Innehållsförteckning för March 2022 från The Field

EVEN though our society currently enjoys the highest levels of health, income and life expectancy in human history, it feels insecure. Most of our population need to go back three generations to find a living memory of working in the countryside. In a world separated from agriculture, all animals are pets endowed with human feelings. The notion of killing for sport and, increasingly, even for management, is considered abhorrent in this emotional environment – a fertile breeding ground for fear, which campaigners exploit. This is why nine countryside organisations formed the Aim to Sustain partnership: to promote and preserve sustainable game management. It is a major challenge but one to which we are fully committed. A key part of our work is to combat misinformation, win legal challenges and resist…

An initiative by the Missing Salmon Alliance, the Spey Fishery Board and Fisheries Management Scotland, called #ReleasetheSpey, highlights the damage water abstraction wreaks on aquatic habitats. The Spey, one of Scotland’s premier salmon rivers, is also one of its most heavily abstracted. The damage is concentrated in the top 13% of the catchment, which supplies more than 90% of the water diverted to generate hydro-electricity. This heaps pressure on the plummeting salmon population. “Atlantic salmon need access to cold, clean water if they are to thrive,” explains Roger Knight, director of the Spey Fisher Board. “The impact of climate change, with the variations in river flows and high water temperatures that result, is having a significant impact… On top of this, water abstraction is making matters even worse… We need…

TALLY HO RURAL WELL-BEING INQUIRY The Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the mental health of rural communities places the issue at the centre of government. But, says BASC, the ongoing inquiry must consider the benefits provided by shooting and must take into account the abuse and threats faced by gamekeepers. THE END OF COURSING? The Government has announced plans to crack down on illegal hare coursing, including the creation of two new criminal offences that target trespassing with the intention of using a dog to pursue a hare. FISHY MONEY Fishing licence sales surged in 2021, generating more than £24m. This will be used by the Environment Agency to improve habitats, respond to incidents and enforce action. TUMBLERS LICENSING DELAYS Firearms licensing is facing ‘untenable’ delays, according…

Semeil, John Riley’s 300-acre family farm, nestles in a glen on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, 15 miles from Balmoral. When he purchased it in 1985, there were few trees or hedges, so he asked GWCT advisor Ian McCall for a planting plan. Today, the farm has four miles of hedges and 25 acres of trees, and boasts an impressive range of species. The sound of house sparrows fills the yard and good numbers of bullfinches, chaffinches and snow buntings gather in winter. And the six ponds Riley has dug attract many duck species. “One morning we looked out and saw three ospreys stacked up like kestrels hovering over a pond after the trout up there,” he said. The farm has beats on the Don, and Riley is…

The pre-shoot instructions were fairly typical until Guns were told not to be afraid to take a memorable shot at a grey partridge – or, if lucky enough, a left-and-right. Across the countryside French, or redleg, partridges duck in and out of hedgerows but our native Perdix perdix, the grey partridge, is a much rarer sight. In long-term decline, 88% have been lost in the UK since the 1960s and 94% in Europe since 1990. Thankfully, there is an ongoing effort to restore the species and its habitat. The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) began its Grey Partridge Count in the 1930s and is the lead partner for the government’s Species Action Plan, part of the Biodiversity Action Plan launched in 1994, while notable farms and estates work diligently…

Become involved in your local group. The amount that any one person can do to help the red squirrel make a comeback depends almost entirely on where they live. If you live in an area where red squirrels currently exist, or one that borders red squirrel strongholds, you’re in luck. Local groups in the north of England, including in Arnside & Silverdale, south Cumbria and in Wensleydale, are working hard to clear out the grey squirrels in the hope that reds may then return. In these areas, volunteers can perform vital work, such as reporting grey squirrels to local groups that can loan live-catch traps to apprehend the greys in their gardens. The rodents can then be collected and humanely dispatched. This clears large areas of greys at a minimum…

