Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i The Field

Melanie Cable-Alexander The first piece Melanie Cable-Alexander wrote about the British countryside was at the very start of her journalistic career on FT Weekend. Her entanglement with rural life deepened when she became features editor at Country Life but it wasn’t until she decamped to the West Country that she could call herself a bona fide country dweller. Melanie works for a variety of publications, including The Field for whom she’s written about everything from grand castles and canine history to the origins of snooker. What does July hold? “Frying bacon for strangers at our B&B and chasing the dog off the guest towels while trying to remember where I left my plot line. This month can be mayhem: if I’m lucky, I might just manage three uninterrupted sentences and…

The Angling Trust is calling for the creation of a single water regulator and a radical overhaul of the water industry to make it fit for purpose. At the moment, the Environment Agency (EA) sets standards while Ofwat often fails to approve the investment required to meet them. The Trust, which maintains it has never made any sense to have two separate regulators, proposes abolishing Ofwat but reforming and strengthening the EA. Central to proposals are a focus on protecting the environment and establishing 11 new Regional Water Commissioners, based in each of the main water company areas, that would be answerable to Parliament. Stuart Singleton-White, from the Angling Trust, said: “We believe water companies must be better governed, better regulated… We also want to see better environmental and public…

Email charlotte.mackaness@futurenet.com GARDENER BOOT RM Williams Hard-wearing, unisex boot crafted for comfort from fullgrain leather with a round toe and sturdy sole; ideal for a long day at The Game Fair. Price £425 Tel 0800 060 8148 rmwilliams.com TWEED SHACKET Maude & Fox Herringbone tweed from Yorkshire lined with soft petrolblue satin. A contrast colour on collar and cuffs cuts a dash in town or country. Price £450 Tel 01258 489628 maudeandfox.com A HEAD OF THE GAME SILK SCARF Clare Haggas Limited edition of just 100 scarves: a myriad of game, including majestic Caledonia, on a background of rich mulberry. Price £129 Email clare@clarehaggas.com clarehaggas.com MORSTON PADDED LEATHER DOG COLLAR Ruff and Tumble Handcrafted in Rutland from top-quality leather with a padded, waterproof lining. Available in five sizes for discerning…

WHILE THE magnificent rolling 5,600 acres of the Ragley estate in Warwickshire is familiar territory to Game Fair regulars, the 2025 event promises a host of enhancements and new offerings for those visiting between 25 and 27 July. This annual jamboree of everything we love about the countryside and fieldsports features upgraded camping facilities, even more to see in Gunmakers’ Row, a raft of celebrity faces, thrilling attractions and so much more. What to visit first may be a quandary for some but in our book that’s easy: The Field’s stand. The Field We’ve been at The Game Fair from the getgo: the very first event in 1958, and have been meeting friends old and new at this glorious countryside festival ever since. You’ll find us opposite the VIP enclosure,…

MANY YEARS ago, the one date I looked for in the calendar was the start of the autumn term. In a perfect world I would see myself returning to school after 7 September. Why so? It gave me a great chance of enjoying a day’s fantastic sport on the gorse-clad bluffs of north-west Anglesey as a guest of ‘Uncle John’ Pickering on the wonderful Llys Dulas shoot. The excitement of standing in grassy fields among family and friends with the sun on your back as the partridges burst off the banks has become one of my core memories. There was something so special about having a can of fizzy drink between drives while looking out to the sparkling Irish Sea. In my heart, I knew the summer holidays were over…

IF YOU hear a drum roll of hooves and some lusty cheering this summer, you may well have stumbled across an inter-hunt relay. These crowd-pleasing competitions take place at agricultural shows, horse trials and more recently The Game Fair, with the inter-hunt relay at the Festival of Hounds in July widely seen as the pinnacle of the season. The essence of the competition is a timed scamper around a course of jumps and obstacles. Sometimes there are mirror-image courses and teams compete head-to-head, passing the baton (usually a hunting whip) between team members after each run. The second round culminates in the two fastest teams racing again in a hotly contested final. An amusing commentary, skilful horsemanship and friendly but fierce competition between hunts adds to the fun. Joint Master…

