Under the Tuscan sun
A boar shooting trip to Tuscany offers Jonny Carter from The Gun Shop a chance to
get away from it all – and changes his whole viewpoint on what makes a successful hunt
I
t all began in October 2018 when I received an
email from Howard from Outside Days telling me
of an opportunity for a last-minute trip to Italy in
the pursuit of boar. I have known Howard for
many years, and from the moment he started
taking clients to Tuscany, I have wanted to go.
Coinciding with this, a new staff member was
joining our team at TGS to run our social mediadepartment. Other than his name (Sasha), and a
handful of facts that I had gleaned from the
hour-long interview, all I knew was that he was
competent at editing videos. With a minuscule
amount of time to decide, I chose to justify this
trip to myself by inviting Sasha as the official TGS
videographer. Two weeks later, we were on the
plane to Italy and so the adventure began!The moment I pulled through the gates of
Castello del Terriccio, I was in love. Everything
about this estate is a dreamland: beautiful vines,
dried out from the autumn sun that still beat down
upon us. The estate’s staff were all in jumpers and
thick trousers, but the 20°C heat dictated to my
inner Englishman than it was shorts and shirt
weather! The 3km driveway from the gates to the
heart of the estate in itself was worth the trip,
driving past the stud, vines, ancient Tuscan
houses, olive trees and the estate’s Limousin
cattle, before eventually arriving at the tiny cluster
of six buildings that makes up Terriccio’s core.
Just past here lies La Marana. La Marana, my
dream home. From the panoramic views of
Tuscan hills, fields and the Med, to the high
ceilings, beautiful décor and stunning rooms,
setting foot in here sent a wave of relaxation
crashing over me. At Terriccio, nothing seems to
upset the tranquil mental state, and that in itself
is priceless.
The first day had a simple structure; arrive,
relax, check zero, familiarise yourself with the
rental guns and eat delicious food. To
describe the food as life-changing
would be fair. Anna, the chef, is aSPORT ABROAD WITH
PICTURES:
THE GUN SHOP
(^1) PART
The beautiful Tuscan sunrise
was reward enough
Jonny’s mindset changed
after this boar-less hunt
NEXT MONTH
Read the second
instalment in the series,
when Jonny returns for
another day.