Records of pheasants in Greece go back to antiquity, featuring in the work of Aristophanes and Aristotle. Given Macedonia was a stronghold for the black-necked, it’s easy to imagine Alexander the Great dining on them. The Roman Cookery of Apicius, written in the late first century AD, contains a recipe for seasoned pheasant dumplings, clearly a delicacy at the time, and it’s likely the Romans brought the pheasant to British shores. Until the second half of the 19th century, black-necked pheasants would have been the only subspecies going into the bag in Britain. When pheasant releasing took off from 1860 onwards, gamekeepers began to favour other subspecies, such as the Chinese ring-necked, which proved more productive; it is by far the most common gamebird in the UK today. However, the…

LONG-BILLED CURLEW NUMENIUS AMERICANUS A Natural History of Birds, 1731-8, by Eleazar Albin & Elizabeth Albin While the illustrations hold some charm, it would be remiss not to note that the birds’ stiff poses feel somewhat lifeless. This is partly down to the challenges of engraving into copperplates, a somewhat rigid process. The resulting work has a naivety to it that perhaps feels even more pronounced today because of our knowledge of the work that followed. Yet the Albins deserve credit for their use of colour. Not only does it enhance the engravings aesthetically, but it also provides vital information for those eager to identify a species. The work of Albin helped to establish a tradition for illustrated zoological books in England. His work helped to create a growing interest…

THIS beautiful Indian matchlock musket, known as a toradar, is a stunning example of art and craftmanship, probably originating from Lahore in the Punjab. Highly decorative toradar were predominantly statement pieces, important indicators of wealth and social status, as well as being practical hunting weapons of which this is a stunning example in the Royal Armouries collection. The wooden stock is covered in polychrome decoration, depicting a tiger hunt and various birds, deer, hounds and mounted characters among dense foliage (a decorative motif typical of 18th/19thcentury Lahore) of red, orange and gold against a green field. The serpentine, trigger, ramrod and square-sectioned barrel are all decorated with foliate scrollwork, executed in gold koftgari. The maker’s signature is found within a cartouche at the breech, reading ‘aml Hajji Sha’aban’. The lock,…

SO there I was at a frightfully swish reception held by one of the finest of all Grande Marque champagne houses. The great and the good of the wine trade were there plus assorted riff-raff, hangers-on, liggers and freeloaders such as me and the bubbles were flowing freely. Indeed, so tasty was the fizz that we tucked in with abandon, our cacophonous conversation punctuated by the constant pop of corks and crash of empties being flung into bins. As I drained my umpteenth glass and grabbed another, I belatedly realised that we were gaily knocking back the Maison’s spectacular vintage champagne rather than the expected non-vintage. Crikey! “Wine lovers must steel themselves to expect shortages of bordeaux and burgundy” I collared the MD to give him an effusive hug of…

The Herb Almanac This charming book taps into the zeitgeist for natural remedies as conventional medicine struggles to contain Covid. However, Chelsea Physic Garden isn’t simply jumping on the botanical bandwagon: for the past 350 years it has been at the forefront of cultivating and researching medicinal plants. What was once a quaint curiosity now seems more relevant to many consumers. As observed in the introduction, ‘using herbs seasonally to add variety and therapeutic benefit to our lives reconnects us with generations past and with nature herself’. The book is divided according to the four seasons. The recommendations therein aren’t meant to be prescriptive or followed slavishly, but rather it’s ‘more about reconnecting with the cycle of nature and how that season’s harvest can be helpful for ailments and emotions…

Social spotlight BEAUTY IN THE BEAST There is much to commend working spaniels, not least their graft and intelligence, but when a picture of one gazing up at its owner was published on Instagram, Fielders were also quick to praise the dog’s good looks. As one poster put it: “Thousands of years of breeding the beautiful perfect dog.” STUCK IN THE CRAW The end of the shooting season is an ideal time to reminisce about the birds that have stuck in your mind, which is probably why so many Fielders on Instagram enjoyed a picture of Guns shooting high birds. However, as a poster pithily put it, some birds just stick in the craw: “The ones you know you just can’t miss – and miss nonetheless’.” MAN’S BEST FRIENDS A…

