Once-in-a-lifetime grouse day

One wet and foggy morning in October, I recall a team of nine Guns met outside the Charles Bathurst Inn – or the CB Inn as it is more commonly known – in the tiny village of Arkengarthdale in the Yorkshire Dales, for a unique day’s grouse shooting for which they had been waiting in anticipation for over a year. The fact that they were there at all was extremely fortunate, given that a shortage of grouse saw 70 per cent of shoot days cancelled in the north of England last season. A particularly cold breeding season, followed by an extremely hot and dry summer saw numerous estates report their lowest grouse numbers for many years. The impact of this was considerable, not just on the numbers of grouse that survived these extreme conditions, but also for numerous rural communities. It not only affected local businesses, for whom the sport can be the main economic driver, but also those that rely on the casual work that a day’s grouse shooting brings.

Shooting for a cause

The day had been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Duke of Norfolk, The Earl Peel, The Lord Bolton, and Reeth Sporting Society; all of whom had very kindly agreed to give one drive on each of their respective moors as an auction lot for the Countryside Alliance’s London Wine Auction Dinner. Held in the Raphael Gallery in the Victoria and Albert Museum, this marvellous annual event has been billed as London’s largest dinner party, and after some serious bidding for this incredible opportunity to shoot driven grouse on four neighbouring moors in the Yorkshire Dales, the successful bidder was Simon Mackenzie Smith. Or to be more exact, Simon, along with the rest of those on his table that night, all of whom wanted to be part of the day.

Given that this would have resulted in 10 Guns on a nine-Gun day, it was debated as to whether two of them might be able to surreptitiously share a butt or in the worst case split the day. In the end the problem was resolved when one of the team had to drop out three weeks beforehand.

As it transpired, the Gun dropping out was not the only loss to the day, as a shortage of grouse subsequently resulted in West Arkengathdale being unable to host one of the four drives. This was naturally a disappointment, but something that could have so easily happened on any if not all of the moors when dealing with this totally wild bird. It was, therefore, gratefully received by Simon’s team when Lord Bolton very generously stepped in and offered to host a second drive.

Grouse shooting in Yorkshire

Having met up with Grinton Headkeeper Des Coates, and Bolton Moor Headkeeper Ian Sleightholm at the CB Inn, the team set off for Reeth Moor accompanied by their loaders, who had been organised by Tom Fawcett from the neighbouring estate, Gunnerside. All the loaders knew the lie of the land on each of the moors that were to be shot which greatly added to the smoothness of the day.

Arriving at Reeth they were met by Headkeeper Paul Simpson who had planned to have his first drive on Lady Mary, the moor’s signature drive. However, thick morning fog on the high ground meant that it could not be shot, and rather than lose time waiting in the hope that it would clear, Paul decided to replace Lady Mary with two smaller hurdle drives on lower ground where conditions were better. The alternative drives, Cringley Hill and Water Splash, provided some excellent sport in the clearing fog. There was a nice south-westerly breeze, which helped keep the grouse going towards the butts and all Guns saw some action. Christo Headfort was in the thick of it on the first part of the drive, and on the second, Nicholas Kaye and Duncan Clark positioned on the left-hand side of the line were fortunate with a number of coveys heading in their direction.

Perfect conditions for grouse shooting

And so to Grinton Moor for the second drive, situated on the southern side of Swaledale. Here the wind was perfect for its Harker Top drive, which features a lovely line of half-moon stone butts. With packs of 40 and 50 grouse turning up and down the ridge in front of the butts, the drive was thoroughly enjoyed by all and offered a true insight into late October grouse. Challenging birds indeed, the bag at the end of the drive was 24½ brace.

Next stop was lunch, very kindly hosted by Lord Bolton on East Bolton Moor which marches with Grinton to its south. Drinks were waiting for the team at the Apedale lunch hut, a lovely old stone bothy. The main course was a delicious and hearty game casserole that suitably featured grouse as the stand-out ingredient, with a selection of cheeses to finish. Spirits were high and stories and anecdotes were exchanged.

Eager to finish the day before the light started to fade, as soon as plates were cleared it was straight back into vehicles and off to West Bolton Moor; no time for dawdling. The penultimate drive was a small one with the grouse being driven with wind in their tails to Blue Scarr. This time Guns were lined up along a stone wall with spectacular views of the rolling hills as a backdrop, now visible as the sun had burned through the fog.

This was followed by the final drive of the day on Peatmoor Edge, with its line of semi-sunken wooden butts, which provided some marvellous shooting at crossing coveys of grouse in front, before gathering into big packs of 100 plus birds that powered through the middle to top end of the line. This made for some really enjoyable and testing shooting. Unsurprisingly, as the final horn blew, there were smiles up and down the line.

Moorland shooting in autumn

October grouse can be wild at the best of times, and they certainly lived up to their reputation on this day. The keepers, beaters and flankers did an amazing job at getting the grouse over the line on each of the drives, and plenty of shooting was had by all. It was clear that everyone who had been part of the day was delighted at how well it had gone, as regardless of whether you are a Gun, keeper, loader, beater or picker-up, everyone on a moor during a shoot day knows that they have an important part to play. It’s that feeling of involvement that is so special, and that was certainly the case here.

It was only too apparent from the outset how well everyone got on, and with healthy competition to see who could lay on the best drives, it was a tremendous example of teamwork at its best. This was a memorable occasion for all concerned; one that would not have been possible had it not been for the generosity of the estates who put it together. As Simon Mackenzie Smith said, “it was a marvellous day on great moors which we considered ourselves extremely fortunate to be able to shoot”.

Working as a team

Grouse moors are unique places with an atmosphere of their own, and everyone seems to be affected by this. As Des Coates commented: “it’s been another great day on the moor, but then grouse days are always special as they bring together people that live locally. There’s also always a wonderful atmosphere and camaraderie, and you get to meet people from so many different walks of life. And of course, it’s a way of life for an awful lot of us too”. Given the numerous small communities in Swaledale and Wensleydale from which so many had come to help, that was certainly the case, and given the shortage or in many cases, complete absence of shooting on many of the moors in the area, this meant a lot both socially and economically.

The money raised through the sale of the day went directly towards the work of the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for Shooting, and the tips to the keepers were donated to the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group. As Ian Sleightholm explained, “this was set up by gamekeepers to help promote the benefits of moorland management, either through social media, country shows such as Countryfile Live, or educating school children, whether on a moor or in the classroom.”

Images: Matt Kidd

Drives: Reeth, Cringley Hill and Water Splash; Grinton, Harker Top; West Bolton, Blue Scar and Peatmoor Edge.