Matt Clark, editor of Sporting Gun

I love a walkedup day; it’s what I grew up with and I find a walked-up day much more physically challenging than a driven day.

However, Robin makes a driven day sound as fun as afternoon tea with the vicar and I feel compelled to defend it (tongue in cheek) because he overlooks many of its subtle challenges.

Yes, you often have a long time to prepare for a shot but this gives you more time to overthink it and miss. I’m much happier with an instinctive snap shot you get with a walked-up day, especially if the bird is just on the end of my barrels.

There is also the pressure of having a sizeable audience on a driven shoot. Not only other Guns, but pickers-up and beaters too. You are like a world-class batsman with all eyes on you as you step up to the shot. On a roughshooting trip you may fluff an opportunity but only your mates will notice.

And you have a minefield of etiquette to negotiate. Should a tie be worn?

Is it bad form to wear mismatched tweeds; how much do you tip?

So you are certainly under all sorts of pressure on a driven day. The mark of a sportsman at the top of their game is how they perform under pressure and you can see this on a driven shoot.

Finally, I would say to Robin that top shooters are often seen at driven days shooting impossibly high birds — largely because they know a good driven day provides better sport than a walked-up one.