All The Right Notes With The Thring Throng

Mat Manning joins the thring family’s Alford shoot for beaters’ day, where filling the gamecart comes a distant second to inclusiveness and friendship.

- M. Manning

If the success of a shoot is measured by the enjoyment of all who participate, Alford in Somerset has to be ranked as one of the finest —especially if its beaters’ day is anything to go by. Bag size matters not one jot to the Guns, beaters and pickers-up that make up this “small syndicate for family and friends”. The magic that makes this special little shoot happen is fuelled by the urge to spend an active and entertaining day out in the fresh air with like-minded people. Judging by the number of smiling faces I saw during the hours I was fortunate enough to spend with this cheery bunch, it is a recipe that works.

Located on the outskirts of Alford village, a stone’s throw from the market town of Castle Cary in Somerset, Alford is part of the Coach House estate, owned by Edward and Elizabeth Thring. The estate has been in the Thring family since 1770, with the exception of a 39-year period from 1906. In 1945, Edward’s father, Rear Admiral George Arthur Thring, was approached by the then estate owner and fellow navy man Admiral F. H. Mitchell who, with no heir after losing his son in an air accident, felt it was only right and proper that the Thrings should be offered the opportunity to return to their Alford seat, so they did.

Like his father, Edward embarked on a career in the Royal Navy, and reached the rank of Commander during his 33 years of service. At 86, he still plays an active role on the shoot, which comprises around 40 acres of mixed woodland and 50 acres of agricultural land, most of which is let as sheep grazing. Several drives are flanked by the river Brue that, apart from making a very pretty backdrop, also provides some good fishing for wild brown trout.