Table of contents for January 2024 in The Field

JANUARY is (for those who don’t subscribe to the revelry of Twelfth Night) a time to start afresh. Gym memberships are purchased, new diet books acquired and some even undertake the dreaded Veganuary. Consider a less drastic, more sustainable approach to the New Year with a simple swap: traditional meats for wild meat. Many readers of The Field will be avid consumers of delicious game but instead of waiting until you have shot it, why not actively seek out and incorporate wild game into your weekly menu several times a week? Switching from conventional meats such as beef, chicken or pork to options like pheasant, partridge and venison can offer fantastic health benefits, particularly in the post-Christmas period. The primary advantage lies in the leanness of wild meat. For instance,…

The Scottish government has banned the use of snares in Scotland in a decision described as “alarming” and “inexplicable”. The ban, which covers snares of all types, was confirmed by Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP, who said the devices would be made illegal as part of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill. It follows a similar decision by the Welsh government last year. Despite evidence from the GWCT and Scottish Land & Estates on the need for snares, Martin chose to issue a full ban, stating: “This decision has not been taken lightly. However, the evidence I have seen demonstrates that the use of any kind of snare has unacceptable risks to animal welfare of both target and non-target species, and that there are more humane alternative methods available.”…

NDC Like many social rituals, the country house party was developed by the Victorians, perfected by the more mobile Edwardians and enjoyed by all since. We are fortunate to be able to enjoy a procession of sporting house parties through the season, as Cornwall is simply too far for most guests to be able to leave after shooting. My recipe for the perfect house party involves a late supper on Friday and a few drinks by the fire while everyone catches up on news but, if willpower and enthusiasms allow, the stopper should remain in the Armagnac decanter and dogs should be walked beneath the stars before bed at midnight. Clearly there are many occasions when this plan goes awry, the wheels come off and sloe gin is being guzzled at…

BY THEIR pet dogs let them be known; chatelaines of great houses, keen hunters and countrywomen to their boots. They run shoots, fending off their husband’s soaking wet spaniels and labradors, relegating them to the boot room or outdoor kennel. Meanwhile, their own pet lapdog sits on a cushion in pampered splendour, every bit as regal as the breed of King Charles II himself, licensed since his day to enter any public place, hostel or inn, without hindrance or reproach. Not for these pampered pets the boot of the car or some draughty outhouse. These dogs of the heart stay firmly by the hearth. They are as treasured as the time the poet Alexander Pope gave a lapdog puppy in the 1730s to Frederick, Prince of Wales, with the epigram…

SO THERE we were, Mrs Ray and I, on New Year’s Eve arriving at… let’s just call them the Smiths. We were late but not rudely so, and there was just a slight additional pause on the doorstep as we waited for Mrs R to change from her travelling shoes into her partying heels. ‘Car to bar’, I believe they’re called. The door was opened, our coats taken and glasses of ice-cold fizz proffered from silver trays. We entered to a happy hubbub of jolly voices and jazzed-up New Year party classics. We waved at the Joneses, grinned at the Browns and grabbed a passing canapé. I noticed an upturned bottle of Bollinger in an ice bucket and a couple more empties of the same on the side table and…

THIS MONTH’S test features a Browning Exquisite 20-bore. Tipping the scales at 6lb 12oz, it is a 30in-barrelled over-and-under with a single selective trigger, solid 6mm top rib and open-radius full-pistol grip. Invector Plus pattern multichokes are steel shot friendly and the 3in-chambered gun, made in Japan for Browning International, bears Belgian high-performance proof marks. It is imported into the UK by International Sports Brands. A dedicated game model, the gun has laser-cut scroll engraving and classical styling with impressive decorative work. The Exquisite looks most attractive; its oil-finished wood and B25-like shapes are elegant and understated. The deeper-than-average scrollwork is applied in a pleasing symmetrical pattern. Some might call it acanthus but there is a fleurde-lys feature in the lower middle, which is repeated on the action belly. The…

“OH, I THINK you’re going to be very happy,” confided our twinkly-eyed checkin host. I was feeling fairly jolly already, having entered the hallowed Foyer from Brook Street and turned left instead of right, rather like turning the same direction when boarding a plane. Being a guest at Claridge’s is quite a different thing to enjoying a pre-dinner cocktail in the eponymous bar or quiet postprandial in the Fumoir. You’re now part of the fabric. But back to the check-in. Ushered upstairs by the wonderfully efficient Sarah from guest relations, we found ourselves on the eighth floor making for the Mews Pavilion. Over the past several years Claridge’s has undergone a substantial renovation, extending upwards by three floors – there are now 269 rooms and suites ranging from the superior…

