June 2020

The Field

Champion of Britain's countryside heritage

The Field1 min read
The Field
Jonathan Young EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES 01252 555220 DEPUTY EDITOR Alexandra Henton 01252 555220 GROUP CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Diane Cross 01252 555225 CONTENT ASSISTANT Sarah Pratley 01252 555220 GROUP ART DIRECTOR Dean Usher PICTURE EDITORS Max Tremlett and Du
The Field4 min read
The Next Shooting Season
WHILST our species is being tested, our earthly cohabitants continue much as before. My first swallows arrived on 12 April with their usual but wonderful punctuality. While we marvel at their timekeeping we should not be surprised. Nature keeps to he
The Field3 min read
Art In The Field
LIKE the British, the Argentinians are a horse people, and often horse people don’t really see their horses. We race them, or play polo, or ride across country. We feed and groom them, and try to avoid getting trodden on, but rarely do we stop and lo
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Next Season’s Shooting In Focus
While COVID-19 interrupts human affairs the gamebird rearing period is almost over, setting the parameters for much of the coming lowground season. Ian Dennis, a director at Conigre Game Farm, says: “There have been many cancellations of poults due t
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Field At Home
SOCIAL: FACEBOOK In the March issue, David Tomlinson discussed dog beds. While the choice was once oat straw or wheat, today’s beds are the last word in luxury, from beanbags to memory foam. Field dog Bramble was pictured in a cosy Ivy & Duke number
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In Brief
Trout conservation projects on the Trent, Welland and tributaries of the Test, Thames, Bourne and Cam are being planned for this summer after the Wild Trout Trust raised £70,000 in this year’s auction. Trust director Shaun Leonard said the auction fu
The Field1 min readBotany
Royal Oak Woodland To Be Restored
The Royal Oak that was once a hiding place for Charles II will be surrounded by trees following a replanting scheme undertaken by English Heritage. After defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 the son of Charles I found refuge at Boscobel House, S
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Hone Your Swing During Lockdown
Those lucky enough to own land can hone their shooting skills while stuck at home using one of the state-of-the-art clay straps from Promatic. During lockdown the company has a special offer on its Promatic Pigeon. It can hold 50 clays, chuck them 65
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The Naked, Strewth
These nettle-proof lady hunters are stalking you for donations to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. This year’s calendar is no longer available but you can donate at: pcrf.org.uk. The Field has contributed to the cause. ■
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Social; Twitter
Twitter Fielders were particularly impressed by this reader’s handiwork. “Having been confined to base during the Covid business, I finally finished this corvid,” he shared. “I scaled up a photograph of a magpie in flight and transferred it onto a sh
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Breaking A Different Bag Record
Having The Field drop onto the doormat has proved to be a welcome reminder of routine, as subscribers continue to receive their magazines as normal. The May issue was gloriously diverse, covering modern master gun engravers, flies for trout, hunting
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Field At Home
During this odd time, The Field is devoting these pages to activities we can do at home and to keeping ourselves amused and spirits up. To contribute, email material to: field.secretary@ti-media.com or go to our social pages (see page 12). Those with
The Field1 min readMedical
In Brief
Pubs, hotels, shooting clubs and estates have been using resources to help essential workers and those vulnerable in the local community. Holland & Holland’s shooting ground in Northwood has been delivering cooked meals to the Met police, fire brigad
The Field2 min read
Virtual Viewings Versus Quiet Contemplation
THE property world, like every business, has had to reset and even reinvent itself in the shadow of coronavirus, the housing market’s short-term future subject to huge uncertainty. Forecasters are used to crunching the numbers from a position of expe
The Field7 min read
Letters
LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE I was delighted to read the article by Neil Cross about his outing with Martin Whitley and his hawks [In full flight on Dartmoor, May issue]. Two autumns ago, my daughter and I arranged a similar afternoon’s
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Quacking Good Fun
Most viewed online this month was our article on the best duck breeds to keep at home. “I don’t think you can beat Indian runners – they’re just so cute and fun to watch,” shared one reader. “With 200 eggs a year, they’re the fun in functional!” Fiel
