Table of contents for May 2026 in The Field

‘Livestock worrying’ laws that date back more than 70 years have been updated by new amendments that could see dog owners facing unlimited fines and the police given the power to take DNA samples from animals. The move follows research carried out by NFU Mutual that estimated the cost of livestock worrying at close to £1.8m. Late last year a private member’s bill presented by Conservative MP Aphra Brandreth passed the final stages in the House of Lords. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025 has now come into force. Not only does it include new powers to fine owners but the definition of ‘livestock’ has been expanded to include camelids such as llamas and alpacas. “Farmers should not have to live in fear of dogs attacking their animals,”…

Email charlotte.mackaness@futurenet.com FREDDIE SILK SCARF Claire de la Mare With hand-rolled edges, this 65cm x 65cm, 100% silk scarf features a subtle equestrian design by Claire O’Connor. One for the well groomed. Price £125 Email info@clairedelamare.com clairedelamare.com ROSIE COAT Magee 1866 A fitted three-quarter-length coat with peak lapels designed and woven in Donegal from 100% linen; your flexible friend as milder days approach. Price £445 Email info@magee1866.com magee1866.com ALL-TERRAIN DOG COLLAR Rough and Tumble Durable, lightweight and colourful collar made with marine-grade stainless steel and hydrophobic canvas webbing for adventurous four-legged friends. Price £25 Tel 0333 207 9960 ruffandtumbledogcoats.com FISHING GLOVES Patagonia Lightweight, breathable fabric with 40+ UPF offers sun protection without putting rod feel or fly-tying dexterity in the shade. Price £38 Tel 01544 327111 sportfish.co.uk BLOOM ROLL Priestleys…

THIS SPORTING estate of nearly 22,000 acres lies east of the Cairngorms National Park, along the central course of the Spey, with a dramatic topography of rivers, woodland, moorland and farmland. At its heart is the 14-bedroom Tulchan Lodge, a Category B-listed Edwardian property built in 1906 and refurbished in 2018. There is also a cinema, a winetasting room and a spa complex complete with sauna, steam room, treatment suite and outdoor Japanese hot tub, so plenty of contemporary Highland leisure to go with Tulchan’s period grandeur. The estate’s sport includes two driven grouse moors; pheasant, partridge and duck shooting; as well as stalking for red and roe deer. In addition, there are eight miles of doublebank salmon fishing on the Spey over four productive beats. Agent: Savills ♦ Tel:…

NDC ‘UNQUESTIONABLY the finest trout stream in the south of England’ was how Harry Plunket Greene described the diminutive River Bourne just over a century ago. I have been fortunate enough to fish this delightful carrier of the Test a number of times, and in my opinion there’s nowhere more beautiful than the Bourne in May. Plunket Greene nurtured a love affair with the stream that began in 1902. So passionate was he about this valley that he penned his classic ode Where the Bright Waters Meet some 20 years later. His writing is as unashamedly Edwardian as The Wind in the Willows, and if there is a book in my library that bears the stains of butter drips from crumpets, it is this one. Plunket Greene was not a celebrated…

THE GENESIS of this tale lies with George the Elder: superior fisherman and keeper, and generous passer-on of all knowledge about the many vagaries of our salmon beat at the bottom of the Wye. I was banging on at lunch about a book I’d written about Geoffrey Gordon-Creed called Rogue Male. Before ‘going rogue’ and joining the Special Operations Executive, Gordon-Creed had been in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, a fine regiment of yeomanry cavalry. In late 1941 they deployed to Egypt where they fought with ferocious bravery and horrendous losses. After being decimated for the third time, it was decided to disband the regiment and send the troops as battlefield replacements to other cavalry regiments. However, in very short order (which was the point of my story) the senior NCOs…

A POTTER down to the Pevensey Levels with Romney Hole – past the purebred Romney ewes – seemed apt. Her late grandfather John Glessing, who bought Montague Farm in 1943, was affectionately known as ‘Potto’ with pottering his favoured locomotion. Hole, 26, is the third generation to farm the land in East Sussex, working alongside her parents Martin and Gundrada Hole, and judging by the convivial conversation around the kitchen table, succession was working well. Even our walk to the wetlands, out of earshot of her father, failed to identify any friction. As Romney Hole has two older sisters (twins Florence and Poppy) I was hoping for Lear-like revelations of a divided kingdom. However, with hay on Martin Hole’s shoulders it was clear their father was still very much hands…

Sporting artist Under the hammer Royal Armouries Sporting dog The boot room Gun review Motoring Countryqueries Field to fork Wine Cookery Travel Gardening The Field Junior Books Fieldtesters The Last Hurrah For more about Rose Ferraby’s work, visit: roseferraby.com Her exhibition ‘Gleanings: The Art of the Past’ is at Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery until 30 May 2026 ASKED WHETHER there is anywhere in Britain that doesn’t carry the imprint of man, Dr Rose Ferraby considers for a moment before answering: “Evidence of our past can be found everywhere, in all kinds of ways.” Her work as both an archaeologist and an artist makes her well qualified to comment. But it is her deep passion for our age-old environment that opens up a fascinating conversation. Ferraby describes an experience in…

