Grouse Survival in Extreme Weather

During the recent bout of extreme weather which in Cambric totally covered the fells and high ground for nearly a month I was interested in how the grouse reacted. I have always been told that they will come down from the high ground to lower areas. Unfortunately on the North Pennines in the Eden Valley there is very little low ground heather. It has nearly all disappeared due to a mixture of severe grazing by sheep and the drive after the second world war for more food which resulted in the drainage and cultivation of much land.

I well remember driving along the road above the fishing's at Lazonby with Hugh Egglestone who informed me that he had shot grouse there as a young lad, this was difficult to believe as I looked at all the fields and sheep. Indeed numerous areas are still called moors with no heather present in the valley. Appleby Golf course has a few bank sides of heather that have survived but in reality the only sizable bit of lowland heather is below Dufton Fell above Bow Hall on the way to High Cup Nick. This is part of our sporting rights and indeed it had good grouse populations going back some 10 years ago. Sadly now though due to continual grazing by sheep, including overwintering and no burning, as we are not allowed the heather is very tall and stemmy and getting patchy. However on a stunning, very cold day of minus 10 in early January as Rose and I wanted a good walk I decided to go and see if we could see any grouse.

The landscape was totally spectacular as we drove up past Bow Hall and large snow drifts prevented us going any further by landrover shortly after the hall. We continued by foot on the Pennine way and got our much needed exercise. Several skiers were visible ahead coming down the slope as we climbed, with groups of walkers intermingled. The snow had drifted and frozen over level with the stone walls that enclose the drovers track and was strong enough to take our weight even though it was some 5ft thick. Which gave some idea of the severity of the conditions for the grouse. As we approached the lowland moor I kept Tia our labrador in, and we soon saw grouse everywhere. They looked massive, as they had no cover and doubtless had their feathers puffed out with air to keep warm. The grouse moved constantly, foraging over the frozen landscape, and it was only when I walked across the moor to the next rise to see how many grouse I could count that I could see what food they were finding.

Odd tips of heather were just poking through the snow which was not as deep due to the wind blowing it. It was also very difficult walking as the snow would not support our weight and we crunched through down onto and into the heather. Breasting the rise so that I could perhaps see towards 40 % of the lowland moor we counted some 140 grouse. We retreated back to the track as the light was going and slid back downhill to warmth and civilisation with a healthy respect for grouse and nature.

The walk was so enjoyable we returned the following lunchtime. On arriving at the moor we were disappointed that there were only a few grouse visible and I had come armed with Mother's new digital camera to give it a test run for her. We were chatting and wondering whether to go higher up to see if we could see where the grouse were when suddenly a covey of some 200 came over the hill and landed in front of us. I had a few teething problems with the camera, not my forte and I was struggling with instructions and zoom buttons when the whole covey took off and flew straight at us. Miraculously I managed to catch a few in flight by sheer good fortune as they streamed over us. I was fascinated by where they were heading as they turned right and headed downhill towards the farms. Unfortunately we could not see where they went and we never picked them up again.


Resourceful though grouse definitely are, I am still worried about our high worm counts and likely mortality in the harsh weather. Several friends and keepers informed me that in the old days when weather like this was much more common, oats used to be fed to the grouse and I wondered if whether anybody out there had tried this? I have also heard rumours of grouse eating hawthorn berries and dying.

Grouse Shooting at The Tufton Arms

Grouse Shooting in The Snow on The High Fell

Over the years I have heard many stories of shooting grouse in the snow and indeed I can remember a beaters day in a blizzard 3 years ago which we abandoned half way through due to extreme cold. However my walk and stand day on Dufton Fell on November 24th encountered real snow which had properly covered the moor.