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New In The Field
EMAIL ALEXANDRA.HENTON@TI-MEDIA.COM Counteract the cats and support songbird survival with this large umbrella. Features eight songbirds, including the robin, chaffinch and house sparrow. Measures 120cm x 120cm x 95cm. Price £14; discount code across
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Savouring The Latest Issue
Life in lockdown has afforded Fielders more time to enjoy the latest issue, and they are doing so in style. “A Negroni to start the evening,” shared one reader. “Great extract from Tom Fort’s book Casting Shadows, about Dick Walker and BB.” “Pre Frid
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Take 3 – Scottish Properties
DORES, INVERNESS This restored stone steading is near the shores of Loch Ness in the Highland village of Dores. It is B-listed and dates back to around 1832. It has three bedrooms, exposed wood beams and stonework, sandstone flagstones, an Arts & Cra
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Country Estate Of The Month
This West Coast estate is 4,085 acres in total, with plenty of sport in the mix. There is rough shooting, wild brown trout fishing in the hill lochs and red deer stalking with a five-year average of 17 stags, while there is also a small population of
The Field1 min read
Wreck Of The Month
NEWTON FERRERS, PLYMOUTH, SOUTH DEVON This 1950s waterfront house, overlooking the Yealm Estuary and with views out over National Trust woodland, has fallen into disrepair and is in need of restoration. As an alternative, there are plans for a substa
The Field1 min readArchitecture
Take 3 – Devon Properties
BLACK BOROUGH, CULLOMPTON This four-bedroom period farmhouse dates back to the 18th century. It comes with 60 acres, landscaped gardens, a kitchen garden, an orchard and equestrian facilities, including an all-weather manège and paddocks. The stable
The Field4 min readCooking, Food & Wine
The Inedibles
GIVEN I’ve eaten some unusual food – flying termites fried in palm oil, raw rotted Greenland shark – I might be disqualified from criticising China’s more exotic cuisine. We might not consider fruit bats a delicacy but they’re often eaten in Asia and
The Field4 min read
In Confine Fettle
THEY’VE said that history books will look at life in terms of before and after the COVID-19 virus. The weekend before social distancing came into our lives was action packed, spent in Cornwall with Mr D’s brother. Currently he and his husband have so
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Forrad On
The foxhound is a unique hunting animal, cherished by huntsman, Master and follower alike. Bold, brave and beautiful they are the glue that holds the hunting community together. The summer, usually, is when those of us keen on hounds sit ringside and
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Holland & Holland’s side-by-side-by-sides
Eighteen years ago, David Perrett, a well-known collector, visited the Holland & Holland stand at a gun show with an intriguing idea. He liked the firm’s guns and had bought some in the past but now he wanted something different. Could they make him
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The Perfect Playground
The Royal Family knows better than anyone that a sporting estate is essentially a catalyst for a good party. “There should be so much variety of fun and sport that your friends are always desperate for an invitation,” says Jonathan Kennedy of CKD Pro
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Shooting Clays Can Improve Your Game
How often have you heard a game shot dismiss clay shooting as useful practice because “clays slow down, birds don’t”? Well, a friend who’s in a national Sporting clays squad and an excellent game shot observed: “Game shooters are right when they say
The Field7 min read
In Pursuit Of A Large Slab Of Silver
Akin to salmon, there are rivers across the world with a pedigree for producing big sea-trout. Southern Argentina comes instantly to mind with the leviathans of the Rio Grande, for example, where seatrout of more than 30lb are caught most seasons. Hi
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A Farewell To Hounds
“NO ONE ’cept a huntsman knows a huntsman’s cares,” said Jorrocks of hunting hounds in the good old days. Surtees’ famous character would no doubt choke on his substantial hunting breakfast if told of the additional challenges facing huntsmen some 16
The Field6 min read
Calling on Dr Carrot and Potato Pete
State diktats on what we may or may not purchase might seem unacceptable to the modern shopper. But a rationing system was almost welcome when confronted with bare supermarket shelves amid coronavirus-induced panic shopping. A few weeks after despair
The Field7 min read
Treehouses, Living The High Life
Many of us grew up playing in treehouses, hence they represent fond childhood memories. For adults, the appeal goes deeper. Primitive human beings needed access to vantage points and to refuges from dangerous animals and pests, and arguably the insti
