Wild greys return to Cornwall

Lovers of the grey partridge can now toast the GWCT’S Cornish Grey Partridge Project – which aims to reintroduce the grey partridge to the county – with a glass of Grey Partridge Pilsner.

Tenant farmer Charlie Watson Smyth is selling the special beer, which is produced by his local brewery and was launched at the Royal Cornwall Show, to raise funds for the project through the Padstow farm shop run by his family.

This September, grey partridge broods will be reintroduced onto Watson Smyth’s farm, which is part of the Prideaux-brune estate.

“We’ve taken advice from the GWCT on vermin control and have put down plots of cover crops for the partridges,” explains Watson Smyth. “The idea is to try and establish grey partridges back into Cornwall.

“All we have set out to do is to produce a big enough population to spread down the Cornish coast; if we do that, it will be a great success.”

The north coast of Cornwall was once good partridge country but over the past 20 years numbers have crashed; a lack of insects for young chicks is blamed for their demise. The reintroduced population of wild greys will be carefully monitored over the next five years.

Contact the Padstow Farm Shop at www.padstowfarmshop.co.uk or call 01841 533060 to order the special pilsner.