COCKAPOOS, Britain’s favourite designer dogs, have a lot going for them besides their looks. The intelligence of their poodle parent combines perfectly with the cocker’s energy and zest for life. Furthermore, when bred from sound stock, they tend to be fit and healthy. If they have working cocker blood in their veins, cockapoos can make great beating dogs, too. They do, however, have one disadvantage that many first-time owners are unaware of: they are high maintenance. That beautiful curly coat needs daily brushing, plus regular visits to the groomer, in order to keep it looking good. In comparison, most of our sporting breeds require little in the way of grooming. I’ve known labradors that have never been groomed in their lives, while many spaniels get by quite happily with just…

THE MEN who worked on my grandparents’ Cambridgeshire farm in the 1950s were a singular breed. My mother recalls Alf the tractor driver, who was never seen without a knotted handkerchief on his head, failing to notice that Northrop had fallen off the baler, had his foot caught and was being towed across the stubble like the body of Hector being dragged by Achilles around the walls of Troy. All Northrop would repeat was “that ’urts… that ’urts..” Once, Alf asked an undergraduate helping out at harvest time how long he’d be staying for; David replied that it would be until the autumn. “In that case, would it be all right to go and have my tea?” replied Alf. Kingston Wood farm went out of my family for several decades…

IN A SUNNY, sheltered position outside my kitchen window there is a venerable, spreading rosemary bush that I never prune. I would probably kill it, anyway, if I cut deeply into its old wood but that’s not why I stay my hand. I leave it alone because the unpruned shoots flower in January and February and attract to them the first bumblebee queens on the wing. I couldn’t care less if the bees fertilise the flowers in the process of reaching the nectar and pollen; the point is to give the bumbles sustenance at a time of the year when there are few other flowers about. From this, you will deduce that I am interested in the welfare of insect pollinators, of which bumblebees are at the zenith of efficiency,…

ALMOST four years after launching its 2022 consultation, Defra has finally published a long-awaited 10-year deer management plan for England. Entitled Deer impacts policy statement: managing the impacts of wild deer in England, it aims to reduce the growing impacts of wild deer on woodlands, crops and other habitats, and includes measures to support land managers and promote sustainable deer management. Few would argue against the need for a coordinated national plan. Deer numbers have increased over the past few decades with some concerning, though often localised, effects on agriculture, forestry, road safety and the wider environment. Defra hopes to mitigate against the issues by introducing initiatives such as dedicated deer officers, grant funding and streamlined licensing processes to help landowners, farmers and foresters. The proposals are broadly positive, and…

A charity that was created last year with a mission to plant and restore 1,000 acres of wildflower meadow by 2034 is making great progress, despite the death of its founder Mark Burges Watson, who was known as ‘Burge’ to his friends. Burge wanted to leave behind a positive legacy following a terminal cancer diagnosis at 57. He believed space for nature is vital for human health and happiness, and many of the charity’s meadow sites will be educational and inspiring. To encourage meadow planting, Burge’s Meadows will offer non-refundable grants for suitable sites and contribute towards ecological visits, seeds and other work. “We agreed to fund several projects over the winter and plan to have 80 to 100 acres planted this year,” says charity trustee Alex Large. Burge’s widow…

AS WE DISCUSS familiar rural agency topics around agriculture and country estates, Richard Binning of Savills eventually reveals that his family farm in Oxfordshire plays host to an event that helps to encourage people out into the countryside. I assume it is perhaps a few tractors pulling townies down the tracks or educating schoolchildren as to where their meat comes from. But this is the Truck Festival, described as ‘the UK’s most warped village fete’, headlined by the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs and The Libertines this summer, and an extravaganza that last year raised £225,000 for charity. Now that’s diversification. “It was started by old schoolmates and has grown considerably,” explains Binning. “Fundraising is central to the festival. I just turn over some steaks at a food stall.” He…

IT WAS not until the second quarter of the 16th century that firearms started to be used more widely in the sporting pursuit of game. Before then, hunting with fire-arms had been almost exclusively the preserve of many in the poorer classes of society, who had resorted to poaching. Indeed, for them it was often a necessity. By early 1515 poaching had become so acute a problem that an Act of Parliament for ‘avoiding shoting in gonnes’ was passed, stating that ‘the Kings dere [and those of] other Lords of his realme ar distroid and shall be daily more and more onlesse remedie therfore be provided’. By prescribing that the owner of a gun must have an annual income of £200 (£189,000 in today’s money) it effectively outlawed shooting other…