The Field4 min readRegional & Ethnic
The Field From The Archives
We have much for which to be thankful in this matter of food rationing, and, as yet little cause for real complaint. Economy with efficiency has become a trite saying, but it is nonetheless desirable, and never more so than at this time. Let us suppl
The Field8 min read
Play At Crystal Palace
According to Sellar and Yeatman’s 1066 And All That, King Henry VIII played tennis with the King of France on the Field of Cloth of Gold, and this was the origin of the motto of the Prince of Wales: “Ich dien.” It’s a good joke but the motto Ich dien
The Field5 min read
The Field Quiz 2020
ANSWERS ON PAGE 86 1) What is a staggard? 2) What is a bare-faced falcon? 3) In which British city will you find the ‘holy trinity’? 4) What is a Paradox? 5) How many species of goose are legal quarry in the UK? 6) What is a cushat? 7) What was the w
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Remarkable Trees
THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS JUNIPER (JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS An extremely hardy evergreen conifer, common juniper is distributed throughout North America, Asia, Europe and the Arctic Circle, and has the largest geographical range of any other woody plant. Jun
The Field3 min read
Country Queries
Q This half pewter/half leather-covered hip flask dated 1882 has come to light in our family possessions. I think the leather covers a glass top half. However, the leather needs replacing and I can’t get the top off. How old or what the liquid conten
The Field6 min read
Remembrance Of Times Past
I’LL wager the only people wallowing in this dreary virus, saying “Told you so,” to anyone who will listen, are irritating fruitcakes with their ‘The End of the World is Nigh’ placards. Them and hardcore survivalists called Randy and Chuck (why do Am
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An Unusual Flintlock Breech-loading Magazine Gun By John Cookson
FIREARMS signed by John Cookson were made from the 1680s to the 1760s, the reason being there were two gunmakers called John Cookson. The younger one worked in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1701-62, while the older Cookson was believed to have remained
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Unbeatable Quality at Unbeatable Prices
English Heritage Buildings started with one man’s fascination with restoring oak frames in the late 70s; leading to the formation of our company and the manufacture of new oak frame buildings in 1990. This ignited a British revival in oak framing and
The Field4 min read
Browning 725 Sporter
THE Browning 725 has developed a considerable following since it was launched in Hungary in December 2011. It is a gun now liked by both clay and field shooters. The 725 was a clever re-engineering exercise. It retained many positive features of the
The Field4 min read
The Not-so-rare Harrier
NEVER believe everything you read, as I was reminded earlier this year when I spotted an article on harriers in The Daily Telegraph, reporting the breed’s impending appearance at Crufts. Apparently a group of enthusiasts had “revived the British bree
The Field3 min read
Aoife Bakonyi Byrne
AN idyllic childhood in Ireland and two inspirational Sporting Dianas in my life, my mother as well as my maternal grandmother, left little room not to take up sport with a passion. I grew up with an older brother and younger sister on a small hobby
The Field4 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Still Hitting The Right Note
WITH not quite the summer we had all imagined, creativity seems key in keeping the house entertained and finding ways to help lift all our spirits. I had planned for this month’s recipes to be perfect posh picnic ideas for you to take to a grand coun
The Field2 min readAutomotive
Mitsubishi L200 4Life Club Cab
AS much as I’ve tried, I’ve never ‘got’ the whole pick-up concept. As a rule, they’re too big, too brash, and come with a total taste bypass. But our week with the 4Life edition of Mitsubishi’s latest L200 pick-up got off to a great start when I was
The Field4 min read
Virtual Consolation
I HAD drinks with two of my dearest mates last week. Nothing remarkable about that, you might say. Well, at the time of writing we’re still under the wretched coronavirus lockdown and my nights out were actually nights in, spent first with Mark Slim
The Field3 min read
Unnatural Tomes
A great friend has the barbecue thing licked. Every spring there comes a point when the Aga is switched off and the Weber wheeled out. At this moment the cooking duties shift from ‘Aga woman’ to ‘BBQ man’. It is a perfect wheeze for division of labou
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Going The Social Distance
WELL, as the world death toll for COVID-19 surges past 100,000 (I am writing this in early April), it makes my comments in last month’s column – “this all looks like a massive overreaction and at some stage normality will resume” – appear somewhat ag

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