Sporting artist Under the hammer Royal Armouries Sporting dog The boot room Gun review Country queries Gardening Fieldtofork Cookery Wine Travel Books Field testers The Last Hurrah WHEN Michaelangelo looked at a slab of marble he saw the human form ready to emerge; when James Doran-Webb finds an ancient piece of Philippine hardwood, he imagines dragons, eagles – even a bear fishing. Doran-Webb’s enormous found-wood sculptures leap and fly across the world. His Guardian of the Baobabs, a sevenmetre-high, five-ton dragon crouched in a tree, took a year to complete for Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay. Another, even more massive installation was the 12-metre-high Journey of Giraffes that dominated the landscape from the roof of the Beijing Expo hall in 2019. Closer to home, the Harleyford Golf Club at Marlow…

WE ALL know that you can take a horse to water but can’t make it drink; it’s equally true that you can take a dog to water but can’t make it swim. Some years ago I photographed a selection of HPRs (hunt, point, retrievers) at a novice working test. They were competent retrievers but they all flatly refused to get their paws wet at the water test. Fortunately a labrador was on hand to retrieve the dummies. I’ve never known a labrador with a dislike of water: the problem is usually how to keep them out. There’s a great divide in the sporting dog world between the enthusiastic swimmers and those that are less keen, not to mention those that won’t swim at all unless thrown in the deep end.…

Send queries to Rosie Macdonald, Country Queries Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR. For more, visit: thefield.co.uk Email country-queries@hectareshouse.co.uk Follow Rosie on Instagram @dizzy_m Where to report roadkill Q We are new to the countryside and trying to embrace every aspect. Therefore, if we see roadkill such as a deer, badger or fox lying on the road, is there anyone we should call to have it removed? A&SD, by email  A In the event that you find a dead animal (wild or domesticated) on the road or a pavement, contact your local council. If the animal is on private land, get in touch with the land owner. Local huntsmen are often happy to help in these instances too. As a driver, if you hit and injure or…

THE LONGEST season in Britain is not pheasant shooting or deerstalking or fishing. No, the one thing the British do all year round, and also the one thing we are totally unsuited to do, both climatically and temperamentally, is picnic,’ lamented Janet Menzies in these pages 20 years ago. ‘On the exposed north face of Larkhill Racecourse, battered by February blizzards, point-topointing families establish camp in the lee of the Discovery’s spare tyre. Out shooting you huddle beside a furze bush while rain drips off your cap and into your glass, flattening the bubbles in your champagne. The picture is the same whether it’s grouse in August, duck in September, partridges in October or pheasants in November.’ And she has a point: come wasps, wind or wily ants, there’s a…

FOOTBALLERS ARE HOOKED Former England football captain David Beckham (above, centre) has travelled the world fishing in addition to enjoying adventures closer to home. Other footballers hooked on the sport include Phil Foden (above, left) and Mo Salah (above, right). SINGING FOR FISH Pop star Rita Ora is well known for singing the praises of fishing. She says it helps her relax. ROYAL LINES HM The King comes from a long line of Royal anglers and is believed to have been taught to fish by his mother, the late Queen. AVID CAMPAIGNER British actor Jim Murray (right) is not only a super-keen fisherman but also a well-known and passionate campaigner for cleaner rivers and the Atlantic salmon. PACKING A PUNCH Boxing ace Anthony Joshua proved to be a natural. On his first fishing…

THERE’S no end of reasons to play polo: it’s great for hand-eye coordination; it hones balance and other riding skills; and is good for fitness. But more than anything, it is super fun and a brilliant way to spend time with friends over the summer months. Whether you are a beginner or budding high goaler, there are lots of ways to get involved from Pony Club polo to academies at clubs such as Cowdray Park. The Field Junior tagged along when Florence and Max headed to the Cowdray Park Polo Academy in West Sussex where they did a one-day taster course that involved learning skills on and off their ponies. Head coach at Cowdray is Guy Verdon, who has been involved in polo for 40 years. The sport has taken…

