10 Top Drives

A selection of the most challenging and enjoyable drives in the British Isles.

BEECHES, BRIXTON DEVERILL, WILTSHIRE

This shoot is one for the connoisseurs and Kim Beddall has any number of fine drives across three beats. Shooting Gazette correspondent John Walker said: “While Abyssinia may be the most famous, it is the Beeches drive on the Sutton Veny beat that will test the best and a cartridge to kill ratio of anything less than 4.5:1 is very good shooting indeed. Guns peg along a wide grassy valley looking towards a high bank, from the top of which partridges stream over the line at varying heights. Wind helps but is not essential to provide stellar low-ground shooting.”

BLACK ANDREW, BOWHILL, THE BORDERS

This ominously named section of the well-respected Bowhill shoot near Selkirk is renowned as one of the best drives in Scotland. The River Yarrow cuts through the shoot and the topography makes for some extreme high bird shooting. Guns stand in front of a foreboding steep bank of spruce and gorse, which helps to build the tension before a high bird spectacular. It’s obvious this ground is ideally suited for high pheasant shooting, and the steep-sided valleys, which are a hallmark of the Scottish Borders, make for a stunning setting to pit your skills against some phenomenal sporting birds.

GRIAS MOUNTAIN, LLECHWEDDYGARTH, POWYS

Wales shares top spot in the pantheon of high pheasant shoots and Robert Jones’s Llechweddygarth, near the quaint rural village of Langynog, has a place amongst the best. The rugged, untamed mountains and breathtaking waterfalls provide a beautiful backdrop for some memorable shooting, while country lanes and tracks take you to locations way beyond satnav.