The drive up to our moor is along one some 4 miles off road with the last mile and a half being very steep in places. I followed Frank our keeper who led the way on our polaris bike up the fell. When we got through the old mined areas the road became covered in snow and icy, however my old discovery managed to ascend and on arriving at the hut I leapt out and was shocked by the temperature difference compared to the bottom of the hill and the amount of freshly fallen snow everywhere. Immediately we could see a pack of 200 grouse on the side of a hill where some heather poked through. The excitement of this though was tempered by the fact that only one car had followed me. I had two teams of 11 shooting along with 8 helpers so was nearly 30 people short. Vehicles arrived in dribs and drabs and after well over half an hour we had everybody safely up though several cars were abandoned in the mine area.

I quickly got everybody organised into two teams and after a safety talk took the standing team to the first line of butts. After putting everybody into a butt and checking they knew exactly what was going to happen I went up onto the lefthand flank to help with the flagging. I had heard that grouse become unmanageable in the snow and will not drive so I was somewhat worried as to what might happen. It was very cold particularly as whilst flagging you are not generating any heat by moving around! It took ages for the walking team to come into sight and bring the drive through and it was obvious that it was very hard work walking through the snow drifts. The good news was that grouse went over the guns and quite a few were shot. It was as if the snow had disorientated the grouse and they had forgotten where the butts were.

The teams then swapped around and I took the walking team for their turn to stand as the weather started deteriorating with more snow falling amidst banks of mist. Frank must have been very close to not lining out but by closing in they did manage to bring the drive through again with several good packs going over the butts. It must be said though that by this time the day was definitely not for the faint hearted. We then stopped for lunch of hot soup and hot dogs made with Mrs Ewbanks Cumberland sausages. Which were just fantastic and really hit the spot.

I then gave the two teams the option of stopping if they wanted to. However slightly to my surprise everybody proved to be made of the right stuff and the consensus was to carry on. Our third drive was the long drive out to Meldon Hill called lang drive for obvious reasons. We had by now a stiff easterly wind which although freezing is ideal for the drive. I put the guns out along a natural gulley which hides them nicely and took my place on the flank. Frank sensibly only took the walking team half way out and as they arced around grouse started gathering on the slopes in front of us. The numbers of grouse collecting was staggering. In the snow you could see everything and I cannot imagine that there has ever been more grouse on this bit of the moor. I got depressed as a pack of 250 birds split of and went over the end 2 walking guns who actually shot 3 of them. Almost immediately afterwards a huge pack went over 8 of the 11 standing guns several of whom reloaded and got more shots of. This was followed by a tremendous drive with shooting for everyone. I estimate that we had perhaps a 1000 birds in the drive an extraordinary number for a moor as high as ours. We are obviously worried about next year and worm levels but our worm counts are low. The snow is still there three weeks later and it looks like being a proper winter so hopes springs eternal that we will get away with it and perhaps have a record season for the fell next year.

Unfortunately by now it was nearly dark and we did not have time for the last drive which was fully loaded with all the grouse we had seen. We still had to get safely of the fell, pick up the abandoned cars and get down the steep icy slopes which is far more difficult than going up them. To cut along story short we did all get safely off the fell much to my relief. The bag was 26 Brace and afterwards in the bar at the Tufton Arms we reflected on a special day which although it did not go to plan will remain in everybody’s memories long after most other days have been forgotten.

Chasing the late grouse and drinking 1983 Clos de Marquis

A strange combination you might think and you would be right. However if you get a chance to combine these two events it is certainly not to be missed! Our grouse on Dufton Fell are getting increasingly wild and difficult to control so we decided to put some walk and stand day's in to try and catch them out. The grouse have learnt increasingly to fly out over the beaters, so walk and stand day's offer the chance to fool the grouse and combine walked up shooting on your turn to beat with driven shooting on your turn to stand. We priced the days at just £200 per gun and as usual it provided the chance at an affordable price for several guns to have their first experience on a grouse moor.

Dufton Fell is some place to start off grouse shooting being one of the highest driven fells rising to nearly 800m. This coupled with the very haggy terrain results in wild birds that hug the contours perhaps closer to Scottish moors in character than some of the moors in Yorkshire. It is also quite difficult walking over the hags and through the heather and levels of personal fitness soon get exposed when it is your turn to beat!