LET ME state from the outset that I’m an angler, and over many years I’ve had days compromised by canoeing and paddleboarding activities. Probably many Field readers have experienced the same. However, this issue is far more than simple piscatorial irritation. The question of river recreational use and abuse is becoming more serious each and every summer: if it hasn’t reached a river near you, it will soon. Post COVID-19 increasing numbers of people have wished to access the UK’s countryside. This is understandable, to be encouraged and an excellent principle but sometimes comes adrift in practice. Anglers do not want to ruin the canoeists’ fun but fun can only too quickly transmute to destruction of our fragile upper and middle rivers. The summer of 2022 was a disaster for…

After scaling the tallest whisky distillery in the world and then abseiling down, eight daring souls have raised more than £7,700 – and still rising – for charity Farmstrong Scotland, which supports crofters and farmers with wellbeing. The group (pictured), who have become known as the ‘Abseiling Eight’, made history by being one of the first groups to descend the 100ft-high Port of Leith Distillery. It included a dairy farmer, nursery practitioner, farmers and agricultural podcaster and rural advocate Wallace Currie. “Heights and I aren’t exactly best mates but it’s an amazing cause, and I’m honoured to be part of this adventure with such a great group of people from across Scotland,” said Currie. Kathleen Lawrie was also apprehensive beforehand: “We need a wee sample from the distillery for some…

SUNSHINE, laughter and generosity typified a glorious day at West Wycombe estate to raise funds for the nation’s retired service animals. Some 75 guests attended the spectacular charity clay shoot held by the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA). As the sun shone over five expertly designed clay drives, the event delivered fun, challenge and camaraderie in equal measure. Fourteen teams of four guns competed in great spirit, cheered on by friends and family. Among those attending were Carol Vorderman and her son Cameron, who impressed all with his marksmanship. Tom Gaymor acted as MC, joined by his wife Helen, and familiar faces Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen added sparkle to the day. After a superb lunch, BBC Radio 4’s Alfie Moore had the room roaring with laughter with a…

THE LAVERSTOKE Park estate in Hampshire extends to 1,835 acres and includes a Grade II*-listed Palladian house, parkland and a portfolio of 17 houses and cottages, as well as a range of development opportunities. There are 1,279 acres of certified organic arable and pasture farmland, mature woodland, a driven pheasant and partridge shoot, and 1½ miles of double-bank fishing on the upper stretches of the River Test. The main house, which dates from 1798, has 11 bedrooms and four flats. A feature of the property is an internal courtyard but it also boasts a swimming pool, tennis court and squash court. The grounds benefit from a walled kitchen garden and a circular summer house with an outdoor barbecue area. Laverstoke Park is available as a whole or in four lots.…

As ever, we look forward to welcoming you to our stand, which you’ll find opposite the VIP Enclosure, next door to the Carter Jonas theatre. Come along to meet the team, pick up a copy of our August issue, not to mention taking advantage of our famous Game Fair subscription offers. Our show offer is a 30% discount on what you’d pay in the shops, plus receive either a bottle of champagne or a Yeti cup when you sign up.…

WHEN IN the early 1970s I stayed at Fasnakyle, the 20,000-acre deer forest at the east end of Glen Affric, a series of faded watercolours hung in the dining room. They depicted Victorian gentlemen shooting from stone butts with double-barrelled rifles at rivers of red deer pouring past. These were painted by the extraordinary Russian-born American multimillionaire Walter Winans: marksman, sculptor, artist, author, breeder of award-winning trotting horses and Olympic medallist. His passion was shooting running deer and boar in the Continental fashion, and he believed the open landscape of the Highlands provided the perfect opportunity to pursue his favourite pastime. In the 1880s Winans acquired the sporting rights of 220,000 acres of Scotland from the Beauly Firth to the Atlantic coast, including the deer forests of Craskie, Fasnakyle, Glen…