If you are looking to push yourself to the limit this year, you can now do so for a good cause. ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is encouraging fit people to go skydiving and raise funds to support soldiers, veterans and their families. Diving in tandem with an instructor, you’ll freefall for about 30 seconds at a speed of up to 120 miles an hour before opening a parachute. Opportunities to skydive are available in Scotland, the North-West, Wales and, from April, the East Midlands (soldierscharity.org).…

REEL IT IN The Wild Trout Trust is holding its annual auction from 18 to 27 March and there is plenty to tempt bidders. Among the top lots is a day for two rods on the Haddon estate, guided by Andy Buckley and complete with one night’s dinner, B&B accommodation and packed lunch from the Peacock at Rowsley (guide £955). The auction lots include more days, fishing tackle, literature, art and expertly tied flies. The catalogue can be downloaded from auction.wildtrout.org (from 17 February), with lots available to browse online from 1 March. AHEAD OF THE GAME The fourth edition of the Eat Game Awards comes to an end this month. More than 250 businesses – from market stalls to butchers and restaurants – took part in the competition, which…

WOODBRIDGE FARM FARWAY, COLYTON This is a three-bedroom, detached, Grade II* period former farmhouse thought to date back to the mid 16th century. Its period features include beams, plank and muntin screening, a Bath stone fireplace, window seats and a turret staircase. It is situated in just under an acre with a further eight acres of pasture available by separate negotiation. The property has been in the same farming family for more than 100 years. Agent: Greenslade Taylor Hunt Tel: 01404 46222 Guide price: £825,000 HAYTOWN SAMPFORD SPINEY, YELVERTON This is a 19th-century Dartmoor house, which has been extensively renovated and updated. The four-bedroom property comes with a detached barn, part of which has been converted into a home office. The open-plan kitchen has folding doors onto the terrace, which…

IN the 17th century, Chaucer wrote of ‘squyrels and bestes smale of gentil kynde’; in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare refers to Queen Mab, whose ‘chariot is an empty hazelnut/Made by the joiner squirrel’; and perhaps the most famous literary squirrel is Beatrix Potter’s Squirrel Nutkin. Then there’s William Morris, who used the red squirrel to liven up his tapestries; even today, the image of the tufty-eared red squirrel is used on everything from tea towels to cereal packets. For as long as people have inhabited the British Isles, the inquisitive, scampering squirrel has lived alongside them. But while a visitor from the 17th century would recognise Potter’s description and drawings of Nutkin as the squirrel they knew, they might not connect him to the now-ubiquitous grey-coated creatures that tourists feed…

Days spent in pursuit of grey squirrels don’t feature on everyone’s sporting calendar, but really they should. During a recent foray to help rid a patch of Somerset woodland from this perennial pest, we were treated to seriously challenging shooting and returned home with some free-range meat for the pot. It just so happens that squirrel is delicious and far tastier than rabbit, in my opinion. Most people know that invasive grey squirrels have contributed to the decline of our native red squirrel but that is just the tip of the iceberg. These highly adaptable invaders feed on the eggs and chicks of songbirds and are also able to digest unripe nuts and seeds when they are still too bitter or tannin-rich for other wildlife to eat. This, combined with…

▶The annual Scottish GWCT auction. “A super event,” says property auctioneer Duncan Moir. Bucketloads of sport plus, this year, the chance to ‘press the button on a 20,000 tonne blast at a quarry’. ▶The Salmon & Trout Conservation auction – with fishing from every corner of Britain (and see News for details about this year’s Wild Trout Trust auction). ▶The London GWCT auction – a regularly refreshed organising committee ensures much variety in the lots offered. ▶The Property Race Day auction returns next July to Ascot racecourse, raising money for a range of children’s charities. ▶The Cheltenham Countryside Day auction returned in November with 75 lots in aid of the Countryside Alliance and the County Air Ambulance (it also supports the British Equestrian Federation Fund in pre-Olympic years). Past lots…