AS A GUEST there is much to enjoy about an invitation to spend the weekend in the country. Cosy, made-up bedrooms; arranged entertainment; and an array of feasts prepared by someone else. All you have to do is be good company, and turn up and leave when told. For a host to enjoy the weekend as much as the rest of the party, careful planning is required. Although I may not be able to give you any pointers on how to do ‘hospital corners’, I can share my two top tips when it comes to the food and drink, as well as suggest a trio of delicious recipes that are ideal for the occasion. First, planning is key. Write out a full menu of every meal from Friday to Sunday,…

TB-HIT DAIRY FARMERS TOLD TO ‘FIND ANOTHER BUSINESS’ A Welsh Labour politician has been criticised for suggesting that dairy farmers struggling with “perpetual” bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infections should “find another business”. Joyce Watson, Senedd member for Mid and West Wales, made the comments after a statement by the Minister for Rural Affairs regarding Wales’ bTB eradication programme. Watson asked: “Have you looked at any farms that have perpetual TB status and have you considered… whether those particular farms should be dairy farms at all? Because if it is the case that they are in perpetual TB infection status, surely they need to find another business?” She has since apologised. JAILBIRD FINALLY FREED A rose-breasted cockatoo called Charlie has been reunited with his owner after being held at Heathrow Airport for…

Fishing For Heroes, which helps forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and combat fatigue by offering fishing as therapy, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Last year 76 events were held across the country, delivering 541 days of fishing for 115 veterans. Speaking to The Field, Lucy Bowden, head coach for Fishing For Heroes, said: “Fifteen years is a remarkable achievement, and I’m excited for what 2024 will bring for Fishing For Heroes and the veterans it supports. I’m looking forward to being involved in some of their planned activities, including having them participate in the Sportfish Spring Spectacular for the first time.”…

Eating out RESERVATION GRAZING BY MARK GREENAWAY Where? Rutland Street, Edinburgh EH1 2AB What? The signature restaurant of Edinburgh’s stylish landmark hotel, The Caledonian, where chef Mark Greenaway focuses keenly on produce and provenance. The ever-evolving menu showcases seasonal Scottish ingredients using innovative culinary techniques that are as impressive on the eye as on the palate. This is serious food but served in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Look out for? Fish. Given Scotland’s rich waters, seafood features prominently on the menu with dishes such as torched mackerel, lemon sole and samphire, and soft-shell crab. But there’s plenty for those with gamier tastes in the form of venison loin and duck leg pie. Don’t miss? The 100-Mile Tasting Menu (£65) that, as the name suggests, is made supporting suppliers within 100…

STAR BUY This is a 483-acre residential, amenity and agricultural estate with a Grade II-listed 16th-century property as the main house. There are views over the South Downs National Park and there is also a farmhouse and cottage in the sale, together with a range of modern farm buildings, including a grain store, a workshop and an office. The land is predominantly arable farmland as well as pasture and mature woodland. The main house (pictured, far left), timber-framed with sandstone block cladding and leaded casement windows, has been altered and extended over the centuries and there is a single-storey annexe. Lawns form the bulk of the garden, which enjoys views stretching from the Surrey Hills along the South Downs. Across a courtyard from the main house is Markwick Barn, a…

WHEN THE New Forest was new in 1079, William the Conqueror hunted pretty much anything he liked there, including (but not limited to) boar, stag, buck and probably the occasional peasant. Today we are indeed hunting humans but they have volunteered to be hunted. One of them, Will Day, is Joint Master of the New Forest Hounds pack of bloodhounds. As Day says: “That makes me MBH, Master of Bloodhounds. Hmm, that’s exciting.” He, like the rest of the Hunt, is just getting used to being a bloodhound pack, as they only made the conversion in the autumn of 2022. The New Forest Hounds were originally established in 1791 as a foxhound pack, and through the course of more than 200 years the pack has had to be resilient to…

POINT-TO-POINTING has formed part of the rural scene in this country for almost 200 years now, since its inception across the water in Ireland during the 1750s. Back then, cross-country chases were a regular fixture among the sporting set and became more formalised when two thrusters decided to challenge each other to a 41/2-mile dash between two churches in Co Cork. Although they didn’t know it, Edmund Blake and Cornelius O’Callaghan had laid the foundations for the amateur branch of racing and coined the term ‘steeple-chasing’ to boot. These hairy gallops from point to point of a hunting country took in all obstacles along the route, from oxers to hedges and yawning ditches with the odd jumpable bank thrown in. Racing lore has it that the first point-to-point in England…