IF I WERE truly to pay tribute to the unsung heroes of country sports, the list of names would fill this entire issue and probably the entire year’s worth, too. The public face is the scarlet-coated huntsman and the tweed-clad gun but they are the first to acknowledge the people behind the scenes: the farrier who puts a shoe on by the side of a road in the rain, the fly-fisherman who takes casting demonstrations around local schools, the stalker who toils to maintain paths up rainswept glens or the cook who brings the bacon rolls to a freezing beaters’ briefing. A hunt meets only after hours of work by grooms rising at 5am to muck out, kennelmen skinning fallen stock until late and whippers-in boning leather to a mirror…

WHEN THE LATE Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath, was having difficulty conceiving a child with his second wife Virginia in the 1950s, the couple made their way south from their Wiltshire estate at Longleat to the Dorset village of Cerne Abbas. There on the hillside stands the 180-foot chalk carving of the Cerne Abbas Giant: famously well endowed and steeped in folklore that it can cure infertility. “We were very much in the dark about what he could do,” Lord Bath told a reporter some years later. “I explained the problem and sat on him.” Ten months later a daughter, Silvy Cerne Thynne, arrived. The named godfather listed at the christening? G Cerne. It has not, however, always been treated with such reverence. Growing up at her family home,…

IT WAS a long, lean winter: the near-constant rain puddling down depressing my spirits. One favourite fix is to hit the internet auction sites in search of an antique retail ‘lift’. However, this year’s has been particularly bleak as there’s been nothing I ‘need’ and little I’m even minded to bid on. My last ‘nice to have’ (OK, I’ll be honest: fab to have) purchase was more than a quarter of a year ago, on 3 December: an early-17th-century wheel-lock pistol. Miraculis mirabile, it remains undetected in my study as I cunningly mounted it well above the head height of a certain long-haired ‘Inspector of Armouries’. If I can keep it hidden for a while longer, then when the inevitable “What’s that?” happens, I will be able to protest, without…

Border collie DOGGY DATA AVERAGE WEIGHT: 15-25KG SPEED: 9/10 FIELD FACTOR: 6/10 NAUGHTINESS: 6/10 INTELLIGENCE: 10/10 LONGEVITY: 9/10 FACT FILE: Almost all purebred border collies today are related to a dog born in Northumberland in 1893. Named Old Hemp, he fathered more than 200 puppies. Border collies are the ultimate herding dog, using intense eye contact rather than barking to gather sheep. They increased in popularity during the 19th century after Queen Victoria became interested in the breed: she owned more than 80 collies during her lifetime. FIELD DICTIONARY A leash Three of the same kind of animal, often used in relation to greyhounds and hares Keen beans PIPPA Pippa, 11, up front with Phillip Hague, huntsman of the VWH Fly of the month MOHICAN MAYFLY THE MOHICAN MAYFLY WAS…

Across 7 One alternative to lead for shot (5) 8 An arbiter’s firearm sound suppressor? (9) 10 The result of taking a brace away from a leash? (3) 11 Scottish town on the Forth east of Stirling (5) 12 Describes a plant with swellings – an old sort! (5) 13 Short-term licences for e.g. shooting/fishing (7) 15 Female black grouse (4,3) 17 It occurs when a dog finds and returns game it has not seen fall (5,8) 21 A top trout water in Devon – Stanley’s excited! (4,3) 23 e.g. woods or copses where foxes may dwell (7) 25 The mountain ash… in hedgerow Anglesey! (5) 27 Syringa shrub’s common name (5) 28 Regret this bitter-scented herb? (3) 29 Home of prestigious horse trials in May (9) 30 Milk supplier in Huddersfield! (5) Down 1 Nothing more than a pool or lake? (4) 2 Large German dog…

In what have been widely viewed as further assaults on rural life, the Government has announced a consultation on removing several species from the quarry list and shortening the shooting seasons of others, while the publication of its Land Use Framework includes a plan for ‘evidence gathering’ to ‘explore wider measures such as licensing and any associated conditions for recreational gamebird shooting and release’. “This seemingly innocuous document [Land Use Framework] should have been focused on resolving the serious question of competing demands on rural land from farming, energy production, nature recovery, recreation and many other uses, but Ministers could not help themselves from using it as a vehicle to denigrate game shooting,” said Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, who described the move as a “frontal attack…

The iconic curlew, with its haunting call, used to be a common sight in the British countryside but as we enter prime breeding season, fewer curlew are managing to breed and successfully fledge chicks. Having dropped by 50% across the UK in 30 years, our remaining curlew populations are aging out. They are site-loyal birds, returning to nest in the same spot every year. Curlew can live up to 20 years – although the longevity record was recently broken by a bird in the New Forest that was confirmed as being over 33 years old – but they have few younger birds surviving to adulthood and bolstering the future of their populations. Initially ringed as a juvenile on Brownsea Island in September 1992, the New Forest curlewwould have hatched that…

