The Field

Champion of Britain's countryside heritage

The Field4 min read
The Great Unpaid Army
OLD sayings become old because they stand the test of time. “If you want something done, ask a busy person” is no more than an accurate statement of fact. As is the related rule, as infallible as Newton’s Laws, that 80% of the work is done by 20% of
The Field1 min read
The Field
Editor Alexandra Henton Deputy editor Ed Wills Features editor Madeleine Silver Acting features editor Charlotte Mackaness Production editor Sarah Potts Head of design Dean Usher Art editor Steve Mumby Picture editors Max Tremlett and Karen Whitehead
The Field1 min readInternet & Web
Field Follies
Sam Dracott, a professional farrier who regularly shares his satisfying day-to-day work on video-sharing app TikTok, had the most viewed UK content of 2022. The video, which shows him cleaning and trimming a horse’s hoof, accumulated more than 273 mi
The Field1 min read
Fears Grow As Largest Global Avian Influenza Outbreak Accelerates
The avian flu outbreak is showing no signs of slowing, with concerns that prevention measures and gamebird shortages could continue to disrupt shooting next season. The H5N1 strain has killed more than 140 million birds, making it the largest avian f
The Field1 min read
MPs Debate Petition On Use Of Snares
The Petitions Committee debated an e-petition in January calling for a ban on the use of snares. Nick Fletcher MP, who led the debate, explained how a humane cable restraint, pioneered by the GWCT, differs from a traditional snare and is a better way
The Field1 min readCrime & Violence
BASC: Firearms Licensing In Crisis
A “largely unprofessional, overburdened and poorly resourced police licensing service puts public safety at risk”. This is the stark message that BASC gave a Home Affairs Committee inquiry into policing priorities. BASC’s submission to the inquiry wa
The Field1 min readDiscrimination & Race Relations
One Good Deed…
An icy sleep outside helped two Country Food Trust ambassadors raise almost £2,000 while raising awareness of those struggling to afford food. Sophie Green and Henry Rossiter (right) wanted to highlight the issue of how many people are living in food
The Field1 min read
News In Brief
Wind turbines have caused the deaths of 33 birds of prey since 2019, according to figures released by NatureScot. The government agency admitted that the figures are not a “comprehensive record of bird collisions with wind turbines”, suggesting that
The Field1 min read
March Diary
1 The Spring Art & Antiques Sale 69 Lower Sloane Street, London Tel: 020 7259 0304 sloanestreetauctions.com 3 Ladies’ Clothing & Accessories Sale 36 St James’s Street, London Tel: 020 7499 4411 hollandandholland.com 5 Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt
The Field1 min read
Hunting With Dogs Bill Passed
The Scottish government’s move to licence the use of packs of dogs for fox control in Scotland will mean that farmers and wildlife managers who use more than two dogs to find and flush foxes to guns will require a licence from NatureScot. Responding
The Field1 min read
The Field’s Almanac
Flower: Daffodil and jonquil Worm Moon: 7 March Harvest: Kale and rhubarb March is named after the Roman god of war, Mars, as this was the time of year to resume any military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter. The date 15 March was certai
The Field2 min read
Food & drink
RESERVATION Where: Llanddewi Skirrid, Abergavenny NP7 8AW What: A destination Michelin-starred restaurant in the rolling borderlands of Wales. Award-winning chef-owner Shaun Hill has been at the helm since 2008 pairing elegant dining, which showcases
The Field4 min read
Annika Purdey
ANNIKA Purdey is poised by the grand fireplace in the Long Room at Audley House, the headquarters of James Purdey & Sons in Mayfair, having her photograph taken and looking very much at home. As well she might, for on the walls around her are the por
The Field2 min read
Kit To Covert
♦ EMAIL [email protected] Hallmarked silver paperknife housed in a fitted case covered with a map of Epsom. On request, the jockey silks and hat can be enamelled in the recipient’s colours. Odds-on winner for any racing fan. ♦ Price £
The Field1 min read
Field Kitchen Kit
There’s something incredibly gratifying about having a mincer at home. It saves on waste, plus it serves up a big dollop of satisfaction at turning the season’s game, be it pheasant or an errant muntjac, into delicious sausages and burgers. Most can
The Field7 min read
Letters
Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR Email: [email protected] LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE I was interested to read Sir Johnny Scott’s letter to his nephew, Freddi
The Field2 min read
What’s The Buzz About BNG?