QUIET TIME Q Not really Field related but hope you can help. I am trying to find a smart, modern-looking, small, compact alarm clock to sit on a bedside table, but one that is silent. I find my current one ticks quite loudly and seems to echo through the piece of furniture. HEW, Devon A An alarm clock that will wake you but doesn’t have an annoying tick can be purchased from Addison Ross. The square white enamel clock has a silent sweep movement, is modern in appearance and measures 8cm x 8cm x 5.5cm, which includes the supporting leg. It costs £42 plus p&p. Contact the firm on 01668 281014 or to view the full range of silent clocks, visit: addisonross.com LEAD ALERT Q I have been reading about…

RIGHT from the beginning, sporting art has been denigrated or, at best, dismissed as not worthy of consideration. When George Stubbs began work in the 18th century, equine and sporting subjects were considered fit only for inn signs because they weren’t religious or allegorical. His ground-breaking The Anatomy of The Horse did raise the sporting genre somewhat, only for it to be knocked back again in the late-19th and early-20th centuries by the arrival of modernism, which made it far too representational to be fashionable. Of course, sporting art kept going, with Alfred Munnings berating the Royal Academy of Arts: “If you paint a tree, for God’s sake make it look like a tree! If you paint a sky, for God’s sake make it look like a sky!” In this…

I GREW up in the wild west of Ireland where my parents owned a popular fishing lodge at Delphi. To anglers, it was a little piece of Heaven, with spectacular scenery, great food, gin-clear waters and abundant salmon when conditions were right. To young me, however, it was a bit of a dump – constantly raining and far too far from the bright lights. My interest in fishing was close to zero. My father took the view that ‘you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’ when it came to teaching us how to do it – a view that was reinforced when my older sister hooked a salmon in front of the lodge, screamed in terror and dropped his precious rod and reel into…

Seven or eight years ago, fewer than 40 brace of partridges were shot in a season at North Farm, Washington, West Sussex. Things are very different now. In the 1960s, the average bag has been up to 500 brace in a season, and when a guest has had a chance to poke round and ask questions this spectacular improvement does not surprise him. All schemes and methods, both sporting and agricultural, at North Farm, whose chairman and owner is Mr J Goring, come under the keen eye of the managing director, Mr Christopher Hunt. If the said guest happened to be somewhat lazy and stupid, a few days in the refreshing and invigorating company of Mr Hunt would banish these doubtful qualities. Much downland has been reclaimed and cultivated and…

Elizabeth Buchanan, president of the South of England Agricultural Society “I want to celebrate the farmers in the South-East, particularly the smaller family farms and tenant farmers who are so crucial to the fabric of rural life,” says Buchan, who returned as president this year. “I also want to encourage them to ready themselves for the huge changes taking place in agricultural policy right now. These are times of opportunity but also, for many, fear. We cannot afford to lose these incredibly special people who care for the landscape and make this beautiful part of England as precious as it is.” You’ll support The Prince’s Countryside Fund in 2022. Why? “It is the only UK-wide charity that helps family farmers and rural communities to find a viable future. Typically, The Prince…

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JUST as you cannot call yourself a vegetarian butcher, a hobby farmer is not a farmer. Food production is anything but ‘an activity you do for pleasure when not working’. Our relationship with land is a confused one. It is a finite resource, which makes its acquisition competitive and its range of uses conflicting. Boo to new homes, no matter how many your neighbourhood might need; hurrah to pop stars and actors looking to offset their air miles by rewilding – prancing with wolves. Lost amid all the greenwash and guilt is the fundamental imperative to produce our own food sustainably, with the highest standards of animal welfare and supported by local supply chains. When we talk about farmland value these days, we rarely talk about it in terms of…

NDC I have always loved the brown hare and wondered at her extraordinary turn of speed and agility since I first shot one with my father as a small boy. Since then, I have witnessed them in many guises and sporting settings, from the formalised hare shoots of East Anglia to walking up scrub hares in Africa. Hares may not be legally sold in March, which remains the traditionally recognised time to spot courting hares boxing. However, the spectacle continues much later into the year. The arable country of East Anglia provides a perfect habitat for the hare, which originated on the wide open steppe before being brought to Britain by the Romans as both a source of food and a source of legend, based upon lust and fertility. Today,…