LIKE MANY fieldsportsmen, my earliest memories of forays in the field take me back to shooting rabbits on warm summer evenings. I count myself fortunate to have had a grandfather who worked as a herdsman on a dairy farm for an owner grateful for help keeping numbers of those grass-gobbling pests at bay. This created a wonderful opportunity to put my airgun to good use. Rabbits have experienced some tough times since those distant days in the late 1980s. Myxomatosis has taken its toll and, more recently, colonies up and down the country have been decimated by rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Yet whatever fate throws at them, rabbits have a remarkable ability to bounce back. The old adage ‘breeding like rabbits’ is no myth: sure enough, they are showing encouraging signs…

THERE are some godparents who may not always remember a birthday or turn up to cheer at a match or concert, nor may they offer much in the way of spiritual guidance, but if they are sporting godparents they can still be legendary in their own way. Such individuals have the ability to spark a lifelong love of the countryside and country sports. One godfather I know well, surprisingly given that he is fairly religious, gave his 15-year-old godson £500 of shooting lessons at his local clay ground as a confirmation present. As a result, the lad’s shooting improved dramatically. This gift probably had a far greater impact on his life than a leather-bound Bible or dictionary of saints. “My godfather, Jack Lomas, had an estate in Devon,” says David…

SCIENCE is a little undecided but somewhere around two million years ago our hominid ancestors started to harness fire. It wasn’t until about a million years later that we have relatively conclusive evidence that Homo erectus, with a culinary ambition of a magnitude never before seen on Earth, decided to toss their meat on to the fire and make it good. No doubt lauded among his contemporaries, this early Escoffier must have been the talk of the forest but it wasn’t until around the Palaeolithic era that man learnt to bring the fire into the caves in which they lived. As both fresh and dried meat was hung away from pests in the higher areas of the smoky, chimney-less home, our ancestors began to notice that not only was there…

Dinner plates Laura Huston Ceramics Norfolk-based ceramic artist Laura Huston creates a variety of pieces, including lamps and decorative vessels, but her dinner plates seem to speak of banquets and bothies, simplicity and abundance in a way that is especially delicious. A feast in themselves. Price: large plates (approx 27cm) £40 Email: laura@laurahustonceramics.com laurahustonceramics.com Vintage satin cutlery set Rowan & Wren Stonewashed steel fighting irons for 10 place settings. This stylish cutlery has a good weight and hand feel; it is robust enough for any bun fight while still suitable for sampling a soufflé. Picnic on the hill and wash in a burn. Price: £198 for a 42-piece set Email: care@rowenandwren.co.uk rowenandwren.co.uk Raymond drinks trolley OKA Ready to wheel into the breach wherever and whenever you would like to be…

SPENT THE freezing winter of 1976 working as a lowly I gardener at van Tubergen, a famous bulb firm in Haarlem, Holland. Although flowering bulbs were the company’s great thing, it also had a sideline, for the quiet months, selling packeted seed and hardy herbaceous perennials by mail order. These perennials were grown outside in the wonderfully fertile polder soil of North Holland. Our job, once the snow had melted, was to dig them up and bring them into unheated sheds to pack for sending by post to customers. I recall a large amount of newspaper being involved, it being the era before bubble wrap and plastic bags. (I also put newspaper in my wellington boots to insulate my feet from the bone-chilling concrete floors.) The seasons for this work…

Across 1 Pungent, spicy bulb of onion genus (6) 5 Monstrous expanse of water in the Scottish Highlands? (4,4) 9 The form of a clay target (4) 10 On which a damascus gun barrel might be forged (5) 11 Herring and black-headed are types of this seabird (4) 12 Part of gun’s firing mechanism (7) 13 Windy, wet and so on (6) 14 Dabchick is a little ___ (5) 16 Dogs going after fox and bull? (8) 18 An EJ Churchill gun for game/clay shooting: mythical strongman (8) 21 Month when fallow doe season ends in England (5) 23 See 4 down 25 Scottish town famous for its haddock ‘smokies’ (8) 28 Light grey-brown young animal? (4) 29 Train a horse with a long rein; sword fencing technique (5) 30 (And 26 down) Describes status of endangered animal…

