Of all the symbols of the 12 days of Christmas – the holly, ivy and mistletoe; the wreaths, tree and decorations; the turkey and plum pudding – none is so…
Features
The Duchess of Rutland
The saying ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ suggests a desire to shut the door on the world but there is no such attitude from the Welshwoman residing at Belvoir…
Christmas tractor runs – organised by farmers for Father Christmas
As we all know, the first Christmas tractor run was Santa Claus with his nine-deer-power sleigh on 24 December. Nowadays he has swapped his reindeer for a John Deere, and…
Shooting: Tipping the gamekeeper when game shooting
Shooting manners and shooting etiquette: tipping the gamekeeper when game shooting
A glossary of scenting terms
Breast-high: warming air allows scent molecules to rise up through evaporation and convection so that even ground scenters can carry their noses high. Dead ground: lower-lying, colder or wetter patches…
Tracing blue-blooded gundog lineage
The purest of canine lineages have been bred by the bluest bloods in the land, who have continuously fostered the finest lines. This is a Bark's Peerage of aristocratic kennels.
A Sporting Life – Dame Jilly Cooper
Dame Jilly Cooper grew up in the countryside of Yorkshire. Apart from a brief spell in Camberley during the war, where she amused herself feeding “wartime carrots” to the Staff…
Falconry: a most ancient and noble art
Falconry is one of the fastest-growing country pursuits, with 25,000 people (5,000 of whom hunt with hawks) involved, who between them keep about 75,000 birds of prey. There are more…
Back to basics – how the right base layers can be a game changer
We’re all more than capable of turning up and looking the part for a day in the field but it is what lies beneath that counts. Are your underpinnings less…
How to choose the best gundog for partridges
For wild greys and redlegs, you need a worker that’s keen, thorough and won’t mind the brambles. So which is the best gundog for partridges? Alec Marsh finds out…