FORGET residential or retail – the buzz real estate sector to invest in this year is natural capital, which loosely means dealing in land with nature-based solutions and interpreting a raft of environmental schemes to drive alternative income streams
The Field1 min read
Faces
There was a welcoming atmosphere at Gallery 8 off St James’s Street in London when it hosted the first private view of artist Charles Church’s new exhibition ‘Pastures New’. It was Church’s first exhibition in five years and he spent most of the nigh
The Field2 min read
Six Of The Best: Near Racecourses
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARWICKSHIRE River Cottage is two miles from Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse. The property sits on the banks of the River Avon and comes with 240ft of waterside frontage. The house has five bedrooms and four reception rooms and ha
The Field1 min read
Country Estate Of The Month
STAR BUY This property and farm runs to 227 acres in total, including pasture, woodland and game cover, with the potential for a family shoot. There is a millstream at the front of the house running down to an old mill house that could be converted,
The Field3 min read
A Marque Of Affection
At the end of last year there was a flurry of letters to the Editor, generated by Michael Yardley’s excellent article on Morgan sports cars. As a lifelong devotee of the marque, this really got me thinking about how we view our cars and why the Morga
The Field4 min read
The Ferreter’s Art
Dear Freddie, MANY thanks for the pigeons and I hear that you now have a day lined up with a ferreter, shooting bolting rabbits – how exciting. There is nothing quite like shooting rabbits over ferrets for sharpening up the reactions and focusing the
The Field1 min read
Subscription Offer 6 Months For £21*
Delivered direct to your door Celebrating 170 years 1853-2023 ▸ Online thefieldsubs.co.uk/B43T ▸ Telephone 0330 333 1113 Quote code B43T Lines open Monday to Friday 8:30am-7pm, and Saturday 10am-3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) ▸ Post Complete the FREEP
The Field7 min read
Planning The Perfect Approach For Pigeon
PIGEON shooting has become something of a vocation ever since Archie Coats wrote his famous work on the subject, Pigeon Shooting, in 1963. Many dedicate themselves solely to the pursuit of Columba palumbus. These native birds are reactive and tough.
The Field7 min read
Living Their Wildest Dreams
THERE’S a snuffling and a scuffling, a snort and a shove coming from the other side of a pig pen in a farmyard on the Doddington Hall estate, near Lincoln. Three Hungarian Mangalitza pigs, genetic cousins of the now extinct Lincolnshire Curly Coat wi
The Field7 min read
Mapperton estate Dorset
IT IS almost impossible to visit the rural interior of Dorset without thinking about Thomas Hardy. Of all his characters, it is perhaps the sheep-marker Diggory ‘Raddler’ Venn in The Return of the Native, as he walks forlornly across Egdon Heath to m
The Field2 min read
Shooting Methods
Essentially, pigeon may be shot by four methods: swinging through from behind; pointing out the mark and pushing in front of it; maintaining a lead; and more instinctive spot shooting (simply coming up to a spot in front of the bird that natural hand
The Field6 min read
The Fight To Save Scotland’s Capercaillie
THE CURRENT decline in Scotland’s capercaillie, the woodland grouse, presents a real risk that the bird will soon be driven into extinction. Cautious estimates suggest that we could lose the capercaillie from Scotland in the next 20 to 30 years, but
The Field3 min read
Capercaillie: A Sporting And Natural History
Mystery surrounds the first extinction of capercaillie in Scotland around 1770, although the disappearance of what would most likely have been an indigenous subspecies has been attributed to the loss of Caledonian forest. It wasn’t until 1837 that ca
The Field6 min read
Salmon Science In The Moray Firth
THE Moray Firth is home to some of the most iconic salmon rivers in the British Isles and, indeed, the world. Famous names such as the Spey, Deveron, Findhorn, Ness, Conon, Oykel and Shin resonate with the legendary status they hold and the special m
The Field7 min read
National Hunt’s New Guard
GOLF and jump racing may seem like unlikely bedfellows but it’s a marriage that leading National Hunt trainer Ben Pauling believes works rather well. Having started out in 2013 with just eight horses, Pauling moved to his state-of-the-art yard, Naunt
The Field6 min read
Discovering Britain By The Book
ONE OF the conundrums of the great and varied British countryside is whether or not the land is more important than the literature it inspired. Or is the literature at least of equal importance for guiding us back to the land with our hearts and mind
The Field4 min read
Nature Writing Competition 2023
IF I look to the right while at my desk there are shelves upon shelves of books, read and unread. There are classics (Peter Scott’s Morning Flight), favourites (Simon Blow’s Fields Elysian), treatises on hunting, shooting, tweed and English history.
