Whitfield grouse, a test for the best
The dedication of owner John Blackett-ord and headkeeper Stuart Maughan has turned this Northumberland estate into one of Britain’s finest shoots
Turning “Little Switzerland” into a top shoot. Johnny Scott reports
The hamlet of Whitfield lies to the south-west of Hexham in that gloriously wild and rugged part of Northumberland known as “Little Switzerland”, where the River West Allen runs through a deep and narrow valley, its sides covered in hanging woods of oak, beech and conifer. Whitfield Hall has been the ancestral home of the Blackett-ord’s for the past 250 years and the sporting estate that goes with it covers 16,500 acres, of which 7,500 acres is rolling heather moorland. Over the past three decades, due to the foresight and dedication of John Blackett-ord and his headkeeper, Stuart Maughan, Whitfield has been developed into one of the finest shoots in Britain. A Cumbrian by birth, Maughan qualified as a teacher in the early 1970s but found himself drawn back onto the moorland that he had frequented as a boy. After taking a gamekeeping course at Sparsholt College, he joined Whitfield as underkeeper in 1976. Just two keepers and one elderly Land Rover covered the 16,500 sporting acreage when he arrived, a situation that remained unchanged until 1989 when John BlackettOrd took over the estate. Both Maughan and Blackett-ord were convinced that,
with investment, something unique could be created at Whitfield, an ambition that has been more than fully realised. There are now seven keepers on the low ground and two full-time keepers on the grouse moor, six Land Rovers, eight quad bikes, one Argocat and an excavator for road building. The steep, wooded slopes on either side of the River West Allen are the perfect topography for driving pheasants, particularly the gorge at the northern end where some of the now legendary high-bird drives are situated. Top-quality partridges are shot in the open valleys off cover strips and the moorland fringes, while the 7,500-acre moor provides superb driven grouse off three beats and 24 lines of butts. Small wonder that Whitfield, where the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity, has been described as the ultimate sporting estate and has long been the destination for some of the keenest shots of the shooting world.
It was just such a team, led by Gerwyn Jones, that took a day on 5 September last season, meeting at nine in the car park of The Elk’s Head in Whitfield, the 10-bedroom, dog-friendly pub owned by the estate. It comprised: John Mackelden, Allan Ditchburn, Daryl Ewer, Paul Smith, Edward Chantler, Ed Davies and Ian Parkin. They are friends who shoot together regularly up and down the country every season and had been to Whitfield before for pheasants and grouse. Loaders had been organised by Kenny Wilson, who arranges them on every shoot day, but knowing the prowess of this team Maughan suggested they should only single gun and use the loaders to cartridge stuff, otherwise the day would be over too quickly.
As Blackett-ord was away, Maughan was acting as host and after a brief safety talk and a reminder to use butt sticks, guns moved off for the South Beat and the first drive, joined by Jones’s wife, Andrea, a highly accomplished amateur photographer, with her Leica V-lux camera.
This was Gold Pegs, where guns and loaders lined out on pegs rather than butts or hurdles, beside a stream facing a steep bank. Maughan had 10 flankers out and four pickers-up behind guns, while Rory Mcneil, who has been the grouse-moor keeper for 16 years, had 26 beaters in the line, most of whom come from the coastal town of Ashington, where Maughan once taught history and PE before becoming a keeper. So far we were lucky with the day; there was a brisk south-westerly wind, cool enough to keep the midges away, and a grey, liquid sky that threatened rain but obscured the glare of thin early autumn sunlight. Most of the drive was hidden from view by the height of the bank in front of us and the first sign of impending activity was a lone partridge hurtling over in a blur of panicked wing beats, catching the middle two butts by surprise. Then I saw Maughan out on the top flank flick his flag up and, suddenly, guns and their loaders were busy as a big, loose pack of birds was turned to stream over the line. The South Beat had been driven several times already this season and these were all strong, hard-flying, canny birds with a bit of wind under them and with the short horizon created by the steep bank, guns were presented with really exciting, challenging shots. These were followed by a succession of coveys, some joined together to form big, loose packs; in between, a steady scattering of high birds came over in ones and twos. They would have humbled most guns but Jones’s team was more than a match for them, vertical shooting at the fast birds. It was a joy to watch experts at work.