In the end we managed to assemble 17 guns from a mixture of local friends and guests from further afield including notably 2 guns from Luxembourg who game down from Pitlochry with Neil McGowan who owns and manages the excellent East Haugh Hotel where I often stop on the way north to invariably have deers liver for lunch. Paul Chambers also came up from the fens for his first poke at the grouse. The international cast was completed by the french in the form of Nico the somellier from Sharrow Bay an old friend.

We formed a red team and a black team by drawing cards. Frank Dargue our keeper along with a couple of helpers looked after all the drives and in conjunction with myself and Harry on one flank and Miranda and Colin on the other we endeavoured to flag the birds over the standing guns. I must say our much I enjoyed the day doing this. It is a lot more difficult than most guns imagine but extremely satisfying when you intervene at just the right moment.

The highlight of the day shooting wise was the third drive called"Lang Drive" because of the distances involved in beating it! However on Monday we had the advantage of the first East wind of the season which blew down and across it. This enabled us to keep the birds coming forward and to actually see how many birds we have in the drive. The birds over the standing guns were everything November grouse should be simply stunning. However the numbers of them were worrying as they came over in 100's we will certainly need to keep shooting even though our worm counts are still low.

After finishing this drive we stopped for lunch in a state of euphoria perhaps even slightly dazed by all the grouse we had seen. This feeling of needing to pinch oneself to get a reality check was completed by Nico rummaging in the trailer and into his rucksack and producing bottles of 1983 Clos de Marquis.He then proceeded to serve the wine. Does life get any better than having the best sommelier in the country serving wine of this quality in such fantastic surroundings?

Our bag was around 30 brace roughly half what I was hoping for, so perhaps the grouse won as normal. However our two friends from Luxembourg and Paul shot their first grouse and everybody had a special day to remember.


Grouse Shooting
Vintage Wines
Rough Shooting

The Highs and Lows of Running a Grouse Moor

With this seasons weather continuing its inclement course having an interest in one of the highest driven grouse fells in the UK can be a very mixed pleasure. Having counted our grouse in late July and discovered record numbers for our fell, anticipation and excitement have known no bounds. Sadly this was tempered when Frank our keeper informed us of some damage to our 4 mile long track up the fell caused by the heavy rains in early August. Probably a result of the day when 62mls of rain were recorded at Warcop. However a trip to assess the damage and see if we could get through for a day over pointers on the first saturday of the season revealed that it was far from a large disaster and a couple of days with a digger have sorted it out.

The day over pointers was great fun though frustrating in the morning when the cold weather and strong winds made the grouse very skittish and reluctant to stay on point. We were very privileged to be shooting over Colin Organs pointers and setters and it was fascinating to watch the skills of the dogs and their handler in these adverse conditions. Thankfully the sun did come out in the late morning and the sport improved. Lunch was taken al fresco outside the hut around a large table at 2,400 ft and I think was something of a surprise to a group of walkers who stumbled upon us. The afternoon was superb and though we did an area of the fell which had the least grouse on according to our counts there were still plenty of grouse. The day finished with 17 brace of grouse and we were able to enjoy the first young grouse of the season for dinner that night.

Our first driven day on the last saturday in August took place in perfect clear conditions with a useful wind from the south. Unfortunately I could not shoot but I invited four guests all old friends to represent me. I did manage to entertain them the night before when we had almost by chance the most stunning meal. Adrian had brought with him from Aberfeldy some young red deer liver that we served lightly cooked as a warm salad with a magnum of Jean Grivots 2000 Vosne Romanee. Several guests had never had deer liver before and what an introduction! This was followed by a large saddle of lamb from Ewbanks carved from the trolley which we shared with another large shooting party to get the 20 people you need to put one on. The lamb was so sweet and tender with a just wonderful flavour that fully maintained the reputation of our local lamb. We washed this down with magnums of 2000 Haut Pontet, St Emillion, Grands Crus to complete a most memorable meal. My guests enjoyed an equally good day on the moor. However when I caught up with them in the evening there were sheepish grins and much talk of strong winds and October like grouse and how difficult grouse are on the high fell! Some gentle probing revealed a bag of some 33 brace at what they thought was a cartridge ratio of about 4 to 1.I must confess I was a bit crestfallen as I was hoping for a bag double this. A chat with Frank in the morning over coffee got to the nitty gritty. The guns had had just short of 400 shots a ratio of 6 to 1 and he had seen plenty of grouse. Our long third drive had been into the wind and this early on in the season they had not been able to get the birds to the guns. I finished the conversation much happier that we had got sufficient grouse for the shooting season that we have got planned