The Field1 min read
The Counties Of England
This impressive map by Christopher Saxton drew upon his county surveys and is the first printed one of the counties of England and Wales. It had flaws, as in the coverage of the neighbouring areas of southern Scotland, eastern Ireland and the Isle of
The Field4 min read
Browning 525 Game Tradition Light
THIS month’s test gun is a 20-bore Browning 525 Game Tradition Light, tipping the scales at just under 6lb 5oz (so, light but not ultralight). It is distinguished by an American walnut stock, 30in barrels with a narrow rib, flush-fitting Invector Plu
The Field4 min read
A Nose For Conservation
EARLIER this winter, I was walking my spaniel along a footpath when she stopped as suddenly as if she had run into a brick wall. There was no visual barrier – she had clearly run into strong scent. Sure enough, an impressive covey of 15 grey partridg
The Field4 min read
Country Queries
Q I am rather embarrassed to ask such a simple question of you but I would like a recommendation for a tasty, easy-to-make pheasant pie. I’m not much of a cook anyway and have never cooked pheasant before but, with a new partner to impress, I feel it
The Field3 min read
Sophie Clark
MY LOVE of gamekeeping and the land started at my grandfather’s knee. He had spent many happy days working the hills around his home in Glenfeshie. His tales of the Highland garrons and life as a gillie always captured my imagination. He was also a k
The Field6 min read
A Call To Arms (and Armour)
IT WAS a late October day, the sky clear after incessant rain. However, the sun was now setting on the hard-core suspects standing on the ha-ha outside my in-laws’ house, enjoying a never-ending supply of ‘one last glass’ of port. It had been a momen
The Field3 min read
A Blade Fit For A King
AT FIRST sight this dagger looks rather unprepossessing with its plain wooden grip and simple, acorn-shaped quillons. However, first impressions can be misleading as closer examination reveals the blade has been etched with a now-some-what-indistinct
The Field3 min read
The Kings Arms, Wing
THERE are some places one longs for in a locale, and they come with certain characteristics. A mellow stone exterior, at least one open fire, low beams, creaking leather settles and a menu that’s as much a part of the countryside as the locals at the
The Field1 min read
The Boot Room
An attractive way to reflect on the dangers of neglecting conservation. This glass ovoid shields a trio of electric ‘candles’ (bulbs included) and is topped by a wonderful, patinated brass feather plume. The whole hangs from a handmade chain and will
The Field3 min read
Art In The Field
REAL art is real. Even if not figurative, it is an authentic depiction of what the artist saw or experienced. Here is Lucy Boydell describing the moment she met her stag: “He walked across the grass and I turned to watch him; he was coming across the
The Field3 min read
Worth Trumpeting About
ARE there just too many daffodils in the world? Every March, I ask myself this question as I drive down country lanes near my home in the English Midlands. Here and there, the grass verges are punctured by clumps of shouty, yolk-yellow ‘Golden Harves
The Field4 min read
Fruits Of The Pigeon Hide
PIGEON have been an easy-to-find source of protein across the world for centuries. Available all year round, they are very much considered a sustainable food and for most people can be a local option. The birds’ tendency to forage from farmland firml
The Field4 min read
Twice The Craic
CHELTENHAM can be carnage. Not for the horses or the jockeys but for the racegoers, coinciding as it does with St Patrick’s Day and the glorious annual invasion of the inimitable Irish who, as we all know, love a good party. I adore Ireland and every
The Field3 min read
Lives Well Lived
Ancestors are seldom as interesting as their descendants would have us believe. But Kishanda Fulford, best known for her appearances on the television series The F***ing Fulfords, has unearthed a corker. Louisa Colleton, who was brought up at the Ful
The Field2 min read
Honda HR-V 1.5i-MMD
AT FIRST glance the new Honda HR-V could be mistaken for being rather dull. It didn’t help that my test car arrived in Abigail’s Party beige (Honda bravely calls it ‘sand khaki pearl’) but the exterior comes with a refreshing lack of ‘spoilers and sl
The Field3 min read
From The Archives
FOR DAYS the gamekeeper on a distant beat had implored us to come and shoot some of the swarms of woodpigeons that showed up so clearly against the dark green of the spruce and larch trees, of which those particular coverts were composed. But knowing
The Field4 min read
The Great Unpaid Army
OLD sayings become old because they stand the test of time. “If you want something done, ask a busy person” is no more than an accurate statement of fact. As is the related rule, as infallible as Newton’s Laws, that 80% of the work is done by 20% of
The Field1 min read
News In Brief
Wind turbines have caused the deaths of 33 birds of prey since 2019, according to figures released by NatureScot. The government agency admitted that the figures are not a “comprehensive record of bird collisions with wind turbines”, suggesting that
The Field2 min read
Food & drink
RESERVATION Where: Llanddewi Skirrid, Abergavenny NP7 8AW What: A destination Michelin-starred restaurant in the rolling borderlands of Wales. Award-winning chef-owner Shaun Hill has been at the helm since 2008 pairing elegant dining, which showcases