ISAAC ‘IKEY’ BELL, the pioneer of the modern English foxhound and one of the most gifted and influential hound breeders of the 20th century, was born in New York in 1879. His father was a successful cotton broker, diplomat and philanthropist, while his mother, Jeanette, was the sister of James Gordon Bennett: the flamboyant proprietor of the New York Herald, famous for funding Stanley’s expedition to find Livingstone. Bell’s father died when he was 10 years old. After his mother moved to Paris, where her brother had launched the Paris Herald, he was educated at Harrow and Trinity College Cambridge. It was here, with the proximity of the Cambridgeshire, Oakley, Thurlow, Puckeridge and Fitzwilliam hunts, that Bell developed his passion for hunting and interest in hound breeding. On leaving university,…

AS MAY hoves into view it isn’t with just a bang but a barrage: the simulated shooting season is starting to swing. Over the past decade there has been exponential growth in the clay shooting on offer for keen close-season guns and those eager to give shooting a go. Particularly popular are days that aim to recreate the camaraderie and rhythms of a traditional shoot: think elegant Elevenses, excellent hosts, gun buses and banter. The sadness of the last shoot lunch no longer needs to be lingered over: corral the troops and put a spring or summertime simulated day into the diary. Yet with so many to choose from, how does one winkle out the shoot to suit? The Field has compiled a list of some of the best. Away…

OVER THE past century, as a consequence of pressures on agricultural production, fields and farms across Britain that were once the domain of native breeds have become dominated by Continental imports. As a result, the popularity of many of our own breeds has declined dramatically, impacting their numbers. This also risks the loss of their unique genetic traits, including their hardiness and tolerance of our unpredictable climate and varying landscapes, as well as their resistance to disease. Fortunately, there are passionate individuals and organisations, such as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), who continue to strive to preserve these endangered breeds and bloodlines – not just for the sake of the animals themselves but also for the regional and national heritage, culture and landscapes impacted. As RBST chief executive Christopher…

FOR WEALTHY Britons the 1850s were the start of a golden age of luxury, travel and recreation. These cased percussion revolvers, by the great Birmingham gunmaker Westley Richards, reference one such indulgence: in this case, the sport of yachting. Incorporating Westley Richards’ British patent No 14027 of 20 March 1852 for a side-hammer and patent action, these presentation 36-bore percussion five-shot revolvers [pictured, right] are two of only about 300 patent revolvers that the maker produced, and as a consequence are extremely rare. Unfortunately for Westley Richards, they appeared on the market at the same time as Samuel Colt’s famous Model 1851 revolver – one of the most iconic firearms designs of all time. The Westley Richards revolver understandably disappeared into obscurity. Nonetheless, these pistols are of particular interest, not…

THE 828 Silver Progressive from Benelli is a most intriguing gun. With its hinged and sprung breech face and long, streamlined aluminium receiver (the hinged face is steel), there is nothing else quite like it on the market. The test gun also boasts a raised carbon-fibre sighting rib and removable trigger group. Its hammer-forged, tri-alloy Advanced Impact barrels are cryogenically treated, specially bored and fleur-de-lys proofed for steel shot with 3in (76mm) chambers. Our specimen is a 30in 20-bore weighing in at just over 6lb 2oz: light but still suitable for all-round field use (Benelli additionally offers steel-actioned 828s in both 20- and 12-bore). The balance point is about 1in forward of the hinge pin but may be adjusted by adding butt weights. The gun is imported into the UK…

Carswell Beach Hut, Holbeton, South Devon Chase spring south and bring it to heel with a stay at the picturesque Carswell Beach Hut, where waves lap the shore of your own private cove and the tang of woodsmoke from the flame-heated hot tub floats on the sea breeze. This is a place to truly get away from it all: there is neither wi-fi nor phone signal and no vehicle access – cars must be left at Carswell Farm on the steep, shelving cliffs above (electric vehicle charging is available). Guests are advised to don sturdy footwear, as reaching the hut requires a 15-minute walk down vertiginous coastal paths – all while carrying everything you need for your stay. Due to the rugged remoteness of the site, single occupancy is not…

CELEBRATED AT a time when collective thoughts are turning to blooming meadows, cuckoos and cricket, the institution of May Day is a jamboree of pagan veneration. While today fewer people dance around poles, its significance still reverberates in the country calendar. In 1915 an unnamed Field contributor noted the formerly held faith in the transformative properties of this date, stating: ‘Even as late as the end of the 18th century, a newspaper reported that on May 1st, according to annual and superstitious custom, a number of persons went into the fields and bathed their faces with the dew on the grass, under the idea that it would render them beautiful.’ Ascribing a more practical relevance to the festival, in a 1983 issue of The Field John Williams wrote: ‘The first…