Garrigill Grousing

I couldn't believe it, I was going on a grouse hunt!

Even though I wasn't shooting with anything but a camera, it didn't bother me one bit. I was thoroughly looking forward to taking part in a new sport, and seeing what driven grouse hunting was all about.

I pulled up in my little camper at Steven's house, just before the appointed 7am. We then had a chin wag while we waited for his daughter, Lizzie to arrive. Once she had, we loaded our selves into Steven's land rover, and hit the road. There was a light drizzle about for much of the way, but this turned to heavy fog as we climbed into the North Pennines, and into Grouse country!
The North Pennines was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988,  and it was here that I spotted my first  mob of Black Grouse (Black Game) - this area holds 80% of all black game in the UK. I snapped a few photos of this new game bird, then it was a short drive through Garrigill proper, before we arrived at our destination - Garrigill Estate.

Black Grouse (Black Game) at Garrigill

Steven introduced me to Alastair, the head keeper at Garrigill, and he then gave me a quick run down of the day ahead. He introduced me to Pamela and Kevin, both of them beaters, and along with Lizzie, we headed off into the fog with the rest of the beating and flanking team. Having never flanked, beated, or even been on a driven hunt before, I was all ears as I got the low down for my job of the day. That, and taking photos was to keep me pretty busy!

The low fog dictated where our drives took place early on, but as the sun climbed, so did the fog, and it wasn't long before we were back to the plan, and seeing plenty of grouse. Id been told that some bad weather had effected grouse numbers, but as the day went on, we saw more and more.

Many of the shooters came over and talked with me, after hearing "a Kiwi" was in attendance, and between the beaters, the guns, and the loaders - many of whom were game keepers themselves, I was very warmly welcomed by all, and learnt a lot about grouse, and how to hunt them.

The day  seemed to vanish, even if I did spend the majority of it beating my way up the hills around Garrigill, and wading through moor land - all in all, it was good to blow the cobwebs out, and what a beautiful place to do it in.

All in all, my first day on a Grouse moor was interesting, and enjoyable. I met some great people, saw some fantastic country, and got to take part in hunting a new species. I couldn't wait to see what the next day would bring.