IN THIS, the season of goodwill and sporting adventures, the luckiest among us are embarking on extensive tours of the country with friends and family for festivities, rather like the eponymous Mr Sponge. The journey can end up taking in a full Monopoly board of addresses from baronial halls to bothies, and we have compiled some suggestions for a country house bingo card to accompany this seasonal sporting progress, encouraging guests to take note of their surroundings and enjoy the facilities as they go. Introducing a competitive element is entirely up to you; variable house rules and side wagers are actively encouraged. MATCH LIGHTER AND ASHTRAY Cigarettes and espresso are not the usual breakfast fare these days but the decline of nicotine consumption has not yet seen it expelled altogether.…

The map shows the underlying Roman structure of the communication system. However, like other maps of this type, it does not provide any indication of road quality or indeed of the factors involved, notably the significance of terrain and drainage. A History of Britain in 100 Maps by Jeremy Black, published by British Library Publishing, hardback (£40)…

DOES THE cost put you off taking your dog to the vet? Recently vet fees have come under increasing scrutiny, with many people claiming that the price of treatment for even minor ailments is fast becoming unaffordable. According to reports, the cost of veterinary care has risen faster than the rate of inflation. Most practices now charge at least £50 for a single consultation. As a result, last September the Government’s Competition and Markets Authority launched a review of the sector, encouraging pet owners to comment via its website. The results should be made public early in 2024. There’s no disputing the fact that top-quality medical care, whether for animals or humans, is expensive. Because the NHS is free to the user (though, of course, paid for out of taxation),…

IT WAS only in the late 19th century that members of the Royal Family began to embark on government-sanctioned and funded tours of the British Empire. Undoubtedly the most famous was undertaken by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, to India in 1875-76. But probably one of the first and one most often forgotten was that embarked upon by Queen Victoria’s second son, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1867, followed by another in 1869-70. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours on 24 May 1866, Prince Alfred had been created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Ulster and Earl of Kent. He was also serving in the Royal Navy (he had joined in 1856 at the age of 12) being promoted to the rank of captain in 1866 just prior to these tours. He…

HORSEHAIR FABRIC JOHN BOYD TEXTILES John Boyd began making horsehair fabrics in Castle Cary in 1837, and his craft continues today using original looms and techniques he patented. A range of 200 fabrics are available, including the original ermine black that Sir Edwin Lutyens chose for his ‘Napoleon’ chair produced in 1919. These, as well as bespoke fabric including hand embroidery, are available through your interior designer or upholsterer. Price: from £180 per linear metre Tel: 01963 350451 johnboydtextiles.co.uk HENDAL SLIPPER CHAIR HAINES X LORFORDS CONTEMPORARY Sustainably beautiful, this incredibly versatile piece is made from natural and renewable resources, including Forest Stewardship Council-certified beech wood, hemp, jute, recycled textiles and natural latex cushioning. The loose cover is secured by fabric buttons, allowing for easy updates. Seen in Pomily’s ‘Checkers’ print,…

January shooting by Noss Mayo, 18 January 1896 SYMPTOMS of waning popularity in shooting come in, generally speaking, with the advent of the new year. Pheasants, from a big bag point of view, are respited, and there is only the necessary thinning out of cocks to be accomplished. Partridges are literally and actually ‘off’. They are so educated to the sound of the gun and the sight of the gunner that a glimpse of them going out at the other end of the field as the enemy enters it is all that is obtained. And so all that is left is to come to terms with migrants. But what can be said of the recent degenerative Decembers; seasons of October gales, November rains and of mild, muggy, enervating weather, upsetting…

The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill was noticeably absent from HM The King’s Speech in Parliament. The Bill, which was brought forward as a private members’ bill, passed through to the House of Lords but was timed out in September after peers tabled a large number of amendments. Reserves and communities in Africa, which rely on the trade, welcomed the omission of the Bill. Dominic Trapp, an anti-poaching warden in South Africa, told The Field: “I am hopeful for the future of African wildlife. Not many people know but my income is solely funded by hunters who hunt big game. Without that income, many more animals will suffer by the act of poaching.” It is expected that the Bill will be reintroduced this year and will restart either in the…

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has been criticised by rural groups after recommending that the Welsh government implement a licensing scheme for gamebird release in time for the 2025-26 season. In its report, NRW states: “We advise the Welsh Ministers that common pheasant and red-legged partridge should be added to Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and thereafter that any releases of these two species in Wales should be managed through a proportionate risk-based licensing framework.” If the Welsh government decides to act on NRW’s advice, the body will move forward and develop a licensing approach that it claims “can be delivered effectively with the available resources”.…