Grouse Shooting in Cumbria

Grouse Counting with "Pepsi" The Vizsla

July 29th 2008


Whilst chatting with my bank manager Mark who is a keen wildfowler and shooting man the conversation turned to dogs. He has a young 18 months old vizsla puppy who he is getting ready for its first season and he was keen to give it a run in the open after game and see how it pointed and flushed. Ever pleased to keep the bank manager happy I suggested that he came out and helped with the grouse counting. I usually count our marginal ground that we use for smaller walked up days. The ground is still quite high at nearly 2000ft and a mixture of grass, heather and bilberries, but without high levels of grouse, so ideal for a puppy to have its first run out.


Mark arrived after lunch and we transferred all our gear into my discovery for the drive up the fell. Having introduced Pepsi the vizsla to Tia my black lab. We set of to Dufton and took the track past Bow Hall and on up the Penine way alongside High Cup Nick. In the past I have always followed our keeper Frank Dargue off road onto the high fell and left to my own devices my local knowledge let me down and I failed to find the easiest route. Mark was surprised by how rough the journey was and where discoveries can get to, Pepsi decided that it was too scary in the back and transferred to her masters lap. My driving, never my strong point can have this affect it seems on dogs as well as humans.


Having eventually arrived at the bottom of the bilberry plain I decided to walk out downwind over the less promising lower ground and then swing up hill and walk back along the escarpment into the wind where traditionally we see more grouse. Last year I counted 36 grouse in a recovery year for us and I was hoping to count about 80 grouse. On the walk out we saw several signs of grouse from a few loose feathers to quite a few distinctive grouse deposits. However sadly we saw no grouse. I was though impressed with Pepsi, she quartered the ground nicely, but not too quickly and always within easy range of Mark. I was disappointed that she had not had her chance to shine but with our turn around into the wind I was looking forward to the return walk.


Almost immediately upon facing the wind in an area of bilberries Tia started showing signs of grouse nearby. Sure enough just over a small rise in front of us we put up our first grouse. One single old bird that did not look that healthy a rather depressing start. Then suddenly again Tia gets excited and at least two coveys together of 14 grouse fly off followed by another two young ones. What a relief! Quickly Tia puts up a barren pair so I head further uphill and pull Mark and Pepsi more onto the line I am on. Pepsi is working really well into the wind and it is a pleasure to watch her. Suddenly she is on point. Is it grouse or a false alarm with a young dog? Mark moves up behind her, camera at the ready and pushes her forward to flush. After a slight pause 4 grouse wheel off on the wind, Pepsi then remains rock steady. Impressive stuff. One very happy vizsla and one immensely proud master, a lovely moment.

In all we counted 36 grouse almost exactly the same as last year. I did see a lot more signs of grouse particularly on the way back and perhaps got the feeling that we could easily have missed a few large groups in such a massive area. It will be interesting what the counts show up on the main moor. What we did achieve though was Pepsi's initiation and I think that Mark can look forward to some exciting times with this dog. She was equally impressive when doing a few retrieves with a couple of dummies. Mark commented that he wished she ranged a little further but I felt that she was perfect if you were going to shoot over her on rough days yourself. Lets hope that she isn't gun shy and I look forward to watching her again in the future.


Nigel Milsom

Grouse shooting