlew and plover, contributes to wildfire prevention and brings employment and social opportunities to moorland communities where jobs can otherwise be scarce. “I believe that to ban grouse shooting would be an act of environmental, ecological and economic vandalism, not to mention a gastronomic disaster for many people in this country,” said Robert Goodwell, MP for Scarborough & Whitby, whose constituency includes parts of the North York Moors National Park. “We saw the strength of support within Parliament,” notes James Swyer of…

Farmers and landowners have welcomed the Government’s plan to give police greater powers to crack down on livestock worrying, but some fear it might not go far enough. Dog attacks on farm animals have become more frequent in the past 18 months. A National Sheep Association (NSA) survey shows a significant increase in the incidents, with an average of seven sheep-worrying cases per farm in the past 12 months and with five animals injured and two killed per attack. The situation could worsen in the coming weeks, not least because staycations, coupled with beach bans for dogs, may drive even more pets into fields, according to Rebecca Davidson of NFU Mutual, who estimates livestock worth £1.3m was injured or killed in 2020. The new police powers, which include seizing and…

A simple lie beats a complex truth far too often for the future safety of our countryside. The RSPB’s remorseless attacks on grouse moors and rotational heather burning are classic examples. According to them, rotational cool heather burning burns peat, causes floods, destroys biodiversity, drives global warming and is the same as burning tropical rainforest or the lethal and catastrophic wildfires that raged through Australia and California. None of these assertions – which are easy to make and, coming from RSPB, often believed – is true. However, their refutation takes time and thought, which few people are prepared to give. Does it matter? Yes, it does. What is at stake is not simply grouse shooting but the survival of our heather moorland, the rare and precious wildlife it supports and…

You’re waiting your turn to jump a gate, desperately hoping that someone chickens out and opens it before you get there — or breaks the top rail. From somewhere below your eyeline, a pony and small child nip in, canter up and pop it. Damn! No wimping out now. You can’t help but smile, despite the slight tickle of irritation because you know perfectly well the prep school-aged child is far braver than you. Good for them – what it is to be young and fearless. Many of Britain and Ireland’s packs of hounds feature these baby thrusters among their fields. They go better than most of the adults, with utter faith in their brilliant ponies, who are as in love with the sport as their riders. At the Quorn,…

The urge to modify popular cars has been around for as long as famous marques have existed. Tim Birkin’s early ‘Blower’ Bentleys, Harold Radford’s 1960s Minis and today’s Eagle E-Type Jaguars sit in this tradition, driven by a quest for optimal performance and appearance. Now a new type of change has arrived: the conversion to electric power. It promises to be perhaps the greatest transformation yet. Electrification could mean reduced costs to the pocket and to the planet. Not only is charging an electric vehicle far cheaper per mile than running one on petrol or diesel, but with a fraction of the moving parts, electric vehicles also have a lower risk of breakdown, which in turn reduces service costs. Indeed, a conventional car with an ageing or failing combustion engine…

THERE appears to have been a well-established gun-making industry in Scotland by at least 1535. The earliest known reference to pistols in the English language comes from a record in the burgh of Stirling dated 9 May 1549 relating to the prosecution of two men for wounding and the “schoting of his pistolate”. Many Scottish pistols, of various and distinctive forms, were made during the 17th and 18th centuries in a number of centres, almost entirely in the Lowlands, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Stirling and, perhaps most famously of all, in the market town of Doune. A particular type of Scottish pistol, called a ‘fishtail butt’ because of the shape of its butt, is the earliest known form and was in production between about 1598 to 1645. This particularly fine…

THIS month’s test looks at a new lightweight gun from Beretta GMK, the Ultraleggero. It has 30in barrels as tested (with 26in and 28in options) and weighs in at 6lb 7oz (near the old London ideal for a 12-bore 28in side-by-side). First impressions are good; the gun is smartly styled with a black action and classic stock shapes. The grip is full, but not too full, and there is a slightly shortened field style fore-end. The gun has no joining ribs (as in some previous Beretta lightweights) and a narrow, 6mm sighting rib. The gun is future-proofed, too, with 3in, fleur-de-lys steel shot friendly Gardonne proof (Beretta has a branch of the Italian proof house in its main factory – Beretta 1). Optima HP multichokes are fitted. Some lightweight over-and-unders…

AFTER the challenges of 2020, this year’s Glorious Twelfth feels particularly special and I have never been more excited at the thought of welcoming my first pair of grouse into the kitchen. I have been poring over previous recipes for The Field and, with spaniel-like enthusiasm, I have an urge to cook them all. Grouse is such a versatile meat and although delicious cooked and served in the traditional manner there are many flavours and styles it is suited to. To showcase this I have created three very different recipes: a plain roasted one with an exceptional side that allows the flavour of the grouse to shine through; a braised, Spanish-style dish with plenty of punchy flavours; and a lighter, fresher, sweet and nutty warm salad. ROAST GROUSE WITH CRISPY COURGETTE…

FOR those of us who resent our personal transport policy being dictated by the Swedish Doom Goblin, these are encouraging days. There has been a nice clutch of cars emerging that seem designed to celebrate the sheer joy of driving, such as the brilliant little Kia Picanto GT-Line and the Hyundai N range. In simpler times, we’d have called them ‘hot hatches’. And now there’s Toyota’s GR Yaris, which goes some way beyond ‘hot’. For a start, it may have the ‘Yaris’ badge on it but its links to that sensible little hatchback are fairly tenuous. For this is the result of Toyota’s rally programme, and the 25,000 that have to be sold to achieve ‘homologation’. All very complicated, but the result is a monster. There’s a 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine,…