Lydia Lydia, 17, has had a busy few months. She received her first call-up to the England Under-18 River and Bank Fly-Fishing Team recently and also attended her first protest: the March for Clean Water. “I think it is incredibly important that we look after our waterways,” says Lydia, who began fishing when she was 11. “A shocking percentage of our rivers are not even considered ‘good’ in terms of their quality.” Michael Michael, 11, must be one of the country’s youngest double gunners. “Last season my dad organised two days in Wales but one of his friends dropped out, so I stepped in. When we were at The Brigands my loader brought his son’s 28-bore, which is exactly the same as mine,” he explains. “I really enjoyed using double guns for…

RACING DOWN UNDER Katinka Beckett, 20, from Hampshire Before Katinka [on the left of the picture] went off to Oxford, she spent some time in Australia. As the daughter of a racehorse trainer, horses were always going to be an important part of her plans, and her first port of call was a four-month stint with Sydney-based trainer Chris Waller. “It was a long way from home but once I was there I came across plenty of people from Britain doing something similar,” reveals Katinka. “Although there are lots of early starts in racing and it is hard work, there were loads of people my age so it was really good fun.” Katinka then went to the yard of a polo player in the Hunter Valley before travelling around Australia…

Black grouse leks spotted on North York Moors Male black grouse relocated from the Durham Dales to the North York Moors are not only performing their spectacular lek but the GWCT now reports that the survival rate of the introduced birds has been good, with only two losses. In the April issue The Field reported on the scheme undertaken by the GWCT late last year to move 20 black grouse to the North York Moors, where these magnificent birds have not been recorded as breeding since the mid-1800s [Giving black grouse a lift]. It fitted 16 of the birds with radio transmitters. “We have visited the North York Moors on a weekly basis to locate the tagged birds. Local residents, naturalists and land managers have also been great at sharing…

Like The Field, the GWCT has been at The Game Fair since it started in 1958. We’ve another exciting and informative display at our stand at Ragley Hall from 25 to 27 July. The main theme will be our farmed landscape, which accounts for 72% of land in this country, and its symbiotic relationship with sustainable game management. Another focus this year is how new and emerging technology is being used to enhance conservation work and land management, reflecting the innovative monitoring, research and conservation work that is at the heart of what the GWCT does. Scientists and advisers will be on hand to talk about our work and give advice on land and game management. The GWCT will also be launching our new Think Piece: Game For Nature –…

TRADITIONALLY every land agent had a pair of boots in the car, maybe a gun, should the estate being visited or valued have a spare peg that day. Now the biggest professional concern is ensuring spreadsheets are not loose for the dog to chew. Welcome to Land Agent 2.0 and to John Coleman, whose career has straddled both the old ways and the new, having taken a well-trodden path across Scotland with Knight Frank and then on to Smiths Gore and Savills. Now as director of rural agency GSC Grays, operating out of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Coleman is still walking the acres, valuing and transacting farms and estates, but alongside sits a burgeoning business consultancy. “That is the fastest-growing part of our business – looking at projects, compiling bank reports…

GIVEN MY love of fishing, the interactions I have with fish have always been largely inter-dimensional. The inherent boundary between the fish in the water and my presence beside or floating (assisted) above it starts to blur slightly when wade fishing but the water surface still presents a barrier between fish and fisher. An ever-changing, off-focus window between worlds. For me, successfully looking through this window in pursuit of our quarry and seeing a fish before presenting a fly, lure or bait to it is the pinnacle of fishing. The natural extension of this endeavour is to cross over into the fish’s world so that there is no barrier between us and them. At a basic level, this is the essence of spearfishing, a pursuit that I have crossed paths…

THERE WAS a shepherd, a farmer, a welder, a roofer and an ex-huntsman. No, it’s not the beginning of a joke but the attendees who gathered in Clynderwen Community Hall, deep in the wilds of Pembrokeshire, to undertake the Deer Stalking Certificate Level 1 (DSC1). This certificate is increasingly required by landowners and institutions before giving permissions to control deer but luckily the course is run right across the country. Our teachers for the week were two best of breeds: one very English, the other very Welsh. Steve Woolley, former headkeeper for the Forestry Commission, would not have looked out of place among the archers at Crécy or Agincourt. Intensely good-natured, he was our instructor: nobody knows more about the job. Standing to his right, slightly wider than the door,…

