The light changes on the A68 as you leave West Auckland behind. The colours of the moor reflect off the clouds. Proper hills appear, insects splatter your windscreen and the villages hunker down as if in preparation for a fight with winter to come.
The scenery is dramatic. The north Pennines do not have the bucolic beauty of the Yorkshire Dales; they are more masculine and earthy. As the lanes twist and curl, the first flashes of heather can be glimpsed if you are bold enough to take your eyes off these roller coasters that pass for roads.
Then as if a practical joker silversmith has been at work, the gleaming Derwent Reservoir presents itself. Reflections of the verdant low ground and muted moors shimmer on its surface. The westerly banks are covered with countless greylags appearing as if an unseasonal snow squall has occurred.
In a layby tucked up against the reservoir’s eastern shore, I met up with my friend Dave. He stood leaning on his Polaris Ranger — a quad bike on steroids. As is normal in my friendship with this knowledgeable, no-nonsense gamekeeper, we spent the next five minutes being extremely rude to one another.
We covered important topics such as Rachel Riley, the inadequacies of people who had served in the Army and his revulsion of all things that don’t originate from his native Yorkshire. He shoehorned me into the little Polaris and I was treated to a preview tour of some of the moor.
Being a moorland virgin, I bombarded Dave with questions at every turn. When I queried why there was a fenced offarea in between where the grassland stopped and heather started, I learned that this was regenerating back to moor, as it had previously been non-native firs.
Denne historien er fra October 2, 2019-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra October 2, 2019-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside