Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginnings End

August had arrived and with it the 2016-17 Game Bird Hunting Season in the UK. Coming into season first was one of the worlds premier game birds - the red grouse.

Pete has mastered the photo-bomb

Pete Livesey and I have shared many a memory since I arrived in the UK. He has never been shy of giving me an invite, of which I am immensely grateful. He has asked me to join him and his friends on everything from days on grouse, pheasants, partridge to roe deer stalking and wildfowling. He and his lovely wife Jan have welcomed me in to their home now for 2 years and it really has become my home away from home. When Pete extended an invite for Bailie and I to join him on the grouse moor in the North Pennines, I jumped at the chance, booked the bus and off we went.

The North Pennines were basking in the glow of the Autumn sun,with a good wind blowing to make the birds extra sporting. With a flying speed of around 75mph, they are already one of the fastest gamebirds on the planet. I couldn't wait to get boots on the feet and cartridges in the Browning and start the day.

The amazing view from the grouse butt

What I love about grouse days with Pete is that you get a bit of everything. We split in to two teams at the start of the day and the teams act as beaters for one an other, taking turns as standing guns. This means you get to experience driven grouse shooting from your "grouse butt", a small hide that you wait for the birds to be driven over, while also getting to shoot walked up, flushed birds and get a good work out on the boggy and hilly grouse moore. I like the fact that at the end of the day, my legs remind me that what ever I bagged for the day, was hard earned.

The grouse season had been hit and miss up to this point around  the UK, with early snow causing havoc on the broods during breeding. Some moors had cancelled all their days while others were on a restricted shoot schedule. Seeing the great numbers of grouse on ours, I could see why we hadn't. Luckily, we had a plethora of grouse and seeing them lift and hearing their distinctive call, it reminded me of why I had left home on my hunt for paradise. New Zealand will always be my home and with its amazing people, scenery and sporting opportunities, I am happy to say I lived in paradise. That being said, there is so much else to see in life than what one grows up with.  I have thoroughly enjoyed what the world has to offer, the different species I have taken and put on the plate, the people I've met and the landscapes I've seen. Each aspect of this journey is as important to me as the next and its what has made this experience what it is.

It didn't take long for me to realise that this was the perfect day to start the season on. Bailie and I's first shots came on the second drive when we had two coveys come our way. I managed two from the groups of birds and it was a fantastic feeling to once again have the honour of taking such a wonderful bird and to know I would be eating grouse again soon!

One particular drive stood out for me. It was our teams turn to beat the birds to the standing guns, however we could shoot forward up until the horn blew, from that point on shoot back. There were about 14 of us, spread out in a huge line with the dogs searching the heather and brakcen among us. We were flushing the coveys up, and as is common practice, any big groups flushed, we left without chasing them with shots so that they would fly down quite unaware to the waiting guns. The ones and twos however were not so lucky and I managed a lovely brace on this beat. It was great to put some miles in, flush the birds back to the guns that had done the same for me and get out amongst the dogs, shooting flushing birds.

I managed three and a half brace on the day, with a nice mix of birds, while this time around Bailie managed to just speed a few up. The days bag was of no consequence to our enjoyment, however we were all very happy to be going home with plenty of birds to prepare.

Bailie and I handled afternoon tea, with a lovely bottle of Slow gin, a few bottles of champagne and the customary cheese board. It was nice to relax and wind down, catch up with the lads I hadn't seen for 12 months and share some quality banter.

 Back in London, I did a red wine, bacon and grouse casserole and invited some fellow kiwis around for their first taste of grouse, The empty plates and bottles of wine told me that they appreciated the miles spent on the moor as much as we had.

After two years, this was to be the last adventure Bailie and I would share. Not long after this, our journeys would take us in different directions. We experienced a lot together and she will be remembered fondly as the kiwi huntress. It was on that very moor,, with me, 12 months earlier that she shot her first ever game bird - and it was a grouse at that. I am happy that I got to introduce her to a different way of life and I wish her all the best in her future adventuress and trust that she will find her own paradise along the way.

A lovely end to a great day on the moor