THE CARRYING of a dagger was essential for travellers during the medieval period. One such weapon was the baselard, which was once ubiquitous throughout most of Europe. Early examples appeared in Italy at the tail end of the 13th century and the dagger remained popular until the latter years of the 16th century. The baselard was essentially a sidearm: a dagger or short sword that typically featured a stout, diamond-sectioned, double-edged blade and a scaled hilt that resembled a capital ‘H’ in shape. Due to contemporary documentation, monumental tombs, brasses and effigies, and surviving artistic depictions, we know that the type was popular among the knightly and martial classes as well as the civilian population, regardless of their socio-economic status. Thanks to a brief mention in the account books of…

THIS MONTH’S test spotlights the latest Sako Finnlight model 90 rifle, imported by GMK of Fareham. Both Sako – once, and rather remarkably, owned by the Finnish Red Cross – and GMK are now part of the expanding Beretta empire. We have tested a Sako 90 before but this gun, a stainless .308, has a new integral Picatinny rail (a welcome feature seen in other recent 90s), a synthetic stock with a clever button-adjustable comb and a 20in hammer-forged, fluted barrel threaded for a moderator. First impressions are of a practical, modern hunting rifle of mid-weight (7lb) with good proportions and intriguing, quite trendy, specification. The integral Picatinny rail between the front and rear bridge of the action is probably the standout feature. This will be popular as it accommodates…

AFTER A week that involved a charity shoot (we won), a fishing trip to the Wye (we lost) and dinner on board the gun deck of HMS Warrior, ease and serenity was top of the list for a couple of days, and North Norfolk has always delivered. That is absolutely what is on offer at Nest Farmhouse, a restaurant with rooms that sits on a 1,000-acre farm just outside Docking. Here the young and dedicated team have created a haven where you can eat splendidly, sleep well and thoroughly relax. The venture is housed in a modern converted barn with the sort of veranda that harks back to the haunts of Edwardian travellers. The space inside has been cleverly furnished. In what could have felt like a box there is…

Take our quiz to find out! 1. Your dream job is… a) A National Hunt jockey. Becher’s Brook is the stuff of dreams. b) A land agent – it’s about the thrill of a deal. c) A gillie, riverside sunbathing included. 2. You stumble across a glassy loch on the hill in the Highlands, so you… a) Strip off and make a splash, of course. b) Fumble for your camera to get the perfect picture. What a reflection! c) Dip a toe in but, alas, you’ve left your dryrobe at home so you’re opting out of a swim. 3. It’s the first drive of the day and the rain starts to fall, so you… a) Pat yourself on the back for remembering your new Gore-Tex kit. There’s no such thing…

Airguns are a brilliant way to get your first experience of shooting sports and learn how to be a safe, accurate shot. They are quiet, easy to operate and can be used in the garden. Even very young people can shoot airguns under adult supervision. I started out toppling tin cans in the backyard with my uncle when I was only 10 years old. Almost 40 years on, I still love shooting airguns and have made some great friends through the sport. What is an airgun? An airgun is a gun that uses a blast of compressed air to propel pellets downrange. Their comparatively low power makes them excellent for introducing young people to shooting sports. What ammunition do you use? Most airguns are designed to fire pellets, which are…

LAMBROOK SCHOOL, BERKSHIRE BEEKEEPING, golf, polo and farming are just some of the many extracurricular activities on offer at Lambrook. The school’s 52 acres of grounds features ‘Orchard’, which is home to chickens, rabbits, bees, lambs and goats. In addition to looking after the animals, those who take part can also grow fruit and vegetables, as well as building and installing bird houses. Lambrook has fine form when it comes to competitive shooting: 18 of its young shots took part at last year’s IAPS (formerly known as the Independent Association of Prep Schools) clay pigeon shooting championships, picking up a clutch of medals. “It was an outstanding day with loads of different drives to test our skill,” says Olivia, 12. “I enjoyed representing Lambrook and was second in my age…