The Field1 min read
The Field’s Almanac
Flower: Daffodil and jonquil Worm Moon: 7 March Harvest: Kale and rhubarb March is named after the Roman god of war, Mars, as this was the time of year to resume any military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter. The date 15 March was certai
The Field4 min read
Annika Purdey
ANNIKA Purdey is poised by the grand fireplace in the Long Room at Audley House, the headquarters of James Purdey & Sons in Mayfair, having her photograph taken and looking very much at home. As well she might, for on the walls around her are the por
The Field1 min read
Faces
There was a welcoming atmosphere at Gallery 8 off St James’s Street in London when it hosted the first private view of artist Charles Church’s new exhibition ‘Pastures New’. It was Church’s first exhibition in five years and he spent most of the nigh
The Field7 min read
Letters
Write to: The Editor, The Field, Future Publishing PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR Email: [email protected] LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE I was interested to read Sir Johnny Scott’s letter to his nephew, Freddi
The Field2 min read
Six Of The Best: Near Racecourses
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARWICKSHIRE River Cottage is two miles from Stratford-upon-Avon Racecourse. The property sits on the banks of the River Avon and comes with 240ft of waterside frontage. The house has five bedrooms and four reception rooms and ha
The Field2 min read
What’s The Buzz About BNG?
FORGET residential or retail – the buzz real estate sector to invest in this year is natural capital, which loosely means dealing in land with nature-based solutions and interpreting a raft of environmental schemes to drive alternative income streams
The Field3 min read
A Marque Of Affection
At the end of last year there was a flurry of letters to the Editor, generated by Michael Yardley’s excellent article on Morgan sports cars. As a lifelong devotee of the marque, this really got me thinking about how we view our cars and why the Morga
The Field4 min read
The Ferreter’s Art
Dear Freddie, MANY thanks for the pigeons and I hear that you now have a day lined up with a ferreter, shooting bolting rabbits – how exciting. There is nothing quite like shooting rabbits over ferrets for sharpening up the reactions and focusing the
The Field7 min read
Mapperton estate Dorset
IT IS almost impossible to visit the rural interior of Dorset without thinking about Thomas Hardy. Of all his characters, it is perhaps the sheep-marker Diggory ‘Raddler’ Venn in The Return of the Native, as he walks forlornly across Egdon Heath to m
The Field1 min read
Subscription Offer 6 Months For £21*
Delivered direct to your door Celebrating 170 years 1853-2023 ▸ Online thefieldsubs.co.uk/B43T ▸ Telephone 0330 333 1113 Quote code B43T Lines open Monday to Friday 8:30am-7pm, and Saturday 10am-3pm (excluding Bank Holidays) ▸ Post Complete the FREEP
The Field7 min read
Planning The Perfect Approach For Pigeon
PIGEON shooting has become something of a vocation ever since Archie Coats wrote his famous work on the subject, Pigeon Shooting, in 1963. Many dedicate themselves solely to the pursuit of Columba palumbus. These native birds are reactive and tough.
The Field7 min read
Living Their Wildest Dreams
THERE’S a snuffling and a scuffling, a snort and a shove coming from the other side of a pig pen in a farmyard on the Doddington Hall estate, near Lincoln. Three Hungarian Mangalitza pigs, genetic cousins of the now extinct Lincolnshire Curly Coat wi
The Field2 min read
Shooting Methods
Essentially, pigeon may be shot by four methods: swinging through from behind; pointing out the mark and pushing in front of it; maintaining a lead; and more instinctive spot shooting (simply coming up to a spot in front of the bird that natural hand
The Field6 min read
The Fight To Save Scotland’s Capercaillie
THE CURRENT decline in Scotland’s capercaillie, the woodland grouse, presents a real risk that the bird will soon be driven into extinction. Cautious estimates suggest that we could lose the capercaillie from Scotland in the next 20 to 30 years, but
The Field6 min read
Salmon Science In The Moray Firth
THE Moray Firth is home to some of the most iconic salmon rivers in the British Isles and, indeed, the world. Famous names such as the Spey, Deveron, Findhorn, Ness, Conon, Oykel and Shin resonate with the legendary status they hold and the special m
The Field3 min read
Capercaillie: A Sporting And Natural History
Mystery surrounds the first extinction of capercaillie in Scotland around 1770, although the disappearance of what would most likely have been an indigenous subspecies has been attributed to the loss of Caledonian forest. It wasn’t until 1837 that ca
The Field7 min read
National Hunt’s New Guard
GOLF and jump racing may seem like unlikely bedfellows but it’s a marriage that leading National Hunt trainer Ben Pauling believes works rather well. Having started out in 2013 with just eight horses, Pauling moved to his state-of-the-art yard, Naunt
The Field4 min read
Nature Writing Competition 2023
IF I look to the right while at my desk there are shelves upon shelves of books, read and unread. There are classics (Peter Scott’s Morning Flight), favourites (Simon Blow’s Fields Elysian), treatises on hunting, shooting, tweed and English history.