The British Hound Sports Association (BHSA) has held its first demonstration of trail hunting in Derbyshire, open to hunt supporters and opponents alike. Hosted by the Barlow, with the Holcombe Harriers also taking part, the event showed how hunts prepare for a day’s activities and how they successfully operate within the confines of the Hunting Act 2004. Oliver Hughes, managing director of the BHSA, said: “We have to be open and show how our sport works in practice, especially to those who are opposed to it or just unsure about it. When hounds are seen in full cry across the country it is all too easy for some to assume they are hunting illegally when they are not. We must continue to demonstrate that trail hunting is a properly managed,…

Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE GREY AREA AROUND RAISING PARTRIDGES Reading your correspondent’s letter ‘Not just for greys’ [Letters, December issue], I note that grey partridges he has reared have obviously disappeared over the far horizon. I have always understood that the only successful way to rear greys – assuming the land is right – is to do it the old-fashioned way with eggs under a broody. The broody is let loose with her ‘chicks’, creating a covey with a ‘head girl’, and the instruction to all guns is not to shoot the first bird over the hedge. Thomas Blake, by email SMALL MENTION We hear little about the use…

THE FULLING MILL EASTON, WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE The Fulling Mill comes with 3,247 yards of superb chalkstream fishing on the River Itchen, with abundant wild trout and grayling. Set within 63 acres of attractive water meadows, the fishery has been in the same family for many years but is let on a day-rod basis. The main house, dating from the 1900s, is being renovated and the property is available as a whole or in lots. Agent: Savills Tel: 01962 857441 Guide price: £3m for whole HANGER MILL AND BARN SALCOMBE, SOUTH DEVON This is a Grade II-listed five-bedroom former mill house and a detached two-bedroom stone barn. The property has gardens of around two acres and is a short walk to North Sands beach and the town of Salcombe and its…

THERE is little doubt that the UK offers some of the most fascinating fishing in the most wonderful of settings, if you know where to look. Getting away from life’s stresses for just a couple of days of angling is calming, restorative and is a bubble of contentment. It provides something to look forward to, plans to make and tackle to sort. Then, after it all, you’ll have shining memories of screaming reels and leaping, silver fish. Go alone, or with pals or a partner, and enjoy an angling adventure with roaring fires and fine wines when the casting is done. We have looked for great, thrilling action along with the most fishing-friendly accommodation. All our suggestions offer unique selling points: great guides, special fish stocks or rivers to take…

“I HAVE been to so many incredibly dreadful parties and you have to sit next to such boring people. But at the hunt ball no one says ‘How many children have you got?’ and ‘Where do they go to school?’” says side-saddle hunting doyenne Martha, Lady Sitwell, who breathes a sigh of relief at the thought of these hunt calendar jamborees. “You’re all much beyond that; there’s a camaraderie. And, OK, there might be an auction but it’s not there for people to show off: it’s to raise money for the hunt. At some of the charity balls in London that are [full of] hedge funders, there’s a lot of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. But the hunt ball is so egalitarian: the terrierman and the old-money Master party together, and…

THE DRESSING gown occupies a distinctly intimate space in a man’s life. While it’s not something that he wears in public (not unless something’s gone wrong, anyway) it is nonetheless a garment that he may feel perfectly happy strolling around his garden in, particularly if there’s a swimming pool or sauna involved, or indeed a table laden with breakfast things awaiting him on a relaxed summer’s morning. Equally, if you’re at home on a winter’s day (as many of us are in these hybrid-working days) a dressing gown, or house coat, might be something that finds its way on to a gentleman’s shoulders. An extra layer, after all, is not to be sniffed at when it’s minus-something degrees outside, particularly if you live in a house with Georgian or Tudor…

TREKKING through Nepal looking for tigers in the jungle was always going to be memorable but perhaps not in the way artist Paul Doyle expected. “We were three or four days from civilisation when I got very ill and went downhill until eventually I thought I was nearly dying, and found myself having an out-of-body experience. I was looking down at my body lying there, and I realised I had to keep going with my art and that painting dogs was going to be important. But I have no idea where any of it came from.” Doyle wonders whether the experience was in some ways a self-fulfilling prophecy, explaining: “I was always fascinated by tigers, which was why I went to Nepal – I wanted to try to see them…

LONG YEARS ago, when the world was young, I trained as a horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. My social life wasn’t much to speak of, since I lived at the other end of the day from my university friends and I was always chronically short of money, so I would volunteer for as much overtime as I could get. What I most vividly remember was doing ‘weekend duty’ in the Palm House. Early on a weekend morning, I would turn the large iron key on a door into the most famous and recognisable curvilinear glasshouse in the world, the innovative green cathedral designed by Decimus Burton and constructed by Richard Turner, which was completed in 1848. For a couple of precious hours, before the visitors trickled in, I…