RED SQUIRREL SURVIVAL TRUST Formed at the behest of their patron, Prince Charles, in 2006, the Red Squirrel Survival Trust aims to protect and conserve the red squirrel in the UK. This is through raising awareness of the plight of red squirrels; volunteer and action groups; funding research into how to secure the long-term future of the red squirrel in the UK; encouraging successful populations of red squirrels through breeding programmes and reintroducing red squirrels where conditions are right; and, importantly, securing the red squirrel’s natural environment by ensuring our woodlands are healthy. At the moment, much of the Trust’s work is focused on delivering the grey squirrel fertility management programme through the UK Squirrel Accord. But another vital and ongoing task is education. Raising awareness of the reds and…

▶ Lower Findhorn: in March, look below the Poolie Falls. ▶ River Tay, Taymount/Stobhall: the Linn Pool is probably Scotland’s best pool in March. Big river fishing at its best. ▶ The Lower Brora: no temperature barriers to contend with, and might there be fish off the next tide? ▶ The Carron: don’t look above the Morail Falls, and be aware of the Gledfield Falls. ▶ River Dee: look a handful of miles below and above Banchory. ▶ River Spey: when the weekly Spey reports start to note fish above Craigellachie, around the first week of March, most beats offer a chance. ▶ The Naver and Helmsdale: across these two glorious rivers you have nine estates to try for availability. In most years there are one or two early weeks…

▶The king and queen of British native trees are the oak (pictured above) and beech tree. A golden rule is never to plant them together, because they prefer different soils: oak likes clay and beech prefers lime-based, lighter soil. ▶Create a ‘bucket-shaped square hole’ for trees. Roots don’t like hitting corners and when they get to them will spread out rather than going round and round and suffocating. ▶Think about how far the roots of the tree will spread – they will follow the pattern and shape of the height of the tree so give them space and make sure they are planted with enough room. ▶Jays (above) and squirrels are nature’s ultimate propagators of trees. Follow their rules and allow nature to take over. ▶The tree-planting season is predominantly…

What was your favourite book as a child? Toss this conversation starter towards a few friends and be prepared for a startling array of answers, all delivered with an enthusiasm that must spark envy among the great ‘grown-up’ classics. Beneath our deservedly popular literary heritage of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland or The Jungle Book lies a trove of considerably less famous titles, all loved just as fiercely by their followers. Before long you’ll tumble down a riotous rabbit hole of overlooked delights, such as The Fox’s Frolic by Sir Francis Burnand or, perhaps, The Adventure of Hadrian Hedgehog by Candida Lycett Green, a carefree vision of what Brideshead Revisited could have been without all that Catholic angst. To re-read these books is the ultimate nostalgic indulgence, the closest we can…

I HATE late winter. Disciplining myself to leave my desk in time to walk the dog before it is suddenly too dark. I failed again this evening, so it was torch in pocket to supplement the weak moonlight in case of emergencies, whilst praying that Freya didn’t scent a rabbit and disappear forever. Watching the days drop away on the calendar, already mourning the imminent end of the shooting season; that same wall calendar telling me that the fishing season is still months away. A sporting black hole for a non-horseman, although magical months for those who are. It was not always so. Before it got to the point that the price of four plates of chips for the family high on the slopes could pay half that month’s mortgage,…

TECHNICAL The sidelock action is essentially of Holland & Holland pattern with spring assisted-opening (the works of which sit beneath the barrels between loop and front lump). It has just five pins (most Hollands have seven) and is equipped with disc-set strikers, commonly seen in Spanish guns but not in those of H&H (they are a feature of many Purdeys, however). There is also a hidden third bite (necessitating small cuts in the extractors and a slot in the action face). Third bites add a little complexity but can contribute to a flat shooting quality by reducing action table flex and downwards barrel ‘flip’. Some gunsmiths caution that they can lead to more breakages. The action has other atypical features: the cocking boss on the tumbler is cylindrical in form,…