At 10.30 the top flankers started moving in and shortly after, the first horn blew. There was a flurry of shots behind as birds that had settled in front were pushed over and then the beaters appeared at the top of the bank, the second horn blew and the drive was over. Once all the birds had been picked, the bag was 31 brace for a terrific first drive and guns moved on to the next, Lunch Hut Gully.
Here, guns were lined out on hurdle butts half way up the side of the eponymous
These were strong, hard-flying, canny birds with wind under them
gully, facing the opposite slope. The fun began when I saw all three top flankers stand up and lift their flags and, simultaneously, an immense pack was turned to pour over guns with a rush of wings, followed by a long tail of single birds. To see highly experienced flankers in action is a truly impressive sight and it was no surprise that these three, one of whom was Maughan, knew their business. Successful flanking depends entirely on the element of surprise, team work and timing, with each flanker knowing when to support his neighbour. Good, dependable flankers have rescued many a drive when birds start veering out, by standing up and flagging at the critical moment, immediately kneeling down again out of sight until their presence is needed again. The skill is in knowing when to flag and when to leave well alone – birds flying square to the flank or crafty old birds determinedly flying out are never going to be stopped and should be left, otherwise there is every chance of spooking coveys flying towards butts and spoiling the drive.
No sooner had the tail of singles flown through the middle and top guns than the bottom flankers performed the same exercise for the lower line of butts, turning a big pack that was veering out. This was followed by a slight pause, which gave guns a chance to catch their breath, and then we heard distant cries of “flag up” from the approaching beating line and a succession of wild, high, singles, twos and threes came over, giving shooting all along the line. The drive ended with a flurry of shots as birds that had settled in front of butts were put up and some impressive shooting behind after the first safety horn, for a bag of 25½ brace.
With many moors hit by snow during the crucial nesting period, Maughan was showing us a lot of birds. “We were just very, very lucky with the weather and missed the snow,” he told me over elevenses. “But the main reason the grouse population has bounced back from the disastrous losses of last year [2015], when an appalling spring was followed by low temperatures and torrential rain in June and July is because, with John Blackett-ord’s agreement, the moor was not shot at all for the first time in 40 years. It was a very brave decision at the time but has more than paid off.”
Guns were in traditional sunken butts for Willy Shaw Rigg, a fast and furious third drive with the fun starting as a big pack was turned to fly diagonally across the line, followed by a stream of birds giving all guns steady shooting and Andrea Jones some exciting action shots. Another big pack settled in front of butts and lifted again shortly afterwards, giving Gerwyn Jones, helped by a bit of nifty footwork by his loader, Kenny Wilson, three dead birds in the air at the same time – a left-and-right in front and one as it twisted away behind. The usual scatter of tailenders followed and then a pack settled in front, grumbling and muttering, which lifted to join in with another to create a big, loose one, coming over well spread out along the line. Two more packs and a stream of singles, twos and threes kept guns busy up to the first safety horn and with a few shots behind, the drive was over for 60 brace, bringing the bag to 116.
After an extremely good lunch in the stone bothy at Lunch Hut Gully, guns were back in butts by 3pm and looking across the rolling moorland in all its autumn glory for the last drive, Fell Down. The first grouse appeared soon after, skimming over the contours of the moor and twisting over butts, then there was a terrific battue as a biggish pack swept over butts and the drive really hotted up as grouse poured through, sometimes weaving and twisting over the butts in a steady stream of ones and twos; sometimes in bunches of 15 or 20 where two coveys had joined together and occasionally in big packs. There was another tremendous battue as the beating line reached the mass of birds that had pitched in and with some shooting behind after the first safety horn, the drive finished at 3.30 for a bag of 20½ brace and a total of 136½ for the day.
Back at The Elk’s Head, guns were quick to pack up and once their thanks and goodbyes had been said to Maughan and his team, set off in convoy on the long drive north for two days at Invercauld.
To shoot at Whitfied, contact Stuart Maughan on 07501 460017 or go to www.whitfieldsporting.co.uk