The Field6 min read
Discovering Britain By The Book
ONE OF the conundrums of the great and varied British countryside is whether or not the land is more important than the literature it inspired. Or is the literature at least of equal importance for guiding us back to the land with our hearts and mind
The Field4 min read
Browning 525 Game Tradition Light
THIS month’s test gun is a 20-bore Browning 525 Game Tradition Light, tipping the scales at just under 6lb 5oz (so, light but not ultralight). It is distinguished by an American walnut stock, 30in barrels with a narrow rib, flush-fitting Invector Plu
The Field4 min read
A Nose For Conservation
EARLIER this winter, I was walking my spaniel along a footpath when she stopped as suddenly as if she had run into a brick wall. There was no visual barrier – she had clearly run into strong scent. Sure enough, an impressive covey of 15 grey partridg
The Field3 min read
Sophie Clark
MY LOVE of gamekeeping and the land started at my grandfather’s knee. He had spent many happy days working the hills around his home in Glenfeshie. His tales of the Highland garrons and life as a gillie always captured my imagination. He was also a k
The Field4 min read
Country Queries
Q I am rather embarrassed to ask such a simple question of you but I would like a recommendation for a tasty, easy-to-make pheasant pie. I’m not much of a cook anyway and have never cooked pheasant before but, with a new partner to impress, I feel it
The Field6 min read
A Call To Arms (and Armour)
IT WAS a late October day, the sky clear after incessant rain. However, the sun was now setting on the hard-core suspects standing on the ha-ha outside my in-laws’ house, enjoying a never-ending supply of ‘one last glass’ of port. It had been a momen
The Field3 min read
A Blade Fit For A King
AT FIRST sight this dagger looks rather unprepossessing with its plain wooden grip and simple, acorn-shaped quillons. However, first impressions can be misleading as closer examination reveals the blade has been etched with a now-some-what-indistinct
The Field3 min read
Art In The Field
REAL art is real. Even if not figurative, it is an authentic depiction of what the artist saw or experienced. Here is Lucy Boydell describing the moment she met her stag: “He walked across the grass and I turned to watch him; he was coming across the
The Field3 min read
The Kings Arms, Wing
THERE are some places one longs for in a locale, and they come with certain characteristics. A mellow stone exterior, at least one open fire, low beams, creaking leather settles and a menu that’s as much a part of the countryside as the locals at the
The Field3 min read
Worth Trumpeting About
ARE there just too many daffodils in the world? Every March, I ask myself this question as I drive down country lanes near my home in the English Midlands. Here and there, the grass verges are punctured by clumps of shouty, yolk-yellow ‘Golden Harves
The Field4 min read
Fruits Of The Pigeon Hide
PIGEON have been an easy-to-find source of protein across the world for centuries. Available all year round, they are very much considered a sustainable food and for most people can be a local option. The birds’ tendency to forage from farmland firml
The Field4 min read
Twice The Craic
CHELTENHAM can be carnage. Not for the horses or the jockeys but for the racegoers, coinciding as it does with St Patrick’s Day and the glorious annual invasion of the inimitable Irish who, as we all know, love a good party. I adore Ireland and every
The Field2 min read
Honda HR-V 1.5i-MMD
AT FIRST glance the new Honda HR-V could be mistaken for being rather dull. It didn’t help that my test car arrived in Abigail’s Party beige (Honda bravely calls it ‘sand khaki pearl’) but the exterior comes with a refreshing lack of ‘spoilers and sl
The Field3 min read
From The Archives
FOR DAYS the gamekeeper on a distant beat had implored us to come and shoot some of the swarms of woodpigeons that showed up so clearly against the dark green of the spruce and larch trees, of which those particular coverts were composed. But knowing
The Field3 min read
Lives Well Lived
Ancestors are seldom as interesting as their descendants would have us believe. But Kishanda Fulford, best known for her appearances on the television series The F***ing Fulfords, has unearthed a corker. Louisa Colleton, who was brought up at the Ful

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